<center><img src="http://www.orientaldaily.com.hk/photo/20000514/new/0514nhko19p1.gif"></center><p>I posted in this forum about 6 weeks ago about my stolen A6.
Yesterday, police in Hong Kong has recovered 9 Ontario/Canada registered A6s in containers. These cars were reported stolen in Ontario between 3/30 and 4/20. My 2 month old 2000 A6 2.8QT was stolen on 3/30! So I could be the first unlucky one :-(
Obviously the work of organized crime, the cars were probably in transit to China or South-East Asia (Hong Kong is right-hand drive).

I checked out some news photos and video footage, I THINK the silver A6 on the left is mine :-( Silver A6, no sunroof, no external antenna ... I probably will call my insurance adjuster to find out more. Anyways, it is in a sorry state - dirty, bashed up, the rear bumper removed (not sure why they do this - ?to fit into the container??). The sight of that car makes me shake my head....

Many people here probably will disagree with me. After settlement with the insurance company, I am now driving a Passat V6 4Motion. It was a reluctant decision. I have to drive this car to work; and it has to be parked in a high theft rate public parking lot for 9+ hours each day. At that time, I also found out from the insurance company and the leasing company that more A6s were disappearing in Toronto as we spoke. It would be a big hassle to have another car stolen, not to mention of the risk of not being able to get insurance coverage at some point. I love to get another A6, or maybe a 2.7T. But I know I would be worrying about it everyday while at work. Even with a vehicle tracking system, it maybe too late by the time I am off work. So I decided to go for the Passat which appears lower profile and has a lower theft rate (at least for now).

The Passat is less refined, more roll on cornering, higher wind noise at speed, rougher at idling. But it has basically the same engine, quattro and drive train. Engine is 10hp less, but since the car weighs 100kg (220lb) less, the smaller Passat feels more nimble and quicker. The driving experience has a close resemblence to the A6 - similar engine sound, same tiptronic (with the same jerk on accelerating when the gearbox is downshifting).

Yes, some driving pleasure has been sacrificed, and I missed the Xenon, but now I have saved C$15,000 (US$10,000) and have a peace of mind - not worrying each time I go to get my car at the end of the work day.

ex-2000 A6 QT
2000 Passat V6 4Motion

 

It is hard to accept that some people act on greed always have and always will. It's the reality of the human condition.

None the less, it sickens me that hard working and honest people who make hard choices in order to obtain life's pleasures are vicitimized by such
criminals.

Imagine, not much more than 100 years ago a man could be hung for stealing a horse. Look how far we have progressed!

 

... a man could be hung for stealing a horse.
Hanged, too.
:-)

 

Wow, this really makes it seem like they are easy to steal - and even though they're probably not, the 'pros' certainly know exactly how to obtain them. I think the angle here is to get one of those disablers so the vehicle won't start, but something unique that isn't easy to defeat. When I had my Audi Coupe 5x5, if I parked it in a 'risky' area I would remove a relay related to starting the car (discovered by accident). Doing the same on an A6 would be inconvenient and risky unless you knew which relay. A fuel pump cutoff is a good choice too I think.

A friend of mine got one of these systems that cut starter, ignition, and fuel pump until a hidden switch was pressed. Someone did break into his car (not Audi), but they never moved it an inch!

 

Does anyone know if LoJack has a disable system as well as a "silent alarm"?

 

Sorry to hear about your stolen A6! :=< As I saw in HK TV news broadcast last evening, all the cars were in "D" position when they discovered in the container. One of them comes with Ambition Maroon leather. I feel sick when I saw the news.
AFAIK, China has a large market for Audi these days. Many officials over there use A6s as limosine for middle to high class position. Maybe that's the reason why those thieves stole A6 in Canada in order to earn a profit from those officials who "need" a limosine.<p>Tom
97 A4 1.8TQMS
99 BORA GLS 2.0
00 NEW BEETLE GLS 1.9TDI
98.5 A4 1.8TQAS Wett 1.0 bar with mods
Vancouver A4 Club webpage: http://vancouver.a4.org
ICQ# 39485600

 

Re: Thank you for that correction! YIKES

 

Hong Kong!

I feel for you man. So how did you find out about these A6's? I don't recall seeing anything in the news...maybe I misssed it. Where did you get the pics from? Are there any more pics? Maybe a news article?

A concerned Torontonian,

Quattro80

 

Hmmm, gets ya thinkin, maybe they're inside jobs.

 

>Where did you get the pics from? Are there any more pics?

The picture was from Oriental Daily News, a Hong Kong newspaper.
I found maybe a couple more pictures in the net, but none of them showed the car very clearly. A video footage of the cars were shown in Fairchild Television's Hong Kong news.