BMW Thefts

[GTIR]

If anyone in the Cambridge area wants to borrow a disklok they are welcome.

I have a Merc so I'm ok. (for now, but I want it back if Mercs get attacked!)

[Thom987]

Surely these key programmers cant be bought for as little as £90?

I thought they were £10k+ meaning your average thief couldnt afford one.

[crocodile tears]

Thom987 said:

Surely these key programmers cant be bought for as little as £90?

I thought they were £10k+ meaning your average thief couldnt afford one.

seen for £100-1000+.. prices range drastically due to nature of the item.

would also need extras in some cases such as blockers and keys

anyone else feel this is turning into a 'how to steal new bmws' educational thread?

[Steffan]

crocodile tears said:

Thom987 said:

Surely these key programmers cant be bought for as little as £90?

I thought they were £10k+ meaning your average thief couldnt afford one.

seen for £100-1000+.. prices range drastically due to nature of the item.

would also need extras in some cases such as blockers and keys

anyone else feel this is turning into a 'how to steal new bmws' educational thread?

There are other threads on this subject on PH. As yet not one has managed to produce any constructive response from BMW, who would appear to be in denial.

My own thoughts are a watchdog type of approach is needed.

Certainly listing the ways in which these thefts are being perpetrated seems to me to be not generally supporting the ripped off owners effectively.

I do hope the constant publicity has the effect of stopping the thefts. Not as yet it hasn't.

[TallbutBuxomly]

Thom987 said:

Surely these key programmers cant be bought for as little as £90?

I thought they were £10k+ meaning your average thief couldnt afford one.

Look at it another way. Even a mere 15k earned for a stolen bmw m1/m3 pays for the kit. Car theft to crims is like any business.

[Atterz]

Wow a car key, keyless entry? What a load of ste.

[crocodile tears]

TallbutBuxomly said:

Thom987 said:

Surely these key programmers cant be bought for as little as £90?

I thought they were £10k+ meaning your average thief couldnt afford one.

Look at it another way. Even a mere 15k earned for a stolen bmw m1/m3 pays for the kit. Car theft to crims is like any business.

indeed, and I imagine many of the guys who do the later pickup or even initial theft are under instruction/are paid to do it.. Many will operate as part of a network.

[robinessex]

Why doesn't someone obtain one of these kits for staring up a BMW without the keys, go into a BMW showroom, and start up one of the new cars on display. That'll get their attention !!

[NelsonR32]

My Response;

Thank you for your online communication dated April 21, 2012. It is disappointing to learn of your concern that there may be a design failure with the BMW keyless fobs. I am sorry for your disappointment in this instance.



BMW products comply with all global safety and security requirements and so they are not easy to steal. We are always endeavouring to stay ahead of the people behind organised vehicle crime. There are many measures in place that guard against electronic attacks on a BMW and software is updated periodically to ensure our vehicles remain secure. BMW and its partners continue to monitor all methods of vehicle theft to ensure our products always remain in the hands of the rightful owner.



Since the introduction of coded keys and other measures, the highest method of vehicle theft remains cases of keys being stolen from a house or from a person, not through key cloning or other electronic measures of crime. Car crime is not unique to BMW either. All manufacturers of premium products are targeted because there is a market for such vehicles either elsewhere in the world or as parts to a disreputable seller. There is not a problem with BMWs. Car crime involves all makes and models and the information that appears to have been imparted thus far is, unhelpful and misguided.



I trust that I have restored your faith in the BMW Marque and that you will decide to go ahead with your future purchase. However, should you require further assistance, please be assured of my full attention.

[johnwlondon]

I just found this thread on the web after having my BMW stolen from the street outside our house last night (27th April).

It was a 2007 BMW 320d Sport Coupe. No keys taken. No sign of broken glass. No keyless entry system.

Very interested to see if this is happening a lot to other people! I'm going to ring BMW on Monday and see what they have to say.

[johnwlondon]

johnwlondon said:

I just found this thread on the web after having my BMW stolen from the street outside our house last night (27th April).

It was a 2007 BMW 320d Sport Coupe. No keys taken. No sign of broken glass. No keyless entry system.

Very interested to see if this is happening a lot to other people! I'm going to ring BMW on Monday and see what they have to say.

I should add that we are in Hounslow in West London.

[CoolHands]

bad news John. Welcome to pistonheads though - we'll help you choose your replacement car

[crocodile tears]

johnwlondon said:

I just found this thread on the web after having my BMW stolen from the street outside our house last night (27th April).

It was a 2007 BMW 320d Sport Coupe. No keys taken. No sign of broken glass. No keyless entry system.

Very interested to see if this is happening a lot to other people! I'm going to ring BMW on Monday and see what they have to say.

its been steadily on the rise since last year and bmw aren't acknowledging it as a problem at the moment.. I imagine until they have a solution - but even then I they will most likely downplay it.

[jonjay]

My insurance company came and gave me an evaluation of my stolen car yesterday. It was a pretty good offer. What he told me during the course of the meeting was very worrying however. He said currently he is making 3 visits a week for stolen BMWs and it won't be long now till the underwriters just say BMWs are just to high risk to insure and premiums go through the roof. Apparently this is a very contentious issue with big name insurers who have spent 25m on payouts to BMW owners alone, much higher than other makes of cars being stolen.

He is full aware of the security issues with BMWs as are the insurance companies. He has seen a lot of cases of them being stolen without keys. Only recently a chap bought a brand new 5 series, took it home to show his family and next morning it vanished!

This problem just isn't there with other manufacturers he went on to say. There is the odd Mercedes here and there going missing. He recommended to me that Audi is the most secure cars, hardly ever get stolen on the same scale as others especially in the same manner we are seeing with BMWs.

So from what the insurance chap told me face to face this will be my first and last BMW. I have done everything to get in touch with right people at BMW to assure me of there security and or give me some indication the problem with get fix to no avail. They lost me as a customer for a good while.

Next car - current short list is Megane RS 250 cup, Audi S4 and Audi S3.

[QuackHandle]

jonjay said:

This problem just isn't there with other manufacturers he went on to say. There is the odd Mercedes here and there going missing. He recommended to me that Audi is the most secure cars, hardly ever get stolen on the same scale as others especially in the same manner we are seeing with BMWs.

What about B7 RS4s? I thought they were still targeted.

[Dave Hedgehog]

QuackHandle said:

jonjay said:

This problem just isn't there with other manufacturers he went on to say. There is the odd Mercedes here and there going missing. He recommended to me that Audi is the most secure cars, hardly ever get stolen on the same scale as others especially in the same manner we are seeing with BMWs.

What about B7 RS4s? I thought they were still targeted.

Thieves just want to earn money, they will 99% of the time take the path of least resistance (unless someones offering big money for a specific model).

Why go to the extra effort of breaking and entering or assaulting people for the keys when you can simply reprogram a BMW in seconds and take as many as you want.

Plus they would be looking at less criminal charges, result

[Zato]

I currently own a 54 reg BMW and have been looking at nearly new 3 series as a replacement. 3weeks ago i received an insurance quote of 450 for the model of BMW i was after. Last night i did a requote and it is now 706. This coupled with leaving it on the streets of London almost certainly means BMW will not be my next car. BMW really need to take action before their brand is destroyed.

[Garvin]

I have read this thread but I'm still unsure just how these thefts are committed? If the car is unlocked (either by jammimng the locking signal or by the owner just leaving the vehicle unlocked) then, yes, key recoding seems to be straightforward if you have the kit and away you go. If the car is locked and the alarm/immobiliser activated does simply breaking a window to gain access to the OBD port still allow key recoding - surely the alarm/immobiliser is still set if the alarm doesn't go off and if the alarm does go off is the engine still immobilised? Or can the key be recoded and also used to open the vehicle/disarm the alarm/immobiliser? In short, if you ensure your vehicle has been successfully locked does this not make things a whole lot more difficult for the thieves?

[Dave Hedgehog]

Garvin said:

I have read this thread but I'm still unsure just how these thefts are committed? If the car is unlocked (either by jammimng the locking signal or by the owner just leaving the vehicle unlocked) then, yes, key recoding seems to be straightforward if you have the kit and away you go. If the car is locked and the alarm/immobiliser activated does simply breaking a window to gain access to the OBD port still allow key recoding - surely the alarm/immobiliser is still set if the alarm doesn't go off and if the alarm does go off is the engine still immobilised? Or can the key be recoded and also used to open the vehicle/disarm the alarm/immobiliser? In short, if you ensure your vehicle has been successfully locked does this not make things a whole lot more difficult for the thieves?

once the keys programmed it is a normal key, it will arm / disarm the alarm

the best thing to do is to make your car more hassle to steal than your neighbours


its the old escape from a bear scenario, you dont need to be able to run faster than a bear, just faster than your friend

[BE57 TOY]

Garvin said:

I have read this thread but I'm still unsure just how these thefts are committed? If the car is unlocked (either by jammimng the locking signal or by the owner just leaving the vehicle unlocked) then, yes, key recoding seems to be straightforward if you have the kit and away you go. If the car is locked and the alarm/immobiliser activated does simply breaking a window to gain access to the OBD port still allow key recoding - surely the alarm/immobiliser is still set if the alarm doesn't go off and if the alarm does go off is the engine still immobilised? Or can the key be recoded and also used to open the vehicle/disarm the alarm/immobiliser? In short, if you ensure your vehicle has been successfully locked does this not make things a whole lot more difficult for the thieves?

If you drill the lock on a BMW the alarm doesn't go off.