Car broken into--I hate Jersey

[JST]

I went up to NJ this weekend for a wedding. We stayed at the Embassy Suites in Parsippany, and I left the car in the crowded, moderately well lit lot. I came out this morning and discovered that someone had stolen the owner's manual from my trunk, and had popped the driver's side door lock to get into the car.

It was clearly a professional gig, done by someone who knew that BMW puts its valet keys in the owner's manual on delivery. Nothing else was taken, including CDs, etc. Of course, my valet key wasn't in the owner's manual; if it had been, the car would have been gone when I came out in the morning.

Damn. Now I'm going to have to have a new lock put in. At least they didn't do any other damage to the car.

[clyde]

That bites.

[blee]

Sucks.

Hey, at least you're smart enough to remove things like spare keys from the owner's manual. I don't even leave my manual in the car.

[Roadstergal]

That sucks big donkey dicks.

But as blee said, at least you knew better than to leave what he/she/it was looking for in there...

[Theo]

Dam that really sucks. Glad to hear the damage was not greater. Not safe anywhere.

[kognito]

The police department used to be in the building right next to the Embassy Suites, and you couldn't ask for a safer place back then. (they moved it about 5 years ago)

I commute past that location (and the new police station) just about every day if you need any help with reports, or anything like that.

Sorry about what happened

[rumatt]

Oh, man. That really sucks.

I lived 2-3 places in NJ for several years and never had a problem, so when people complained about NJ, I didn't know what they were talking about. But I didn't have a BMW then either.

In the last few years I've read so many stories of people popping the lock on E46's it's crazy. Often it's not locals, but people driving into town and parking in large, public lots. Maybe it's just E46's? Maybe it's certain places in NJ? I don't know.

Either way, sorry man.

[JST]

Oh, man. That really sucks.

I lived 2-3 places in NJ for several years and never had a problem, so when people complained about NJ, I didn't know what they were talking about. But I didn't have a BMW then either.

In the last few years I've read so many stories of people popping the lock on E46's it's crazy. Often it's not locals, but people driving into town and parking in large, public lots. Maybe it's just E46's? Maybe it's certain places in NJ? I don't know.

Either way, sorry man.

I actually didn't notice the lock until after the wedding--I unlocked the car with the remote. I did notice that the owner's manual was missing (some stuff in the trunk was strewn around), but thought maybe it happened the night before when I left it in a garage in Manhattan.

One of the guys at the wedding said that he heard people saying at the hotel that there had been problems during the night. Another guy at the wedding with an E46 325 didn't have a problem; maybe they were looking for a specific car? Or maybe mine was in a darker part of the lot?

I think E46s are targeted because they often have keys in them, and because the locks are so (apparently) easy to pop--it looks like the didn't use anything much more high tech than a screwdriver.

People suck.

[BahnBaum]

Sorry to hear about the violation Josh.

I remember talking to a frequent business traveler who used to leave his BMW unlocked with the glovebox wide open (and empty) when he'd leave his car in the airport parking garage for a few days. He also claimed that most thieves were looking for the valet key; I guess his goal was to make it as easy as possible for the thief to see that there was not one in the car.

Not sure if I buy that theory, but he claimed that it worked.

Alex

[rumatt]

Interesting. Maybe leave the car locked with the glove box open, with a sign "No valet key here". :dunno:

Seriously.

[JST]

Interesting. Maybe leave the car locked with the glove box open, with a sign "No valet key here". :dunno:

Seriously.

I've thought about making up such a sign.

[FC]

That really sucks man. Sorry. :thumbdow:

[ff]

Interesting. Maybe leave the car locked with the glove box open, with a sign "No valet key here". :dunno:

Seriously.

Except that I wonder if a thief would even think to check the door handle to see if it was unlocked. I would expect the person to just go right for popping the lock, assuming that the car's certainly going to be locked.

Leaving the glovebox empty and open is a really good idea. I'd never thought of that.

[clyde]

I'm kind of partial to the sign idea...it tells them directly that you know what they're looking for. Whether they believe you or not is a different matter...they looked for JST's owners manual int he trunk?

[JST]

I'm kind of partial to the sign idea...it tells them directly that you know what they're looking for. Whether they believe you or not is a different matter...they looked for JST's owners manual int he trunk?

I suspect that they looked first in the glove box, and then when they didn't find it there they searched the trunk (which is where the manual was, in the spare tire compartment). But they didn't take CDs or an EZ Pass or any of the other easy to pocket items in the glovebox.

[bren]

I had a friend who's car (non-BMW) was broken into on 2 consecutive days. They broke the door lock the first night and on the second night the crook was so dumb that he busted the window not realizing the door cylinder was broken and the door was unlocked.

When I drove a Jeep I always left the door unlocked to try and prevent someone from cutting the top to get in. I figured there really was no way to keep them out so why bother....

[clyde]

That really sucks, sorry to hear that.

One of the things that I learned when I used to date this girl who lived in the ghetto Los Feliz

$785,000 median home sale price(as of 2/05) = ghetto. :rolleyes: :flipoff: :flame:


:twisted:

[Plaz]

That really sucks, sorry to hear that.

One of the things that I learned when I used to date this girl who lived in the ghetto Los Feliz

$785,000 median home sale price(as of 2/05) = ghetto. :rolleyes: :flipoff: :flame:


:twisted:

I still wouldn't want to live there, or have my wife and/or daughter wandering around the neighborhood alone at night.

[Terri Kennedy]

Interesting. Maybe leave the car locked with the glove box open, with a sign "No valet key here". :dunno:

Seriously.
If you contact BMW NA, they will send you a pair of genuine BMW "No keys, no valuables inside" stickers, just for this purpose.

[clyde]

That really sucks, sorry to hear that.

One of the things that I learned when I used to date this girl who lived in the ghetto Los Feliz

$785,000 median home sale price(as of 2/05) = ghetto. :rolleyes: :flipoff: :flame:


:twisted:

I still wouldn't want to live there, or have my wife and/or daughter wandering around the neighborhood alone at night.

It's not the neighborhood...or people that live in the neighborhood. It's John Marshall High School.

I liked living there. I always sort of wished that we had relented and spent the extra couple bucks for a certain place in Santa Monica, but Los Feliz was nice.

FWIW, there's nowhere in the greater LA area that I'd want my wife and/or daughters wandering around alone at night.

[TD]

FWIW, there's nowhere in the greater LA area that I'd want my wife and/or daughters wandering around alone at night.

Yet you live in Silver Spring.

[clyde]

FWIW, there's nowhere in the greater LA area that I'd want my wife and/or daughters wandering around alone at night.

Yet you live in Silver Spring.

I sense a thread split...but, anyway...

A Trader Joe's is right about to open around the corner from us.

Gay men are moving here from Dupont Circle.

What other milestones are there to say that Silver Spring has moved beyond its gloomy recent past?

Silver Spring today is not what Silver Spring was when we were younger. There's a vibe to it now that reminds me of early/mid 80s Bethesda. "Silver Spring" is also a much bigger area than Los Feliz. The more direct comparison would be to one of the sections of Silver Spring, like Downtown or Four Corners

[TD]

FWIW, there's nowhere in the greater LA area that I'd want my wife and/or daughters wandering around alone at night.

Yet you live in Silver Spring.

I sense a thread split...but, anyway...

A Trader Joe's is right about to open around the corner from us.

Gay men are moving here from Dupont Circle.

What other milestones are there to say that Silver Spring has moved beyond its gloomy recent past?

Silver Spring today is not what Silver Spring was when we were younger. There's a vibe to it now that reminds me of early/mid 80s Bethesda. "Silver Spring" is also a much bigger area than Los Feliz. The more direct comparison would be to one of the sections of Silver Spring, like Downtown or Four Corners

That actually was just a :stickpoke: but...

I have ranted before about how useless the placename "Silver Spring" has become. I usually only refer to downtown Silver Spring as Silver Spring and try to come up with other placename references for the thousands of other areas also officially known as Silver Spring.

When the BMW dealer WAY up Rt 29 from Silver Spring (it's what, 30 miles from Silver Spring) calls themselves BMW of Silver Spring, it's just absurd.

Anything north of the Beltway is not Silver Spring, IMO. It's Wheaton or Glenmost or Aspen Hill or Colesville or Kensington or Briggs Cheney or Burtonsville or Norbeck.

[Plaz]

Damn. Now I'm going to have to have a new lock put in. At least they didn't do any other damage to the car.

You should have told me you were coming up here and that was your car... I would have mailed you the lock back.

:lol:

(EDIT: Post was not meant to disregard my "me too" sentiment of thatsucksitude. That definitely sucks.)

[JST]

Damn. Now I'm going to have to have a new lock put in. At least they didn't do any other damage to the car.

You should have told me you were coming up here and that was your car... I would have mailed you the lock back.

:lol:

(EDIT: Post was not meant to disregard my "me too" sentiment of thatsucksitude. That definitely sucks.)

Don't think I wasn't looking for your car, once I realized that I needed to find a new door lock.

[JST]

Parts: $70.

Labor: $220-330.

I hate people.

[rumatt]

Parts: $70.

Labor: $220-330.


Ouch.

DIY?

[blee]

Parts: $70.

Labor: $220-330.

I hate people.

Curious...so is your new lock cylinder somehow going to be keyed into all of the others? Is that part of the labor charge?

[JST]

Parts: $70.

Labor: $220-330.

I hate people.

Curious...so is your new lock cylinder somehow going to be keyed into all of the others? Is that part of the labor charge?

It will be keyed in. I got the impression that it would come that way from the factory--I had to give a copy of my registration and driver's license, along with my VIN, in order to order the part.

I may try and DIY it; the instructions look fairly simple. :eeps:

[blee]

Parts: $70.

Labor: $220-330.

I hate people.

Curious...so is your new lock cylinder somehow going to be keyed into all of the others? Is that part of the labor charge?

It will be keyed in. I got the impression that it would come that way from the factory--I had to give a copy of my registration and driver's license, along with my VIN, in order to order the part.

I may try and DIY it; the instructions look fairly simple. :eeps:

It's supposed to be an easy job.

While you're at it, maybe you could replace all of the keyholes with blanks.

[SARAFIL]

Parts: $70.

Labor: $220-330.

I hate people.

Curious...so is your new lock cylinder somehow going to be keyed into all of the others? Is that part of the labor charge?

It is ordered "coded" for the car.