Blob
Well-Known Member
- Posts
- 202
- Location
- Maidstone, Kent
Last week a bunch of thieving scumbags stole the OS tail light from my wife's D4 while it was outside a friend's house on the street. It seems that they must have been disturbed as they didn't get the NS light but they had removed one screw fully and the other was partly out.
Until this, I had no idea that this was such a common occurrence but apparently it is very common. So much so in fact that it happened to two other D4s the same night in the same village and at least one other in the next village. Most perplexing is the fact that we all lost the OS tail light!
It seems that as long as you aren't too worried about the paint you can simply wedge a screwdriver in the gap, undo the screws and yank the light out of the car. These guys seemed to have a fairly carefree attitude to the paint on our car so they got a light!
Anyway, I decided that there is little I can do about it, I bought another light, found the screws all trapped in the lower tailgate and bumper area and fitted it. Then it dawned on me that I could replace the bolts with something a bit more tricky to access, so I went for some 8mm headed bolts in bright zinc coated in the hope that when they shine a torch in to see where to put the screwdriver they will realise that it is not going to work and they can't get an 8mm socket through the gap to undo them. There's every chance that they'll key the car in frustration I suppose but on principle I am going to make it harder for them. I thought I'd share my very inexpensive mod for you all.
For reference, I bought 4.8mm x 19mm Self drilling, self tapping screws with an 8mm head.
Hope this doesn't happen to any of you but in a conversation with the breaker where I was buying another light it seems that they sell very well because they get stolen a lot. What a great business model eh?
Until this, I had no idea that this was such a common occurrence but apparently it is very common. So much so in fact that it happened to two other D4s the same night in the same village and at least one other in the next village. Most perplexing is the fact that we all lost the OS tail light!
It seems that as long as you aren't too worried about the paint you can simply wedge a screwdriver in the gap, undo the screws and yank the light out of the car. These guys seemed to have a fairly carefree attitude to the paint on our car so they got a light!
Anyway, I decided that there is little I can do about it, I bought another light, found the screws all trapped in the lower tailgate and bumper area and fitted it. Then it dawned on me that I could replace the bolts with something a bit more tricky to access, so I went for some 8mm headed bolts in bright zinc coated in the hope that when they shine a torch in to see where to put the screwdriver they will realise that it is not going to work and they can't get an 8mm socket through the gap to undo them. There's every chance that they'll key the car in frustration I suppose but on principle I am going to make it harder for them. I thought I'd share my very inexpensive mod for you all.
For reference, I bought 4.8mm x 19mm Self drilling, self tapping screws with an 8mm head.
Hope this doesn't happen to any of you but in a conversation with the breaker where I was buying another light it seems that they sell very well because they get stolen a lot. What a great business model eh?
