Door lock vandalised

A while ago some little *&(&*&! broke into my car and attempted to nick the
stereo, even though I'd removed the front panel. Rather than break the
windows however, they went through the driver's side lock. Part of the trim
that surrounds the handle is damaged and the bit that the key goes into was
removed, leaving a square hole at the back. The lock still works with the
central locking and I can open the door fine, but I was wondering if anyone
had any advice as to how to get it fixed? I've rung a couple of body shop
places who were both quite unhelpful and suggested I went to a main dealer.
Thing is I'm quite skint and I've not claimed on the insurance because my no
claims discount is about £600. I would've thought this sort of problem was
quite common, but it seems not.

+e

> A while ago some little *&(&*&! broke into my car and attempted to nick the
> stereo, even though I'd removed the front panel. Rather than break the
> windows however, they went through the driver's side lock. Part of the trim
> that surrounds the handle is damaged and the bit that the key goes into was
> removed, leaving a square hole at the back. The lock still works with the
> central locking and I can open the door fine, but I was wondering if anyone
> had any advice as to how to get it fixed? I've rung a couple of body shop
> places who were both quite unhelpful and suggested I went to a main dealer.
> Thing is I'm quite skint and I've not claimed on the insurance because my no
> claims discount is about £600. I would've thought this sort of problem was
> quite common, but it seems not.

Hanging is too good for them.

I'm guessing you're in the UK. I'd find a breaker such as Quarry Motors
and get used parts to replace the damaged ones. Then have one of the
independant garages on my site's review pages fit the parts for you.

--
Who needs a life when you've got Unix? :-)
Email: , John G.Burns B.Eng, Bonny Scotland
Web : http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk - The Ultimate BMW Homepage!
Need Sun or HP Unix kit? http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/unix.html

I had someone pull this same job on my e36, If the little metal piece
is gone, you have to replace the cylinder, which entails rekeying. Its
not too expensive from the dealer, about $100 and well worth it,
especially after the first time water gets in there and freezes.

I'd also suggest you change your stereo to an OEM one if you can.

IMO, the after-market stereos are trouble unless they are crappy or
have extensive anti-theft features that are very very obvious. These
*&(&*&! aren't very bright but they do know OEM stereos are not worth
the trouble. It may save you more heartache if you change the stereo.

> I'd also suggest you change your stereo to an OEM one if you can.
>
> IMO, the after-market stereos are trouble unless they are crappy or
> have extensive anti-theft features that are very very obvious. These
> *&(&*&! aren't very bright but they do know OEM stereos are not worth
> the trouble. It may save you more heartache if you change the stereo.

You can't get more obvious than a stereo without controls on it and no
identifying features.
All you see is a blank black face with a flashing red light - no model, no
make, no brand, nothing.

Stereos are more a crime of opportunity these days. If you leave your car in
a dark place overnight, expect something to happen to it.

-mark

Mark wrote:
> > I'd also suggest you change your stereo to an OEM one if you can.
> >
> > IMO, the after-market stereos are trouble unless they are crappy or
> > have extensive anti-theft features that are very very obvious.
These
> > *&(&*&! aren't very bright but they do know OEM stereos are not
worth
> > the trouble. It may save you more heartache if you change the
stereo.
>
> You can't get more obvious than a stereo without controls on it and
no
> identifying features.
> All you see is a blank black face with a flashing red light - no
model, no
> make, no brand, nothing.
>
> Stereos are more a crime of opportunity these days. If you leave your
car in
> a dark place overnight, expect something to happen to it.
>


I understand your point but many people do leave their cars in dark
places at night and they don't lose their OEM stereos.

I think some people just remove the faceplate and put it in the glove
box. How many people actually take the stupid faceplate with them when
they leave their cars? With removable faceplates, you're just waiting
for someone to try and nick it or drop the stupid faceplate or have
some other accident with it. Of course, there's the other stupid
situation where you get in the car only to remember you've left the
faceplate somewhere. It's not a good security system.

Mark wrote:
>> I'd also suggest you change your stereo to an OEM one if you can.
>>
>> IMO, the after-market stereos are trouble unless they are crappy or
>> have extensive anti-theft features that are very very obvious. These
>> *&(&*&! aren't very bright but they do know OEM stereos are not worth
>> the trouble. It may save you more heartache if you change the
>> stereo.
>
> You can't get more obvious than a stereo without controls on it and no
> identifying features.
> All you see is a blank black face with a flashing red light - no
> model, no make, no brand, nothing.
>
> Stereos are more a crime of opportunity these days. If you leave your
> car in a dark place overnight, expect something to happen to it.

Only had one stereo stolen from a car (not my 320, my old Rover 214). Midday
Sunday, broad daylight, across the road from terraced houses, and nobody saw
a thing. They must have been in and out fast - I was only away from the car
for 30 mins, and I came back to find wires hanging out of the DIN slot,
screwdriver marks all around it, and my sunglasses missing too. It was the
first, and last time, I'd forgotten to take the front off the stereo. Still
didn't stop someone else breaking into it a month later outside my house
while I was at work (crank seal had blown out so the car was immobile for 2
days while waiting for a mechanic friend to take a look at it) despite the
wires hanging out of the dash making it blindingly obvious there wasn't
anything worth stealing.

And to top it all off the local police station was closed, and report I
filed online (for the original theft) never got followed up - at least the
contact I was supposed to have received within 2 working days never
occurred.

Dan

Did you consider the fact that your car had wires hanging out of the
bin also told the *&(&*&! that it can be broken into without worrying
about security? Never mind what you think is valuable to him.

Two important things to do when private property gets vandalized or
burglarized is to immediately and completely repair / replace the
damage and to address the reason(s) for the failure of security.
Criminals look for vulnerability. You see cars get broken into
repeatedly because the owners fail to completely address all the issues
regarding vulnerability and the criminals can obviously spot it. One
security issue is also the location you park it. You may have to move
it or improve the security of the location.