New BMW's getting stolen using blank BMW keys
Discussion
Matgoodwin said:
I have no idea where this guy is getting his info but he knows what he is talking about. It was my 123D stolen from Sandwell and Dudley station yesterday!
Out of interest how long did you have the car? Did you get it from Sytner?Mine was taken from Cradley Train station last month so I understand how you feel. Although mine was recovered the next day, I now get a lift to the train station instead of parking as I dont want to risk losing it again.
TX1 said:
Like I said Mat most posts are genuine and I was not referring to yours as it is obvious from your previous explanation that yours is for real.
Why would people make up that there car is stolen?? 
I like many others found this thread whilst searching the web for stolen BMWs in the west midlands.
Its not the people claiming they have 1 car stolen that I have particular issue with, its the people posting stories about the amount of cars being taken. For example one particular poster claimed an Albanian gang had been running a fleet of 30 tow trucks to steal cars, with no shred of evidence posted to back this up. 30 trucks! Thats an extremely large operation!
Also the people posting various claims about grabbers and blockers etc and how its done. Thats what I have the issue with. Some people have posted reliable information but until its corroborated I remain cynical
Also the people posting various claims about grabbers and blockers etc and how its done. Thats what I have the issue with. Some people have posted reliable information but until its corroborated I remain cynical
kcooperman said:
Matgoodwin said:
I have no idea where this guy is getting his info but he knows what he is talking about. It was my 123D stolen from Sandwell and Dudley station yesterday!
Out of interest how long did you have the car? Did you get it from Sytner?Mine was taken from Cradley Train station last month so I understand how you feel. Although mine was recovered the next day, I now get a lift to the train station instead of parking as I dont want to risk losing it again.
TX1 said:
Like I said Mat most posts are genuine and I was not referring to yours as it is obvious from your previous explanation that yours is for real.
Why would people make up that there car is stolen?? I like many others found this thread whilst searching the web for stolen BMWs in the west midlands.
Matgoodwin said:
I've had the car for about a year. It was a private sale, not from a dealer. What had they done to yours? I'm not holding out much hope that mine will be intact if it's ever found.
Just broken window. Car flagged up on motorway cameras so police were able to track it down.Seems that cars are most at risk at train stations as most people leave it there all day whilst at work.
I am a reader rather than a poster, but I wanted to break my lurking habit to say that I think I have been a victim last night. I have an E61 525d MSport, came to it this morning with the drivers door not shut properly, when I opened it I was amazed that my steering wheel and airbag have gone! They have left the bolt though.
The glove box was open and the service pack on the seat, so I can only guess they wanted the car, but realised that as it is a 2005 model it still has the blade as part of the key so using the OBD port to make a new key will not work.
The other thing I thought of is they could already have a stolen MSport so wanted my steering wheel and service book to clone and sell another car. I have not checked to see if the service book is there, I am waiting for the Police to check it over first.
No idea how they got in, no damage to the windows, it has not been near the main dealer for ages so I dont think the details were from there, but they must have tracked my car down as no other car was targetted.
This is my first and last BMW I think!
The glove box was open and the service pack on the seat, so I can only guess they wanted the car, but realised that as it is a 2005 model it still has the blade as part of the key so using the OBD port to make a new key will not work.
The other thing I thought of is they could already have a stolen MSport so wanted my steering wheel and service book to clone and sell another car. I have not checked to see if the service book is there, I am waiting for the Police to check it over first.
No idea how they got in, no damage to the windows, it has not been near the main dealer for ages so I dont think the details were from there, but they must have tracked my car down as no other car was targetted.
This is my first and last BMW I think!
minipickup said:
The other thing I thought of is they could already have a stolen MSport so wanted my steering wheel and service book to clone and sell another car. I have not checked to see if the service book is there, I am waiting for the Police to check it over first.
Very sorry to hear this.They'll have taken the steering wheel because airbag's are worth decent money, they cost a lot to replace. If someone has has a minor accident and the airbag's gone off they need to buy a new steering wheel and airbag.......
These scum but they also know what they are doing. Basically since I suppose the late 90's when car theft was made much harder by manufacturers fitting (what we thought) were decent alarms and immobilisers they've concetrated on stealing parts like bumpers, catalytic converters, airbags and wheels...obv now they have gone back to stealing cars but in your case they went back to stealing parts.
Cheib said:
minipickup said:
The other thing I thought of is they could already have a stolen MSport so wanted my steering wheel and service book to clone and sell another car. I have not checked to see if the service book is there, I am waiting for the Police to check it over first.
Very sorry to hear this.They'll have taken the steering wheel because airbag's are worth decent money, they cost a lot to replace. If someone has has a minor accident and the airbag's gone off they need to buy a new steering wheel and airbag.......
These scum but they also know what they are doing. Basically since I suppose the late 90's when car theft was made much harder by manufacturers fitting (what we thought) were decent alarms and immobilisers they've concetrated on stealing parts like bumpers, catalytic converters, airbags and wheels...obv now they have gone back to stealing cars but in your case they went back to stealing parts.
Does anyone not use any additional security hardware (disklok) to give these knob jockeys some physical bit of work to do??????
I have never relied on an alarm, in all honesty who really takes note of someones alarm blasting away! In the crap hole I grew up in some took to more physical means of security like a pitbull in the back seat during the evenings, now imaging these b
ds sliding their hand through the window, doubt they would even make it to the OBD port.............that be extreme measure but affective!
I have never relied on an alarm, in all honesty who really takes note of someones alarm blasting away! In the crap hole I grew up in some took to more physical means of security like a pitbull in the back seat during the evenings, now imaging these b
ds sliding their hand through the window, doubt they would even make it to the OBD port.............that be extreme measure but affective! You can train a dog to eat arms and legs and not leather 
But talking about alarms, a TVR parked up out on the road has just triggered it's alarm and no one is taking any notice other than closing there windows to cut out the noise as it has now been going off for 5min and no owner about!
But talking about alarms, a TVR parked up out on the road has just triggered it's alarm and no one is taking any notice other than closing there windows to cut out the noise as it has now been going off for 5min and no owner about!
WeirdNeville said:
n my experience that is not the case - 6 and 7 series have been going, 630d's in particular.
It would be fairly hard to steal a 630d, given that there is no such thing.This is the problem with this thread, it's full of conjecture and guesswork presented as fact to the extent we now have 630d's being nicked. Do they pinch 618i's and 340d's as well?
This looks interesting. Shame it's 300 quid and on during the week
http://conferences.theiet.org/secure-transport/reg...
We are pleased to announce the addition of Chris Vargyas, Senior Project Manager, Secure by Design (SBD) to the day’s programme. Chris will be speaking on Understanding the risks posed by high-tech theft methods in the automotive industry; exploring how thieves are stealing cars without the original key and anticipating new methods that might be used in the future and how you can protect yourself against them.
http://conferences.theiet.org/secure-transport/reg...
We are pleased to announce the addition of Chris Vargyas, Senior Project Manager, Secure by Design (SBD) to the day’s programme. Chris will be speaking on Understanding the risks posed by high-tech theft methods in the automotive industry; exploring how thieves are stealing cars without the original key and anticipating new methods that might be used in the future and how you can protect yourself against them.
Yes this fits with my understanding and first hand experience. Interesting view on key module being fixed id and being "mated" with car system, explains how they get hold of blank keys i.e they don't need them. i wonder if BMW would let you code a universal key if owned multiple cars!
I've read recent adjudication cases (last 3 yrs) by the FS ombudsman where insurance co was not paying out as was claiming must have been taken with unsecured keys, guess they've had to modify this line now.
Knowing what I know now, a good fix for this would be to switch pins around on OBD socket, then make up a male to female OBD lead which reversed them back to standard arrangement at garage time. Could even fit and leave the 100+ Volt inverted AC pin that way !
So this theft is the reverse of normal thefts in that it happens in the best postcode areas rather than the worse !
I've read recent adjudication cases (last 3 yrs) by the FS ombudsman where insurance co was not paying out as was claiming must have been taken with unsecured keys, guess they've had to modify this line now.
Knowing what I know now, a good fix for this would be to switch pins around on OBD socket, then make up a male to female OBD lead which reversed them back to standard arrangement at garage time. Could even fit and leave the 100+ Volt inverted AC pin that way !
So this theft is the reverse of normal thefts in that it happens in the best postcode areas rather than the worse !
ian_cab28 said:
Could even fit and leave the 100+ Volt inverted AC pin that way !!
In all seriousness, a few people have posted suggesting similar. My reluctance would be three fold:1 It's clearly a joke.
2 If you fried a crims device, then they will burn your car/house.
3 If you fried a garages diag machine, you'll be £20-30k out of pocket buying them a new one.
Putting a hidden switch may be safer, as that would just simulate a broken wire.
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