[misterS3]

So on Wednesday i get a call from the OH of 6 months who was using the E70 X5 and my heart sank thinking she'd pranged it.

But what had happened was she was pickpocketed at the local shops. She initially thought she'd dropped the key but turns out that the guy in the Cafe she was in and some other local shop keepers had seen 2 junkies (their words) looking dodgy that day. And when she went back to the car it was open. The only lucky thing was it was right next to a bus stop so i guess they thought it was too visible to approach/get in.

So upsides are they didn't steal the car or anything and nobody hurt.

So to cancel that key is £50 and a new key £165 (i'm guessing plus VAT - the other half was dealing with). But that leaves the issues that the physical key is still out there. And according to OH when she phoned around - changing the boot and door lock was over a grand. I've not had a chance to enquire about it myself with work being manic - having lost yesterday to sorting out the house lock and parking the car somewhere safe. My concern is that someone now had easy entry to the car and with the ODB port method of stealing, the car really is a sitting duck. Especially with the fact we live 5 mins walk from where the car was stolen. So they're likely to see us again in the car. Plus i have a simple private plate to recognise. 3 letters and a number.

Insurance is with Admiral and only covers up to a £100 (they have a additional insurance for keys).

Police notified.

Just wondered if anyone had had a similar experience and wondered what you did.

Ta in advance

[bishbosh]

Unfortunate, basic measures first. Get a steering wheel lock, that'll hopefully make the buggers think twice. Presumably you've had the security update carried out on the car if it's not already been done? Also think about moving the obd port so that it cannot easily be found.

Hth

Edit, had my car broken into twice, no damage as door was unlocked both times but had a satnav taken, so I'm a lot warier now, once bitten, twice shy.

[misterS3]

Cheers

Think i'll invest in a StopLok Pro

Causing lots of grief with the OH as she won't drive the car anymore. And even if she did she wouldn't take the dogs (her reason for taking it mostly) as someone could steal the dogs are they have the physical key.

Her cracker today was "if the car gets stolen that would be fine as i could just claim and get a new one!" She doesn't have her own insurance and doesn't pay for it as she's on mine with 17 years NCB!

[AWSAWS]

Well that's a PITA.

Firstly. Any CCTV to catch them in the act so the police can question them and get the key back? Is a witness enough?

Worry is they have a key and can open the car to pinch anything inside. Doubt they'd take the car itself and a wheel lock could prevent that.

I'd consider changing the boot and door lock at an independent. Possibly even just have them removed completely. Job done.

ODB port isn't a major issue. Most likely they've thrown the key away.

Good luck. Sounds like a real PITA.

[zltm089]

Disklock at least.

[AWSAWS]

I reckon they'd be after loose money and things like laptops that they can flog for quick cash rather than the car itself. But still. Not a great situation.

[misterS3]

Just a wee update.

So i bought a stoplock pro last week as that was on Amazon same day delivery. Don't bother, useless for anyone with an airbag and horn on the centre of the steering wheel.

I was then about to buy a DiskLok but the car's been hidden away until yesterday and i thought i'd head in to BMW in Kyle Street, Glasgow and drop it off and get the new key and see if i could pick up one on ebay in the meantime.

So they gave prices as follows:
£50+VAT to bar a key
£140+VAT for replacement.
Noting that the Metal key would still open the door / give access.

I then asked about the barrels getting changed as i thought it shouldn't cost that much more, and the guy said it was about £500 more from his memory. Very different to the £2k odd i'd read and been told on the phone the previous week. i.e would need a new module. That never made sense to me as i thought it would have been programmable.

So that's what i've gone for £788 for 2 new keys and barrels all in including labour and VAT.

The other half is getting her own car/insurance


*I asked about the ODB thefts and he said my car had the QAS/CAS(?) update to prevent this?! Anyone shed any light on that? Because i was going to ask him to disable the ODB port.

[pinco000]

get a viper alarm. They wont be able to drive the car even with the original fob key. As soon they unlock and open the door the alarm will go off. You will get £100 refund ftom your insurance company, at Ieast I got when I informed them about upgraded security.
Scumbags those thieves!

[DavS1]

Price will be for 2 key fobs, 2x key blades, barrel(s) a CAS control unit (Car Access System) which basically is for recognising your key and sending signal to ECU/Steering lock/Key Slot Plus programming of new CAS and labour to fit it all.

Which when you think about it, £788 is actually a fair price considering!

The ONLY thing you could have done would have been to disconnect the locks so they wouldn't have opened the door/boot with the key, but if the battery went flat/key's stopped working, you'd have been screwed!

I'd hand her the bill

[misterS3]

Originally Posted by pinco000

get a viper alarm. They wont be able to drive the car even with the original fob key. As soon they unlock and open the door the alarm will go off. You will get £100 refund ftom your insurance company, at Ieast I got when I informed them about upgraded security.
Scumbags those thieves!

That was an option before i found out the sub £800 fix which i thought was pretty reasonable all in from BMW.

[misterS3]

Originally Posted by DavS1

Price will be for 2 key fobs, 2x key blades, barrel(s) a CAS control unit (Car Access System) which basically is for recognising your key and sending signal to ECU/Steering lock/Key Slot Plus programming of new CAS and labour to fit it all.

Which when you think about it, £788 is actually a fair price considering!

The ONLY thing you could have done would have been to disconnect the locks so they wouldn't have opened the door/boot with the key, but if the battery went flat/key's stopped working, you'd have been screwed!

I'd hand her the bill

I thought so too. I would have expected it to be thousands. I'm sure my mate was quoted close to £3k for getting all his locks (albeit comfort access) replaced on his stolen Z4. Maybe that was from the insurance price list.

I was tempted to disconnect the locks as the battery is very good on the X5 compared to my other car , but knowing my current luck the battery would have given up the ghost as soon as i'd disconnected them!

(Aside: i've now bought a jumper pack for my other car as i regularly have to get into it via the hidden key slot because the battery is far too small and there must a drain from somewhere killing it. I can't leave it a week. And i can't track it down the drain! Eg other day i left the OH in it with the Accessories on so i she could charge her phone, listen to music etc and came back 30 mins later and it wouldn't turn over. Luckily i keep jumpers in the car for the very purpose!)

She's paying for the one key solution and i'm having to stump for the rest until she gets a job - currently a student! I'm sure everyone has been through this with much better cars than mine when they move in/get married/settle down. My mate has a long list of dings his other half has caused! I don't think they get how much cars mean to some of us!