*** Stolen Car *** 2003 BMW 540i

[TCarter88]

Hello Fellow BMW Enthusiasts,

New BMW owner and member here. I am seeking information and help locating my 2003 BMW 540i M-Tech.

I only had this vehicle for a week and it was STOLEN the day that I received the license plates - I don't even have the title yet!

The car was stolen from Lake Robbins Drive in The Woodlands, Texas (Suburban Houston). The car was parked right in between the Waterway Marriott and the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in front of the Fidelity Investments building - Lake Robbins Drive & Six Pines Drive Intersection.

The vehicle was Black with Tinted windows. Plate number is: HLH0174. The photo below is from the actual listing from the dealership where I bought the car (pictured).

A reward will be given for any information leading to the recovery of my vehicle.

Also, anyone who can give me any advice/recommendations/help on finding this vehicle, would be greatly appreciated as I've never had this happen before and I really don't know where to even start with this process of looking. To make things even more complicated, I am new to the Houston area and now carless.

Please call or email me immediately with any information.



Cell: 301-525-2968
Email: ToddCarter11@gmail.com

[323i E30]

Oh wow that sucks.
Good luck locating it!

[NolliM3]

Wow...that's sad...I take it you reported the incident to law enforcement as well as the car had been locked.

[montaillou]

I'll be sure to look for it up here in case they're making a break for Canada!

[Mless5]

Sorry to hear. For some reason I almost want to nod towards the dealership or previous owner you bought the car from. Somebody had to tow it unless he had the key... Good luck!

[Stück]

Just bought it from Raja yeah? He sells a ton of those cars, great guy too.

I'm with Mless5 above, the car was either flatbedded out of the area, or someone had an old key. Be it a dealer or a previous owner. The new F10 I bought only came with 1 key and one of the first things I did was program out the "lost" key from the CAS that is most likely still in the previous owners possession. The area it was taken from is a very very busy one, so I would think someone drove it off with a key.

Good luck with HPD. I sincerely doubt they will be of any use in this matter.

[NolliM3]

Unless OP is trolling, we would appreciate an update.

[BimmerBreaker]

His only two posts were about his car being stolen. I doubt he cares much if we know what goes on and only posted to try to garner more help for his search. More likely than not, if it hasn't been recovered, it is in Mexico now - either in pieces, or with a different VIN welded onto it.

[montaillou]

I feel so...used

[TCarter88]

I don't even know where to start in getting a replacement :/ , that was quite a rare car!

- - - Updated - - -

For some reason my post before glitched.

My apologies for being off the grid folks... It's been a busy few weeks trying to wrap up this insurance claim, having to leave a new job & look for a new one, etc. etc. The car still hasn't been found and I concur that the car is likely in mexico, in pieces, or on a shipping container out of the country.

[Team Neverlift]

Yikes. Hope this turns out well for ya.

[#1P4PKing]

That must really suck, I hope you recover it.

[TCarter88]

I gotta call the other night and the car has been recovered!

I'm nervous as I'm up north getting away from the Texas heat and I haven't had a chance to see the vehicle yet. The impound lot said that the car had been keyed on one side, hoods dented in (like someone had jumped on it), and other "misc. dents" were found.

I'm really hoping that the damage isn't too bad, but we'll see. It's a bit of a double edged sword that the vehicle has been recovered with damage, as the car will take a drastic hit in value after being reported stolen and now I'll still have to pay a $2K deductible should the car need extensive repairs... I will be sure to post photos when I get them.

[XAlt]

It's a 540i at the end of the day. In the grand scheme of things, they're not going to be worth all that much, and you can just link them this story.

It's still a clean car, and I hope you can get everything back in shape.

[DoriDori]

Good to hear it's been recovered. Good news is insurance will literally pay for anything in theft recoveries. I work at a collision shop. Ask me how I know lol.

[TCarter88]

Good to hear it's been recovered. Good news is insurance will literally pay for anything in theft recoveries. I work at a collision shop. Ask me how I know lol.

Can you please confirm this for me? How do I go about not paying my super high deductible!

[TCarter88]

It's a 540i at the end of the day. In the grand scheme of things, they're not going to be worth all that much, and you can just link them this story.

It's still a clean car, and I hope you can get everything back in shape.

Clean 2003 540i M-Sports are going from 11-15K depending on condition/mileage. I wouldn't say that's "not all that much" for a car that's essentially 14 years old.

Good to hear it's been recovered. Good news is insurance will literally pay for anything in theft recoveries. I work at a collision shop. Ask me how I know lol.

The progressive report has my deductible factored in. What approach do I need to take to have Flo (Insurance Co.) pay for the repairs?


ALSO... with the vehicle now having a stolen record, what approach would you folks take in trying to file a claim for diminished value?

[BlackSpeed66]

Contact your claim rep who was originally handling the theft loss to advise them it has been recovered and that you are interested in repairing. Chances are they may already know about it as if it was reported stolen through the proper channels - NICB or ISO may flag the claim on the insurance company's end to alert them that the car has been found. If you decide to repair, you would be responsible for your deductible.

As far as diminished value, you're likely SOL - most companies/states do not offer anyway for a first party diminished value claim. The only state I know of off hand that does this is GA. That said, if the insurance company entertains the idea, the burden of proof to support how much it has actually been diminished will fall on the owner (you).

All that said, I'd at least have them do an inspection/estimate with you to see where the cost of repair will be at. TX is a 100% threshold state for total losses, meaning that the damages must exceed 100% of the car's established market value before it would warrant salvage branding of the title.

Good luck.

[DominicDinan]

Good luck getting it back. Maybe the car was destined to blow up and you were saved.

[BimmerBreaker]

$11-14k for a 540i...

That bubble is going to burst soon enough... when M5's can be had at that same pricepoint it's ludicrous to ask that much for a 540i with a sport package and M bumpers. Heck, even E60 M5's are nearing that price point...

[XAlt]

$11-14k for a 540i...

That bubble is going to burst soon enough... when M5's can be had at that same pricepoint it's ludicrous to ask that much for a 540i with a sport package and M bumpers. Heck, even E60 M5's are nearing that price point...

Only real low mileage cars will actually get those prices. The autos are all around 5k/120,000miles and the manuals are give or take 8k with equivalent mileage here. The trashed 9k M5s are pushing the prices down, and that's great.

[TCarter88]

Only real low mileage cars will actually get those prices. The autos are all around 5k/120,000miles and the manuals are give or take 8k with equivalent mileage here. The trashed 9k M5s are pushing the prices down, and that's great.

Yeah, those generalizations are definitely valid but I looked around extensively after this happened because they lowballed me on the appraisal. Clean 540i M-Techs are going for 12-16 with 80Kish or less.

Anywho, I went to see the car yesterday and literally everything that was in the car the night it happened is still there. The b@st@rds must have simply taken a quick joy ride and just left it somewhere.

The hood was dented in, so I'll need that replaced. And, there's has a line going down the whole right side of the vehicle. It doesn't look like someone keyed it, but more like someone hit a branch or something on the side of the road at speed. It looked as if the majority of it could get buffed out as the damage only goes through the paint in a couple placed so I may go the spot repair route.

I'll have a decision to make today when I get the estimate back. I will keep you guys posted.

Side note - beyond stoked to have this car back!

[golfdrum]

For future consideration: GPS trackers are cheep and most have a $10/mo. service fee ... so for $50 and $120.00 a year you can have instant access to find your car. Does anyone have feedback/advise on using this sort of product/service?

[White94RX]

Every car my dealership sells has LoJack. I don't know the details about pricing, but I think it's just a one time, up front, fee that they add in to the cost of the vehicle.

[jaredmac11]

On another note, how was buying from Fall Creek Motors? They have tons of older BMW models that usually look pretty nice. Are they pretty negotiable on their prices?

I had my car stolen too. It sucks man. The car was trashed for me, though. Driven for a few days, left out to die with the windows and sunroof down for a week, sat in a tow lot for another week... RIP Lexus IS300.

Do a compression test on the motor. They could have REALLY pounded it.