Friends car stolen but how?

[Mike Walker]

As above - my friend's BMW 535 was stolen from his driveway the night before last whilst he and his family were asleep indoors

I believe the BM has steering lock, immobiliser and alarm all fitted as standard so how do the thieves do this?

According to the police not the first in the area recently and being stolen to order.

Not looking for trade secrets just interested.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

The equipment you need to do the job will cost you about £400, a lot of the newish BMW's are easy to steal.

 

[martyz]

Technology is such a wonderful thing,perhaps it will be safer to revert back to locks that have no electronic interface.

 

[bolide]

There's a 50-page thread on this topic on Pistonheads with lots of people getting very excited about it

Nick Froome

 

[jefrs]

One "easy" method they use is to break in to the house and take the keys.

Then the gamins push it silently off the drive and then drive it onto a transporter asap.

 

[c63chris]

There have been a number of reported thefts and a lot of threads on E90post. Seems you can use the OBD port to get the car the accept a 'new' key. What I don't understand is how they open the car in the first place without the alarm going off initially.

 

[brucemillar]

Mike

I posted somewhere else on this forum. My three week old BMW M3 was stolen from my drive when locked and alarmed, leaving me with both sets of keys.

First thing the Police asked was "where was it serviced and when" They then asked if the car was delivered back to my home address? Yes it was. My neighbour saw a car drive up, passenger get out, my indicators flash, engine starts and car drives off.

Never proved it was anything to do with the BMW dealership. But the Police did state that this was one of many such thefts they were investigating at the time.

Rather interestingly the car turned up a year later and was sold as stolen recovered with no interior. I got a call from my insurers asking if I was interested in buying it back.

 

[Truffs]

From way I have been told this is potentially a massive problem, buy a key from e bay and you can basically swipe a BMW.

 

[GordonTarling]

My E class estate was stolen in similar manner a week ago - see this thread According the policeman who came to see me, 'they have ways'. If they want the car badly enough, it seems there's little you can do to stop them.

 

[GordonTarling]

Surely doing that will also fire the airbags? Who's going to nick a car with airbags hanging out?

 

[Deleted member 65149]

First I have to say that my Uncle Bob has never stolen a car in his life!

Secondly, I have to ask why people own expensive cars and don't put them in their garage at night? Surely that would make them less susceptible to theft, mainly because the scrote that takes them is less likely to know that the car's there!

 

[GordonTarling]

The equipment you need to do the job will cost you about £400, a lot of the newish BMW's are easy to steal.

A quick Google soon reveals a gizmo that's suitable for 'making' 'Benz and BMW' keys. Be careful folks!

 

[Mike Walker]

Thanks for all the responses - much appreciated - although they won't bring the car back. Scary stuff when you think how much a car like that costs and the hassle that is caused.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

A quick Google soon reveals a gizmo that's suitable for 'making' 'Benz and BMW' keys. Be careful folks!

I'll not broadcast how it's done, but in essence it's a sort of glitch in BMW's software that 'opens the door', so to speak.

 

[MB-BTurbo]

Just go to the front. Put your finger through the kidney left grill second slot on the right. You will feel the SRS airbag sensor that deploys the airbags and unlocks the car for emergency vehicle use. Bobs your uncle, now you have access to the inside reprogramming is easy.

Surprised the Mods haven't removed this post

Sorry I had a bet on with my wife as to whether anyone would take it seriously and after carefully wiggling their fingers in the car report not being able to find it.

We conceded a draw.

 

[martyz]

Probably not,but any owners of BMW's on here might have opened the bonnet to see what
you were on about......I guess we will never know.

 

[bolide]

Probably not,but any owners of BMW's on here might have opened the bonnet to see what
you were on about.

BMW owners never open the bonnet - like using indicators, it is verboten!

Nick Froome

 

[renault12ts]

First I have to say that my Uncle Bob has never stolen a car in his life!

Secondly, I have to ask why people own expensive cars and don't put them in their garage at night? Surely that would make them less susceptible to theft, mainly because the scrote that takes them is less likely to know that the car's there!

Expensive car does not = also having a garage.

 

[Tan]

Secondly, I have to ask why people own expensive cars and don't put them in their garage at night? Surely that would make them less susceptible to theft, mainly because the scrote that takes them is less likely to know that the car's there!

Not everyone has a garage? or may have more expensive cars than garage space.

Certainly in my part of London very few of the houses have garages, a house around the corner from us sold for £1.4 million and that has no garage and unsurprisingly they have expensive cars on the drive.

 

[markjay]

A few years ago a friend's SL55 was driven off the office car park less than 5 minutes after he parked it. It was locked and alarmed and he had both keys. The car was never recovered and he never learnt how the thieves managed to take it.

Also, not everyone has a garage, and even those that do, end up leaving their cars parked in town centres and public car parks from time to time.