It is an understatement to say that the BMW community is loyal to the brand and its members. BMW has always had a very tight and loyal community following. The members of this community are one of the most helpful car owners, but the story below will really emphasize the value of this community.
Tom (nybsbl04) a member of e90post.com, lives in New York City. Earlier this week, he noticed in front of his apartment an abandoned BMW 335i Coupe Alpine White in a no parking zone. The car was showing signs of a break-in -sunroof cracked- and more than 20 tickets in the window.
Being a good Samaritan and aware of its surroundings, Tom posted an entry on the forum, along with photos, stating the facts listed by us above. Several member forums jumped in to help and requested the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number). After running the number, Tom managed to obtain the address where the car was registered.
Now here comes the interesting part….how many of you would have have gone straight to the police and let them investigate? I know I would have, but Tom showed some impressive detective skills. He “googled” the address and found out that the house at that particular address is up for sale.
So, what next? Well, continuing down this new career path, a detective path that is, Tom called the real estate broker. Fortunately, she knew about the situation with the stolen car and put him in touch with the owners.
But here is how the story progressed from here:
2PM
I got into contact with the owners and notified that their car had been sitting in front of my building for two weeks, untouched. They were ecstatic to say the least. To make a long story short, the owners’ son had the car while in college at Boston and made a road trip to visit his friend in NYC. He had it parked outside, and a few hours later it was gone, stolen. They arranged to have him take a bus from Boston to NYC this friday to get the car as the insurance company overnighted him the keys.
9PM:
I come back from a late dinner and see 3 NYPD cars surrounding the 335i, which is now perpendicular on the road, with half of the car up on the side walk, and half in the road. I walk over to the officers and tell them my story, in which they were shocked, but believed me. It appears the thieves came back and tried to swing the car out of the spot they left it in. The car is still untouched and locked. They contacted the owners in California with the phone number I provided and contact the Auto Task Force to run the plates. The car was picked up by an NYPD tow truck and impounded. They think it’s a car theft ring that uses frequency duplicators and tow trucks to take and read the wireless frequencies of the remotes.
Amazed yet? I know I was…great to see that many of us still care and once again, thanks Tom for being one of the good guys.
Thanks for the tip Jesse!
Author: Horatiu B.
Source: http://www.bmwblog.com/2009/10/24/bmw-f ... olen-335i/