[red-max]

It's a long story, but I had a number of things including my car key stolen on Monday. Because the thieves probably also have my address, my insurance company told me I must have all the locks changed on the car. Looks like this will be £600+ and only half this will be covered - since of course losing the keys is "my fault". I have no choice really, I can't take the risk of a £30K car being driven away uninsured. The car is at the dealer, who tell me it will likely take a couple of days to get the parts ("lock set") and fit them.

Anyone else been through this? Is there any alternative? One of my colleagues told me he thought BMW keys (and alarm system / immobiliser) could be re-programmed to disable the missing key. However, the key fob has a physical key inside, so the bad guys could still open the car (setting off the alarm) with the key they have, and this is unacceptable to my insurance company.

[creepy coupe]

That's a bummer, I suppose after paying excess, your nearly up the the £600 better safe than sorry though.

[jaspy412]

there was a set on ebay the other week, try looking there

[threethirty]

A guy in my office had his BMW keys stolen from his house (but the thieves didn't take the car as it was parked in a different street!)

In the end, his household insurers paid up - around £700 I think. They initially refused the claim but on appeal changed their minds and paid up.

[mikem]

The missing key can be disabled but they`d still be able to unlock the door/boot. Of course the alarm would go off but they`d still have time to grab whatever`s inside.

[330cdsport]

What a crap thing to happen. Just because of one small key being stolen, all this bloody work and money is wasted.
Sorry to hear that mate.

[jaspy412]

found it

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-LOCKSET-E9...QQcmdZViewItem

[c-hri-s]

It's only got one key - I'd be wary where the second was ...

[beemerbird]

I'd be wary where the ebay guy got it from in the first place!

Sorry to hear about the theft red-max, hope you get it sorted soon.

[vivekk]

Originally Posted by dodgy

It's only got one key - I'd be wary where the second was ...

Originally Posted by beemerbird

I'd be wary where the ebay guy got it from in the first place!

Sorry to hear about the theft red-max, hope you get it sorted soon.

I've got to agree.

Would you really be happy about buying a lockset from an unknown buyer on ebay, to replace the locks on your car, just because it's 'cheaper'?

Personally, I'd rather let the dealership sort it out, however much I distrusted them, and be safe in the knowledge that I've got a 'safe' car again.

Viv

[DaveC]

£600??

No wonder insurance is so expensive with ripoff merchants like BMW charging so much. The missing electronic key can be disabled and to change the other looks is two replacement barrels and a couple of hours labour.

In no sane world should this cost £600.

p.s. Rant over, sorry you have the hassle and cost of sorting this out just to avoid scumbags out but getting them all changed by BMW really is the best (if scandalously overpriced) option.

[stephen3rd]

Similar thing happened to me with my 316 compact.

House was broken into and they took the spare key. I called my car insurance and they said it wasnt covered, but as a goodwill gesture if i send them a copy of the invoice they would send me £100. (I thought this was strange)

Spoke to the home insurance provider and they said they would pay for a replacement key to a maximum of £90.

In the meantime i had to swap car with a friend of mine just incase they came back looking for the car.

The following day the dealer quoted £495 +VAT fo rthe lock set.

So i ended up with £90 and once they had settled the claim for the breakin the insurer lost a customer.

It was all a prime pain in the arse....

[red-max]

Thanks for the replies - the car is still at the garage, lock set has arrived but not been fitted becasue the insurance company insist on the car being "inspected" first (grrr), so I am making my way home on the train (grrrrr).

[NeoJames]

Originally Posted by DaveC

£600??

No wonder insurance is so expensive with ripoff merchants like BMW charging so much. The missing electronic key can be disabled and to change the other looks is two replacement barrels and a couple of hours labour.

In no sane world should this cost £600.

p.s. Rant over, sorry you have the hassle and cost of sorting this out just to avoid scumbags out but getting them all changed by BMW really is the best (if scandalously overpriced) option.

Dave, I totally take your point (and somewhat agree with you) about the high costs that BMW charge for things but unfortunately the more you spend on goods, the higher they are to maintain. One analogy is watches. Take a Seiko in for a battery change and it will cost you 5 quid. Take a "prestige watch" in for the same thing and it costs 10 times as much (and likely has to be sent away)!

It would be interesting to get a breakdown of what the £600 includes. A few hours labour alone wouldn't be cheap.. (or is filthy cheap by solicitor's standards!)

[red-max]

Originally Posted by NeoJames

It would be interesting to get a breakdown of what the £600 includes. A few hours labour alone wouldn't be cheap.. (or is filthy cheap by solicitor's standards!)

I finally got the car back today - it was actually ready yesterday evening but I couldn't easily get there to pick it up.

The total cost was £525, which was £237 for the lock set including 2 new keys, £210 for labour and £78 VAT on top.

The dealer (Berry Heathrow) had given the car a good clean inside and out, and overall I'd say their customer service was pretty good. It was the insurance company that caused 2 extra days delay, which was frustrating, but anyhow it's done now. The insurance company picked up the first £350 so the cost to me was £175. I've got protected no-claims, but I suppose that means I'm stuck with the same insurer now - anyone have any experience of "protected no-claims" in reality?

Anyway, the lesson learned is: don't put our car keys in a bag/case with anything that also has your home or business address on it.