BMW theft - beware!

jungleman

I'm renting in Kildare with a few friends, one of whom drives a BMW 320D. The car was stolen from outside the house at some stage on Friday night, the house wasn't broken into, and he had his keys with him upstairs.

Straight away we thought that whoever stole the car must have had a cloned key. There was no glass on the ground outside the house where the car was parked so the thieves didn't smash a window to gain access or anything.

The thing is, he went into a garage beside his workplace about three months ago to get his original key cloned. They cloned the key for him and dropped it over to him along with the original. The garage is run by a bunch of Lithuanian guys.

Now that the car has been stolen, he's been chatting to various Gardaí, and one Garda told him that the car has most likely been stolen by a gang operating out of Blanchardstown, who ship the car overseas. The gang are Lithuanian, according to the Garda.

So joining the dots here, it is strongly possible that the guys in the garage cloned an extra copy of the key which they kept themselves. They could have followed him home from work to see where he lives, and waited a few months before they struck. It's possible that the guys in the garage are working with that gang operating from Blanchardstown.

The worst thing of all is that he had about €5,000 worth of stuff inside the car (tools, motorbike tyres...) including a GPS tracker. Only thing is, the tracker wasn't working.

So just a word of warning folks, be very careful who you send your car to! Use a garage you trust, and simple deterrents like a steering lock or dummy camera outside can go a long way.

Eric Cartman

what year was the car. There was a problem with some models of bmw's that could be stolen using a code generator from ebay, no keys at all.

there are a lot of lithuanians here in Ireland and a lot of them work in the motor trade, its a shame this happened to your mate but its jumping the gun to make that link .


although If i was getting keys cloned id never tell the person where I lived or get them dropped up.

jungleman

Eric Cartman wrote: »

what year was the car. There was a problem with some models of bmw's that could be stolen using a code generator from ebay, no keys at all.

there are a lot of lithuanians here in Ireland and a lot of them work in the motor trade, its a shame this happened to your mate but its jumping the gun to make that link .


although If i was getting keys cloned id never tell the person where I lived or get them dropped up.

They dropped the keys to his work, his unit is right next to theirs, should have made that clearer.

His model was an 08.

I know there's a lot of Lithuanians in Ireland, but the fact that they copied the key and then this happens is a bit coincidental. Maybe there's no link between the two at all, I'm totally open to that too!

Eric Cartman

jungleman wrote: »

They dropped the keys to his work, his unit is right next to theirs, should have made that clearer.

His model was an 08.

I know there's a lot of Lithuanians in Ireland, but the fact that they copied the key and then this happens is a bit coincidental. Maybe there's no link between the two at all, I'm totally open to that too!

id say more likely stolen like this : http://hackaday.com/2012/07/07/keyless-bmw-cars-prove-to-be-very-easy-to-steal/

jungleman

Eric Cartman wrote: »

id say more likely stolen like this : http://hackaday.com/2012/07/07/keyless-bmw-cars-prove-to-be-very-easy-to-steal/

That was one of the first things we thought of, before he even remembered giving his key in to be cloned by those guys. The thing is, even looking out the kitchen window now, I can see three other BMW's all parked in our housing estate. They're only the ones I can see, there's probably a good few more. None of them were stolen, even though they would have had a quicker exit out of the estate. Only his was taken! That's why the "cloned key" argument has become a bit more realistic?

The Garda also said that they park the cars in random housing estates for two days, to make sure they don't have a GPS tracker on them. If no-one comes to collect the car after two days, that gang ships them out of the country. It makes my blood boil!

Eric Cartman

jungleman wrote: »

That was one of the first things we thought of, before he even remembered giving his key in to be cloned by those guys. The thing is, even looking out the kitchen window now, I can see three other BMW's all parked in our housing estate. They're only the ones I can see, there's probably a good few more. None of them were stolen, even though they would have had a quicker exit out of the estate. Only his was taken! That's why the "cloned key" argument has become a bit more realistic?

The Garda also said that they park the cars in random housing estates for two days, to make sure they don't have a GPS tracker on them. If no-one comes to collect the car after two days, that gang ships them out of the country. It makes my blood boil!

very possible, are any of the others the same model / colour as your mates. Cars get stolen to order so they could have wanted something specific too.

jungleman

Eric Cartman wrote: »

very possible, are any of the others the same model / colour as your mates. Cars get stolen to order so they could have wanted something specific too.

Not sure of the year/model, might go out and have a look. I was actually thinking of knocking at the houses and warning them, just in case.

You might be right about the "stolen to order" idea actually. None of the other cars are the same colour as his, it was a metallic blue colour. Really stood out in sunlight, really nice colour.

I think if he was to have any kind of hope of getting it back, it would have been before now. If they're stupid enough to advertise any of his tools or tyres on donedeal or adverts, that's really the only chance he has of catching the bastards.

Special Circumstances

I had problems getting a non dealer key for a early noughties MINI. Have bmw made it easier to get new keys for the new start button models? Apart from the known flaws like?

I thought it wasn't just case of cloning keys but that a new key had to be registered with the ECU and any lost keys could be disabled?

Fleawuss

I had a car taken a few years back. Rented house nearby had Lithuanians. Thieves stole the car to order according to Gardai and had knowledge of my movements.

jungleman

Special Circumstances wrote: »

I had problems getting a non dealer key for a early noughties MINI. Have bmw made it easier to get new keys for the new start button models? Apart from the known flaws like?

I thought it wasn't just case of cloning keys but that a new key had to be registered with the ECU and any lost keys could be disabled?

See, the reason he had a key cloned was because his missus had sold her own car and was insured on his, so with her own key could use it whenever she needed. It wasn't a case of the first key being lost or anything! So there were supposed to have been two keys registered to use that car, but it's possible that a third could have been made without his knowledge.

Special Circumstances

jungleman wrote: »

See, the reason he had a key cloned was because his missus had sold her own car and was insured on his, so with her own key could use it whenever she needed. It wasn't a case of the first key being lost or anything! So there were supposed to have been two keys registered to use that car, but it's possible that a third could have been made without his knowledge.

My point is that every non dealer car key supplier I rang made a big hoohah about BMW/MINI keys. This is 6 years ago and was a physical ignition key. Ended up going to a dealer and even they had to have two attempts at registering the new key.

But it seems any Fred in a shed can make the keys now??? Yikes.

jungleman

Special Circumstances wrote: »

My point is that every non dealer car key supplier I rang made a big hoohah about BMW/MINI keys. This is 6 years ago and was a physical ignition key. Ended up going to a dealer and even they had to have two attempts at registering the new key.

But it seems any Fred in a shed can make the keys now??? Yikes.

As far as I know he had no trouble in getting it done? If it is the case though that they were involved in the theft, they were probably delighted to see him coming in there asking to have a clone made.

Special Circumstances

jungleman wrote: »

As far as I know he had no trouble in getting it done? If it is the case though that they were involved in the theft, they were probably delighted to see him coming in there asking to have a clone made.

Yeah obviously there wasn't a problem getting the keys done. I thought the gear being used to the bmws was not available for legit use based on my previous key purchase research.

A pity this has changed tbh, at the time I was looking for a key I was quite happy that bmw had kept the secrets to themselves (not often I say that about dealers). Or maybe irish car locksmiths of the time were just backward.

jungleman

Special Circumstances wrote: »

Yeah obviously there wasn't a problem getting the keys done. I thought the gear being used to the bmws was not available for legit use based on my previous key purchase research.

A pity this has changed tbh, at the time I was looking for a key I was quite happy that bmw had kept the secrets to themselves (not often I say that about dealers). Or maybe irish car locksmiths of the time were just backward.

Just got a bit more info on it, actually. He left the car in to that garage last week to get two new tyres put on it. Could be the case that they had a laptop there and scanned the codes as he locked the car.

Have you heard of that gang operating out of Blanchardstown at all? If the Gardaí know so much about them, it's a wonder they haven't nabbed them for it. Especially if it's a wide-scale exporting operation?

Special Circumstances

jungleman wrote: »

Just got a bit more info on it, actually. He left the car in to that garage last week to get two new tyres put on it. Could be the case that they had a laptop there and scanned the codes as he locked the car.

If they had access to the car and the right gear then they don't need to scan for codes as he locks it. They can do it at their leisure.

I was just surprised that the gear was widely available for legit use.

Allegedly a huge amount of outboard motors going missing due to lads from the same country.

Henry Ford III

Reminds me of this.....

Roger Mellie Man on the Telly

Why would they steal RHD cars? Are they sold on in the UK?

Eric Cartman

Roger Mellie Man on the Telly wrote: »

Why would they steal RHD cars? Are they sold on in the UK?

if your selling a stolen car presumably on the cheap id imagine the buyer doesn't care.

jungleman

Roger Mellie Man on the Telly wrote: »

Why would they steal RHD cars? Are they sold on in the UK?

Russia, apparently? Going from what my housemate told me.

bidiots

What is the county reg of the car?

jungleman

bidiots wrote: »

What is the county reg of the car?

kildare reg.

jungleman

Bit of an update.

My housemate was told by his contact in the Gardaí that the car was definitely stolen by that Lithuanian gang from Blanchardstown. He was also told that the car is due to be broken down and stripped. Everything is then due to be shipped abroad.

Cerco

jungleman wrote: »

Bit of an update.

My housemate was told by his contact in the Gardaí that the car was definitely stolen by that Lithuanian gang from Blanchardstown. He was also told that the car is due to be broken down and stripped. Everything is then due to be shipped abroad.

This story is all hearsay and lacks credibility. If the Gardai they knew all that why would they not act?

jungleman

Cerco wrote: »

This story is all hearsay and lacks credibility. If the Gardai they knew all that why would they not act?

Because obviously they don't have enough evidence to do anything about it.

bidiots

Surely your mates car would be enough evidence?

bazz26

bidiots wrote: »

Surely your mates car would be enough evidence?

They have to find it first. Very hard to trace if it's broken down to parts and shipped in crates. Big money and trade in German car parts in Eastern Europe.

jungleman

bazz26 wrote: »

They have to find it first. Very hard to trace if it's broken down to parts and shipped in crates. Big money and trade in German car parts in Eastern Europe.

Exactly. The Gardaí know that this gang steal cars, leave them in Blanch for a couple of days, and then move them on overseas. They know that the car will be stripped and moved, but they don't know the location of the car right now. If they did it would be fairly open and shut.

michael999999

jungleman wrote: »

Because obviously they don't have enough evidence to do anything about it.

But they know they done it?

jungleman

Yeah they know they did it. But without any actual evidence, their hands are tied.

Pov06

Roger Mellie Man on the Telly wrote: »

Why would they steal RHD cars? Are they sold on in the UK?

At Eastern European rates a car can be converted to LHD for around 1000 euro. It's a nice profit on a free car :rolleyes:

bazz26

Also from what I have heard Poland are now allowing rhd cars to be imported and registered there so that would open up a new market to these criminals.

Voodoomelon

I wonder if BMW theft is part of the reason why my insurance has gone up so much. I know everyones is on the up, but mine went up 50%, and that was by far the cheapest quote I got from 15 odd insurance companies.

Boskowski

Sound like a lot of effort to get your hands on a RHD drive BMW from a country with poorish car specs and questionable servicing attitude when you could just nip the right kind of BMW from Germany and drive it over the border.

Arciphel

Where does this supposed garage operate in Blanch? Drop me a PM. Neighbour had an Audi stolen after having some work done in a local garage.

bazz26

Boskowski wrote: »

Sound like a lot of effort to get your hands on a RHD drive BMW from a country with poorish car specs and questionable servicing attitude when you could just nip the right kind of BMW from Germany and drive it over the border.

I'd say it's alot easier to put cars or car parts into containers here and send them on their way.

Boskowski

bazz26 wrote: »

I'd say it's alot easier to put cars or car parts into containers here and send them on their way.

Still a lot of effort when you can get all this much closer. A lot in this 'story' that seems based on nothing but 'I heard' that doesn't add up.

jungleman

Boskowski wrote: »

Still a lot of effort when you can get all this much closer. A lot in this 'story' that seems based on nothing but 'I heard' that doesn't add up.

This "story" happened a few nights ago where a car was stolen from outside the front door of my house. Go on, tell me what doesn't add up?

Boskowski

jungleman wrote: »

This "story" happened a few nights ago where a car was stolen from outside the front door of my house. Go on, tell me what doesn't add up?

I'm not doubting your car was stolen but the whole story behind it where a gang of Lithuanians ships these overseas of which the gardai know but can do nothing about it. Like I said before it's a RHD drive for starters and it needs shipping to get it out of here.
Usually when things don't quite make sense they...well...don't make sense.

jungleman

Boskowski wrote: »

I'm not doubting your car was stolen but the whole story behind it where a gang of Lithuanians ships these overseas of which the gardai know but can do nothing about it. Like I said before it's a RHD drive for starters and it needs shipping to get it out of here.
Usually when things don't quite make they...well...don't make sense.

Man, cars being shipped overseas is huge business in Ireland and England. The engine of his BMW alone was probably worth over €4,000.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/9674438/Luxury-cars-stolen-to-fund-organised-crime.html

This gives a bit of an insight into how ill-equipped Gardaí and police are in dealing with it, and what a huge industry it is.

Boskowski

But a 320d isn't exactly a luxury car. Look I'm not doubting you I'm wondering about the story you're being fed. May I ask what year/model that BMW was?

bladebrew

There was a thread similar to this a good while back, I think it was the a BMW that went missing and was found in parts in a truck on the N7,
It would be easy to get parts out of the country in a truck,

I doubt there are shipping full cars anywhere, especially by sea, too much paperwork that way.

jungleman

it was an 08 320d. The information my housemate is getting is coming straight from a Garda. This Garda is working on getting the car back for him, and is giving bits of information when he can. So far he has said that the car was stolen to order, the car was stolen by a Lithuanian gang based in Blanchardstown, and the car is due to be stripped and shipped abroad.

It's not a story, that's the information he's being given.

Boskowski

Hope your mate gets sorted. It is a 7 year old diesel beemer tho. You would think there are other cars to get on order.

jungleman

It's the pre-2011 BMW's that are easiest to steal though. It's unfortunate that it happened to him, the worst part being that he had another €5000 worth of stuff inside the car. They hit the jackpot when they stole it.

deco nate

Boskowski wrote: »

Hope your mate gets sorted. It is a 7 year old diesel beemer tho. You would think there are other cars to get on order.

Dont think it's get to order, a car is worth more in parts.
So if there is lot of cars of that model=more demand for cheap parts. It's always been that way.

BMJD

it's just the Sunday World but...

http://www.sundayworld.com/news/news/chop-shop-fixer

jungleman

BMJD wrote: »

it's just the Sunday World but...

http://www.sundayworld.com/news/news/chop-shop-fixer

Wow, he only got one year. Now he's back out doing the exact same thing. Imagine the amount of time and money the Gardaí spent on surveillance and actually putting a case together against this guy, and then the courts decide to sentence him for one year. What a joke.

dr.fuzzenstein

BMJD wrote: »

it's just the Sunday World but...

http://www.sundayworld.com/news/news/chop-shop-fixer

He certainly looks like an upstanding member of society...
But I never knew you could be charged with handling umbrellas:

Sherlock had also been charged with handling a computer laptop, a driving licence, three umbrellas, clothing, phone chargers, boots, CDs and three tool bags.

I have several umbrellas at home, should I be worried? I always knew those things where dangerous.

jungleman

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

He certainly looks like an upstanding member of society...
But I never knew you could be charged with handling umbrellas:



I have several umbrellas at home, should I be worried? I always knew those things where dangerous.

It would have been a suspended sentence only for he was caught with those umbrellas

Cerco

Doubt he is Lithuanian!

monkeymagic89

I know this is a old post but where was this garage that done the work


I got work done off a garage in Ballymount who do key cloning and my car went missing 2 days ago they had a key in wonderin where was ur friends key copied