Last week BMW Motorwerks finally gave me the call that they got a fob and a spare key to work with the car just fine and told me I was welcome to come pick it up. I may have gotten there 2 minutes before close, but luckily enough they still released the car to me. Been enjoying it for just a few days now and I could not be happier to have it back. It drives really well for everything it has gone through and it has been a dream come true that I get to daily drive this thing once again.

Cheers to hopefully enjoying many more miles with this beauty in the future!

basedspider said:

Another fantastic update. The dealership that has my car just reached out yesterday saying BMW had sent them a replacement EWS module. 1 week later the new module showed up and after they installed it the car is still completely dead stick. Keys and EWS have no communication whatsoever. They now have to reorder the original kit including ews/locks/keys/ignition that took them almost 2 months to receive in the first place. Lets just hope I will get to drive it a couple times before it ends up stored again next winter lmao

Hope you negotiated a loaner lol

Insurance adjuster showed up and checked over the vehicle as well and didn't end up totalling it but made a good offer on the repairs which was very great news. Once I got the payment for that I went ahead and ordered brand new calipers, hoses, hardware, and Bosch Quietcast rotors and pads all the way around. Once everything showed up I got to work on giving this thing all brand new brakes!

Old vs. New calipers. Not too bad but still wanted to go ahead and replace them.

New brakes installed. Very happy with the result and I am glad that I have officially converted it to daily driver duty with a more comfort focused set of brakes.

Hard to hate the look of shiny new parts!!

Moving forward the car is currently at BMW getting a new EWS, keys, ignition and lock cylinders installed. One of the keys was still missing after I got the car back and I did not feel comfortable leaving the car as is while knowing someone else could steal it again at any time. Luckily after speaking with insurance its completely covered but I do have to pay for everything up front and they'll reimburse me, fun way to spend $1800.

Unsurprisingly the drama never quits with this thing. After having dropped the car off there 3 weeks ago I received a call last Friday from the service writer involved with the vehicle and they let me know after installing all of the parts one of the keys is faulty and is refusing to communicate with the EWS whatsoever. They're currently waiting for a response back from BMW HQ on how to solve the problem and at this point, only god knows when I will have the car back. I understand that shit happens, I am just getting tired of shit happening to this car lol. Hopefully I will have it back before the end of summer!

You lucked out on this one, usually when a car is not stolen for parts its typically found trashed, crashed, and never the same.

m42b32 said:

That's awesome that you found it! Glad to see its in more-or-less one piece. Its a bummer that they smoked in it, but I've found that a good interior clean and a pass or two with an ozone machine works wonders on getting the smell out and keeping it out. My brother bought an XJ Cherokee that had been lightly smoked in and after running the ozone machine in it the smell has never come back, even on a hot day. 

Oh yeah, its gonna get fully detailed at my work, document/photograph everything, and submit the cost to insurance.

Pretty well snowed in but from what I could tell it didn't look too rough. Unfortunately keys were nowhere to be found so I ran home and grabbed my spare set as the city called a skidsteer over to dig it out. They left about 2 feet on either side of the car by the time I got back and my cousin came by to help me dig out the rest. After another 2 hours of shoveling we were finally able to dig out a spot!

Car wouldnt start via either a jump pack or jumper cables hooked up to my truck, battery was completely froze up. Ran to the local Oreillys and picked up a new battery to just get me by. Once I threw the battery in (using the handy dandy BMW trunk toolkit lmao) and got it started a local tow company came by and couldnt sneak back there to it so we just hooked their chains right up to the hitch of my pickup and pulled it right out of its spot. Honestly it ran pretty good and seemed mostly complete aside from the fact they ripped half the speakers out and broke the speaker covers on the doors. They also did me a great pleasure of smoking cigarettes inside of it and leaving it almost completely empty on gas! How kind!

I proceeded to drive the car back to my work and got it pulled inside. Aside from the fact the brakes were trashed, the tires and everything else seemed to be mostly the way I left it which is pretty crazy. Of course theres a few new scratches and dents here and there, but nothing too crazy.

Either way, I couldnt be happier to have the car back in my possession and overall could have been so much worse than it really was. Insurance claims will be submitted pretty soon. The odds of it being recovered at all, let alone almost complete is absolutely insane. I guess I've used up my luck for the year haha.

Appreciate all the kind words, hope everyone can look forward to updates on getting this thing sorted out and ready for the upcoming summer!

m42b32 said:

Not to derail, but skylines are cool. R32? 

My 1993 R33 GTS25t. Love the car to death, does massive burnouts.

Update for everyone: Sorry, with the lack of BMW and how ridiculously busy I've been recently its been hard to keep an eye on this thread. The car is still missing because when Chief Dumbass Cory Billstrom got arrested the car proceeded to change multiple hands and only god knows where it is now. The detective did his due diligence and interviewed anyone that was roughly connected and obviously anyone not obligated to talk, didnt talk. The car was last known to be in the area beginning of January so chances of it getting returned are extremely slim, and if it would be returned I am very sure it would not be in the same condition it was in when it left. The guy that stole it (Executive Chief Dumbass Chris Lamb) fessed up to everything and even admitted to doing over 130mph in it. The only reason I am upset about that is because that is faster than I ever went in it lmao.

I get to go to court multiple times over the next few months over this bullshit, so so excited. Hoping to scrape up some cash for an E36 325/328 to replace it, E36 M3 prices have gotten a bit ridiculous lol.

Rekpoint said:

Car still missing. He was arrested because @basedspiderrecorded the phonecall. 

WTF really? guy wont spill the beans huh.

Jdesign said:

So I assume he got his car back?

Car still missing. He was arrested because @basedspiderrecorded the phonecall.

Jdesign said:

"Billstrom wanted $2,500 for the stolen BMW. He told the owner he bought it and didn’t steal it. Billstrom told the man he would never see the car again if he got arrested.... Billstrom was subsequently arrested."

I literally chuckled, what an idiot.

I lol’d that the price went from $500 for anyone to $2500 for the person who actually holds the title I would hope between the info of these two they’d have figured out the whereabouts of the car.

Rekpoint said:

IDK How often he visits. This is the only update as of yesterday.

https://www.leadertelegram.com/news/front-page/police-two-men-implicated-in-theft-of-bmw-threatening-the-owner/article_444824b1-29b2-533f-8ba8-f85cc2185355.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share&fbclid=IwAR1Otjctm4X1EtTaKcSf1G3ON-TdQTijCm32RXDs8EygBpP7JbnHog1tl4Y

"Billstrom wanted $2,500 for the stolen BMW. He told the owner he bought it and didn’t steal it. Billstrom told the man he would never see the car again if he got arrested.... Billstrom was subsequently arrested."

I literally chuckled, what an idiot.

So I assume he got his car back?

Jdesign said:

Any update on this?

IDK How often he visits. This is the only update as of yesterday.

https://www.leadertelegram.com/news/front-page/police-two-men-implicated-in-theft-of-bmw-threatening-the-owner/article_444824b1-29b2-533f-8ba8-f85cc2185355.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share&fbclid=IwAR1Otjctm4X1EtTaKcSf1G3ON-TdQTijCm32RXDs8EygBpP7JbnHog1tl4Y

basedspider said:

my skyline.

Not to derail, but skylines are cool. R32?

In my pre-BMW days I had a Honda Civic sedan stolen from my driveway in New Berlin. There was a theft ring working the west side of Milwaukee/suburbs for a couple of years stealing Hondas/Acuras. Not to strip but for weekend transportation / joy riding. Car was locked but they had an inside guy at a Honda dealership that would help with key access. My car turned up a few days later parked on the street a mile from my house when someone called it in, and police caught the guys a few weeks later as they were scoping out other rides. Head guy of the ring happened to out on parole for car theft. Go figure. I went to the trial at the Waukesha courthouse in case they needed me to testify but he pleaded out, did some time, and I received notice later that he was out on supervised release/parole again after a few years.  I wouldn't be surprised if he returned to what he knew and is back in jail.

MY CAR IS STILL MISSING

$500 REWARD IF FOUND

IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION, DIRECTLY CONTACT ME OR THE POLICE. MY PHONE NUMBER IS 715-FIVE SEVEN SEVEN-0942

I received an update today that the person who broke into my unit has been arrested with proof and confessed to stealing my car. He is not the same person who tried to ransom it back to me. The car is still missing, but supposedly has changed hands multiple times and is still getting used. It was last seen in the Eau Claire area in the beginning of January.

I am now offering a $500 reward for information that results in the returning of my car. Its supposedly still being used and driven. Below I will list the technical specs of my car and some of the aftermarket parts in case anyone sees e46 parts come up for sale or anything like that.

2001 BMW 330i

VIN: WBAAV53431FT01049

LAST KNOWN MILEAGE: ~137k mi

3.0 I6 w/ 5spd manual

M-tech I appearance package

Silver on grey interior

BBS RC303 wheels with Hankook Ventus V12 Evo2 Tires

Eonon head unit

Magnaflow catback exhaust

Active Autowerke headers

Fortune Auto 500 coilovers

E39 M5 single mass flywheel conversion kit

Dinan carbon fiber intake

ECS lug stud conversion

15% tint

IDENTIFYING PREVIUS DAMAGE: Car had broken front kidney grills and a damaged hood, passenger side door had some dents, red-tint painted taillights and yellow tinted fog lights, dark grey pinstriping below window line, powdercoated wheels had tire mount residue around the bead stained on the black powder, passenger side front fender has a roughly 2 inch long oval sized spot of missing paint, and small amounts of rust on body panel below rear license plate

YoungCR said:

Well shit, so sorry to hear. I'm gonna go pull the keys out of my vehicles in storage now. I have things packed tight into mine so breaking through the wall isnt really possible but all it takes is a cordless cut off to get in the door anyways. My good friend had his pristine 1 owner 46k mi 2003 Chevy 3500 Dually he had just bought a month prior stolen in Sacramento, CA on Christmas morning. Police found it parked on a side street a week or 2 later. They stole the headlights, battery, all the tools in the bed and the cats off the exhaust. Hopefully you find your car with minimal damage and missing parts as well. Really depends on what their motive is but its usually always about the quickest way to get money out of it and move on to the next theft.

I would be happy to make a post on the WI BIMMERS facebook page as well if you'd like, just not sure how much traffic it would get but could see what the paid posts go for these days too.

Given that the cars current "owner" is in custody, I am not too worried about it. I imagine if it gets found itll likely have pretty minimal damage or its already made its way to milwaukee/minneapolis and is getting cut up as we speak. Best we can do now is just keep our eyes out for it.

I would be happy to make a post on the WI BIMMERS facebook page as well if you'd like, just not sure how much traffic it would get but could see what the paid posts go for these days too.