some git has stolen my front bumper

[andye30m3]

Got home this morning and some git as stolen the front bumper off of the E36 M3, Parked over the road from my house on a busy main road.

So if anyone gets offered a techno violet front bumper with a few scratches at paint chips, and very slight crack between the fog light & brake vent its let me know.

They may even be stupid enough to leave the no plate S321 SMG on it!.

[kusee pee]

That sucks. I know how you feel. Someone took mine along with the mirrors and side-strips a few years ago. The nuts were even left on the floor next to the car. And it was in a gated carpark at work during the day. Unbelievable.

[y2blade]

some lowlife stole the rear bumper of a colleages civic type R a while back...shocking the things some folk will steel

[LittleBro]

Dear me, scum, the lot of 'em.

But what can you do to protect yourself? If manufacturers make top end cars the parts from which will easily bolt of then bolt on to the lesser models, they're going to get nicked.

I'm half expecting to come out one night and find my car bumperless too.

Out of interest, where was this done? North London per chance?

Also, nice plate!

[Mr_B]

I hate that, hope the crash and burn in their car. Keep an eye on eBay and other popular places to sell BMW parts. You never know, it might turn up.

[E36GUY]

LittleBro said:

But what can you do to protect yourself?

Get on www.bmwowner.com (formerly e36coupe.com) and you should be able to find info on the shear bolts available for the e36 front bumber. Effectively bolts that shear off when tightened to a point making it impossible to remove the front bumper. Down side is that should you wish to remove the bumper yourself for some reason you will face similar probs!

[andye30m3]

Cheers for the replies,

I'm not in london but Sussex which is normally fairly crime free.

I think I'll have to have a look for the shear bolts just to be on the safe side, I assume you just have to take them out with an easy out or something similar.

Ordered a replacement bumper this morning from FAB so hopefully will all be back together by the weekend, just £260ish + painting I didn't really want to spend.

[northandy]

andye30m3 said:

Got home this morning and some git as stolen the front bumper off of the E36 M3, Parked over the road from my house on a busy main road.

So if anyone gets offered a techno violet front bumper with a few scratches at paint chips, and very slight crack between the fog light & brake vent its let me know.

They may even be stupid enough to leave the no plate S321 SMG on it!.

Sorry to hear that... I had someone steal a damaged front driving light off my 205 GTI about 10 years ago, bizarrely they stole the one with a cracked lens...

[jamiecollins]

Another possible solution would be to fill the boltholes with silicone sealant under the little covers, this would either put the thieves off or at least make them spend more time digging the silicone out before getting at the bolts - hopefully they then get caught!

[andye30m3]

got the new bumper on last night, ended up putting a blob of weld on the end of the tread so that the nut cannot be undone without grinding the weld off first, did also think about putting a blob of weld on the side of the nut so you couldn't get a socket on it.

[Phugoid]

I know how you feel, had several items pinched off my 328i Sport in the last year. My //M plastic door trim most notably. I live in inner city Edinburgh and I'm beginning to feel my car's been 'tagged' i.e. they know where they can get such items as soon as I fork out to replace them.

To combat this I've came up with a switch activated alarm that will emit 140 decibels as soon as someone begins to yank them off. Nice little device that's external to the car circuit and would give the theives a fright.

I'd try market the device as it's a clear problem but it's a little too specific to the E36.