[URU]

i live in Burton on Trent, close to Derby, and i need your help if you can help me.

last nite (13/06/04) between 3:30 and 4am my MINI Cooper S was jacked up and the AC Schnitzer Type I alloys where stolen. the car was left on bricks.

the wheels:


ive contacted the police, that sent a fingerprints expert to check the neat little piles of wheel nuts and locking wheel nuts that were taken off and left next to the vehicle. they had also put duck-tape over the side grill lights (and apparently left black fibres from proberbly gloveson them).

the car was parked at my girlfriends house on the road (which its only parked there for 1/2 nights a week) and as it cant be seen from the main road the police suspect it had been cased and they new when i was her house.

these wheels are very rare as they were taken from production very soon after production started so anyone claiming to have a new set in the UK is lying. ive if they had new tyres on them (currently BF GOODRICH) and refurb'd, id still no them from any other MINI Schnitzer alloys by something unique about those exact wheels.

any information would be greatfully received and a reward will b offered for the wheels return/ vital information about them.

either contact me (PM me on here) or contact staffordshire police department

thank you for reading my long post

[ButtonIt]

sht!!! So sorry to hear that URU

Keep your eye on E-bay and other car forums "For Sale" sections. That's the most likely place to sell them. The trouble is they may have been stolen to order, so they may have gone straight onto someones car.

I wish you the very best of luck and hope you catch the thieving scumbag pikeys.

[fergusor]

URU, that's terrible, really sorry to hear about this. Hope you get them back soon!!!

Doesn't say much for the locking wheel nuts does it. We're they the standard BMW/MINI ones?

Richard.

[scooperman_uk]

firstly bar stewards, any damage to the discs? im really sorry to hear about your loss

one question i would be asking my dealers was how the hell did the anti tilt alarm not get triggered when the car was jacked up??? get his checked out. i had a faulty alarm sensors and i know from the tests at the dealer it doesnt take much of a height raise to trigger the alarm.

[ScottyB]

Oh my

What a terrible loss. Shocking.

Hope it gets sorted for you soon!

[scooperman_uk]

makes u certainly think about the value of locking wheels nuts. makes me think they were nicked to order too... ing thieving barstewards

[ScottyB]

Quote: Originally Posted by scooperman_uk

makes u certainly think about the value of locking wheels nuts. makes me think they were nicked to order too... ing thieving barstewards

It does doesnt it?!

Im so glad I dont have to park my car outside at nights and stuff. I really would never sleep.

What a bl00dy world we live in.....

[Grings]

Really sorry to hear this

I think Scooperman might be right, this kind of wheel is not easy to shift due to it rarity - they might well have been stolen to order.

Lets hope the cops find the barstewards

[URU]

Quote: Originally Posted by scooperman_uk

any damage to the discs? .

i had MINI emergency services come out and fix my old S lites back on and then it was taken to my local garage (bridgegate, derby) to be KDS's and brake disc checked

Quote: Originally Posted by fergusor

We're they the standard BMW/MINI ones?

yes they were... unfortunately you can buy the socket it them from halfords apparently. when asking my service department today he asked if i wanted any AC Schnitzer locking nuts now.... and after i gave him a death stare and told him he fitted the schnitzer alloys himself and why didnt he offer them to me then, i said its not worth it with the standard wheels.....

thx for your condolances..... (im still shaking with shock/anger now, grrrrrrr!)

[scooperman_uk]

makes me think now that using the standard wheel locking nuts might not be enough protection. might warrant purchasings a few sets of aftermarket ones and randomly applying them to each wheel. that would get round someone going into a dealer or halford and buying a mini locking bolt remover. however i reckon they were probably casing the wheels for a few weeks and were totally prepared. im still in shock...

[scooperman_uk]

seriously get the tilt alarm checked out too. it should have triggered unless they lifted all 4 corners at once

[Grings]

You can buy a special socket in halfords which has tiny spring loaded needles. When you place the socket over a nut (or wheel nut) the needles retract to match the exact profile of the (locking) nut.

The tool was designed to remove nuts with rounded over edges, and it invaluable if you don't have the correct size socket, but it also has a much more simister use.

[northandy]

crikey that stinks !.... certainly looks like a professional job to me, going prepd with bricks duct tape etc... I hope due to their rarity they show up....

i'm heartbroken for you mate.... i'd be gutted if someone had mine away !....

[AidenL]

B;oody hell, lousy feckers......... sorry to hear that...........

[wibbly]

Man.... That is gutting, Thieving scumbags, anyone who gets offered wheels I should hope would immediately contact you or the cops about this -- not take advantage of the situation.

Hope it gets sorted soon.

[Tracie]

This is terrible, I really feel for you..the shock must have been awful...I really hope the Police catch the gits that did this..In the meantime I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say we will keep a look out around our areas..

[Rich_IX]

Real Sorry to hear about it dude if I get any information about it ill let you know..
I guess im lucky to have a garage for the night for my mini.

[RDMac]

Ouch! Sorry about that mate!

I'm in Derby and usually hear about MINI stuff for sale, I'll keep my ears and eyes open.

I know it's not much consolidation, but I have seen them left on their belly's before

Did they cover the side lamps to mask the potential flashing of the alarm?


Rich

[paa100]

terrible terrible terrible

I really cant imagine how you must feel!

I know that this wont help and might never. No way am I endorsing this product but the Police look for it on stolen recovered property with a UV lamp. The chemical make up and glass chips with numbers on are logged with the firm to your VIN. Could help recovery. Resists steam cleaning. Not a certainty but this could help others

I know them fairly well. Could get a group discount......

www.smartwater.com

You basically paint it everywhere with a little paint brush - engine component, wheels, panels etc.

There are some stickers for you car and it is known to deter theives.........

Smartwater Instant for vehicles.

Banks us it in spray systens too.......

Just trying to think of something to stop these gits.

[dansmini]

I also hope you get the wheels back and the perp(s) get what's coming to them. But man, those photos make my stomach hurt! I can't imagine going out to my MINI and seeing that!
Good luck in your search efforts!