The G Man

I agree, I don't think his wife was intentionally trying to waste the police's time either, but that is beside the point. The point is that the police report is a requirement due to reasons like this.

Sebastian3

LOL... this post

Nikon1

It wouldn’t be free as the circuitry to enable remote starting is fairly involved and expensive and, I’m sure, would require a subscription service / monthly or yearly fee to enable the use of it.

One of our members has a thread about a self-installed remote start in his S5 /RS5 (I forget which) that, as an option, includes remote starting from your smartphone. That feature does require a subscription as it uses a SIM card and a wireless provider.

As someone who had an after-market remote start in my last car, I found after I bought a house with a 2-car, attached garage, I very rarely used it. As such, I would not appreciate Audi installing a remote start as standard equipment. It’s bad enough I can’t buy my S5 Coupé without a (useless to me) sunroof. I’d rather have the headroom and weight reduction of a non-sunroof Coupé but that’s the cost of buying what I bought.

—John

luder888

To be fair, by requiring a police report number Audi is trying to deter abuse of their service, the exact scenario OP is describing. Forgetting where one parks their car does not warrant the use of the Stolen Vehicle service. Usually people realize their car is simply misplaced rather than stolen by the time they decide to file a police report.

njspeedfreak

I have gotten into the habit now of using my phone to take a picture of my car when I leave it in an airport (or similar) parking lot. I usually try to get some landmark in picture, like a spot number on the ground or a location number on a support pole. Really helps jog the memory after returning from an adventurous trip. I guess it would have the side effect of convincing the police that you aren't just another absent minded traveler in case you car really did go missing.

Yoshimura

This is clearly stated when you try to use that functionality so I don't know what is the point of letting other owners know. I mean, it's not like you could file a police report before your car is stolen. :-)

By the way, Apple Plans (and probably Android) automatically logs your car location when you park.

belzebutt

LOL.

Google Maps also automatically remembers your parking location too. I know it doesn't always do that and you're not always using the Maps app at the time but it's a free workaround.

duhg

Google Maps has a feature called, "remember where I parked" or "save your parking" or somesuch. Real easy to use and you don't need any car-specific app.

zoepup

All good points.

Yes, the Audi app now tracks the location of car when last parked. Not when moving. If towed, I am not sure what location it would last show

i find apple maps, google maps and waze to be inconsistent with parking. Plus you now need to share your location with those app all the time.

the point of the post wasn’t if the car was lost or stolen. It was a requirement by Audi to have a police report number. The officer said a car was stole every 15 minutes at Newark airport. By the time they had a police report number, the car would be chopped up in pieces and on a boat to another country

btw, the app says audi may charge for the location. If that is the case, then don’t make us jump through hoops to get a location. The copy said he never had a luxury car not provide a location. We can believe him or not.

bruce_miranda

This doesn't work if the vehicle is moving. So is quite useless if it was a genuine theft. If you wait for the car to stop and then it shows up in another state or country, what w/could you do?