BMW M140i stolen off driveway - Cheltenham

[Lando]

cmaguire said:

It reads to me like the car was exactly what they were after. Once in the house whilst one looked for the keys the other had a quick look around for something of value that was quick and easy to remove (cue the jewellery box or cash/phones etc). They had no intention of carting electricals etc back and forth.

Me too.

cmaguire said:

Do you want the Mini ?

tigger1 said:

To the OP - be glad you were out. It's insured metal and can easily be replaced. The buggers having been in the house would be a bigger annoyance to me. Not cool.

Hopefully they stick it into a tree at high speed, but it's more likely to be in bits by now, sold for spares.

Yeah, it's mostly the invasion of privacy and initial shock. Home, castle, etc. Plus the shear amount of ballache and hassle.

[Durzel]

TooMany2cvs said:

Tracker apps, serial numbers...

Depends on the thief really.

I had loads of tech stolen in a burglary, cars untouched. Seems likely it was to fund a drugs habit because that stuff is easy to sell and you don't really have much recourse as the owner.

My brand new MBP was stolen and all I could do was try and remotely wipe it. Apple weren't in the slightest bit interested in "blocking" it in any way, even though I had the original purchase receipt and a crime number etc. I saw it reappear once but I assume now it has been wiped and whoever owns it is enjoying the warranty etc that I paid for.

Even "iCloud locked not stolen honest guv" iPhones sell on eBay consistently.

In the OP's case it's obviously the car they wanted and the jewellery just happened to be seen whilst looking for keys and was easily taken.

Edited by Durzel on Friday 19th January 09:55

[Christmassss]

cmaguire said:

They aren't joyriders. If the car is 'dumped' anywhere then it is temporary to check for tracker. Although these days, with an assumption of a tracker/st BMW factory fit tracking system, it may have gone directly into a building to kill the signal while someone deals with it.

From the OP this stinks of inside knowledge. If it was opportunistic then the thieves will have visited and checked other properties as well, were there any other reported sightings or break-ins/attempts the same night?
And how did they know there was no alarm, the room with patio doors would be an obvious place for a PIR if alarmed. Or a dog. Either would be a major problem on an estate re. getting caught in the act.

Where does it say i said they were Joyriders?

I doubt they are going to the trouble of trying to disable the tracker/connected drive etc, they'd have just dumped it/parked it/left it somewhere and will wait for a few days to see if it gets collected.

[Lando]

Christmassss said:

Where does it say i said they were Joyriders?

I doubt they are going to the trouble of trying to disable the tracker/connected drive etc, they'd have just dumped it/parked it/left it somewhere and will wait for a few days to see if it gets collected.

I want to agree, but as st as the connected drive app is; it does always state where the car is, and report last movement. (Even if it's useless as a tracker). The app still recons the car is on the driveway, unlocked with the drivers door open. It smells like they opened the door, killed it somehow (presume you can do this via idrive or just ripping out the SIM in the boot) then drove off.

Idle speculation at the moment, but it's a way for me to kill the time I guess.

[TooMany2cvs]

Lando said:

I want to agree, but as st as the connected drive app is; it does always state where the car is, and report last movement. (Even if it's useless as a tracker). The app still recons the car is on the driveway, unlocked with the drivers door open. It smells like they opened the door, killed it somehow (presume you can do this via idrive or just ripping out the SIM in the boot) then drove off.

Idle speculation at the moment, but it's a way for me to kill the time I guess.

If it connects via mobile telephony, then all it'd need is a cheap signal blocker inside the car until it can be parked in a handy container/warehouse, no?

[BobSaunders]

Bearing in mind that everyone in Cheltenham only works for GCHQ (they are lying if they say they don't), can't you just get a spy satellite to find out who did it? Joking obviously.

OP sorry to hear this.

[cmaguire]

What does this BMW security suite even do if it was fitted? They haven't found Gavia's motor, and all other things aside, if BMW knew the vehicle was stolen then they would endeavour to locate it if possible.

So it is either useless, or the days of thieves leaving stolen BMWs (etc) parked up and coming back later is long gone.

[MB140]

I’ve not read the whole thread but the bmw connected app is garbage.

However contact the police and mention operation cundhall. It involves filling out a form which release bmw Germany from your right of privacy (German data protection act), they (BMW Germany) can re-activate the gps system without it indicating on the idrive and relocate the car. Hell they can even speak to the criminals via the inbuilt sim card and speakers apparently.


Might be worth a shot if it’s been dumped to see if it has a tracker.

Once it’s in a container your wasting your time the smart criminals will block the signal (gps/mobile) and it’s gone

Edited by MB140 on Friday 19th January 10:09

[Gavia]

Lando said:

I want to agree, but as st as the connected drive app is; it does always state where the car is, and report last movement. (Even if it's useless as a tracker). The app still recons the car is on the driveway, unlocked with the drivers door open. It smells like they opened the door, killed it somehow (presume you can do this via idrive or just ripping out the SIM in the boot) then drove off.

Idle speculation at the moment, but it's a way for me to kill the time I guess.

Here’s my Connected Drive, still saying the car is on my drive. It’s useless for anything other than women who can’t find their car in a car park.

[cmaguire]

Lando said:

I want to agree, but as st as the connected drive app is; it does always state where the car is, and report last movement. (Even if it's useless as a tracker). The app still recons the car is on the driveway, unlocked with the drivers door open. It smells like they opened the door, killed it somehow (presume you can do this via idrive or just ripping out the SIM in the boot) then drove off.

Idle speculation at the moment, but it's a way for me to kill the time I guess.

That answers that question then.
Some £29.99 purchase from eBay or Amazon and BMW's fancy security package is toast.

[Gavia]

MB140 said:

I’ve not read the whole Great but the bmw conn ct s app is garbage.

However contact the police and mention operation cundhall. It involves filling out a form which release bmw Germany from your right of privacy (German data protection act), they (BMW Germany) can re-activate the gps system with hour it indicating on the idrive and rel Cate the car. Hell they can even speak to the criminals via the inbuilt sim card and speakers apparently.

Might be worth a shot if it’s been dumped to see if it has a tracker.

This is the second time someone has mentioned this and my experience is that this is bks. I filled out the form within a few hours of my car being stolen. There has been nothing seen of it in over two weeks. BMW clearly can’t track the car no matter what they claim. Or the scrotes know exactly how to disable it / remove it from the car and do this with ease.

[cmaguire]

Gavia said:

This is the second time someone has mentioned this and my experience is that this is bks. I filled out the form within a few hours of my car being stolen. There has been nothing seen of it in over two weeks. BMW clearly can’t track the car no matter what they claim. Or the scrotes know exactly how to disable it / remove it from the car and do this with ease.

And how likely is that to make said thieves opportunistic wasters on a fishing trip for drug money?

This looks to be done to order to me. Professionals of a sort.

[MB140]

Gavia said:

MB140 said:

I’ve not read the whole Great but the bmw conn ct s app is garbage.

However contact the police and mention operation cundhall. It involves filling out a form which release bmw Germany from your right of privacy (German data protection act), they (BMW Germany) can re-activate the gps system with hour it indicating on the idrive and rel Cate the car. Hell they can even speak to the criminals via the inbuilt sim card and speakers apparently.

Might be worth a shot if it’s been dumped to see if it has a tracker.

This is the second time someone has mentioned this and my experience is that this is bks. I filled out the form within a few hours of my car being stolen. There has been nothing seen of it in over two weeks. BMW clearly can’t track the car no matter what they claim. Or the scrotes know exactly how to disable it / remove it from the car and do this with ease.

There have definitely been cases of it working. There was a thread on babybmw.net where the guy got his car back. Dumped down a backstreet in a nearby town. Assumes the thieves had parked it up and left it to see if it was tracked.

Maybe the criminals have got smart to this and now carry gps jammers. To be honest if I was a car criminal it’s the first thing I would carry as part of my car robbing kit. Along with a mobile phone jammer.

[Wingo]

Might just be worth a look around or ask the neighbours if they have found any keys.

Hoodlums threw sets of keys for vehicles they didn't want to steal into a neighbours front garden 300yards away when they stole a car from my house. Neighbour handed them into the local police station. Got them all back but not until after I had changed the lock set on the most valuable vehicle.

Don't overthink the whys and wherefors, we got robbed on the one night out of 10,000 when we forgot to set the house alarm. Robbery Bob came in the house while we were asleep, took the keys, the car they wanted to steal and nowt else. The little details they looked after to avoid the "issues" they came up against showed that they were not dimwits. Couldn't even tell they had been in the house but the missing car soon came to light.

Its not rocket science to suss out if a house alarm is fitted and working.

Wingo.

[BobSaunders]

Wingo said:

Its not rocket science to suss out if a house alarm is fitted and working.

Wingo.

Our's has a bloody light on to show it is enabled or not!! Snipped the cable to the diode.

Same with the rest of the street - they are all on the same alarm supplied by the house builder.

Luckily ours is aftermarket.

[hotchy]

Nah, id be washing my windows from now on. Clearly to do with the window cleaners or mates. Keep in mind its dodgy daves who are on the dole that window clean with the boss on the side. (ok not all, but there are a few) has to be, only day its unlocked, padlock not a pre brought brick through window. Not even checked the front, so clearly know what cars their from earlier. Id dump them and do my own windows.

[Willy Nilly]

Lando said:

Yeah, it's mostly the invasion of privacy and initial shock. Home, castle, etc. Plus the shear amount of ballache and hassle.

Do the police point you in the direction of any victim support? Having your car nicked of the drive is one thing, it's different when they break in. A man I worked with years ago had his house broken into while he was at work and they nicked everything, including the sheets on his bed. He never did get over it.

[TooMany2cvs]

hotchy said:

only day its unlocked, padlock not a pre brought brick through window.

I wonder how long the gate would hold them back for if it HAD been padlocked?

That apart, sure, the padlock went through the window - but I doubt they'd have left empty-handed if it hadn't been available. They'd simply have used something else handy.

[Swervin_Mervin]

Lando said:

N
I live in a new build estate, and have what I consider as pretty good security. (In a not-being-as-slow-as-the-others-running-from-the-lion kind of way) including CCTV at the back of the house, a Ring doorbell at the front, ABS anti-snap locks, desirable car always blocked in by older car, etc.

Modus Operandi of the fking scum was to wait until we went out for dinner; then enter through the back gate of the house into the garden, which was only unlocked since the window cleaners have been in today. Figures. They smashed the back patio doors in with the huge Masterlock padlock that normally locks the back gate. Stole all car keys, and stuff from upstairs including the jewellery box and a pillowcase (To stash things in!?). They then exited back through the hole they created.

Edited by Lando on Friday 19th January 03:51

Sad to hear about this for you.

This is the exact modus operandi of scumbags round south Manchester at the moment as well. Doesn't matter what level of security some of the places here have - take a large weighty object from the garden and wang it through the french/patio doors.

They're nicking all sorts as well, and more often than not it's not even desirable stuff. Presumably being done for export/parts.

Hope you get sorted out quickly

[cmaguire]

TooMany2cvs said:

I wonder how long the gate would hold them back for if it HAD been padlocked?

That apart, sure, the padlock went through the window - but I doubt they'd have left empty-handed if it hadn't been available. They'd simply have used something else handy.

So that's how it works is it, if there's nothing handy do they just go home?