Are E30 M3's at a high risk for theft?

[///M]

New member here and wondering if these cars are at high risk for theft. I am currently living in La Jolla, San Diego, which I would say is a pretty nice area, but is subject to a high theft rate. Two of my buddies cars (Integra GSR) with alarms and in gated garages have been stolen this year alone and countless of people have gotten their cars broken into in broad daylight. I don't have a m3 yet, but when the time comes, I just want to be safe.

Insurance, alarm, quick release steering wheel, clutch lock, are a few things I have thought of that might help.

Any thoughts and opinions appreciated.

Mike

[LeeVuong]

Hmmm... I believe that most cars are stollen to supply a parts market. And because selling M3 parts would not go unnoticed, it must be tough to unload those parts. Which can help protect the M3.

How many M3s we know have been stolen lately?

[Steve88M3]

I'd like to say theft is not very common, but my knowledge is only anecdotal.

These cars aren't very common which means there isn't a huge market for chopped up parts like there is for an Integra. As such, the relative rarity of the car means that a good chunk of owners communicate with each other in some form or another which would make it more difficult for thieves to sell illicit parts.

But, I can think of two instances since I joined the forum that the car was the target for thieves. One car was a club racer that got recovered trying to get into Mexico, and the other was trashed by some lowlife degenerates and then eventually recovered.

My advice- keep it in the garage and shoot to kill.

[Reelizmpro]

Nah no problems really. Honda's/Acuras are easy to steal and they blend in. They also have a huge market for parts. E30 M3's on the other hand are not as easy and draw a lot of attention. There is a limited market for it's parts.

This isn't to say it doesn't happen though. Eric got his car stolen and after a joyride the thieves dumped it off a cliff.

[project86]

Originally posted by Reelizmpro
Nah no problems really. Honda's/Acuras are easy to steal and they blend in. They also have a huge market for parts. E30 M3's on the other hand are not as easy and draw a lot of attention. There is a limited market for it's parts.

This isn't to say it doesn't happen though. Eric got his car stolen and after a joyride the thieves dumped it off a cliff.

I am building a gub comparment in my M and installing a battery kill switch because my apartment complex is a little sketch. JK but this is a huge concern of mine and I hope that if my baby did disappear that someone on the forum or the sig would spot and let me know. That cliff stuff is total BS, people have no respect.

[AlpineRunner]

I think the car is definitely a high risk for theft because the security technology is so old. Theives have had 20 years to figure out how to steal e30s. However I think it's more likely to be stolen for a joyride or to be taken to Mexico because everyone is right about it being a high profile, low parts market car here.

[WBSAK03]

I don't see our ///Ms being targeted for theft because the lowlifes that steal cars don't know what the hell it is! Most people think our cars are simply old bimmers with a body kit and bogus ///M badging. I had a young guy come into my shop yesterday. He is into the "turbo tuning" scene. He is a car guy, and knows his stuff in regards to his limited field of study. I had my stock M3 next to our JP M3. He didn't know what they were, nor did he know the original M3 was offered with a 4 cylinder. It was always his assumption that the first M3 was the E36. You would have to be an enthusiast to steal an E30 M3, and our close-knit group of bimmerphiles would ultimately lead to the recovery of our beloved ///M.

Christopher

[UofOm3]

I don't think that it's at a huge risk of theft. I agree with all of the reasons stated already for this - parts, rarity, etc. If my m3 was stolen, there is 1 that looks like it in the state, so the person who stole it would have a huge problem getting away under the radar (along with the loudness, other attention attracting stuff).

I would considder getting a very sensitive alarm and a quick release wheel. That way, at very least the car won't get stolen - a part might be stolen off of it but that is a relatively minor problem compared to loosing the whole vehicle.

I have always felt that, in a way, these cars are their own security system. I draw so much attention, even just sitting in traffic or parked at the grocery store, that if someone were intentionally messing with the car, they would have very little time to do it where they were not being noticed. Also - park the car in a pretty visible location. It's my instinct to park on the far end of parking lots etc. to avoid dings, but if its a skeezy area i'm going to park somewhere highly visible.

[///M]

Good to hear, guys! Sure lessens my worries.

[timsteren]

Hi folks,
I reckon it's better to be safe than sorry, and go for as much security as you can afford. A E30 M3 in bright red with MK-wheels (not exactly a subtle car) vanished off the face of the earth about a year ago here in Denmark, and there was plenty of info on different BMW forums and car sales forums here asking for sightings on it. I have worked on mine plenty of times in the street - removing the stereo, fiddling suspiciously under the dash, etc etc, and no one has ever said anything to me. If you are really paranoid you can remove the fuel pump relay - since it is in a different place to other e30's you need to know your e30 M3's to find it.
Cheers, Tim.

[E_Swift]

Not that I do or would every really go ahead with it, but a quick release steering hub combined with carrying the wheel with you - say in a backpack or briefcase would seem to be the ultimate safeguard, forgetting practicality. Crank the steering to near lock before shutting it off makes it even less appealing in that case. It would even be a pain to get on a flatbed. A dolly would require picking the ignition lock.

Obviously, actually driving off with it with no steering wheel would require a lot of close-up pre-planning, and if that kind of activity is going on, you have no chance.

Remove the wheel, and opportunity grand theft auto is completely eliminated. Probably diminishes the chance of slimjim/lockpicking radio theft too, since it would strike the burglar as very odd, which is from what I hear a major deterrant.

Of course, in a parking lot of several hundred cars, in full daylight, your car might get jacked up onto cinderblocks and have the wheels removed. All depends on the neighborhood.

Personally, I don't think most alarms prevent opportunity theft and vadalism, which is all I am really concerned about. They might reduce the extent, but usually some damage has already been done before the alarm goes off. And then you have a deductable. They might as well have torn the dash apart by that point.

Motion/shock sensors are obviously the best, but you have the annoyance factor if you actually want it to be sensitive enough to go off before anything siginificant is done.

Luck/neighborhood/day/time are the only factors affecting random vandalism.

Of course if you've made yourself a specific target, say by banging your wife's sister and having yellow paint dumped all through and over your new E46 M3 (saw that on some board a while back), you're out of luck too. Passion vandalism.

Does anyone remember the african car alarm video from a few years back that shot flames from below the side skirts of a BMW? That's clearly the answer here.

[AlpineRunner]

Yea, piss someone off and your car could look like this

and no alarm system or fuel cutoff or removable steering wheel can stop it :p

[E_Swift]

that's the one, apparently it was pastel orange rather than yellow...

[falkster]

What sort of coward does that to someones car!!! I have been cut up, threatened by driver and have known where these people live but wouldnt ever think of harming their cars!!! Its like doing dirty deeds with your mates wife

[jht3]

Originally posted by falkster
What sort of coward does that to someones car!!! I have been cut up, threatened by driver and have known where these people live but wouldnt ever think of harming their cars!!! Its like doing dirty deeds with your mates wife

you hit the nail on the head [done]

that guy was cheating on his gf/wife and she took revenge. or maybe that's the other guys car, and the bf/husband did that. i forget and dont' really care to search for the details