Stolen to Order - Using fake keys

Hi All. Here's the CCTV footage of my BMW 1M stolen without any keys in 3 minutes!
I know this isn't a BMW forum, but this is interesting for anyone with a high end car attractive to thieves or indeed anyone with this type of key.

This is my £43,000 BMW 1M Stolen at 3 am in under 3 minutes. They accessed the car's OBD port in the footwell by breaking the glass, reaching in and using a device to reprogram a blank key fob. The car was simply then unlocked and pushed off the drive and driven away. No Alarm went off, and later found out there is a 'void' on the inside of the car, so if you keep your arm close to the inside of the door and the dash, the alarm will not activate. Just enough room to get your arm down to the OBD port where you can re-program a blank key if you have the correct device (which you can buy in the internet!)

BMW don't seem to want to admit they have a problem on their cars. They are still producing cars with the OBD port located in the footwell in the same location, and I assume the same problem with the alarm. Over 300 cars were stolen in March 2012 in the West Midlands alone and apparently the Police told me in one night £250,000 worth of cars were stolen in the region.

Saw your original thread on Pistonheads
Whilst it is easy to do (and probably common knowledge to a car thief) I'm not sure I'd be posting 'how to's' on the forums

Hope there was no questions with the insurance!, the CCTV should at least have ensured that!

Pretty poor system if it cannot detect a broken window? Even old Land Rovers the alarm will sound if glass is disturbed

The little toerag even looks right at the camera at one point.

Terrible news about the car - though I too am surprised that broken glass doesn't set off any sort of alarm.

(15-07-2012 08:02pm)XFullFatTim Wrote:  Pretty poor system if it cannot detect a broken window? Even old Land Rovers the alarm will sound if glass is disturbed

Correct if people know to double lock the car - many don't. I do not know if the BMW system is the same?

Mark.

Shocking. Thanks for the heads-up. Shows how one step ahead thieves are. CCTV is also no deterent. Makes me wonder if my tracker was worth investing in. (I would rather have the car stolen and wrecked with no payment to the thief and a wasted effort on thier part, than stolen and sold).

Which also brings me onto placement of keys at home. Police/Insurance state the importance of placing them in a safe or similar, but the dilemma exists of either the theives ransacking the home & frightening/attacking children/us or, placing them within an easier view so family need not be disturbed.

It is not the value of what is to be stolen, it is that some-one as shallow as a thief places an order with one and, thinks it is their right to have your stolen item, because they too will have paid for it, although for a pitance of what you did. Sick!

Just watched the video.
Unbelieveable. i would be so pissed off if that was my vehicle.
It's a disgrace if any vehicle can be stolen that easily.
As a minimum, i would expect alarm activation on glass breakage.
Shocking.

Moral of the story... Don't buy a BMW... glad I sold mine.

Time to Get a clifford fitted like in the bad old days,

What a joke bmw is

(16-07-2012 09:25pm)jitenc Wrote:  Moral of the story... Don't buy a BMW... glad I sold mine.

I wouldn't anyway..you need to change your avatar