Quote:
Originally Posted by GP20
A determined thief is going to get inside your car regardless. In a screwed up logic you almost have to thank a theif for breaking into your car by breaking the door lock instead of slashing your soft-top or breaking your side window, either of which would be a lot more costly and more PITA to fix, not to mention the potential down time. Broken glasses would take a long time to clean and you risk having your leather seats scratched up. A friend of mine had a 325Ci and a theif broke his door lock; he was of course pissed off but at least he was able to drive the car around just fine.
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All valid points but I think the reason for getting the keyhole delete is that it deters the thief that knows getting into a BMW is often as easy as hammering a screwdriver into the lock and turning it though it were the actual key. This method actually disables the alarm, too! An unknowing thief is going to smash your window or slash your roof regardless of whether you have the delete modification and they're going to be moving fast because they're assuming that alarm is going to be sounding. Its the knowing thief that'll be turned away by a keyhole delete so it still may be worth it.
In fact, I had my 330Ci broken by someone who just yanked the lock cylinder. Alarm was disarmed and the guy (or gal?) took my MP3 player and ran. I didn't even know my car had been broken in to until I looked for my player. Frustrating thing is that I had the keyhole delete part sitting on my desk ready to go but hadn't gotten around to installing it.
To be honest, I probably won't do this on the Z because in the event of the battery going completely dead, there is really no way in short of getting the battery back in business. On the 330Ci, at least I knew I could open the trunk even if there was no power to the car, climb through the fold-down seats and open the driver's side door. That and I'm pretty sure the Z's entire handle is more expensive than the $30 part you used for the 3er's.
