Car's been done - Blue {P}
Some time this morning some people (for want of a better swear filter friendly word) decided to break into my dad's 3 series, they broke one of the back windows, but the deadlocks stopped them, so they have screw drivered the front lock in the passenger side and smashed it, the handle and the door skin.

Does anyone know where we can get a de-locked handle to replace it with?

Under normal circumstances the car would be alarmed and operated by remote, so the locks are nothing but a liability anyway.

Don't know why they picked his car, there was *nothing* in it, even the radio front was off. Still, they must have enjoyed themselves 'cos they also had a dump on the front lawn!

At least they didn;t get into the car to relieve themselves in it. :)

Blue
Car's been done - Dynamic Dave
Are the handles on the rear doors the same? I've known people with Cavalier's and Vectra's that simply fit rear door handles to the front to delock the car.
Car's been done - Blue {P}
I thought that, but my dad recokns that they look different. I may chase this one up though...

Blue
Car's been done - orbit500
Take some of the dump sample to a private DNA assay lab, via a private detective get a contact in police forensics to attempt a match to the database.
If no match then wait 5 years and repeat.
I have waited a longer time to sort someone out.
Car's been done - Thommo
Hold.

Did they remove the lock barrel from the passenger side?

If so they have done so to take it away and get a key that fits. They will then come back and steal the car.

If they have replace both side locks immediately.
Car's been done - Shigg
This may sound repulsive but have the police taken a sample from the present in the front lawn for DNA?

Steve.
Car's been done - FFX-DM
I do know, from experience, that often a 'serious' burglary or theft is preceeded by kiddies (aw bless 'em!) having an ameteur go a couple of weeks earlier. Even if they did not nick the lock as Thommo aks, it would be a good idea to be more vigilant for a while.

On a lighter note, when my friend had his Mazda 323 coupe broken into and they knackered the NS door lock, it was awfully convenient as a handy means of breaking into his car. Just stuff a skewer in the small hole, give it a sharp tap and voila! "Oh Jon, I just borrowed such and such...". The rotter got it mended after a while!
Car's been done - Dynamic Dave
>> Did they remove the lock barrel from the passenger side?
If so they have done so to take it away and
get a key that fits. They will then come back
and steal the car.


Assuming the Beemer is fairly new, although they could get into the car, how would they overcome the immobiliser? Most if not all modern cars have an immobiliser chip in the key fob. The one they may have had cut won't have.
Car's been done - Blue {P}
It's a 1996 car so it does have an immobiliser, and the incident has prompted us to fix the alarm. So they can't spend a long time on our drive anymore. :)

Does anyone know whether the rear door handles would fit the spaces on the front door without any modification?

Blue