My X5 stolen from my driveway

[x5pilot]

A week ago my 10 month old X5 40d M was stolen from my driveway.
It had a pretty high spec, inc black alloys, glacier silver, 7 seats plus several on board extras.
One thief scanned my key using a transmitter held up to the back door of my house which relayed a signal to another thief who stood by my car door.
After they had opened my driveway gates and positioned themselves it took them less than 2 minutes to gain access and drive away.
I'm not naive enough to know that this wasnt possible, however I didn’t figure on the level of sheer risk and nerve the thieves would go to.
I have the whole event on CCTV, closed gates, security lights and two large dogs.
I'm convinced they had surveyed my property and used the cover of a windy night to steal my car. Dogs didn’t hear anything, lights would flash on and off with the wind and any noise would be disguised by the wind.
My car was removed at 4.06am and was captured on a police camera at 6am - I had reported it stolen by 7am and a 9.30am the same morning the police raided a chopshop about 60 miles north of my location.
My car was found, however as described by the police it was in 100s of pieces! Inside 3 hours the car was professionally stripped and ready to be boxed and shipped to the east of Europe - this was what the cops told me.
Two guys were arrested, but only for handling stolen goods but they'll plead ignorance and get off with a slap on the wrist.
Insurance company will pay out however I’m still waiting on a figure. As I don’t have gap insurance I'm under considerable stress as I assume the insurance company’s number will be way off BMW finance settlement number. All in I guess I'm going to be out of pocket a considerable amount.
I guess I'm posting this up here to warn others (I live in reasonably pleasant part of Cambridge, UK)
The F15 BMW is very much a target for theft!
The car did have comfort access which I believe did make it easy to scan.
Surely BMW (and other car manufactures) should be shouldering some of the responsibility here?!

[Russmov]

Originally Posted by x5pilot

A week ago my 10 month old X5 40d M was stolen from my driveway.
It had a pretty high spec, inc black alloys, glacier silver, 7 seats plus several on board extras.
One thief scanned my key using a transmitter held up to the back door of my house which relayed a signal to another thief who stood by my car door.
After they had opened my driveway gates and positioned themselves it took them less than 2 minutes to gain access and drive away.
I'm not naive enough to know that this wasnt possible, however I didn’t figure on the level of sheer risk and nerve the thieves would go to.
I have the whole event on CCTV, closed gates, security lights and two large dogs.
I'm convinced they had surveyed my property and used the cover of a windy night to steal my car. Dogs didn’t hear anything, lights would flash on and off with the wind and any noise would be disguised by the wind.
My car was removed at 4.06am and was captured on a police camera at 6am - I had reported it stolen by 7am and a 9.30am the same morning the police raided a chopshop about 60 miles north of my location.
My car was found, however as described by the police it was in 100s of pieces! Inside 3 hours the car was professionally stripped and ready to be boxed and shipped to the east of Europe - this was what the cops told me.
Two guys were arrested, but only for handling stolen goods but they'll plead ignorance and get off with a slap on the wrist.
Insurance company will pay out however I’m still waiting on a figure. As I don’t have gap insurance I'm under considerable stress as I assume the insurance company’s number will be way off BMW finance settlement number. All in I guess I'm going to be out of pocket a considerable amount.
I guess I'm posting this up here to warn others (I live in reasonably pleasant part of Cambridge, UK)
The F15 BMW is very much a target for theft!
The car did have comfort access which I believe did make it easy to scan.
Surely BMW (and other car manufactures) should be shouldering some of the responsibility here?!

Really sorry to hear that OP. It definitely sucks that they stole your property. Sounds like they are pretty experienced thieves, probably part of a ring. Real low lifes out there stealing peoples hard earned property.

[Wavy]

Sorry for your troubles. I remember reading a similar story of a 5 series owner. Their car was stolen from a parking garage. Probably with a similar type of technology.

[The Libertine]

Very unfortunate to read this, but hope insurance properly provides coverage to make you whole. Thieves are out there, and their sophistication seems to be right on-par with circumventing anti-theft measures.

[turboawd]

I'd be really interested to see the video.
Got any pics of it afterwards?

[LeopardM3]

wow that is wild, and horrible.

[X6carts]

Originally Posted by LeopardM3

wow that is wild, and horrible.

Awful.
Been researching this a little, haven't even got my f16 yet but have a worried wife. Didn't tick comfort access as I had read it might help them.
Will also get some cheapo faraday bags for keys at night.
If they really want it they can have it, but hoping cctv, dog barking, burglar alarm and tracker (they won't know about that I guess) will put them off.
Have a Touareg with comfort access equivalent at the mo, and nobody has tried to nick it, and there are 2 Overfinch RRs down the road from me that must be more interesting?!!
I'm pondering gap, but always saw it as a con.
Does your insurance replace new for new in first year?
I'm in Scotland.
Fetching car from BMW Norwich soon!
Sorry for your news.

[P1]

I saw the title of your post and immediately knew you were in Western Europe or the UK. Unfortunately this is not unique. And you're right. Cars part are requested, car is stolen, taken apart in no time and it all goes to Eastern Europe. With open borders, this is a pretty easy exercise.

My uncle found a thief in his 3-series randomly one day who was removing parts from his interior. They have the right tools, are experienced in removing certain parts, and can do it all in record time.

[P1]

And in case you wonder how these end up Romania, for example:

[RED_Y_]

This is sad.

[X5M50D]

That sucks!
Sorry to hear about this unfortunate incident and hope the insurance pay out the market value.
When I first bought my X5 I had heard that these cars were the number 1 stolen vehicles in the UK, so had no hesitation in getting GAP insurance for peace of mind.
Good luck

[ianfp]

A really sad story and I sincerely hope you don't end up too much out of pocket!

Only yesterday I was reading the latest report saying that the X5 was back on the top of the stolen car list in the UK.

I have a safe that I keep my key fobs in and although not entirely convenient, it does become habit.

It is quite shocking that manufacturers are not protecting their customers!

[Zamorskii]

Sorry to hear about what happened. Everything can be replaced and the most important is that nobody got hurt in the process.

Those Ebay listings of performance parts from East Europe look always suspicious to me.

[geedup35]

Sorry to hear that happened to you OP... Hopefully you won't be out too much.

Btw, not trying to be an ass, but can they put it back together if all the parts were there?

[1norseman]

Originally Posted by geedup35

Sorry to hear that happened to you OP... Hopefully you won't be out too much.

Btw, not trying to be an ass, but can they put it back together if all the parts were there?

I doubt it would be worth trying to put it back together.
Cost of labor and time is likely too high, if it was stripped down.
Diminished value is another reason.

My guess is the crooks disassemble them very quickly and not always carefully.
So especially with interiors, there is risk of creaking from trim pieces not seating perfect anymore.
Also possible/likely damage to less expensive parts from when removed.
Personally I would rather take a big $ hit and get a new vehicle, than having one that was stripped and put back together.

[Mdlooker]

Sorry to hear this and glad you brought awareness. Absolutely hope your insurance company will ensure you at least break off even! Because of this, I immediately went and ordered a key-fob RFID signal blocker pocket to help ward off easy targeting.

Upgraded Faraday Bag for Key Fob (2 Pack), TICONN Premium Faraday Cage Protector – Car RFID Signal Blocking, Anti-Theft Pouch, Anti-Hacking Case Blocker

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GDD35GH..._kQqCCb54GP6D4

**those pics above are absolutely horrible**

[gqgambler]

Sorry to hear the bad news.

Unfortunately this is becoming more and more common place. If thieves want it they will find a way to get it and their technology outpaces the manufactures. Big companies have too much red tape and regulation to move swiftly. Electronic keys are/were to be safer and more secure than traditional keys. Unfortunately nothing will prevent a thief 100% of the time.

On a side note, in the U.S. some insurance companies provide gap insurance if you finance with them. For example in I know State Farm does.

[ezaircon4jc]

I thought BMW corrected this a few years ago... Guess not!

[imirdalf]

Hi, need to know somethink even they copy the signal to open the car they must remake a key to run the car. It s called mousejacking. They were access from the obd reader. Here is the solution to never read this access. I put it for my car the next day i bought it. The only way after this installation is to pull your car or use a truck trailer..

https://www.amazon.fr/Jadauto-Antivo...ywords=Jadauto

and here is the inventor page:

https://www.antivoljadauto.com/

[cfm56d7b]

OP, did you replace the stolen vehicle?

Sorry about the bad news.

[RED_Y_]

Did you have a remote engine start installed? Wondering how did they get the engine started, I was under impression that keys are being programmed by BMW and even dealers don't have access to the keymaking database as well as key fobs can't be re-used.

[P1]

Originally Posted by RED_Y_

Did you have a remote engine start installed? Wondering how did they get the engine started, I was under impression that keys are being programmed by BMW and even dealers don't have access to the keymaking database as well as key fobs can't be re-used.

They don’t replicate the key; they simply amplify the comfort access from inside the house to the actual vehicle.