[nazali]

Car crime.... Just heard (my area is usually pretty good) we've left keys in doors, garages unlocked, 2 BMW verts parked outside.

But I've heard that 2 guys caught stealing a car down my street, high end.

So wanted to ask about some thoughts. I'm not overly scared.

I personally was in a home invasion back in my house in the UK, may years ago, (or perhaps a failed burglary) multiple men in my house robbing me thinking I was out. They possibly had guns, maybe not, I woke from a dream hearing my bedroom door slaming saying "if that door opens shoot!" I thought I was dreaming, till I opened my bedroom door and found my front door wide open. My Porsche wasnt touched, locked in the Leanto next to my house

... so for months I slept downstairs witha torque wrench and fortifed my house. Took nearly a year before I got back to normal... never happened again or since, and I was living alone !

OK.. so thoughts on points

1> securing the BMW:
* I have a faraday cage bag which I store my keys in, is this suffcient ?
* Does the old trick about breaking a window and using the OBD2 to make a key still work on the 2020
* (car does have an factory alarm)
* Are Ram posts's worth it
* are steering wheel locks worth it

2> Lighting
* we have flood lights on proximity alert
* we have pot lights all round the house in the roof
* We have front and rear porch lights
<although> OH will put everylight off at night before BED leaving just the floodlights

3> We have some cameras outside which never got connected so mainly a deterrent at the moment

I'm not overly scared or worried, no matter what protection you do you can get stolen or robbed, you've got insurance and you really have to trust that God is looking over you.

THAT SAID

If anyone has any hints tips or thoughts

[msej449]

Firstly, UK theft figures put the M235i/M240i as below-average probability of theft. They're just not a popular model for professional thieves.

Second, UK figures again point to a car that's garaged being three times less likely to be stolen than one on your drive. If it's parked randomly on the street, its half as likely to be taken.

Finally, nowadays, car theft of performance/ luxury cars is mostly done by professional gangs who have a 'shopping list' of vehicles for whom they already have cash buyers. I don't know the US 'top ten' but in the UK the #1 spot for some years has been either the BMW X5 or the Audi RS, which are stolen at 2x the rate of the #2. The rest of the top ten (by number of cars taken, not % of that model) are all SUVs (Range Rover, Discovery, etc.) with the exception of some of the BMW pure Ms and older Ford Fiestas. The latter is the only 'ordinary' car in the top ten because it's so easy to break into an older model, and is used just to get home etc.

So basically, the UK landscape means that (a) deterrence-wise, the best thing to do by far if you have a garage is to park your car in it and the worst thing is to put it on the drive. (b) if you're the target of professional gang then being unable to clone the key is no deterrent - they'll probably try to get entry covertly first (see below), then break in to get them, given they are after that specific model. So you may decide not to put the key in a Faraday bag (c) the M-lites are well below average probability of theft. (d) If you losetrack of one of your two sets of keys, don't leave them to turn up - actively find them (in case someone has taken/pickpocketed a set).

The most common next step if cloning fails turns out to be a visit from a criminal posing as a utility or similar representative in order to steal a set of keys. Think "We've had reports of some electrical fires in the area and are just checking the mains entry point to the house. Could I just check your fuse box?". Or if you're having lots of builders in to do work, then they turn up in the house and if challenged, say they're just starting work as a subcontractor and got the wrong house ... etc. So if you can't find one of your two sets of keys, don't just leave it and hope they'll turn up eventually - find them.

I'm sure the stats are probably a bit different in the US but you might be reassured if you do some reasearch about the US Top Ten stolen vehicles. My guess is that the odds are very low your car is going to be a target.

[nazali]

That is a very clear and concise reply. great information and thoughts.

Yes I guess if a proffesional gang wants my car bad enough they will have it.

Nothing is foolproof. Yes it's not a M-car

I know BMW's and other newer cars are getting harder to steal without the keys, so there usually gettng jacked
or burglarised.

I remember seeing vids from the UK, for some older BMW's where they get to the OBD2 and just make a key in a few minutes and drive off, I also thought BMW had fixed that ? dunno

Then "man in the middle" attacks or code grabbing, though I think our's have anti-grab.

My garage is more a workshop and if push comes to shove, I can put the car in there long/short term but not daily, as it involves moving stuff out. It really is a working garage.

[marksandygill]

We keep our keys in Faraday pouches for a bit of a deterrent, at the same time, they're in the hallway, so if anyone does break in they won't have to go looking for them with my kids around!!

Might also be an idea to hide a tracking tag somewhere in the car, not that we do...😄

[JMcLellan]

We put our key fobs in a faraday box, and we typically have both vehicles parked in the garage (my car 100% of the time). In my surrounding area there have been many vehicle break-ins; mostly people rummaging through vehicles, not stealing the vehicle. It's been a few months since I've heard of any activity but when those crooks get going there are tons of reports of vehicles being broken into.

If someone were to figure out how to steal my car as I have it secured then good for them. I would cash the insurance check and go shopping for something else. Maybe a couple tears but I would be fine.

[Oltimer]

i had my steering wheel stolen a while ago and this is quite common i'm told, the only way to combat this is by removing the steering wheel hight adjuster as this is how they're able to pull the wheel out of the dash complete with all attachments, check the link below



https://www.2addicts.com/forums/show....php?t=2018185