We recently cleared off abroad for the week, and arrived at Manchester Airport to go in the long stay and it was full. This meant I had to instead use the short stay - £45 a day - thanks! - right adjacent to Terminal One departures. I put the car right at the very top in the open air near the lifts, one would imagine there are many cameras and it's reasonably secure. It isn't!

When we came back, I approached the car and unlocked it as normal, and immediately noticed it had been ransacked. The pull off panel under the steering column was on the floor, glove boxes open, centre console and tray out, and all the floor mats disturbed. The last one there had me scratching my head till I twigged why. What could be under the floor mats?

Also, the housing around the rear view mirror had been loosened and disturbed.

Nothing much seemed to have been stolen, even CDs etc were left (maybe my wife's taste in music they didn't like - the car is hers now), the only thing I can find missing is a spare new brake light switch that I had in the glove box. The car started fine and drove home OK.

I wasn't sure at first if it was an attempted theft or casual speculative thievery of bits and bobs. However, I found the article >here< that says this:

Quote:

Paper tickets will be scrapped and replaced with ‘chip coins’ – containing data captured from cameras at the barriers.

The system will automatically log the car’s registration plate and time of arrival.

The aim is to end a so-called ‘shuffling’ scam in which cars are left in the airport’s short-stay car parks but the substantial fees are dodged –leaving crooks paying as little as £2.20 for a fortnight’s parking.

looking for drugs ?

police may have even opened it up

Last week there was a honeymooning couple featured in the press when their Audi A6 was ransacked, trashed and all their wedding gifts stolen from the car while they were abroad. It was the hotel staff who found the car in their “secure” car park and then phoned the couple on honeymoon to tell them that the hotel wouldn’t accept any liability because on registeration the couple had signed a form absolving the hotel of any responsibility towards them and the security of vehicles left in their “care” while owners are away.... IIRC that was also at Manchester Airport 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

So there is electronic trickery out there that opens older RRS easily I guess?

Or is it the case someone had to be sat nearby when I left it to scan the signal? Get a 2005-2009 RRS (FAH500210) sat nav/dash mat here - the one that wasn't there when you bought the car.

Spiffing wheel centre caps available

Did you ask the car car park operator if they could look on their security camera recordings? It is possible that when you left the car someone else was near the car and another of the gang followed you into the terminal relaying the key fob signals back to the other to open the car. They would only be able to do this inside the car park building, distance would be too far from the terminal and too many walls to send the signal through back to the car. 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

thats not good,

maybe the car wasn't locked, as something blocked the signal, radio waves etc from the airport and they fell lucky

don't know how or why

but we have today received a couple of Faraday bags we ordered for keeping our keys in Porsche Cayenne 2022
gone Porsche Cayenne 2020
gone Corris Grey HSE Dynamic 2016
gone Ipanema HSE lux 2010
gone Rimini HSE 2005
!!

I used to have a Renault 20 many years ago. One whole section rotted away and I replaced it by glassfibre.

On chisseling away the rust, suddenly all doors unlocked... Turned out I was hitting in the area of a switch
that unlocked the car in case of an accident...

Imagine the face of a guy some years later who left his keys in the car at a petrol station and his daughter
locked it from inside.. I hit the inside of the wheel arch with a piece of brick and the car unlocked...

Could be worth checking around the car for a tracking device? Or could they have found your address in the glove box etc
Don’t think they could have programmed a key as it would have deleted yours in doing so

Dan. On other cars this only works if the ignition is on! To stop theft

crazy