Stolen Zafira spare wheels

loobs40

Such is the number that are being stolen somebody must be building a mountain out of them !!

We have just noticed that the spare wheel on our Zafira has been nicked by some lowlife, who probably already has at least 23 convictions for the same and never been fined more than £3.25

Where do all these nicked wheel go ?????? I am loathe to buy another one from Vauxhall who should be improving security in this area and who are obviously profitting from this trade.

pingu

when i was looking for a new car

i was surprised to find out that citeron picasso spare wheel is outside the body under the boot:mad: thats just invitation for any lowlife:mad:

newer cars shouldn't be like that!

i bought nissan tino and wheel is inside the boot

mhendo

This was raised on Watchdog on BBC1 a while ago. This was taken from a cache of the watchdog site.

Vauxhall Zafira

15th March 2005

The Vauxhall Zafira was launched 6 years ago. Nearly a quarter of a million of these people carriers have been sold in Britain, making it one of the country’s most popular cars. But Watchdog knows of hundreds of people who have had their spare wheel stolen from underneath the car.

Hazel Winters bought a Zafira last year and later discovered that her spare wheel was missing from the cage underneath it.

Matthew Guite bought a Zafira in December 2003 and within days of buying it discovered that his spare wheel was missing. When he phoned the dealer, he was told that they had sold all of their stock because so many of these wheels had been stolen. Matthew did eventually manage to purchase one, only to have it stolen again months later.

Last year three Zafira owners in one neighbourhood in Kent all lost their spare wheels in a spate of thefts.

Vauxhall say the Zafira is "protected by some of the toughest anti-theft devices around". Yet consultant Engineer Steve Lee told Watchdog the Zafira might as well have a sign on the back saying: "Please steal my spare wheel."

On top of needing to pay up to £60 to get a special lock fitted to stop their spare being stolen again, Zafira owners have been left with bills of up to £200 for a new wheel and tyre.

Vauxhall told Watchdog that as the wheel can only be lawfully released from inside of the car, this isn't a manufacturing issue. They advise that those affected should refer to their insurance companies. All retailers are being instructed to offer the lock to customers at point of sale, and there will be changes to the security design of future models.

MiserlyMonkey

It's the same with the Citroen Saxo. I had my spare wheel nicked from the cage under the car and the Citroen dealer admitted that it was a known problem and offered to fit a locking device if I wanted to shell out another £100 or so on top of the £130 for the replacement wheel, tyre and jack. I just kept the spare in the boot instead.

tanith

When I bought my Zafira (not new) I insisted they put a lock on the spare wheel , and to my surprise the Vauxhall dealer had it done without even a little quibble... I guess if you want to hang onto your spare then you have to get a lock put on.....

golddustmedia

You'll be able to pick one up cheap on ebay.

There are a surprising number of them available 2nd hand....

Mookfish

It was featured on Watch dog?

These sort of thefts reported on TV seem to increase the number of crimes. Shortly after the "Don't advertise your car to theives" advert that said the removable front from the radio is in the glove box, my car was broken into, the glovebox ripped open (it had a dodgy handle that only worked some of the time) and the radio pulled out but hanging from its wiring.

The radio front panel was in the house, but they did take a pair of broken sunglasses.

benjit

Bought a Zafira, within a week my spare wheel stolen...melted off the holding point through the night...how planned and how long it must take to do this...and doesnt Vauxhaul have a responsibility to tell everyone that this is happening so we can be forewarned/armed and chain the wheel up with a sign...tough luck looser, not this wheel....

Who does it? (loosers yes, but they have to have a market)
Where is the market - who now buys my wheel...& from whom/where?

as I now have to buy one from somewhere, but would rather not buy from ye-old-Vauxhaul thereby rewarding such poor design idea...and poor communications on a known issue.

Does anyone know where I buy a wheel...or are they stolen to order by someone somewhere....like me another victim?

gilbert_and_sullivan

Do people need to be told to eat and wash now for goodness sake...how's about a bit of good old common sense (read self help), you know, the thing that's brainwashed out of most youngsters once they attend the modern day equivalent of school.

Is it beyond the capabilities of the average car buyer to think that if the spare is held under the car in a thick wire cage then some lowlife (not exactly thin on the ground are they) could prise it out with a crow bar or even hack saw it off.

The spare on my pick up is underneath...so a hardened motorcycle quality security chain and superior quality lock safeguard it...it won't stop the fellow with the angle grinder, but i'll hear him and i will.

I really do despair of this country's future sometimes.

vikingaero

Here you go, look at this:

http://www.sparewheeltheft.co.uk/index.html

and

http://www.ospreyproducts1.co.uk/zafirains19pdfsimcup.pdf

IIRC I paid £100ish for a new steel rim from Vauxhall and £60 for a new tyre.

The major problem is that the 15" spare (with 5 studs) fits a lot of Astras. The thieves don't care that the tyre profile is slightly out - for example Zafiras use 195/55/15 whereas an equivalent Astra would use 195/50/15.

fatpiggy

French cars have carried their spare wheels in an under-body cage since the year dot. I've never had a problem with theft, and it leaves the entire boot free for putting whatever you like in it. In-boot spares tend to be those dratted space-saving things with a 50mph speed limit and they upset the brake sensor so the warning light comes on. In-boot spares also do very nasty things to my knackered back.