STOLEN - E46 M3 - West London
Discussion
Obviously I really do sympathise with you, but it really is a schoolboy error to leave your keys around when you have a decent car parked on the drive. It's well publicised that this is a prime method of stealing cars in recent years.
I am constantly going mad at the Mrs for leaving her keys in the lock on the inside of the door.
I am constantly going mad at the Mrs for leaving her keys in the lock on the inside of the door.
Sorry to hear that dude. 2 things though...
Why is the a smiley face emoticon in the title for this thread? Did you want to get rid?
And secondly, this happens to about 3 years ago. Left my keys downstairs, some
s broke into my house stole my car keys, stole my car, joy rided it for 4 hours or so and then wrote it off (it was a lovely seat Leon cupra r, wonderful car sleep well my prince) anyway, now i SLEEP with my keys.
It's harsh but you do learn from your mistakes, you won't do this again. And be grateful in a way it was an E46 M3 that was stolen and nothing worth alot more.
You will not want it back, good luck though. Hope insurance act quickly. Have you got GAP insurance?
Why is the a smiley face emoticon in the title for this thread? Did you want to get rid?
And secondly, this happens to about 3 years ago. Left my keys downstairs, some
s broke into my house stole my car keys, stole my car, joy rided it for 4 hours or so and then wrote it off (it was a lovely seat Leon cupra r, wonderful car sleep well my prince) anyway, now i SLEEP with my keys.It's harsh but you do learn from your mistakes, you won't do this again. And be grateful in a way it was an E46 M3 that was stolen and nothing worth alot more.
You will not want it back, good luck though. Hope insurance act quickly. Have you got GAP insurance?
Sorry to hear. This is why my keys always come with me to bed (not literally) and the spares are kept at the in-laws.
Thing is there's an alternative argument that says you should leave the keys downstairs not on full display but somewhere easy to find. This is to stop a potential car thief having to actually confront you. Although I'd wager they really have the balls (or want their drugs enough etc) to do this...
Thing is there's an alternative argument that says you should leave the keys downstairs not on full display but somewhere easy to find. This is to stop a potential car thief having to actually confront you. Although I'd wager they really have the balls (or want their drugs enough etc) to do this...
You have my sympathy mate.About six years ago i woke to find the lock on the back door busted although no one managed to break in.We called the police and as soon as he turned up he asked is that your evo on the driveway(mitsubish evo 5).Thats what they were after he said.
Only then did it occur to me what an idiot id been to leave my bunch of keys on the kitchen counter over night in full view in the middle of summer!
He told me it is happening all the time and i was very,very lucky they never got the door open.
Since then my keys have spent each night a few inches from my head on my bedside table.And never,ever leave your keys on hooks by the front door.A bent piece of wire through the letterbox is all it takes!
Only then did it occur to me what an idiot id been to leave my bunch of keys on the kitchen counter over night in full view in the middle of summer!
He told me it is happening all the time and i was very,very lucky they never got the door open.
Since then my keys have spent each night a few inches from my head on my bedside table.And never,ever leave your keys on hooks by the front door.A bent piece of wire through the letterbox is all it takes!
acs87 said:
Thanks for the sympathy everyone. What makes it more annoying is that according to the police they didn't break with the intention of steeling my car. My car was in-fact parked about 50 yards from my house further down the street and they would have had no idea the keys were in the house. They initially tried to steel our TV but it is wired through a cupboard so not that easy to move and when they picked it up they knocked over the xbox which probably gave them a fright.
As they were leaving they must have noticed my keys which were on the table in the sitting room and just pick them up then walked down the street pressing the unlock button until a car opened. I never usually leave my keys downstairs either........
Unless of course they had been watching your movements for a while with a view to stealing your car (to order?)As they were leaving they must have noticed my keys which were on the table in the sitting room and just pick them up then walked down the street pressing the unlock button until a car opened. I never usually leave my keys downstairs either........
Either way, it's pretty s
t and I hope it gets resolved to your satisfaction.Nedzilla said:
You have my sympathy mate.About six years ago i woke to find the lock on the back door busted although no one managed to break in.We called the police and as soon as he turned up he asked is that your evo on the driveway(mitsubish evo 5).Thats what they were after he said.
Only then did it occur to me what an idiot id been to leave my bunch of keys on the kitchen counter over night in full view in the middle of summer!
He told me it is happening all the time and i was very,very lucky they never got the door open.
Since then my keys have spent each night a few inches from my head on my bedside table.And never,ever leave your keys on hooks by the front door.A bent piece of wire through the letterbox is all it takes!
Only then did it occur to me what an idiot id been to leave my bunch of keys on the kitchen counter over night in full view in the middle of summer!
He told me it is happening all the time and i was very,very lucky they never got the door open.
Since then my keys have spent each night a few inches from my head on my bedside table.And never,ever leave your keys on hooks by the front door.A bent piece of wire through the letterbox is all it takes!
Are you all mad... As a husband and father of 2 I certainly wouldn't want a tea leaf poking around looking for the keys to my cars. What happens if you wake up or one of the children do and go down stairs ? It's goona get nasty one way or the other. For this reason my car keys are left in view by the door. This way if an asshole breaks into the house to steal the car / cars they would hopefully be in and out in a flash.Cars are replacable items
RetroTed said:
Are you all mad... As a husband and father of 2 I certainly wouldn't want a tea leaf poking around looking for the keys to my cars. What happens if you wake up or one of the children do and go down stairs ? It's goona get nasty one way or the other. For this reason my car keys are left in view by the door. This way if an asshole breaks into the house to steal the car / cars they would hopefully be in and out in a flash.Cars are replacable items
You do of course realise that some burglars will have a look through the letterbox to see if keys are on view. I would suggest that if they're not they will move on.
It would take a pretty brave thief to start rooting round in someones bedroom for a set of keys while they slept. I know it's not unheard of, but it's definitely rarer than keys getting taken from the hallway.
RetroTed said:
Nedzilla said:
You have my sympathy mate.About six years ago i woke to find the lock on the back door busted although no one managed to break in.We called the police and as soon as he turned up he asked is that your evo on the driveway(mitsubish evo 5).Thats what they were after he said.
Only then did it occur to me what an idiot id been to leave my bunch of keys on the kitchen counter over night in full view in the middle of summer!
He told me it is happening all the time and i was very,very lucky they never got the door open.
Since then my keys have spent each night a few inches from my head on my bedside table.And never,ever leave your keys on hooks by the front door.A bent piece of wire through the letterbox is all it takes!
Only then did it occur to me what an idiot id been to leave my bunch of keys on the kitchen counter over night in full view in the middle of summer!
He told me it is happening all the time and i was very,very lucky they never got the door open.
Since then my keys have spent each night a few inches from my head on my bedside table.And never,ever leave your keys on hooks by the front door.A bent piece of wire through the letterbox is all it takes!
Are you all mad... As a husband and father of 2 I certainly wouldn't want a tea leaf poking around looking for the keys to my cars. What happens if you wake up or one of the children do and go down stairs ? It's goona get nasty one way or the other. For this reason my car keys are left in view by the door. This way if an asshole breaks into the house to steal the car / cars they would hopefully be in and out in a flash.Cars are replacable items
The policeman who dealt with my incident said it is very rare that they will go beyond taking your keys from downstairs as they want to be in,out and away as quickly as possible.
He also told me that being 'carjacked' outside your own home when returning home from work etc is also a very common thing if you happen to have a desireable motor.
At the end of the day though you are right.A car is easily replaced and is never worth getting killed or even hurt over!
Nedzilla said:
Its a fair point Ted and one which im sure will divide opinion.Personally in my case i dont think the thieves would've even tried to break in had they not seen my keys in plain view in the kitchen.Would your average car thief be prepared to confront you in your bedroom and threaten you and your family just to pinch a car? Im not sure. I suppose it depends on the thieves in question and how far they are willing to go.The car they are trying to steal will also surely play a part.
The policeman who dealt with my incident said it is very rare that they will go beyond taking your keys from downstairs as they want to be in,out and away as quickly as possible.
He also told me that being 'carjacked' outside your own home when returning home from work etc is also a very common thing if you happen to have a desireable motor.
At the end of the day though you are right.A car is easily replaced and is never worth getting killed or even hurt over!
I don't take any chances, keys are in a drawer on the credenza downstairs (not in view of the letterbox) - they're more than welcome to the cars however I doubt they'd be able to get them down the drive seeing as it's very tightThe policeman who dealt with my incident said it is very rare that they will go beyond taking your keys from downstairs as they want to be in,out and away as quickly as possible.
He also told me that being 'carjacked' outside your own home when returning home from work etc is also a very common thing if you happen to have a desireable motor.
At the end of the day though you are right.A car is easily replaced and is never worth getting killed or even hurt over!
mrs envy's ex was bashed over the head and his pregnant partner sexually abused for the keys of his TT - how he still lives in that house I've no idea
RetroTed said:
Nedzilla said:
You have my sympathy mate.About six years ago i woke to find the lock on the back door busted although no one managed to break in.We called the police and as soon as he turned up he asked is that your evo on the driveway(mitsubish evo 5).Thats what they were after he said.
Only then did it occur to me what an idiot id been to leave my bunch of keys on the kitchen counter over night in full view in the middle of summer!
He told me it is happening all the time and i was very,very lucky they never got the door open.
Since then my keys have spent each night a few inches from my head on my bedside table.And never,ever leave your keys on hooks by the front door.A bent piece of wire through the letterbox is all it takes!
Only then did it occur to me what an idiot id been to leave my bunch of keys on the kitchen counter over night in full view in the middle of summer!
He told me it is happening all the time and i was very,very lucky they never got the door open.
Since then my keys have spent each night a few inches from my head on my bedside table.And never,ever leave your keys on hooks by the front door.A bent piece of wire through the letterbox is all it takes!
Are you all mad... As a husband and father of 2 I certainly wouldn't want a tea leaf poking around looking for the keys to my cars. What happens if you wake up or one of the children do and go down stairs ? It's goona get nasty one way or the other. For this reason my car keys are left in view by the door. This way if an asshole breaks into the house to steal the car / cars they would hopefully be in and out in a flash.Cars are replacable items
are you actually being serious? ludicrous.
sleep envy said:
I don't take any chances, keys are in a drawer on the credenza downstairs (not in view of the letterbox) - they're more than welcome to the cars however I doubt they'd be able to get them down the drive seeing as it's very tight
mrs envy's ex was bashed over the head and his pregnant partner sexually abused for the keys of his TT - how he still lives in that house I've no idea
Jesus!mrs envy's ex was bashed over the head and his pregnant partner sexually abused for the keys of his TT - how he still lives in that house I've no idea
smokey145 said:
RetroTed said:
Nedzilla said:
You have my sympathy mate.About six years ago i woke to find the lock on the back door busted although no one managed to break in.We called the police and as soon as he turned up he asked is that your evo on the driveway(mitsubish evo 5).Thats what they were after he said.
Only then did it occur to me what an idiot id been to leave my bunch of keys on the kitchen counter over night in full view in the middle of summer!
He told me it is happening all the time and i was very,very lucky they never got the door open.
Since then my keys have spent each night a few inches from my head on my bedside table.And never,ever leave your keys on hooks by the front door.A bent piece of wire through the letterbox is all it takes!
Only then did it occur to me what an idiot id been to leave my bunch of keys on the kitchen counter over night in full view in the middle of summer!
He told me it is happening all the time and i was very,very lucky they never got the door open.
Since then my keys have spent each night a few inches from my head on my bedside table.And never,ever leave your keys on hooks by the front door.A bent piece of wire through the letterbox is all it takes!
Are you all mad... As a husband and father of 2 I certainly wouldn't want a tea leaf poking around looking for the keys to my cars. What happens if you wake up or one of the children do and go down stairs ? It's goona get nasty one way or the other. For this reason my car keys are left in view by the door. This way if an asshole breaks into the house to steal the car / cars they would hopefully be in and out in a flash.Cars are replacable items
are you actually being serious? ludicrous.
I feel that the higher value the car is, the more risks the thieves will take to get it.
Just my 10 pence worth
Ted
acs87 said:
Thanks for the sympathy everyone. What makes it more annoying is that according to the police they didn't break with the intention of steeling my car. My car was in-fact parked about 50 yards from my house further down the street and they would have had no idea the keys were in the house. They initially tried to steel our TV but it is wired through a cupboard so not that easy to move and when they picked it up they knocked over the xbox which probably gave them a fright.
As they were leaving they must have noticed my keys which were on the table in the sitting room and just pick them up then walked down the street pressing the unlock button until a car opened. I never usually leave my keys downstairs either........
Balls man... so sorry to hear about this. Previous comment about it just being an E46 M3 IMO is totally unfair - it's not about money sometimes.As they were leaving they must have noticed my keys which were on the table in the sitting room and just pick them up then walked down the street pressing the unlock button until a car opened. I never usually leave my keys downstairs either........
One thing to say though is... I reckon if they drove off with the M3 on a whim, they probably bit off more than they can chew. And I agree with the cops on this statement - let's be honest, a £10-£15k M3 probably wasn't the most expensive nor discreet car they could have gone for. It must have been opportunist.
They probably wouldn't know where to take the car, facilitate a lock-up, organise the breaking / cloning etc. In terms of skill/contact I reckon house burglary is as different to organized car crime as English is to Chinese!
What I'm leading to is.. there's big chance they slipped at some point, or made some amateur errors, or realised the car will attract unnecessary heat, they might just ditch it. Car will get found. Car will be reunited with owner. Asides from a scuffed wheel and some weed in the ashtray, owner and car will be happy everafter!
On another note.. not sure this has been brought up yet, but make sure you get that plate retained if the car doesnt turn up in reasonable time.
I'm in the trade so will circulate an email all round Sytner... you never know.
Good luck
No I don't think it was unfair at all. The point im making is at least the car is relatively low value and it's happend to you at this point in your car ownership. You'll now change the way that you approach car security, it's harsh but the same happend to me, and now I wouldn't dream of leaving my keys downstairs. I know it's all relative I know. And I agree, they were probably opportunist thiefs, and so they are probably joy riding it. The s did the same with my seat Leon cupra and just wrote it off.
s did the same with my seat Leon cupra and just wrote it off.AOK said:
Balls man... so sorry to hear about this. Previous comment about it just being an E46 M3 IMO is totally unfair - it's not about money sometimes.
One thing to say though is... I reckon if they drove off with the M3 on a whim, they probably bit off more than they can chew. And I agree with the cops on this statement - let's be honest, a £10-£15k M3 probably wasn't the most expensive nor discreet car they could have gone for. It must have been opportunist.
They probably wouldn't know where to take the car, facilitate a lock-up, organise the breaking / cloning etc. In terms of skill/contact I reckon house burglary is as different to organized car crime as English is to Chinese!
What I'm leading to is.. there's big chance they slipped at some point, or made some amateur errors, or realised the car will attract unnecessary heat, they might just ditch it. Car will get found. Car will be reunited with owner. Asides from a scuffed wheel and some weed in the ashtray, owner and car will be happy everafter!
On another note.. not sure this has been brought up yet, but make sure you get that plate retained if the car doesnt turn up in reasonable time.
I'm in the trade so will circulate an email all round Sytner... you never know.
Good luck
One thing to say though is... I reckon if they drove off with the M3 on a whim, they probably bit off more than they can chew. And I agree with the cops on this statement - let's be honest, a £10-£15k M3 probably wasn't the most expensive nor discreet car they could have gone for. It must have been opportunist.
They probably wouldn't know where to take the car, facilitate a lock-up, organise the breaking / cloning etc. In terms of skill/contact I reckon house burglary is as different to organized car crime as English is to Chinese!
What I'm leading to is.. there's big chance they slipped at some point, or made some amateur errors, or realised the car will attract unnecessary heat, they might just ditch it. Car will get found. Car will be reunited with owner. Asides from a scuffed wheel and some weed in the ashtray, owner and car will be happy everafter!
On another note.. not sure this has been brought up yet, but make sure you get that plate retained if the car doesnt turn up in reasonable time.
I'm in the trade so will circulate an email all round Sytner... you never know.
Good luck
Hope the car is found again, quickly.
I always do this - As I see it, this stops them from being able to pick the lock (I hope). Also, if there is a fire in the house, we don't need to go looking for keys.
Car keys are not on the same key ring, but is kept not far from the door. I don't want them disturbing me to find the keys, and the car can always be replaced.
bmw535i said:
I am constantly going mad at the Mrs for leaving her keys in the lock on the inside of the door.
What's wrong with that ?I always do this - As I see it, this stops them from being able to pick the lock (I hope). Also, if there is a fire in the house, we don't need to go looking for keys.
Car keys are not on the same key ring, but is kept not far from the door. I don't want them disturbing me to find the keys, and the car can always be replaced.
acs87 said:
UPDATE. (sorry its abit long)
I was within minutes of giving up all hope of my car returning or being found by the police so i was getting all the nesesary bits an pieces (log book, spare keys,etc.)together to send to the insurance company so i could make the claim. One of the thinks the insurance company wanted was proof of service history. The stamped up booklet was in the glovebox of the car so i didn't have that, but it had been serviced by BMW so in the morning i had phoned BMW UK to see if they could track the service history and send me proof. I was told that they could tell me where it had been serviced, but not send me anything.
Anyway, later in the day i thought i would just try one last time to get BMW to provide some proof of service history so i phone the original supplying dealer as i remembered who they were. They told me the car had only been into their dealership twice. Once for the running in service and once for them to fit a tracker...........A TRACKER! Up until this point both me and the previous 2 owners had no idea the car had a tracker. The guy managed to dig out the info on the tracker and gave me the number to call.
After speaking to 'Tracker' it became apparent that the car had a tracker monitor device fitted and that although the subscription had not been paid, it was still active. £600 later the device was on and working and within a few hours the car had been located by the police parked on a dead end street less than 1/2 mile from where it was stolen.
I have no idea what condition the car is in, but i am hopeing for the best. I will keep you updated as and when i get to see the car.
If you don't have a tracker, get one!!
well done!I was within minutes of giving up all hope of my car returning or being found by the police so i was getting all the nesesary bits an pieces (log book, spare keys,etc.)together to send to the insurance company so i could make the claim. One of the thinks the insurance company wanted was proof of service history. The stamped up booklet was in the glovebox of the car so i didn't have that, but it had been serviced by BMW so in the morning i had phoned BMW UK to see if they could track the service history and send me proof. I was told that they could tell me where it had been serviced, but not send me anything.
Anyway, later in the day i thought i would just try one last time to get BMW to provide some proof of service history so i phone the original supplying dealer as i remembered who they were. They told me the car had only been into their dealership twice. Once for the running in service and once for them to fit a tracker...........A TRACKER! Up until this point both me and the previous 2 owners had no idea the car had a tracker. The guy managed to dig out the info on the tracker and gave me the number to call.
After speaking to 'Tracker' it became apparent that the car had a tracker monitor device fitted and that although the subscription had not been paid, it was still active. £600 later the device was on and working and within a few hours the car had been located by the police parked on a dead end street less than 1/2 mile from where it was stolen.
I have no idea what condition the car is in, but i am hopeing for the best. I will keep you updated as and when i get to see the car.
If you don't have a tracker, get one!!
£600 for the tracker though, christ. but at least its got you your car back, nice one pal.
Not sure if I would want a stolen car back...Can you imagine now much ragging the car would have had. I would prefer to have the insurance money tbh through GAP coverage.
You are lucky as it is 1/2 mile away... little possible damage right?
I always keep my golf clubs in my boot. I may just have to stop doing that... that will be a waste of £££!
You are lucky as it is 1/2 mile away... little possible damage right?
I always keep my golf clubs in my boot. I may just have to stop doing that... that will be a waste of £££!
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