My mirrors stolen AGAIN!

[michaelab]

Some f*ck has stolen my mirrors and now it's the second time it's happened. First time was when I lived in London where "2nd hand" M3 mirrors are big business but I thought I was OK here in Lisbon (Portugal). I guess not. What's more, this time it happened in an underground car park for which I pay a $160 monthly fee and it has '24hr security' and closed circuit TV monitoring. Of course all damage "is the responsibility of the owner".

I guess the 'security' guards must have been watching the footbal (soccer) on TV instead of the a**holes taking my mirrors.

At least whoever did it was very professional and seriously knew what they were doing. The mirror base plates are undamaged and even the wiring is perfect and undamaged so they took them off with care. Take a look at the pic below. The last time they just ripped them off and broke everything.

Anyone know how difficult it is to remove the mirrors without getting inside the car? They definitely didn't get inside or touch anything else. I though it was impossible to remove them cleanly without getting inside?

Also, now it's happened to me again I'm tempted to just get some regular E36 mirrors and keep the replacement M3 pair at home until the time comes for me to sell the car. What do you all think? I really want to put back the proper M3 mirrors but I also don't want to be like "hey, here's another pair for you to take".

Michael.

[///Manuel]

Nut sure man... Regular mirrors look like big flappy ears to me...

[Preppy]

Damn, sorry to hear you got them stolen.

If you're not really into looks, you should just go with non-M e36 mirrors, people don't steal those often, if at all. But if you're into looks, keep going with the M mirrors, even though you might be taking a risk with them getting stolen again.

[JonUK]

Michael,

What about some of the Hagus M3 clone mirrors that look pretty much the same but don't come off? The only trouble is that if they try it again, they are likely to damage something attempting to remove them in the same way...

Either that, or some of the AC Schnitzer mirrors, they look a bit better than the standard ones...

HTH

Jon

[michaelab]

I think I'm going to go for the proper M3 mirrors again and just hope for the best...

Michael.

[Jgent]

The standard M3 mirrors are very easy to remove. I found this out when I accidently walked into one of mine. It just popped right off. They are only held on with a couple of sprung loaded pins.

[DunDan]

michaelab,

I have seen somebody with a write-up of how to secure your M3 mirrors to the bases. You'll have to find the message post and PM for instructions. But I think you basically drill holes thru your mirrors and bases and use metal bolts and nuts or steel cable to keep your mirrors on.

[michaelab]

Originally posted by Jgent
The standard M3 mirrors are very easy to remove. I found this out when I accidently walked into one of mine. It just popped right off. They are only held on with a couple of sprung loaded pins. Yeah, I'd heard that aswell and by the looks of the what's left on the base it seems that is the case.

I guess they did that so that they break off easily if you 'clip' them against something when driving??

I've seen stuff about people securing their mirrors with steel cables etc but the thing is what is a thief going to do when he finds out you've done that? My guess is he won't be too happy and maybe he'll let you know about it by resculpting the body work of your car...

Michael.

[themadhatter]

Originally posted by DunDan
michaelab,

I have seen somebody with a write-up of how to secure your M3 mirrors to the bases. You'll have to find the message post and PM for instructions. But I think you basically drill holes thru your mirrors and bases and use metal bolts and nuts or steel cable to keep your mirrors on.

that's a great idea but it doesn't eliminate the jerks trying to steal them again. what he'll end up with are another pair of damaged mirrors that weren't stolen.

I'd go for a set of ACS mirrors, almost the same price and more pimp.

[edsarkiss]

i agree with others here who say "just replace them". you've been unlucky so far with the mirrors, and that's unfortunate.

but if somebody wants your mirrors, they will take them. if you put epoxy behind the pins that hold them onto the carrier, then the thief will just damage your car more ripping them off, or seek "revenge" on your door or fender becuase you've now decided to fight back.

kind of the same argument that if you are mugged, just give the dumbass your wallet. no sense getting injured or killed over a few (or even a few hundred) bucks.

zs

[Dinan330ic]

Regular E36 mirrors are almost impossible to remove cuz it's one whole unit. You'll have to tear part of the door out to steal it.

[DunDan]

This stolen M3 mirror thread is ending up like every other...we keep replacing our mirrors and the theives keep stealing them becuase they know that they are easy to take. Now if everybody started securing them, then the thieves might give up on getting damaged goods and the chance that they can get caught too.

Only problem is damage to the car....take the chance and hope it's not scratched? Let insurance cover the damage? I think it's mostly kids that will try to rip the mirrors off and stick them on their rice mobiles so they might not really know how to steal them properly if it's not as easy to pry off with just your fingers. *shrug*