Thieves target specific luxury Mercedes car to steal an extremely vulnerable part
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Thieves in London have been targeting a specific high-end luxury Mercedes model in a new crime spree involving an extremely vulnerable - and valuable - part.
Video footage has been circulated on social media of six £100,000-plus Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUVs - commonly referred to as 'G-Wagons' - parked on the street in the capital, all of them victim to this crimewave.
The expensive 4X4s, which are immensely popular among celebrities and professional footballers, traditionally have one very exposed component.
It has a value ringing into the thousands of pounds if criminals can prise it from vehicles.
The item in question is the spare wheel. But it's not just the expensive alloy rim the brazen thieves are going after, with the tyres and wheel covers also worth hundreds of pounds.
But as the video footage shows, just one wheel appears to have been successfully removed from the six G-Wagons attacked. That's because Mercedes now fits a part that secures the part on its latest models.
A viral social media video posted earlier this month has shown how 'car cannibal' thieves are now targeting the spare wheels of expensive Mercedes G-Wagons
Instagram account supercarseurope posted the video earlier this month, attracting almost 17,000 likes from viewers.
The clip has also been shared across various other platforms, amassing hundreds of thousands of views and comments.
The footage shows a selection of privately owned expensive Mercedes G-Class SUVs, all of which appear to be parked in affluent parts of the capital.
Each one clearly shows that they've been attacked by thieves attempting to remove the spare wheel.
The Instagram account holder has urged G-Wagon owners to 'be aware' of the new crime wave impacting their motors.
The G-Class is one of the most expensive 4X4s on the market, with prices starting from £140,000 and ranging up to £200,000 for the most exclusive and powerful variants.
These big-budget price tags explain why they have been targeted is the latest instance of what has been dubbed 'locust', cannibal' or 'vulture' thefts.
This relates to when thieves strip cars of the most valuable and easy to remove parts, with vehicles typically attacked at night while parked at the roadside outside owners' houses and even on their driveways.
'Locust' thieves targeting expensive car parts are going after G-Class spare wheels because the combined value of the rim, tyre and wheel cover is worth thousands of pounds
A replacement 22-inch alloy wheel for a range-topping G63 can cost north of £2,000. The unused tyre attached to it is also an expensive item with a market value of northwards of £300. Even the wheel covers are incredibly pricey, costing almost £1,000
These are not recorded as part of motor theft statistics when vehicles are taken; instead, they are accounted for under 'theft from' figures. This means they are recorded alongside instances of mobile phones, laptops and handbags that have been stolen when owners have left them inside their cars.
According to the AA, some 218,431 thefts of this kind were reported in the 12 months ending September 2024.
Other instances of these thefts include Porsches identified and earmarked for their high-powered headlights.
Owners in recent years have returned to their expensive sports cars to find the valuable headlight clusters ripped and carved out of the bodywork, with thieves either selling them as spare parts or - as some reports suggest - to use car lights in cannabis farms.
This is because the intensity of the beam they create is believed to accelerate plant growth.
That makes them prime targets for those linked to wider criminal activity.
The old Land Rover Defender has also been a high-profile focus for car cannibals, with the panels in high demand since production of the 4X4s ended in January 2015.
Due to the simple construction of the old agricultural British off-roader, the bodywork is relatively easy to unbolt, detach and steal without raising alarm.
Porsches have been targeted in recent years for their high-powered headlight clusters
A police Land Rover Defender pictured in 2016 after having been targeted by 'car cannibals' who stripped it of its parts
It now appears that the Mercedes G-Class is the next lucrative option to locust thieves.
This is because a replacement 22-inch alloy wheel for a range-topping G63 can cost north of £2,000.
The unused tyre attached to it is also an expensive item with a market value of northwards of £300.
Even the wheel covers are incredibly pricey. A new cover retails on the Mercedes website for £850 as part of an accessory pack.
Dr Ken German, former head of technology for The Metropolitan Police's stolen car squad and now a vehicle crime consultant, told the Daily Mail and This is Money: 'Locust thieves may simply take wing mirrors, grilles, light clusters, and even badges from a car, though there is always some damage caused by their attacks.
'Too often, however, they are stripping vehicles to a bare shell on the owner's driveway.
'To make matters worse for victims, these attacks aren't recorded as stolen vehicles as only parts were taken - though often leaves people with half a car.'
Only in one instance vulture thefts targeting the Mercedes G-Class - out of six captured in the footage - showed that criminals were successful in removing the spare wheel from a pricey 4X4
Mr German tells us that children as young as 11 have been found responsible for these types of thefts, with evidence indicating that they are being tasked by older, more experienced thieves who order them to target parts such as powered wing mirrors with cameras and headlights, which have a respective market value off £500 and £1,200.
Dr Ken German, former head of technology for The Metropolitan Police's stolen car squad
'Whilst many youngsters have moved on to actually stealing cars, the current ease with which some expensive items can be removed from luxury models has brought about an influx of theft reports of exhaust systems, windscreen, bonnets, boot lids and boot-mounted spare wheels,' Mr German explains.
The Daily Mail and This is Money approached Mercedes-Benz regarding the recent spate of theft attempts made on G-Class spare wheels in London.
A spokeswoman told us that the German car giant is aware of this activity.
'Mercedes-Benz strongly condemns all forms of criminal behaviour,' they said.
'While our vehicles are equipped with a wide range of protective measures, targeted criminal activity can never be ruled out entirely.
'We recommend customers affected by any type of car crime contact the police and their insurance company.'
As clearly seen in this images taken from the footage in London, Mercedes has now equipped the G-Class with a securing locking wheel nut and mechanism to fend off locust thieves
The German luxury auto manufacturer already has a solution to keep the wheel and tyre secure from car cannibals - though not necessarily the covers.
This is because all new versions of the G-Class come with a locking wheel nut for the spare wheel mount.
This is specialist bolt supplied for the specific model that customers can use to remove the wheel when they need it.
This has become a standard fitment across all new vehicles with a boot-mounted spare wheel, such as the Land Rover Defender, as part of the increased efforts by car manufacturers to protect their motors.
New cars sold in Britain today with a rear-mounted spare wheel must have a locking mechanism certified by Thatcham - the company that oversees vehicles safety and security standardisation in the UK, which is funded by insurers.
Ian Curtis, Thatcham Research's vehicle risk assessment specialist told us that if a locking nut or bolt is not present, it can 'result in a higher Vehicle Risk Rating score due to increased theft vulnerability'. This ultimately increases the insurance group of the car, making it more costly to run for prospective owners.
Curtis also told us that owners of older vehicles with boot-mounted spare wheels should 'fit additional locking bolts to secure them' and 'park in a way that restricts access to the rear of the car'.
He added: 'These simple steps can help deter opportunistic theft and protect valuable components.'
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