Watch your headlights in the NYC area

[btumble]

I may be the only one here who wasn't aware of this but as a bunch of us drive in/around NYC, thought I'd share this.
My husband's '02 S4 was stolen last weekend while parked on the street in NY. According to the police, there was another S4 and an A4 stolen in that precinct over the weekend. His car was recovered in Newark with no lights, the ignition popped and a lot of dents. Our autobody guy said he's been seeing a lot of this lately with Audis, including an S4 currently in his shop for the third time having the headlights lifted/second time the car was stolen. The cars always seem to end up in Newark (Sopranos, anyone?). I knew the headlights were valuable but had no idea it was so rampant. My beast is not getting parked on the streets of NY again; I'll take my chances with the damage the garage guys might do. It would be way too sad if she got lifted. The only bright spot is that my husband's new toy, '04 S4 cab, arrived early so we were just waiting out the lease on the '02.

btumble:rs6kiss: :rs6kiss:

[Erik]

Big problem with Porsches as well.

:vgrumpy:

[EternalX]

if they drove away with the car you obviously dont have adequate security. id look into it more if you dont it to happen again, i hear its BAD in that area.

[nene]

This headlight issue is a big deal with A4/S4, Porsche and even Nissan Murano's too. There are othe cars that have had similar issues, but it seems the B5 models (A4/S4) have quite a high number of folks happen to them. This is happening almost everywhere there is a major city. Here in Boston is pretty bad as well.

I think the RS6 is much harder to steal the car and the headlights, but it pays to be extra careful.

[gjg]

I think I've posted this before:


Wow, guess I'm too naive to think about the reality of this, but seems to be a bit of a problem I'd say. Lame. Posted from the Boston Globe (long):


Left in the dark:

Audis, Nissans being stripped of high-tech headlights By Peter Demarco, Globe Correspondent, 2/26/2004

Jon Lufkus of Roslindale was typing at his computer one quiet Friday night last month when a loud and ominous "CRACK" rang out from his driveway.

Looking out his bedroom window, he saw two young men standing in front of his prized Audi S4, each holding a round object in his hands.

"I see the two kids, then I look at the car, and I don't have any headlights," Lufkus recalled. "I'm like, `What the hell?' "

Car stereos are ancient history, and airbags are old hat. As Lufkus
discovered, xenon headlights, those super bright headlights with a bluish tinge common to many high-end cars, are the coveted automobile item nowadays. Car thieves have been swiping them in increasing numbers across Boston, selling them on the black market for a fraction of their $540 list price, and leaving unsuspecting car owners with repair bills in the thousands.

With the right tools, thieves can steal headlights off two models in
particular, Audi S4s and Nissan Maximas, in under a minute, auto industry specialists said. The headaches for car owners last a lot longer.

Victims typically pay $500 or $1,000 deductibles, lose the use of their car for weeks to the repair shop, and worry that after all the expense they will be vandalized again.

"It's a huge problem," said Richard Poillucci, owner of Automotive
Specialties Inc. of Hyde Park, who has replaced headlights for Audi owners from the South End, the Fenway, Back Bay, Brookline, and Roslindale in recent months. "Originally we thought it was just a fluke. But I'm seeing on an average week four or five that have been hit."

Headlight thefts were first reported a few years ago in Florida, where thieves were pilfering Porsches of their xenon, or high-intensity, discharge lights, which are three times more powerful than halogen lights, and far more expensive. Halogen light bulbs cost about $14, according to auto repair shops. The thieves installed the xenon lights in other cars, such as older Hondas. The trend was seen last summer in New Jersey and on Long Island in New York, and last fall in Boston.

Boston police said they are aware of the problem: In the South End last month, police arrested several suspects who allegedly possessed stolen xenon headlights. But officials could not provide figures on the number of xenon headlight thefts in the city this year.

Glenn Greenberg, spokesman for Liberty Mutual Group's Boston office, said his office has seen an increase in the number of reported thefts. "I don't have a hard number for claims, but it certainly is a noticeable amount," he said. "We're seeing it in Boston and the Greater Boston area. There have been some incidents in the Framingham area."

MBTA parking lots in Hyde Park and Readville have also been hit, though authorities have arrested a suspect they believe was responsible for all seven thefts there.

While experienced thieves make off with headlights fairly quickly -- Lufkus could not catch the youths who stole his headlights -- novices have ravaged car hoods, fenders, and windshields, requiring weeks of repairs and astronomical bills.

"I just finished fixing a 2004 Audi. They actually cut the [headlight]
wiring harness that was incorporated with the airbag system. This was a $10,000 headlight theft," said Alexander D. Haddad, a manager at Automotive Specialties. In some cases, owners have been robbed not once, but two or three times.

"I was away at a conference when it happened the first time in September," said Heikki Nikkanen, 33, of Jamaica Plain, whose Audi was vandalized in his driveway. "I went through the hassle with the insurance company, I didn't have my car for three weeks, and with the deductible I was out $1,000. Then it happened again in December. The same exact thing. I think it's the same guy, frankly. He knows where I live."

Nissan, responding to thefts of 2002 and 2003 Maxima headlights, recently launched an identification program with the British firm, DataDotTechnology, in which car owners in the Northeast, including Massachusetts and Connecticut, can go to their local dealers and have small chips affixed to their headlights. Individual vehicle identification numbers are printed on
the chips, allowing law enforcement officials to recognize stolen headlights in automotive chop shops.

Nissan has also redesigned its 2004 Maxima models to make it much more difficult for a thief to extract the headlights, a DataDotTechnology official said.

Doug Clark, spokesman for Audi of America, said the company is reviewing xenon headlight thefts and is weighing several options on how to address the issue. The Audi S4 is the most targeted of its models because xenon headlights are standard equipment. They are optional on the A4, and sometimes thieves mistakenly remove non-xenon headlights from unlucky A4 owners.

With no devices available to better secure xenon headlights to Audis, though, owners have been left scrambling to find other ways to protect their cars.

Nikkanen bought a car cover, installed a $600 radar-based alarm that goes off if someone comes too close to his car, and had his landlord install better lighting.

Neal Rantoul, a Northeastern professor, said he now parks his car in public garages with the front-end out, so that his headlights are in public view and a degree safer.

Andrew Malgieri, 35, a South End computer engineer whose headlights were swiped last month, said he's been searching in vain for a more secure spot for his Audi S4, which was vandalized in the parking lot behind his home.

"There just isn't any garage parking available in the South End," he lamented. "For me, I do a lot of traveling to Vermont and New Hampshire. Having all-wheel drive is pretty important for my safety. I love my car. It's a great car. But now, I've thought about selling it."

================

Originaly posted on UrS list, Paul K. credited.


It just sucks - and it brings another point of view on home defense line - S&W (after all) may be the best friend ..........

:cry:

[eph94]

There was an article in Car and Driver this month about Nissan headlights in particular being stolen in New Jersey. Newark Police said that they are even trawling eBay hoping to find a local perpetrator put stolen lights for sale. They also said that they have found a bunch of stolen lights offered but none of the sellers so far originated in Jersey.

I gotta say, this really sucks. It makes me afraid to leave my car parked when I know I will be returning after dark.

[nyrs6]

yup i saw that too in Car and driver there was a cloumn they said the S4s are the ones it happens to. What about the A6/RS6 i wonder if they have the same problem?

Take a look at these two threads. taking the headlamps of the rs6 are not so easy according to this.

http://www.rs6.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3731

http://www.rs6.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=3862&highlight=headlights

[Klint]

Originally posted by Erik
Big problem with Porsches as well.

:vgrumpy:

errr...looks like it's the thieves that have the problem, to me.

Sory to hear what's hapened, btumble and thanks for informing us about this. :thumb:

[JA]

Sorry to hear that, btumble. It's a bummer.

My two cents about Manhattan: I would never dream of leaving my car parked on the street longer than maybe 15 minutes (and only in broad daylight). I regularly park in garages here, and have never had a problem. The way I figure it is, at least in a garage (or similar valet situation), someone is on the hook should anything happen to the car.

[rs6_newyork]

RS6s with no eyes have already been seen at shops (board postings), so it seems that the xenons are as easy to pry out as the other models..

as for actually getting it stolen, AFAIK the immobilizer II is protecting the V8 S4s (and therefore also the RS6) ok - ie, has not been cracked yet. You need to worry about flat bed trucks.

Somehow, though, I don't think a flat bed truck thief is interested in an RS6 parked in new york. That kind of theft is stealing to order and would be done at someones home or office, not in an opportunistic way.

People outside manhattan seem to live in fear of the streets but actually it is safe, at night as well. You can rock up to a valet garage with an S600 and they don't look at you or the car twice. I've parked all around town and so have my friends, all current model autos, and the only problem is bump parkers. I've never seen a car on blocks with stolen wheels and the streets are too busy 24hrs for even smash and grab. The place to avoid for audis is just across in new jersey - newark, around the airport etc.

[btumble]

After reading all of this, I am amazed that such a widespread problem exsists. Guess the new S4 and my Rs6 will be spending a lot of time in garages....though every car of mine that spent a lot of time in garages ended up covered in small dents and scrapes......I'm going to have to start tipping better...and in advance. :D


People outside manhattan seem to live in fear of the streets but actually it is safe, at night as well.
I lived in Manhattan for over 10 years, most of it driving a Porsche so my response is not that of a wide eyed suburbanite. The car was stolen from a nice residential street in the west village. I agree about the general safety of the streets, didn't mean to imply otherwise. This is obviously a focused group of thieves.

[nyrs6]

http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=27&article_id=8216

here is the link to the article in car and driver in this past months issue

[Aronis]

Will the last sane person to move out of Newark, NJ, please turn the lights off, the remaining Roaches like it in the dark.

Such petty theft, I'm for off with their hands when they are caught!

Mike

[Speedracer]

It's not a new problem. I had the headlights stolen from my A6 several years ago, and someone tried to steal them again recently.