Theft, Any Suggestions How To Prevent It From Happening Again?

[Boggy]

Hi guys,

I bought a 2011 520D only 4 months ago and last friday morning I discovered it had been broken into! The car was on the drive, our bedroom is right above the drive, the keys were in the house, no alarm went off and we didn't hear a thing!

They stole the widescreen satnav, the cd player and pretty much that whole centre panel that has the buttons for aircon, heated seats etc etc. They also stole the steering wheel.

Not much damage was done, all the wires had been disconnected decently as far as I could see, no cutting involved. A few plastic clips had been broken but that's about it.

I am amazed that a modern car like this is so easy to break into! I expected it to be bulletproof. My insurance excess is £400 pounds and on top of that my NCB is being reset to 1 ! I am quite annoyed about that and also not having a vehicle for the next 2 weeks or so is a hassle.

I am very worried this will happen again as it has been happening to quite a few people in Bedfordshire. Have you got any tip about what to do regarding security and prevent this from happening again? Is there something BMW can do?

[Tarmacterror]

Did the alarm not go off unless its faulty? worth getting it checked out mate

[btmaldon]

If you haven't got a garage to lock it away out of site I would put some very bright motion sensitive spotlights up and a very obvious security camera. It may not stop them but it will make them think twice and move on to an easier target.

Sorry to hear this. You get this type of scum everywhere these days unfortunately.

[tom90]

The first easy thing and inexpensive thing is to make sure you keep no valuables in the car within eye sight.

if you own an estate or hatchback I recommend you keep no valuables in the boot, a colleague at work had his estate rear window smashed to steal his laptop that a passerby saw he left in when he opened it to get a suitcase to go to a meeting.

you can fit a motion sensing light on your driveway will help deter them or you can go further and fit a camera as well as my neighbour did when his car got broken into.

But sorry to hear that your car got broken into is horrible when that happens.

[tom90]

The first easy thing and inexpensive thing is to make sure you keep no valuables in the car within eye sight.

if you own an estate or hatchback I recommend you keep no valuables in the boot, a colleague at work had his estate rear window smashed to steal his laptop that a passerby saw he left in when he opened it to get a suitcase to go to a meeting.

also if you use a portable sat nav ensure you clean the suction cup marks off the windscreen (they look for signs of valuables)

you can fit a motion sensing light on your driveway will help deter them or you can go further and fit a camera as well as my neighbour did when his car got broken into.

But sorry to hear that your car got broken into is horrible when that happens.

sorry did not to mean to do that no idea how to delete the post

[Boggy]

Nope, alarm didn't go off at all...I would have heard that.

We do have a motion sensor light on the porch, but I guess that didn't matter to them. We do have a dummy cam also but I guess that didn't deter them either or they didn't see it. I will install some big bright lights on the drive and also cctv cams in clear sight, hoping it will prevent them from doing it again.

I am wondering if there is a way to upgrade the security on the 5 series? Anybody know?

Nothing valuable was in the car apart from the equipment they stole...but they did go through every little cubby hole to see what was there.

I am just relieved that nobody went into the house. That's my biggest fear.

[Guest jeffthro]

Sympathies to you Bogdan, rotten thing to happen. A powerful heat and/or motion sensitive spotlight is a big help. The b*****d thing I've got fitted damn near blinds me when I get in from the pub, and its got to be a major deterrent to naughty boys. Also, as tarmacterror says, get alarm checked, or is siren switched off maybe?

[GBM6]

Sorry to hear about this Bogdan, bleeding Scroats. I know it's a bit like bolting the door after the event, but for future peace of mind, have you considered a third party alarm? I'm considering a Viper for my M3. Not a cheap fix but has all the bell and whistles to deter the opportunist thieving git. ;-(

[Boggy]

Viper seems to be exactly what I am looking for! Any idea what the price might be for this?

[GBM6]

Really depends on the level of protection you want, have a look at these. They are a sponsor on the M3 cutters forum, many threads discuss the types and capability of the fitters involved.

http://www.securemycar.co.uk

[Boggy]

Gave them a ring, very helpful people. Cost will be around £600 but I don't think I have any other option if I want to improve the security on my car. This will also give me the fob that rings an alarm if a sensor is triggered so I could have it next to the bed when asleep. Still, cameras and better lights are going up too.

[GBM6]

Glad they could help. I've only read good things about them so will assume that a good job will be done. Let's hope you don't have a recurrence of the other night. ;-)