[TodmordenLad]

Sold my 4GC a few days ago. Very sorry to see it go. By far the best 6cyl BMW I've owned. Tired of people trying to pinch it. Won't go into detail on here but not prepared to put the household at any further risk. I've lived in my house for a long time but things have deteriorated noticeably in the last 18 months. Family in other parts of the country are telling me the same thing. Utterly depressing.

[JustChris]

That's terrible! Sorry to hear this, what's on the horizon now, would you try and move area and also what's the new car?

Cheers
Chris

[winther1]

Is the 4GC particularly attractive to thieves? I'm really worried about mine - it's parked in a gated car park, but the landlord told me a fiat500 was stolen from there recently.
I bought this GPS tracker https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07GYVZV...740111_TE_item
Not because of the tracking ability but because any vibration will alert me. My flat is right above the car park, so if I get the message I will be downstairs with a baseball bat in 20 seconds. Keeping my keys in a faraday pouch and getting a steering wheel lock to buy myself time. Not sure there is much else I can do

[TodmordenLad]

Originally Posted by JustChris

That's terrible! Sorry to hear this, what's on the horizon now, would you try and move area and also what's the new car?

Cheers
Chris

Dont want to move, Chris - well not yet anyway.
Mulling over car options. Here's the conundrum: all the cars I like are German, fast and attractive to thieves :

[dawal6]

I had my m2 stolen after 2 months of ownership, seemed in my town all good cars eventually get stolen. I went for a m140 with pandora alarm system, 18 months of suffering because of them, so sod it upgraded all security and back in a x4 m40d which suits my needs now, but won’t let them ruin my hobby

[winther1]

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style...ls-regions-map

[JD6]

Originally Posted by TodmordenLad

Sold my 4GC a few days ago. Very sorry to see it go. By far the best 6cyl BMW I've owned. Tired of people trying to pinch it. Won't go into detail on here but not prepared to put the household at any further risk. I've lived in my house for a long time but things have deteriorated noticeably in the last 18 months. Family in other parts of the country are telling me the same thing. Utterly depressing.

Very sorry to hear this.

In 2002, while living in London, I felt forced into selling my E39 M5 which I parked on the street. It had the wheels nicked at a few months old and a few deliberate scratches. It got to the point where the car was causing us more stress than it was worth so I bought a Golf instead

Shit cars do have their upsides - I could sleep perfectly and park anywhere, but it's very annoying to be forced into getting one.

[isleaiw1]

Sorry to hear the news. I have to say that I do have some concerns about my car but currently taking the view that it is insured, insurance pay out will be more than the part ex value and I have a spare car if the worst happens....

I see you used to have Volvo's, not sure they are so attractive to the car thieves......or maybe a 530d, they blend in quite nicely in grey...

[N-W]

I think you have to try and enjoy the car you really want, otherwise they unfortunately win.

Although some cars will clearly be more desirable than others, all types of cars are stolen, not just luxury or high performance ones. Therefore I will continue to have the car I want.

I follow a local instagram page that post stolen cars and I'd say most of them are average cars, for example in the last few weeks stolen have been a Fiat 500, Ford S-Max, BMW 1 Series and Volvo XC60.

[TodmordenLad]

Originally Posted by weston.__

I think you have to try and enjoy the car you really want, otherwise they unfortunately win.

Although some cars will clearly be more desirable than others, all types of cars are stolen, not just luxury or high performance ones. Therefore I will continue to have the car I want.

I follow a local instagram page that post stolen cars and I'd say most of them are average cars, for example in the last few weeks stolen have been a Fiat 500, Ford S-Max, BMW 1 Series and Volvo XC60.

I agree with you in principle although the circumstances of the last attempt have persuaded me otherwise. Simple case of priorities for me. Feel cr*p about it, however.

In my neighbourhood, all cars stolen or on which there were attempts in the past 18 months were premium brands afaik - the ones I know about in particular were JLR and Porsche

[richatha]

I've had two lots of people trying to come for my 340 now and have made a whole host of security improvements to the house to stop it from happening including my cctv turning every light on in the house in the house if anyone triggers it during the night and good locks on my external doors. I also have gap insurance so if they took it I get the exact same model so I'm not to bothered!

[Hugrov]

Very sorry to hear that it's got to the point of you having to sell your car, that's a real shame. It really is disheartening that you can't just enjoy the fruits of your labour without some thieving shit head(s) coming along to try to deprive you of your car, kind of says it all about the country we live in unfortunately.

[JNW1]

Out of interest were the cars that have been targeted debadged? I appreciate people in the know will still be able to tell a 340i/440i from a lesser model and if they're stealing to order debadging won't make any difference; however, without a badge on the back I reckon most people wouldn't know a 420i from a 440i. Personally I prefer to fly under the radar where possible and hence tend to have my cars debadged....

[Wills2]

These spates of thefts are often because a gang arrives from elsewhere and starts nicking cars, we had it locally a few years ago and loads of people I know got done, the MO was to follow you home tackle you as you got out with bats/knifes and taser gets the keys and piss off with it, they were not local but they were caught and came from 50 miles away. They preyed on a particular estate and then moved on to the next village etc....

After that it stopped, eventually another set of scumbags will arrive with the same bright idea, it got so bad I wouldn't pull onto my drive with a car following me and used to vary my route back from the gym/work started to reverse onto the drive so I could do something should they attempt to follow me down and never got out the car until I'd checked the coast was clear.

All a bit over the top really but the MO wasn't nice, a few people got beaten and one got tasered they were nasty pieces of work.

[winther1]

Originally Posted by Wills2

These spates of thefts are often because a gang arrives from elsewhere and starts nicking cars, we had it locally a few years ago and loads of people I know got done, the MO was to follow you home tackle you as you got out with bats/knifes and taser gets the keys and piss off with it, they were not local but they were caught and came from 50 miles away. They preyed on a particular estate and then moved on to the next village etc....

After that it stopped, eventually another set of scumbags will arrive with the same bright idea, it got so bad I wouldn't pull onto my drive with a car following me and used to vary my route back from the gym/work started to reverse onto the drive so I could do something should they attempt to follow me down and never got out the car until I'd checked the coast was clear.

All a bit over the top really but the MO wasn't nice, a few people got beaten and one got tasered they were nasty pieces of work.

Birmingham area? I live in east London - not even a gated car park keeps the scum out. Since buying my car 2 weeks ago I've been excited and worried in equal measures...

[Wills2]

Originally Posted by winther1

Birmingham area? I live in east London - not even a gated car park keeps the scum out. Since buying my car 2 weeks ago I've been excited and worried in equal measures...

No 170 miles away from Birmingham I think their issue is a constant one anyway, same with London.

Smaller towns and villages tend to have gangs come a operate for a while rather than a constant threat from scumbags living in the area.

Car theft is also still much lower than it was but trend is rising.

[JNW1]

I think one of the unfortunate consequences of improved car security is thieves need the key to take the car which means they often target the owner in the first instance in order to get it. I would imagine that's very scary if they end-up at your home and start to threaten violence against you and/or your family.....

[gr4z]

Originally Posted by TodmordenLad

Sold my 4GC a few days ago. Very sorry to see it go. By far the best 6cyl BMW I've owned. Tired of people trying to pinch it. Won't go into detail on here but not prepared to put the household at any further risk. I've lived in my house for a long time but things have deteriorated noticeably in the last 18 months. Family in other parts of the country are telling me the same thing. Utterly depressing.

As someone who had their 330d stolen 4 years ago, I feel your pain. I have also had 2 sets of bikes nicked from my garage.

As others have said, try not to let them win. De-badge, Q-car look can help. Although if they want your car, they will have it. I installed CCTV after my theft and put stickers on the windows.

Good luck with what you decide to buy next.

[Racing Teatray]

Originally Posted by winther1

Birmingham area? I live in east London - not even a gated car park keeps the scum out. Since buying my car 2 weeks ago I've been excited and worried in equal measures...

Is that a gated car park where it opens automatically when you drive at it from inside? Which really just means they need to hop over the wall, or if it's a big development with a lot of people coming and going, they just tailgate somebody in, so sadly not a huge deterrent.

Our rear driveway has heavy wrought-iron gates that I keep chained shut with a toughened chain and padlock originally designed to secure a motorbike. Just as an additional deterrent to encourage would-be thieves to pass on by in favour of easier targets. Being central London, there are plenty of fancier cars parked outside on the street to pick from.

[Londoner]

Originally Posted by TodmordenLad

Sold my 4GC a few days ago. Very sorry to see it go. By far the best 6cyl BMW I've owned. Tired of people trying to pinch it. Won't go into detail on here but not prepared to put the household at any further risk. I've lived in my house for a long time but things have deteriorated noticeably in the last 18 months. Family in other parts of the country are telling me the same thing. Utterly depressing.

That sounds awful mate, and it's not like it was a 911 turbo - shocking and sad that you have felt pressured into this sale.

Don't have comfort access and I keep one key at work and the other on me at all times however reading threads like this make you realise that may not be enough.

And we're not just talking about simple theft here, judging by some of the horrendous comments just in this thread - people who are prepared to come armed and attack you for your key is a whole different scenario to what we're generally historically used to in the UK.

[James-335dx]

Really sorry to hear you've been targeted. It is certainly something that worries me a lot. I live in a quiet village where nothing used to happen but in the past 18 months we've seen it all. Cash machines removed with stolen tractors, catalytic converters stolen, burglaries, car thefts, armed robbery at the post office, shops broken in to. It's becoming a weekly occurrence.
I've had 3 attempts in that time but luckily it's just been teens trying their luck for an unlocked car or front door. I've got cameras, motion detection, 8ft high fences, steering locks, additional door locks etc and a couple of baseball bats strategically placed but if a gang turns up in masks armed with machetes then I'd probably be selling up in favor of a battered 206

[MashinBenzin]

Originally Posted by TodmordenLad

Sold my 4GC a few days ago. Very sorry to see it go. By far the best 6cyl BMW I've owned. Tired of people trying to pinch it. Won't go into detail on here but not prepared to put the household at any further risk. I've lived in my house for a long time but things have deteriorated noticeably in the last 18 months. Family in other parts of the country are telling me the same thing. Utterly depressing.

Ah no, sorry to hear this. Society really is just getting worse, all the available security we have and the scrotes just have no fear.

Sad to see the car go I bet, not a perfect car but one of the most perfect designs of the last decade imho. It just looks right from almost every angle. And the B58 improves the car and masks its refinement deficiencies.

Good luck with the search for something new and discrete.