[dinonz]

Originally Posted by Kabrich

Your assumptions of only 10 models being stolen in a bad hypothesis, just as your statement that a 335i could not be stolen, only a 328i.

You're right - it was very bad hypothesis indeed. I guestimated 500, and the actual figure was 471.

Very bad hypothesis, but amazingly accurate eh?

I promise never to do mental arithmetic in a thread you're present in again.

[300hp]

Originally Posted by dinonz

You're right - it was very bad hypothesis indeed. I guestimated 500, and the actual figure was 471.

Very bad hypothesis, but amazingly accurate eh?

I promise never to do mental arithmetic in a thread you're present in again.

80/20 would have got you within a stone throw away. However it was unnecessary given you were pretty close

[southbynorth]

Originally Posted by 300hp

It's a US vs UK thing. State side people are more inclined to believe the Golf is nowhere near the 3 series. Over there people would not make such a big deal about it which is why you see Car magazine pitting the Golf against the 135i for example.

My 2 cents

Ah, Ok, cheers

[Stillhart]

Originally Posted by Kabrich

Well, people are not going to steal cars that no one wants or drive.

My point is that you could look at the number of, for example, C-class Merc on the road vs the number stolen and get a percentage. Do the same for each car on the list and see what percentage were stolen. For example, 500 out of 5 million is basically none; 500 out of 5000 is a hell of a lot.

To me, this is more useful than the absolute number of cars stolen with no frame of reference.

[jasonF30]

Originally Posted by shivaswrath

Are you kidding me, the 328 doesn't come with an ALARM??!!!
Don't all cars do?

Glad I purchased the 335i as my first BMW, I would've been rip-roaring pissed had I found out about a lack of alarm post-purchase...

the 335 in Canada doesnt come with an alarm either!

[Quakered]

Good to see even thieves are not interested in the Toyota Luxus!

My documentation says my 328 comes free with a Thatcham Cat 1 alarm.....

[dinonz]

Originally Posted by 300hp

80/20 would have got you within a stone throw away. However it was unnecessary given you were pretty close

Yeah - it was all wild guesswork, but you can get away with "bad assumptions" like that when you know it's a small sample with some expected characteristics. If you know the absolute total, and they're posting data like it's meaningful, you know there's not 1000's of models in a 4384 total sample. I said 10 which gave an average of 438. If it were 20, the average would have been 219, but that would probably have been around about the 8th place in the list, so you still have to extrapolate up to get to 2nd place. Same thing, you know the #1 model is highly unlikely to represent more than a fair share of the total sample, so the #1 is unlikely to be more than 15% (or about 657) of the total. Sure - there might have been an anomaly, but in this group of vehicle models it was unlikely.

[Kowboi]

Originally Posted by jasonF30

the 335 in Canada doesnt come with an alarm either!

Mine did!

[KT_F31_EBII]

i thought with the keyless engine start, you need the key in proximity to steal the car, doesn't it come with immobiliser as standard even you don't have the alarm fitted?

[dinonz]

Originally Posted by KT_F31_EBII

i thought with the keyless engine start, you need the key in proximity to steal the car, doesn't it come with immobiliser as standard even you don't have the alarm fitted?

Doesn't stop the car being hoisted on a trailer and towed away.

[xDRAN0x]

Originally Posted by jasonF30

the 335 in Canada doesnt come with an alarm either!

Indeed my doesn't and I couldn't care less if it gets stolen, its not a one off Ferrari.

[Pauleebe]

Not surprised. The roads are flooded with 3 series nowadays. More of them on the road, the more likely they can be stolen.

[jasonF30]

Originally Posted by Kowboi

Mine did!

i meant its not standard.

[silver07335i]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/...-cars/2598657/


"BMW shows up in second place with its 3 series, and again sixth place with the 5 Series in the study, which looks at thefts of 2010 to 2012 model year cars across the country." - Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY

What are you doing to protect your car from theft?

[JesseS]

Originally Posted by silver07335i

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/...-cars/2598657/


"BMW shows up in second place with its 3 series, and again sixth place with the 5 Series in the study, which looks at thefts of 2010 to 2012 model year cars across the country." - Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY

What are you doing to protect your car from theft?

Always park next to the Maserati.

Unless it's a 1981 Biturbo.


In all seriousness though, it's really nothing to worry about other than taking some basic precautions that you should have already been taking. While bmw may be high up on the list for luxury thefts, they are actually very low on the list for overall theft. Why? Because most cars stolen are older less valuable models (the most common MY stolen in 2005 was 1991, and in 2011 avg stolen car value was a bit over $6k); and that's because car theft is usually a crime of opportunity, and older less valuable cars are more often left in vulnerable states.

That being said there are, of course, professional car thieves and associated criminal operations. If one of these types wants your car, they will get it, and you will have a hard time stopping them. The best thing you could do would be to get an after-market quiet alarm system that notifies authorities and/or calls your cell phone (car thieves will bump your car before stealing it to see if an alarm goes off -- and then they'll just come back later when they're ready to deal with it). What you absolutely don't want is a stupid blinking red light that lets them know what's up.

The BMW OEM alarm system will be absolutely useless vs a professional thief.

(Make sure it's installed by an experienced and qualified vehicle security specialist, too. Pros know just where to look for typical alarm installations.)

[Bimmerfestool]

Originally Posted by southbynorth

If you say so - cant say there is a huge difference between the Golf and the 3 series interior - what makes the 3 series luxury, but not the Golf?

Edit. I'll clarify that. I have owned both cars. 17k down on a Golf bought me a 2ltr turbo diesel, leather heated seats, auto lights, auto wipers, cruise control, rear sensors.

The same spec on the 3 series cost me over 25k - and while its undoubtedly the better car - faster, larger, more fun to drive, I honestly dont think there is much gap in the interior spec which is what I would expect from the 'luxury' car - BMWs interior looks nicer, but isnt any better quality IMO

I'm not judging the luxuriousness of the Golf or the 3 Series, just that in these analyses and other polls, the cars are categorized, and the Golf is not in the "luxury" category. Hence why you're not seeing it in the list, and why I answered your comment that the Golf is stolen more than the cars on this list...

[Bimmerfestool]

Originally Posted by dinonz

Doesn't stop the car being hoisted on a trailer and towed away.

Which is how most cars get stolen these days.

[Bimmerfestool]

Originally Posted by JesseS

Always park next to the Maserati.

Unless it's a 1981 Biturbo.


In all seriousness though, it's really nothing to worry about other than taking some basic precautions that you should have already been taking. While bmw may be high up on the list for luxury thefts, they are actually very low on the list for overall theft. Why? Because most cars stolen are older less valuable models (the most common MY stolen in 2005 was 1991, and in 2011 avg stolen car value was a bit over $6k); and that's because car theft is usually a crime of opportunity, and older less valuable cars are more often left in vulnerable states.

That being said there are, of course, professional car thieves and associated criminal operations. If one of these types wants your car, they will get it, and you will have a hard time stopping them. The best thing you could do would be to get an after-market quiet alarm system that notifies authorities and/or calls your cell phone (car thieves will bump your car before stealing it to see if an alarm goes off -- and then they'll just come back later when they're ready to deal with it). What you absolutely don't want is a stupid blinking red light that lets them know what's up.

The BMW OEM alarm system will be absolutely useless vs a professional thief.

(Make sure it's installed by an experienced and qualified vehicle security specialist, too. Pros know just where to look for typical alarm installations.)

I think a quiet alarm is even worst than a noisy alarm, since not only will it not deter pro thieves, it will not deter opportunistic thieves either, since they won't hear it and get scared. By the time you or police gets there after your quiet phone call, car will be gone either way.

[dinonz]

Originally Posted by Bimmerfestool

Which is how most cars get stolen these days.

Yeah - and the only way an alarm will help with that is if someone hears it and interferes.

But I've seen documentaries where people have walked past cars with alarms going and people inside quite clearly trying to hotwire it, and they do nothing but stare. Nobody wants to get involved - except maybe the owner.

[Bimmerfestool]

Originally Posted by dinonz

Yeah - and the only way an alarm will help with that is if someone hears it and interferes.

But I've seen documentaries where people have walked past cars with alarms going and people inside quite clearly trying to hotwire it, and they do nothing but stare. Nobody wants to get involved - except maybe the owner.

I had a car stolen and all people said when I got back to my empty spot was that someone had taken it on a flat bed, so obviously people don't interfere. If they do they probably get shot anyway. This was in another country much more violent than the US BTW.

[F30AM]

Originally Posted by southbynorth

If you say so - cant say there is a huge difference between the Golf and the 3 series interior - what makes the 3 series luxury, but not the Golf?

Edit. I'll clarify that. I have owned both cars. 17k down on a Golf bought me a 2ltr turbo diesel, leather heated seats, auto lights, auto wipers, cruise control, rear sensors.

The same spec on the 3 series cost me over 25k - and while its undoubtedly the better car - faster, larger, more fun to drive, I honestly dont think there is much gap in the interior spec which is what I would expect from the 'luxury' car - BMWs interior looks nicer, but isnt any better quality IMO

Sorry I beg to differ. I've owned a Mk6 Golf GTI and I've driven the Mk7 Golf GTI as well. The VW Golf is a bland hatchback shopping trolly and is nowhere premium in name or materials. It's good, very good but that's not quite enough. For the VAG Group Audi is the Premium brand and the fit and finish prove this in comparison to the Golf, be it Mk6 or Mk7.

When I drove the Mk7 GTI, it felt that little bit cheap compared to my F30 and an F20.

VW owners, especially GTI ones, are a bit closed minded and are very sensitive to the fact that the Golf is NOT Premium. The fact is: IT IS NOT. IT IS A VW AND NOT AN AUDI OR BMW OR MERCEDES. FULL STOP. Reality will strike them one day.

[Bimmerfestool]

Originally Posted by F30AM

Sorry I beg to differ. I've owned a Mk6 Golf GTI and I've driven the Mk7 Golf GTI as well. The VW Golf is a bland hatchback shopping trolly and is nowhere premium in name or materials. It's good, very good but that's not quite enough. For the VAG Group Audi is the Premium brand and the fit and finish prove this in comparison to the Golf, be it Mk6 or Mk7.

When I drove the Mk7 GTI, it felt that little bit cheap compared to my F30 and an F20.

VW owners, especially GTI ones, are a bit closed minded and are very sensitive to the fact that the Golf is NOT Premium. The fact is: IT IS NOT. IT IS A VW AND NOT AN AUDI OR BMW OR MERCEDES. FULL STOP. Reality will strike them one day.

To be fair I found the current 3 series materials to be several steps below 5/6/7 series and probably the equivalent of my current 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe (Hyundai has made big improvements)