And you get to pay for their nutraloafs & edu-tainment in with your Cali tax dollars! Maybe suggest an alternative to this to your elected officials.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/04/california-failing-state-debt

If a thief wants your car they are going to get it in a few minutes. They'll just flatbed it if they can't drive away immediately.

__________________
1980 240d
1999 SL500

Some cars are stolen only for a few hours, in order to perpetrate another more serious crime with an untraceable (back to the perps) vehicle.

__________________
1982 240 D, 308,000 - 321,127 miles (sold)
1982 300 TD,166,500 - 226,000 miles
1998 E 320, 120,000 - 144,000 miles
2005 C 230 K, 26,000 - 77,000 miles (sold)

I'd pay to see that medium speed pursuit

__________________
1982 300GD Carmine Red (DB3535) Cabriolet Parting Out
1990 300SEL Smoke Silver (Parting out)
1991 350SDL Blackberry Metallic (481)

"The thing is Bob, its not that I'm lazy...its that I just don't care."

Derrick,
I really have a "need" to know how they defeated the ignition! With the electicals and vacuum I always thought they would be more difficult to steal...

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

Damn that sucks the car got stolen, but glad to hear you got it back.

A few years ago I was forced to park in a shady part of town, because thats where I was living.... anyway, the hoodrats stole my Toyota. I was keeping my Mercedes with my dad thinking they would never steal my crappy Toyota with its rust holes. but after they stole it I was forced to park my Mercedes out in the getto. well they never messed with the Mercedes. figured it was because it was a lot harder to steal then the Toyota.

BTW, what theater was he at? it wasn't the one next door to MB of El Dorado Hills was it?

__________________

Same here.

__________________
'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.

yep, it was the EDH theatre which is even weirder. For anyone who doesnt know, this is an extremely upscale little town near where I live. Think million dollar homes, new mercedes everwhere and a few movie stars. Nick, the car was actually pulled over going up serrano parkway..



For the poster overleaf, the car is an 83'.


Jimmy, ill try to find out as much as I can about the thief's and how they defeated the car so easily. I want to know just as badly.

__________________
1981 300SD 512k OM603

I tried jamming a myriad of objects into the ingitions of both a w123 and w126 to try to impede a steering lock which hasnt engaged yet. Didnt work at all. I even got an allen wrench down farther in than a key goes and there is no pin or anything that pops in. This would be a serious security loophole and im sure the engineers would have thought of it.


I talked to my father again and apparently this is all we know. They got in and had no problem starting the car

__________________
1981 300SD 512k OM603

What's the maintenance history of the car? Do you know if the steering lock is still functional?

I ask because I know mine isn't in my '83 300CD. The ignition obviously failed and the PO "fixed" it somehow. The ignition switch failed completely a few weeks ago and I replaced that, but I have not yet replaced the probably-drilled-out-and definitely-held-together-with-a-hose-clamp steering column lock. The PO removed all the tumblers and you could have started and driven my car with a stout thumbnail, screwdriver, plastic fork, etc.

You might be able to find out the "how" but I doubt you'll find out the "why". It's possible they saw your brother manually lock the car, saw no evidence of an alarm, saw the older car and figured "easy target".

If your brother hasn't called his bank, he needs to check ATM and credit card charges right now. It's frequently not the car, but the contents they want and they'll use your cards within minutes of stealing them. His wallet was probably worth more than the car to a thief. Who knows - maybe they were looking for an address and a garage door opener in the glove box.

Good you got the car back. I'm glad I own a pair of 240's. Nobody would want them for a heist, unless they are a little slow in the head too.

__________________
1979 240D Caledonia Green/cream gone
1982 240D stick Ivory/Palimino
1999 E300D White/grey

I can say this

a friends 280CE euro could be unlocked and started with the key from my 300D. He could only unlock my doors.

I used to, when I would see it in my parking lot at work, unlock it, get in, park it somewhere else.. we would prank each other. mine worked better because he had to find his car

Maybe they already had a key? Is it possible this was always a local car and some prior owner recognized it and decided to take it for a ride?

__________________
Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

The cops would know for sure if they had a key when they jerked them out of the car.

Charlie

__________________
there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

I routinely leave mine running with the keys in the ignition in our fair city to the north and no one has taken me up on the offer yet.

__________________

1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

That's it! From now on, I'm locking the steering wheel. I also thought that the electrical elements and vacuum made it hard to steal...

Not to mention my dad also has a gold 300CD that can be opened pretty easily...

__________________
It's not the years, it's the mileage.