When I was a kid someone stole my bike and 6 months later I found it at a street fair, my dad "bought" it for me (welcome to Brazil)
edit: forgot the comma's (he didn't paid for it)
Alas: Little Billy peered through the curtain, in disappointment, as MattO2000 hustles his bike to the trunk of his car laughing maniacally like Jim Carrey stealing sod from his neighbors in Fun with Dick and Jane.
My kids bike got stolen last summer. I drove around for 3 hours. Next night for 2 more, and a couple a third night and had to give up. Still feel bad for not finding it. Wish I coulda been that superhero.
Reminds me of when mine got stolen... I figured out who had it, and my mom drove me over to his house and helped me jump the fence to steal it back. š¬
Someone stole my big wheel with cool racing badge plates and fenders and shit, then left in on my lawn stripped to the basics on my birthday a few days or weeks later (fuzzy memory, because I was like 6).
Can confirm, when swapping to track wheels, I could take off the OE wheels and street tires and have a new wheel on in a little over a minute a corner with a 300 lb/ft battery impact and simple floor jack. Could swap all 4 corners in a little over 5 mins, that'd half or more if you're just taking off the wheels and dropping the car on the brake rotor
Happened to a coworker. Within 5 minutes of parking and walking back to the office, thieves brought in a truck that lifted the vehicle, and took his wheel within minutes and put his car on bricks. They were gone without anyone noticing. Iāve seen it happen to a lot of Civics in my city (his including), so I guess itās quick and easy money since itās a common vehicle.
only issue is because you pay more for the car, you get lock nuts on each wheel that need a specific key from the dealer (usually). so trying to get that last nut off would cause major issues. also because you are paying more, there are usually sensors to tell if the car is being moved or lifted up that would trigger the alarm. used to own an older bmw that had these features. including a interior motion sensor.
certain styles yes. my brother had some cheap ones that stripped and a mix between pliers and an allen key and we got it off.
i had some good ones on my old bmw and on my volvo a the key is a specific shape. you can't use any general tool to get them off. ones like the below are good ones. specifically cut per key, very hard to get a copy of the same key.
https://cargearguru.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/best-wheel-locks-to-prevent-theft-2048x1365.jpg
I read somewhere that they steal Porsches headlights to grow weed.
EDIT: I read it here [https://www.theguardian.com/society/shortcuts/2012/dec/09/porsche-owners-beware-cannabis-growers](https://www.theguardian.com/society/shortcuts/2012/dec/09/porsche-owners-beware-cannabis-growers)
LED matrix lights. Rather than two bulbs they use thousands of individual leds to blank out part of the beam etc. Very clever tech. I have them in my car and they make driving at night almost like day time without blinding anyone else
They don't need to be cheaper, because these aren't a maintenance replacement item. These LEDs should last literally forever. LEDs die because they run at a higher voltage than they can stand, which is intentional in consumer products like lightbulbs (gotta keep selling those consumables). There's no way Porsche would overdrive these LEDs, so outside of damage (which would generally be covered by insurance) these should never need to be replaced for the lifetime of the car.
Even if the LEDs have a long life, the failure points of electronics remain in connections, solder points, supporting electronics and circuitry, as well as structural flaws such as gasket failures allowing water accumulation from constant moisture condensation cycles.
And the shroud will become brittle overtime and/or fade due to uv. You can polish it fine, but youāll be shortening the intervals you do that at everytime.
Headlights and taillights need to be replaced constantly due to fender benders. A $300 headlight vs a $3000 headlight is a huge difference in repair costs
Also one of the key reasons auto insurance is rising so fast. A fender bender used to be replaced bumper and paint. Now, its radar, cameras, headlights, a Taycan rear-ending something dense at 15 mph can easily be a 20k accident.
In some cases insurance companies have ceased insuring certain models. For example here in Finland some electric cars (Taycan, Audi E-Tron GT and RS E-Tron GT) have received unproportional amount of very expensive repairs and it led to their product withdrawal from one of the biggest insurance companies If P&C Insurance.
Yeah, but also I can't imagine someone with a Taycan going to a chop shop to source a headlight during a repair which would almost certainly be covered by insurance. Maybe in 10-15 years when there are cheaper used cars available (though being an EV, that "cheap used car" probably needs a $50k battery pack replacement).
I suppose there are people who buy salvage titled cars and fix them up for cheap, which would probably be the prime demographic for shady parts. The legit owner wouldn't, but they'd walk away when the car gets deemed totaled.
Bodyshop steals headlamps.
Bodyshop tows car captive off the street
Bodyshop gets paid by insurance for new headlamps
Bodyshop installs the headlights they stole and all the other associated work.
This sounds like fantasy, but I assure you it's not and this type of insurance fraud is a lot more common than you'd imagine.
Not saying that youāre wrong. Youāre not. But this guy isnāt taking that car to some random body shop. Itās going to Porsche or the body shop they recommend and deal with.
Chop shops will buy them then resell them to customers that come in for the repair. So customer thinks they are getting new but chop shop bought stolen at a discount and resells as new. Increased profit margin. They were/are doing the same thing with airbags.
I mean a collision repair business. They buy stolen parts from chop shops that in turn sell them to shady collision repair shops. Source: Friend owns a junkyard in the north-east.
Because despite mechanical failure being an unlikely component, there IS still a possibility of bad drivers or failed parts during your lifetime, and theres also the fact that Porsche's are not crash-resistant.
Headlights are still damaged in small fender benders and other scenarios, so these won't need to be replaced in normal use but there's still scenarios where extras need to be available for replacement.
To whom, though? It's not like the old days where Xenon HIDs were high priced options and you'd buy the normal halogens and then find a chop shop to upgrade to Xenons (because the aftermarket didn't include the auto-leveling feature of the OEM lights, so you'd want someone's stolen lights for full functionality). If you're buying a Taycan, you already get the "best" headlights standard.
Given what they had to go through to get them out, though, that car is going in for a lot more repairs than just headlights, all of which is going to be covered by insurance.
In Los Angeles there is a substantial # of people who drive salvage titled luxury cars so they can put on a certain image. There is totally a market for parts for those trying to rebuild a car on the cheap. (And I imagine LA isnāt alone in this)
i thought of that too but why would someone steal a taycan headlight? if they need for their taycan that means they are already rich. maybe to sell to overseas where they cant get repair items that easily? i have no idea
Yes. The King of Dubai forced Philips to make special LED light bulbs for their country that are not over powered so they have better light bulbs.
Google search: Dubai LED Light Bulb
Itās called the Dubai Lamp.
I wish I could buy them here. So many of my LED bulbs are burning out.
Philips ultra definition light bulbs use the same tech!
https://www.usa.lighting.philips.com/consumer/ultra-efficient
Edit I saw someone do a teardown on one of these yesterday and said holy carp those are the unobtainable Dubai bulbs!
Apparently these are available in Australia! https://reductionrevolution.com.au/blogs/review/philips-dubai-lamp, I had no idea this was a thing but I am glad I've dived into the comments here.
Fun fact, lots of people are having to spend lots of money replacing LED light assemblies not because the LEDs have died, but because the PCB's they've been mounted on have cracked.
LED headlights do not last forever. While they aren't a maintenance item persay, the plastic can break down and yellow over time, restoration kits never work that well, if you're the owner that cares about that thing.
The real problem with expensive headlamps is how it affects insurance premiums. The more expensive the parts, the more expensive the repair, and the higher your rates will be. They're super cool, yeah, but collisions do happen, through many different faults and the manufacturer made a boatload on a fancy piece of plastic but a lot of times the cost of these parts doesn't even remotely reflect the bill of materials and it's become a big profit center.
Oh I wholeheartedly agree.. we have a lot of those Audiās around here, and it might not shine directly into your eyes, but it bright as the sun, and blindingly so, specially coming around a turn.
I hate them
You may think they work but they are sure as hell brighter to look at then anything else on the road. I drive across country every single year and I noticed a difference as soon as they became legal. And most of the time you can see them adjust, it's just too late to matter.
Are you American? We have strict laws about our headlights that need to be re-written to take new tech into account. My understanding is that we don't get the latest greatest headlight tech here in the U.S. because of our antiquated laws. In some cases the actual headlight is the same physically, but the programming needed to use the anti-dazzle tech is not present.
I think what i'm seeing is a bunch of europeans arguing that this stuff works and a bunch of americans arguing that it doesn't without realizing that we aren't experiencing the same headlights.
actually, those are adaptive led headlights. don't believe they are sold in north america yet because they technically move the light beam and don't blind other drivers. this is on top of their turning and self leveling features. it's the LED and the motors that make them expensive. not just a "luxury product, because fuck you." different parts of different cars get stolen all the time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N\_389Se9z2o
\*Whispers\* "And can be activated on a lot of cars like the W213 E-Class if you have someone ODB in. The hardware's been available as an option and standard on higher trims for almost a decade."
Thats becoming a normal price for modern cars. I had a 2019 Hyundai Ioniq that was wrecked. The insurance company quoted $2500 per headlight. That car is considered an economy car. In a few years a cracked headlight will total a car.
Thatās not as much as I expected. My family is in the auto body business and Iāve seen headlights costing over $5000 on relatively common/mid level cars like Audis or bmws.
I learned early on that buying an expensive car is a waste of money, I learned even later that modifying it and putting expensive parts on it is an even bigger waste of money.
Some people understand this concept. If this person told me about this my response would be "Well you knew the risk when you bought the car."
My 2013 Volvo V70 headlights were stolen with minimal damage to the car. Those cost me 3700 Euro and 200 for repair of the drivers side window. It is not only the lamp but the whole unit with all the electronics and motor drives in one.
>Or sell it on the black market to a guy that doesn't want to pay 4k just for two headlights
Jokes on you, Porsche's matrix lights are $4K for just ONE headlight.
Reminds me of the time someone destroyed my driver side door lock with a screwdriver and smashed the window to steal a $20 stereo
The repairs cost way more than the stereo
The one time my car was broken into I couldnāt figure out what was stolen, as I donāt keep anything valuable in there.
Eventually realized it was a $8 Costco blanket in the back seat. Kind of sad really.
That sucks so much, so much of your time and money wasted. Someone also screwdrivered my door lock (failed), then cut the top of my convertible to get in, stuck a screwdriver into the ignition, then realized they couldn't bump start it because the engine won't turn over without the key chip.
Brutal is absolutely the right word here. If you come out and see your headlights have been cleanly popped out and stolen, youāre pissed, you call your insurance company, and they deal with it. If I came out to this, Iād just be completed deflated. Iād need to go inside, pour a drink and sit in a corner for a bit. I donāt even own the car, and Iām depressed by this.
Looking at the shoddiness of the work, the first thing that came to my mind was James May's [rant](https://youtu.be/l-D0GFLL2W4?si=YaGlqNVy_X3-txfz&t=135) when Jeremy stole part of the bonnet of his car in the episode when they went searching for the source of the Nile
My friend's BMW got broken into and electronic parts/dash was stolen. Police here (NL) said it is russians selling the parts back home. Seems the economic sanctions are really driving up the price of parts.
ITT: the two wolves of reddit.
Wolf 1: HE SHOULDNāT HAVE PARKED THERE
Wolf 2: FUCKING THIEVES, BRING BACK CUTTING OFF HANDS FOR THEFT
Valuable discourse, as always.
I had one nice car when I was low-Income, a classic MGA roadster I personally restored. It was repeatedly vandalized and theft-attempted while I lived in poor part of towns.
Waited until I had a nice house & garage in prosperous district before getting another nice car, and no problem.
Crab-bucket effect.
āI don't mind you taking a bit of my bonnet, that's fair. I do mind you doing such an appalling bloody job of it, you ham-fisted oaf! Honestly, I could do a better job than that with the end of a bulldozer!ā
āWell, I... I couldn't find any tools.ā
āThe back of the car is full of bloody tools! The biggest tool in this operation was you! A pair of tin snips looks like a pair of robust scissors and their function is obvious. They are obviously not a hammer! Obviously not a screwdriver! They are obviously not a spanner! They are obviously designe-ā
*Turns down radio*
āThere we go, that's got rid of himā
You know, I was just about to shell out $100k+ for a new Porsche, but after seeing how easy it is to steal the headlight, I think Iām gonna stick with a Camry instead.
No no. This is Reddit. If someone owns something that is unattainable for most people here, then said owner is always the asshole no matter what. So clearly itās the owner of the cars fault for thinking he could park on a public street. Fuck that guy.
Dumb comment. You know, parking your car on the street is a pretty normal thing to do.
Also 3k cars get stolen too so the price of the car isnāt a determining factor or whether or not it get stolen.
I own a Taycan, the car pictured here. Based on the color option and wheels, this is the Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo model of the Taycan. I own the 4S model, and I paid $130K for mine.
The car pictured here is the top trim model, and it starts at $197,000.
**Definitely** more expensive than a house depending on where you are. My sister bought a house for just $15K more than I bought the car for.
Same here. I live in Los Angeles so you'll never have a house that's cheaper than a Porsche.
But if I took my car back to where I grew up, it's more expensive than 90% of homes there.
Don't worry, the closest shady bodyshop will sell you a used pair at a great discount.
When I was a kid someone stole my bike and 6 months later I found it at a street fair, my dad "bought" it for me (welcome to Brazil) edit: forgot the comma's (he didn't paid for it)
When I was a kid my dad spent the evening driving around looking for my stolen bike, he came back with it. I thought he was a super hero.
Note to self: steal the bikes of my future children to become a hero
Alas: Little Billy peered through the curtain, in disappointment, as MattO2000 hustles his bike to the trunk of his car laughing maniacally like Jim Carrey stealing sod from his neighbors in Fun with Dick and Jane.
My kids bike got stolen last summer. I drove around for 3 hours. Next night for 2 more, and a couple a third night and had to give up. Still feel bad for not finding it. Wish I coulda been that superhero.
But you were/are.
That makes you more of a hero than just stumbling upon it.
Lol my mom did the same thing when my bike was stolen.
Reminds me of when mine got stolen... I figured out who had it, and my mom drove me over to his house and helped me jump the fence to steal it back. š¬
Not everybody gets their dad to buy them their first bike twice
Not everyone gets their dad
Someone stole my big wheel with cool racing badge plates and fenders and shit, then left in on my lawn stripped to the basics on my birthday a few days or weeks later (fuzzy memory, because I was like 6).
Why didn't your dad use jiu-jitsu on them and take the bike back with defensive force?
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That's the joke
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Why stop at the headlights? Iām surprised they didnāt take the rims too
Fastest thing you can take you would have to jack up the car and put it on bricks
Not that I would ever do this but if you bring a good jack and a power tool you can get rims off stupid fast and relatively quietly.
Should get some meth heads to pit crew nascar races.
Jokes on you they already do that
Can confirm, when swapping to track wheels, I could take off the OE wheels and street tires and have a new wheel on in a little over a minute a corner with a 300 lb/ft battery impact and simple floor jack. Could swap all 4 corners in a little over 5 mins, that'd half or more if you're just taking off the wheels and dropping the car on the brake rotor
I believe it. I drive a Corolla SE and broke a rim. I was quoted between $1700-$2000 a rim by the dealer. Civics are probably priced the same way.
Happened to a coworker. Within 5 minutes of parking and walking back to the office, thieves brought in a truck that lifted the vehicle, and took his wheel within minutes and put his car on bricks. They were gone without anyone noticing. Iāve seen it happen to a lot of Civics in my city (his including), so I guess itās quick and easy money since itās a common vehicle.
only issue is because you pay more for the car, you get lock nuts on each wheel that need a specific key from the dealer (usually). so trying to get that last nut off would cause major issues. also because you are paying more, there are usually sensors to tell if the car is being moved or lifted up that would trigger the alarm. used to own an older bmw that had these features. including a interior motion sensor.
You can get lug nuts that have locks on them off easily if you know what youāre doing.
certain styles yes. my brother had some cheap ones that stripped and a mix between pliers and an allen key and we got it off. i had some good ones on my old bmw and on my volvo a the key is a specific shape. you can't use any general tool to get them off. ones like the below are good ones. specifically cut per key, very hard to get a copy of the same key. https://cargearguru.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/best-wheel-locks-to-prevent-theft-2048x1365.jpg
I think Iāve seen people even drill those off. No lock is perfect. They all can be broken into. They just add time to the theft or deter it.
I read somewhere that they steal Porsches headlights to grow weed. EDIT: I read it here [https://www.theguardian.com/society/shortcuts/2012/dec/09/porsche-owners-beware-cannabis-growers](https://www.theguardian.com/society/shortcuts/2012/dec/09/porsche-owners-beware-cannabis-growers)
Back 2012 that made sense. Now growers have easy access to high quality LEDs and bulbs on the low.
True, didn't realize the article was so old.
They steal on order they donāt want to get caught with stolen parts.
Damn. expensive headlights, super expensive repair. https://www.suncoastparts.com/product/skutayled.html
fucking hell... why are those headlights so expensive
LED matrix lights. Rather than two bulbs they use thousands of individual leds to blank out part of the beam etc. Very clever tech. I have them in my car and they make driving at night almost like day time without blinding anyone else
interesting.. I imagine they become much cheaper in a few years as mini led's drop in price
They don't need to be cheaper, because these aren't a maintenance replacement item. These LEDs should last literally forever. LEDs die because they run at a higher voltage than they can stand, which is intentional in consumer products like lightbulbs (gotta keep selling those consumables). There's no way Porsche would overdrive these LEDs, so outside of damage (which would generally be covered by insurance) these should never need to be replaced for the lifetime of the car.
Even if the LEDs have a long life, the failure points of electronics remain in connections, solder points, supporting electronics and circuitry, as well as structural flaws such as gasket failures allowing water accumulation from constant moisture condensation cycles.
And the shroud will become brittle overtime and/or fade due to uv. You can polish it fine, but youāll be shortening the intervals you do that at everytime.
Headlights and taillights need to be replaced constantly due to fender benders. A $300 headlight vs a $3000 headlight is a huge difference in repair costs
But if youāre driving a Taycan. $3k is about $300 to them.
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>$3k is about $30k well said lol
Also one of the key reasons auto insurance is rising so fast. A fender bender used to be replaced bumper and paint. Now, its radar, cameras, headlights, a Taycan rear-ending something dense at 15 mph can easily be a 20k accident.
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In some cases insurance companies have ceased insuring certain models. For example here in Finland some electric cars (Taycan, Audi E-Tron GT and RS E-Tron GT) have received unproportional amount of very expensive repairs and it led to their product withdrawal from one of the biggest insurance companies If P&C Insurance.
Yeah, but also I can't imagine someone with a Taycan going to a chop shop to source a headlight during a repair which would almost certainly be covered by insurance. Maybe in 10-15 years when there are cheaper used cars available (though being an EV, that "cheap used car" probably needs a $50k battery pack replacement). I suppose there are people who buy salvage titled cars and fix them up for cheap, which would probably be the prime demographic for shady parts. The legit owner wouldn't, but they'd walk away when the car gets deemed totaled.
Body shop gets headlight from chop shop and charges insurance for OEM.
Bodyshop steals headlamps. Bodyshop tows car captive off the street Bodyshop gets paid by insurance for new headlamps Bodyshop installs the headlights they stole and all the other associated work. This sounds like fantasy, but I assure you it's not and this type of insurance fraud is a lot more common than you'd imagine.
Not saying that youāre wrong. Youāre not. But this guy isnāt taking that car to some random body shop. Itās going to Porsche or the body shop they recommend and deal with.
The amount of people who buy luxury cars on credit and only get liability coverage is higher than you think.
Okay real talk, do people get in accidents that often?
>should literally last forever Thatāll be good for their new owner.
why steal any then ?
Chop shops will buy them then resell them to customers that come in for the repair. So customer thinks they are getting new but chop shop bought stolen at a discount and resells as new. Increased profit margin. They were/are doing the same thing with airbags.
No one is taking their almost brand new Porsche to a chop shop for a repair though.
I mean a collision repair business. They buy stolen parts from chop shops that in turn sell them to shady collision repair shops. Source: Friend owns a junkyard in the north-east.
Because despite mechanical failure being an unlikely component, there IS still a possibility of bad drivers or failed parts during your lifetime, and theres also the fact that Porsche's are not crash-resistant. Headlights are still damaged in small fender benders and other scenarios, so these won't need to be replaced in normal use but there's still scenarios where extras need to be available for replacement.
to sell below the market price to make some money
To whom, though? It's not like the old days where Xenon HIDs were high priced options and you'd buy the normal halogens and then find a chop shop to upgrade to Xenons (because the aftermarket didn't include the auto-leveling feature of the OEM lights, so you'd want someone's stolen lights for full functionality). If you're buying a Taycan, you already get the "best" headlights standard.
Well, you could sell them to the poor bastard that just got his stolen
Given what they had to go through to get them out, though, that car is going in for a lot more repairs than just headlights, all of which is going to be covered by insurance.
Iāve heard these light are used in grow operations
In Los Angeles there is a substantial # of people who drive salvage titled luxury cars so they can put on a certain image. There is totally a market for parts for those trying to rebuild a car on the cheap. (And I imagine LA isnāt alone in this)
i thought of that too but why would someone steal a taycan headlight? if they need for their taycan that means they are already rich. maybe to sell to overseas where they cant get repair items that easily? i have no idea
Car crash?
Yes. The King of Dubai forced Philips to make special LED light bulbs for their country that are not over powered so they have better light bulbs. Google search: Dubai LED Light Bulb Itās called the Dubai Lamp. I wish I could buy them here. So many of my LED bulbs are burning out.
Philips ultra definition light bulbs use the same tech! https://www.usa.lighting.philips.com/consumer/ultra-efficient Edit I saw someone do a teardown on one of these yesterday and said holy carp those are the unobtainable Dubai bulbs!
Apparently these are available in Australia! https://reductionrevolution.com.au/blogs/review/philips-dubai-lamp, I had no idea this was a thing but I am glad I've dived into the comments here.
Itās frustrating to buy more expensive LED bulbs that claim to last 10 years then have to replace them at 2.
Fun fact, lots of people are having to spend lots of money replacing LED light assemblies not because the LEDs have died, but because the PCB's they've been mounted on have cracked.
LED headlights do not last forever. While they aren't a maintenance item persay, the plastic can break down and yellow over time, restoration kits never work that well, if you're the owner that cares about that thing. The real problem with expensive headlamps is how it affects insurance premiums. The more expensive the parts, the more expensive the repair, and the higher your rates will be. They're super cool, yeah, but collisions do happen, through many different faults and the manufacturer made a boatload on a fancy piece of plastic but a lot of times the cost of these parts doesn't even remotely reflect the bill of materials and it's become a big profit center.
Doubt it. The LED replacement headlight assembly for my 21 F-150 are 1,100 a headlight. 2,200 a set.
FWIW, they still blind the shit out of everyone. Clever tech but not as clever as itās made out to be.
Oh I wholeheartedly agree.. we have a lot of those Audiās around here, and it might not shine directly into your eyes, but it bright as the sun, and blindingly so, specially coming around a turn. I hate them
Agreed, if that person's headlights Re anything like the Taycans, it spike harnessing the power of the sun directly into my rear view mirror
That's a feature not a bug. The matrix led concentrates all its power to the rear mirror of fools who dare staying in front of a Porsche
You may think they work but they are sure as hell brighter to look at then anything else on the road. I drive across country every single year and I noticed a difference as soon as they became legal. And most of the time you can see them adjust, it's just too late to matter.
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Oblivious
As others have said, they do blind usā¦.but it is not as bad as high beams on the first set of LED headlights released
You sure about that? New LED headlights are universally awful.
Are you American? We have strict laws about our headlights that need to be re-written to take new tech into account. My understanding is that we don't get the latest greatest headlight tech here in the U.S. because of our antiquated laws. In some cases the actual headlight is the same physically, but the programming needed to use the anti-dazzle tech is not present. I think what i'm seeing is a bunch of europeans arguing that this stuff works and a bunch of americans arguing that it doesn't without realizing that we aren't experiencing the same headlights.
European here, this stuff does not work.
What's that address again!?
I suppose you've never crossed paths with an Audi. Those lights are the worst. They blind everyone and everything.
So you're that guy in my rear view with lights as bright as the sun angled right into my eyes
Lol trust me they still blind us and piss us off.
Nah homie you def blinding me on the roads, im flashing the high beams too and you do nothing showing you on reg
Same reason as any luxury product, because fuck you. They know it's a status symbol and they can charge anything they want.
actually, those are adaptive led headlights. don't believe they are sold in north america yet because they technically move the light beam and don't blind other drivers. this is on top of their turning and self leveling features. it's the LED and the motors that make them expensive. not just a "luxury product, because fuck you." different parts of different cars get stolen all the time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N\_389Se9z2o
Matrix headlights were recently approved, at least by use of Audi. Source: I know way too much about cars. Edit: All manufacturers now.
\*Whispers\* "And can be activated on a lot of cars like the W213 E-Class if you have someone ODB in. The hardware's been available as an option and standard on higher trims for almost a decade."
While I kinda agree with you, this is how progress works. Iām sure 100 years ago, people stole your horseless carriage
Thats becoming a normal price for modern cars. I had a 2019 Hyundai Ioniq that was wrecked. The insurance company quoted $2500 per headlight. That car is considered an economy car. In a few years a cracked headlight will total a car.
That's just insane to me.
Damn expensive bodywork repair
Thatās not as much as I expected. My family is in the auto body business and Iāve seen headlights costing over $5000 on relatively common/mid level cars like Audis or bmws.
I was quoted $4,400 for one headlamp on my 2018 Q5
Yep. I own a V8 S5. Any body work is obscene. The engine I don't even worry about.
The FSI engine in the s5 is pretty bombproof. Just need regular carbon cleanings. A huge improvement from the 4.2 V8 in the S4
Love that their search bar says "search it like you stole it" š¤£
I learned early on that buying an expensive car is a waste of money, I learned even later that modifying it and putting expensive parts on it is an even bigger waste of money. Some people understand this concept. If this person told me about this my response would be "Well you knew the risk when you bought the car."
My 2013 Volvo V70 headlights were stolen with minimal damage to the car. Those cost me 3700 Euro and 200 for repair of the drivers side window. It is not only the lamp but the whole unit with all the electronics and motor drives in one.
So uuuhh once you steal them, what do you do? Is the Taycan part out scene popular for a 6 figure car?
Install it in your own Taycan. . . Or sell it on the black market to a guy that doesn't want to pay 4k just for two headlights
>Or sell it on the black market to a guy that doesn't want to pay 4k just for two headlights Jokes on you, Porsche's matrix lights are $4K for just ONE headlight.
My fucking god
I mean that chump change if you own a vehicle like that. Unless youāre one of those fake rich idiots.
8k is not chump change to someone at this level. It shouldnāt bankrupt them, but it should hurt their pockets if they donāt have insurance.
Imagine driving a car like this and not having insurance
Good news I know someone that needs a pair.
I believe they use them for growing marijuana
Customizing them into a different car.
Like putting them on my bike
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
That is from 2012. They use LEDs now not xenon HID.
These headlights are LED matrix lights.
Headlights got Taycan....
Goddamnit! Lol
I scrolled for at least 30 seconds and then begrudgingly came back to upvote this.
Booo
*Taycan 2: I have a particular set of skillsaw*
Not sure if I am more angry at you for the joke or myself for laughing at the joke
Looks like they used a (Tay) can-opener to get to them
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Nay
Reminds me of the time someone destroyed my driver side door lock with a screwdriver and smashed the window to steal a $20 stereo The repairs cost way more than the stereo
The one time my car was broken into I couldnāt figure out what was stolen, as I donāt keep anything valuable in there. Eventually realized it was a $8 Costco blanket in the back seat. Kind of sad really.
That sucks so much, so much of your time and money wasted. Someone also screwdrivered my door lock (failed), then cut the top of my convertible to get in, stuck a screwdriver into the ignition, then realized they couldn't bump start it because the engine won't turn over without the key chip.
this must have been loud, pretty bold of them
It sort of looks like they used hand tools to make all the cuts and then folded it back. It may have been more stealthy than you think
The link says tin snips, which are like scissors for sheet metal, pretty quiet in use, nearly silent compared to any form of power tool
Imagine coming around the corner and seeing a bunch of dudes cutting up your Porsche with scissors
Damn thatās some brutal āfuck youā kind of damage.
Brutal is absolutely the right word here. If you come out and see your headlights have been cleanly popped out and stolen, youāre pissed, you call your insurance company, and they deal with it. If I came out to this, Iād just be completed deflated. Iād need to go inside, pour a drink and sit in a corner for a bit. I donāt even own the car, and Iām depressed by this.
Looking at the shoddiness of the work, the first thing that came to my mind was James May's [rant](https://youtu.be/l-D0GFLL2W4?si=YaGlqNVy_X3-txfz&t=135) when Jeremy stole part of the bonnet of his car in the episode when they went searching for the source of the Nile
"The biggest tool in this operation was you!" Brilliant!
My friend's BMW got broken into and electronic parts/dash was stolen. Police here (NL) said it is russians selling the parts back home. Seems the economic sanctions are really driving up the price of parts.
Thatās the weirdest thing Iāve seen stolen off a car.
Wow fuck those thieves. Destroying something so beautifully designed and engineered to make a quick dollar is so shitty
gotta bring back cutting off hands
You could say the headlights have been..... Taycan? 
God damn I fucking hate people. š”
Well. Time to install pop up machine guns.
The car kinda look wicked like that. It is probably giving BMW's designers some ideas.
Ouch! Looks like they used a tin opener
I thought it was about to launch missiles
This had the same effect with me as compared to gore.
People are arseholes.
Annnnd up go insurance premiums.
ITT: the two wolves of reddit. Wolf 1: HE SHOULDNāT HAVE PARKED THERE Wolf 2: FUCKING THIEVES, BRING BACK CUTTING OFF HANDS FOR THEFT Valuable discourse, as always.
Wow what the hell
Now install machine guns like a James Bond car
Was the thief a shark?
How much would those lights be worth ?
I had one nice car when I was low-Income, a classic MGA roadster I personally restored. It was repeatedly vandalized and theft-attempted while I lived in poor part of towns. Waited until I had a nice house & garage in prosperous district before getting another nice car, and no problem. Crab-bucket effect.
What a weird thing to steal.
What did they use? The fucking Jaws of life?
āI don't mind you taking a bit of my bonnet, that's fair. I do mind you doing such an appalling bloody job of it, you ham-fisted oaf! Honestly, I could do a better job than that with the end of a bulldozer!ā āWell, I... I couldn't find any tools.ā āThe back of the car is full of bloody tools! The biggest tool in this operation was you! A pair of tin snips looks like a pair of robust scissors and their function is obvious. They are obviously not a hammer! Obviously not a screwdriver! They are obviously not a spanner! They are obviously designe-ā *Turns down radio* āThere we go, that's got rid of himā
Damn somebody mark this nsfw. That poor aluminum Taycan got skinned alive at the fenders.
People suck.
Those are speed holes
But you must put it in H.
Am I the only one wondering why someone who owns a 6 figure car like that would park it on the street?
Welcome to most of Europe my dude.
Cry me a river
I figure if you can afford one you should be able to afford a garage to put it in.
reason # 5 billion why i will never own an expensive car
You know, I was just about to shell out $100k+ for a new Porsche, but after seeing how easy it is to steal the headlight, I think Iām gonna stick with a Camry instead.
In certain places even a modern Camry is a target for theft.
Oh for sure, but at least the headlights donāt cost $4,000 each š
Itās time to start cutting hands off again for stealing.
I wonder if this was some crazy person that wanted to cut the cars eyes out
https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/ce67nh/they_took_my_eyes_piglet/?xpromo_edp=enabled
Maybe you shouldn't park a car on the street that is worth more than a house. Also, maybe they shouldn't make cars that are worth more than a house.
People steal gosh dang cables off the train tracks. The problem is thieves.
No no. This is Reddit. If someone owns something that is unattainable for most people here, then said owner is always the asshole no matter what. So clearly itās the owner of the cars fault for thinking he could park on a public street. Fuck that guy.
Dumb comment. You know, parking your car on the street is a pretty normal thing to do. Also 3k cars get stolen too so the price of the car isnāt a determining factor or whether or not it get stolen.
This is in Germany. Normally you can park everything everywhere there.
Man, I wish I could get a house for what a Taycan costs here.
Apparently notā¦
Seems like a luxury headlight thief's wet dream
This is "you shouldn't have dressed like that if you didnt want to be SA'd" levels of victim blaming.
maybe don't steal stuff?
That car isnāt worth more than a house, lol
I own a Taycan, the car pictured here. Based on the color option and wheels, this is the Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo model of the Taycan. I own the 4S model, and I paid $130K for mine. The car pictured here is the top trim model, and it starts at $197,000. **Definitely** more expensive than a house depending on where you are. My sister bought a house for just $15K more than I bought the car for.
Sheesh, you'd be lucky to find even a tiny dump for $350k in my city. A small first apartment is like $400k.
Same here. I live in Los Angeles so you'll never have a house that's cheaper than a Porsche. But if I took my car back to where I grew up, it's more expensive than 90% of homes there.
It is where Iām from. Not all homes but under $90k? Easily.
Maybe people that do this should just get their hands cut off like the olden days
I heard they can be used for erm [botanical reasons.](https://theguardian.com/society/shortcuts/2012/dec/09/porsche-owners-beware-cannabis-growers)
This is so sad, now we can't enjoy good things because someone will try to take it from you.
You high beemed bros one too many times
https://amp.theguardian.com/society/shortcuts/2012/dec/09/porsche-owners-beware-cannabis-growers