Car stolen and my experience

[Gavia]

Along the lines of this thread, I thought I’d add what it’s like when you’re car is actually stolen after a break in. Hopefully, this won’t get hijacked by some gun toting, yeehaw US idiot.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

I live in a fairly small village on the border of Lancs / Greater Manchester in what is a very quiet area, with little to no crime. It’s not small enough for everyone to know each other, but there is very much a sense of community spirit and people look out for each other in general.

On the night of 2nd Jan, during Storm Eleanor, my house was broken into and car keys taken to steal my five month old M4 off my drive. Sadly, this doesn’t tell the whole story though and I’ll try to relate this below.

I’d gone to bed around midnight, but was struggling to sleep, due to the noise from the storm and the expected crashes amd bangs. About 2:30am I realised that one chunk of crashing was down to my back gate being left open, as the window cleaner keeps doing this, despite me asking him not to. For the first time in forever, I decided to get up go downstairs and lock it. While I was doing this though I had a feeling that something wasn’t right. No idea what, or why, just my (rather large) gut telling me things weren’t right.

I had a good look round the back garden and then decided to go out front and check that no roof tiles had fallen off onto my car. Nothing untoward there, so I just put things down to being tired but not sleepy.

30 minutes later, I’m lying in bed wide awake and hear another crash, which I just put down to the storm. Then I heard a few noises that didn’t make sense amd was half out of bed when I heard my car start up and start moving off the drive. Lots of swearing and confusion, but then after I noticed that the scum couldn’t get it into gear. I flew downstairs and nearly made it out of the front door and to the car, but too late. It was gone up the street and I haven’t seen or heard from it since.

The police were round very quickly and I can’t fault their attempts on the night to try to find the car.

It turns out that the area I live in and a corridor about 15 miles long has been targeted by several car theft gangs out of Liverpool and around 4-5 German marque top of the range cars have been stolen every night for a fortnight. The area has been flooded with police and it seems to have calmed down a lot now, but maybe they’ll be back in a few months to check out our new cars. A few arrests, but don’t expect the courts to do much more than a slap on the wrists.

Stupidly, I didn’t fit a tracker to the car. I’ve fitted one to every car I’ve owned for the past 20 years, but was assured that it wasn’t needed, as the BMW Connected Drive would track it for me. What a load of bks that was.

Theft reported to my insurers, who’ve been very good. Bit of a debate over value, but that was easily resolved and they’ve processed my payment, so should receive it early next week around a fortnight after the theft happened.

When I look back there are some easy learns from this. I know I might be teaching granny to suck eggs, but thought I’d flag them up below:

• always put your house alarm on, especially during a storm
• upgrade any cylinder locks on UPVC doors to anti-snap ones. Ideally upgrade the door handles too.
• adrenaline is great, but not sure how I’d have fared taking on 2+ thieves, as life isn’t a Hollywood film.
• make your drive as secure as possible
• always fit a Cat 5 tracker
• fit a Ghost system

For my part, I’ve now done the above, had the house alarm extended and serviced, fitted some heavy duty concreted in timber bollards along the drive and two telescopic anti ram raid poles at the end of the drive, CCTV and a set of heavy duty gates halfway down the drive where the house ends. New car will be getting a Cat 5 Tracker and Ghost system fitted.

I’m not going to let it beat me though. New car was ordered last week and I’ll see what happens this time round.

[Gavia]

Willy Nilly said:

Has it put you off getting that sort of car again?

Nope, as I said above, I’ve ordered a new one. Exactly the same spec, but with a lot more car and home security in place.

[Gavia]

The crash that I heard and the strange noises were them breaking into the house and then ransacking downstairs, albeit fairly quietly. They stole the keys. I don’t buy cars with keyless entry for the exact reasons you’ve given.

No idea where the cars go, given the amount they’ve been stolen, my opinion is that they’re all to order and being exported.

No chance of lasting mental scars, I’ve had this st before and got over it. If they want it this time, then they’ll have to escalate beyond what the norm is, even for thieving scrotes.

[Gavia]

curlie467 said:

Sorry to hear that Gav!

It’s put a big dent in this year’s racing budget

[Gavia]

Good point about the windows / doors. I’ve got a bit of work to do to sort that fully, but funds aren’t limitless and I’m trying to make the car so obviously secure that it’s not worth anyone trying anymore.

Ironically I’ve been working out in my head how I’d play it next time and how to dominate the dog leg staircase

[Gavia]

Palmers said:

Just curious but i would be interested to know if any of these thefts involving a break in to obtain keys, had a dog.

Wonder if a naff of GS or Doberman / similar would deter?!

I’ve not got a dog as my lifestyle wouldn’t suit one, but many friends have. A dog isn’t a security tool, it’s a pet that’s more of a family member. If these scrotes have scoped the area, then they’ll know you’ve got a dog and what they’ll do to one doesn’t bear thinking about. Cars are insured and easily replaced, a member of the family isn’t, even if canine.

[Gavia]

Palmers said:

I used to have a beloved canine so i know they are a member of the family.

What i meant was i wonder if they would leave because of a dog. Do they scope houses beforehand? Or just see the car and chance it.

Dont forget dogs also become very protective over their home and owners. My old staff cross chased off s rummaging through a skip on our drive. Didnt even know they were there.

They definitely scope. I’ve been away for a few months and only just got back. The assumption was that they were waiting for me to return so that they knew the keys were in the house.

curlie467 said:

I'd be more worried about an angry naked Gav running towards me than a poodle!
The thieves are probably lucky you didn't get hold of them!

Haha, I scare myself when I look in the mirror nowadays.

[Gavia]

MuscleSaloon said:

Any options for garaging so the car is out of sight when possible OP ?

Not really, as with all modernish houses, the garage simply isn’t big enough to get the car in and be able to get out of it. My PH standard double garage disappeared (along with the house) following my divorce and houses around here, with a double, mean me getting a house that would be way bigger than I’ll ever need (5 bed minimum) and the council tax on that as well as other running costs would see me in a sensible car quicker than any thief could

steve-5snwi said:

I thought most M4's had trackers fitted but not activated, in fact a lot of the 4 series i've seen have them listed in the iDrive menu.

Good luck with the next one, I hope you have ticked the leather dash option.

I keep hearing this, but I’m not sales guy was keen to talk me out of buying one last time round, despite the £600 burning a hole in my pocket, a new acquaintance, who fits them for a living, hasn’t mentioned them already being fitted and my ex works for BMW and oversaw the fit on my previous cars.

I’m sure if there’s was one on them BMW would be keen to activate it if only for the police’s benefit, but nothing yet.

I think there’s is some basic tracking data held in the ECU that can be accessed remotely, but that hasn’t provided any info to find the car.

CaptainMorgan said:

Thanks for posting, it's decent of you to try and help the rest of us defend our possessions from these pieces of st that are out there and sorry you've had this experience, it's not nice at all.

Question regarding the Autowatch Ghost. As you didn't have keyless, what advantage will it offer over just putting the keys under your mattress? Everyone raves about the system like it's a foolproof way to stop the car being taken but all it does it make them come for you to either start it or give them the pin to start it. Personally I'm not interested in the confrontation, but if I were up for taking them on, keeping the keys with me would have the same result without the extra cost of the system.

Anyway, nice one for not letting them get you down and getting another one, hopefully with the additional security you'll be alright.

With regards to someone saying to look every door in the house, while thats a bit extreme I reckon it's certainly an advantage to have a porch then another locked door, ideally with an alarm sensor in that room too.

I’m no hard man, so I won’t welcome the confrontation either, but quite fancy making it tricky for them if they try again. The house alarm (connected to the provider) will hopefully scare them off along with everything else that’s in place. If it comes to it, then I guess it won’t be worth much to me, but it’ll just make it ever more annoying. Apparentlythe Cat 5 tracker I’m having fitted has remote immobilisation too, so even if they get away with it, once it’s turned off then it can’t be restarted.

I’m consodering upgrading a couple of critical internal doors too, so if they get in the house, they will struggle to get out of the room they’re in.

[Gavia]

SlimJim16v said:

How about one of those devices that fills your car/house with harmless smoke?

A naked man wearing a luminous Jason or Michael mask and brandishing a machete appearing out of it would probably be priceless.

Cool, not sure I could pull it off though (ooer, especially as naked). Are there any fat serial killer murderer types?

[Gavia]

RemyMartin81D said:

Leather face

Swinging around a chainsaw with a face of human skin will do the job

He was fat .

Good call, I’d still prefer to lose a few stone and learn to whistle like Negan. I think Lucille would enjoy bashing a few skulls.





Before anyone gets too giddy, none of this will happen. I’ll be cowering upstairs wishing I’d bought an Insignia.

[Gavia]

SlimJim16v said:

Forgot to say, I'm glad to see you can still joke about it.

If anything I’m just frustrated, I’m pretty strong mentally and had this st a while back at the last house, when I had an RS4 and my ex a Civic Type-R. Hopefully, this will all stop again, although it’s frustrating living in Fort Knox.

I forgot to mention, a mate with an engineering firm is fabricating a serious bit of kit to complement the gates.

[Gavia]

BlackLabel said:

Sorry to hear this OP but glad you are okay.

Just out of interest what insurance company are you with - it’s always good to know which insurance companies treat you well and pay out on claims quickly?

LV. Pretty impressed with them

kylos27 said:

The right to keep and bear arms

Or hand amputation

The first bit would be insane, as the crimes would also have the same right and be more likely to have access to even more insane firepower

Never been a fan of Sharia Law, or Old Testament style Justice, although I can see the appeal. Again, if the penalties are this severe, there’s little stopping the scrotes going further with their actions.

[Gavia]

popeyewhite said:

Sorry to hear of your woes OP, I've had a couple of cars pinched, it's not nice. A friend had a car a number of years back that he coveted most seriously. He fitted a similar device to a ghost, not designed to enable starting, but designed to cut all power after five minutes if the code wasn't entered at startup. His car was nicked, and found a mile away a day later.

Thieves will always figure out how to nick a car, but if it 'breaks down' it's unlikely they'll have the inclination to stand around trying to fix it.

Very true. Not sure a system that stops a car mid flight is legal though. I live a few minutes from a motorway junction, if they were in the outside lane and the car just stops, I don’t think my insurers would be too happy with the potential outcome from that, nor would I if there were serious injuries / death.

The Cat 5 will immobilise the car if they do get away once it’s turned off. The Ghost will mean they can’t get away with it. I’ve yet to decide if the keys come upstairs, or sit in a safe downstairs now, ditto on fitting a couple of security doors downstairs, as well as to my bedroom.

[Gavia]

popeyewhite said:

I fitted a collapsible post after a car was nicked from my drive. I no longer use it. Every time it rained water pooled in the post's housing and when I unlocked the pole and dropped it I got a soaked face and chest. Only happened two or three times before I got fed up and left the post down. It's interesting how soon perspective returns when it's a case of lock car in to prevent theft/don't lock car in to prevent going to work looking a complete noddy I also had an external security light fitted with a sensor to detect movement on the drive. The neighbour's cat's nocturnal activities soon put an end to that idea.

The poles will get used all the time. Thanks for the tip though, I’ll try to remember to stand back when they’re dropping down

The Spruce goose said:

Would you ever fit a armored door, as i see a lot of thread about expensive cars being stolen , but a few thousand on home security and gates would at least slow them down a bit, like armored doors, security glass. Not talking overt stuff a lot looks the same as standard.

The outside of the house is / will be as secure as I can make it. Seriously considering internal security doors in three places - my bedroom and two others downstairs where it’ll leave them stranded in one room, or another and seal off the rest of the house. It’s a PITA though tbh, as I’ve got a simple 3 bed detached as it’s just me living here post divorce. I deliberately bought one with a lot more space downstairs than up, as don’t really use the spare bedrooms that much.

Already covered off the external overt security that’s going in.

[Gavia]

hutchst said:

Good luck explaining that to prospective purchasers when you decide to sell your house...

Yes, of course this is a lovely area...

I tend to rent houses out when I move, rather than sell given a choice, but even if I sell, the doors can be swapped and the ones I’ve seen look like internal doors anyway.

chryslerben said:

Hi Gav sorry to hear about your car being stolen, have you been in touch with BMW customer services regarding the tracking of the vehicle?

The Telematics module in your M4 can indeed tell you where the vehicle is, what direction it's travelling in, how fast it's going and vehicle status.

They could even talk to the person in the car from their call centre if they wanted to.

I know of cases where they've released the data to recover stolen vehicles previously so I don't see why there's an exception this time.

I signed the forms that th epolice gave me within a few hours of the theft happening. Nothing has come of it at all. Pretty certain the thieves were doing this to order and had all the equipment they needed to disable it.

[Gavia]

I’m not so sure about that. There have always been affluent areas in every town where the cars on the drive have been nice and don’t see much difference now. There may be a lot more new cars, but they aren’t all performance cars. We tend to see the cars we like and blank out the rest, so our opinions are a bit jaded.

[Gavia]

Rich_W said:

I often see a 17 plate RS6 parked on the road, let alone a drive. It's an "OK" area, and a bit of a cut through for traffic. But still! Strong balls on that guy!

Doesn’t that depend where you live though? A house with no offroad parking in West London could cost £millions whereas round here it’s no more than £150k. Personally I wouldn’t do it, but there again, what’s the difference to me having it on my drive? If anything it does confuse a thief which house the car belongs to, whereas mine doesn’t.

[Gavia]

NDA said:

What a nightmare... sorry to read about that.

I don't know anything about BMW's, so was interested to read about 'Connected Drive' which, amongst many things, is marketed as having 'Navigation is a core service of ConnectedDrive, especially as the car's embedded SIM enables the car to transmit GPS and speed information to a cloud server....'

Most people would think this would be of use if a car was stolen. From your posts it sounds utterly useless.

It was “sold” to me as meaning I didn't need a tracker. It’s about as useful as a chocolate fireguard. It was disabled by the thieves before they even got off the drive. In fact, two weeks on, the car is still showing as parked on my drive. There’s also a pretty robust discussion on a few forums about it being limited to you being within 1500metres of the car amd no clear decision either way.

My advice, as I’ve done on every car bar this one, is to fit a Cat 5 tracker and be certain.

[Gavia]

Dimebars said:

Not sure if this has been mentioned already but BMW CAN track the vehicle.

They need the investigating plod to fill in a request form and they're able to do so afterwards

Info here - http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=...

Mentioned and answered twice already.

They can’t. The forms were completed inside three hours of the car going AWOL. Three weeks later and not a sign of it. Whatever ability BMW claim to have to track the car is bks.

[Gavia]

Dimebars said:

Strange

I've seen more than one instance including the above where it's been used successfully.

That’s my personal and very real experience of it. It might not be the case for everyone, but for me the manufacturer fitted security is totally useless.