fallen

Came back from lunch to find my car on blocks with all 4 wheels GONE!
Was parked in secured parking structure next to the office building in a good neighborhood in Southern Cali...
Will get the same (stock) rims but would like to get better then stock tires - any suggestions will be highly appreciated.

gaazmon

OMG

bro, i'm sorry. that's horrible. hope everything works out. keep us posted.

ya, the 07-09 E's get hit with rim thieves. Idk why. My friends mom's 07 e350 with the 10 spoke wheels got jacked. Another member on here (Barry) had his wheels stolen right outside his house (07 e550).

Barry45RPM

Dont forget to order a set of wheel locks when you order your wheels. It may slow thieves down or maybe look for another car.

Vik888

how are they able to do this without setting off your alarm?

werewolf34

Which city?

gaazmon

the capital of car thieves... LA

to answer vik's question, i once had 1 tire replaced because i tore the side of one of mine. while they were jacking the car up and i didn't realize the alarm was armed. eventually i heard a click noise and the alarm went off. however, by the time it was high enough to set off the tow sensor, there had already been a little bit of room to remove the wheel. also if they raise both sides up at the same time, it won't detect it. before digital tilt sensors, people used mechanical tow sensors and mercury switches to detect car being raised. however, they were more prone to false alarm and if you parked on an incline, they might go off. however, if they did end up raising both sides, the mechanical tow sensor would still go off cause it senses motion. the mechanism inside bounces and makes contact thus triggering the alarm.

digital is not always better i guess

emilner

OMG!! Sorry dude. Too bad you are in LA, I have a nice set of SSR GT3's laying around...

fortlaudsummer

Wow that's just crazy. I hope you are quickly able to find the replacements you want.
Were there cameras or a gatehouse in the secured garage?

Barry45RPM

First they place the 4 blocks at the jack points while the car is sitting high on its tires. Then they cut the 4 valve stems at the same time. The car lowers itself evenly (no tilt) and securely onto the blocks. Then they remove the wheels with X wrenches.

Fast as an indie pit stop, and pretty profitable for a scant few minutes work... No jacks, no muss, no fuss.

Davel

amazing what some people will steal and the amount of effort used to accomplish it. In most areas you could leave stock wheels off the car on the ground and nobody would bother them. What pisses me off is any damage they cause to the vehicle while doing this. hope things work out for the best for you....

421

sorry to hear that sucks, damn crackheads

Vik888

Well that would be fine if they were stock Camry wheels, but the 18" AMG Sport Wheels cost $800/ea new I think. I'm sure used but well maintained ones I can fetch $200/ea.

Vik888

chokaay, you better get those wheel locks or shabu shabu is gonna turn into juarez the wheels?

emilner

There are a few take off OEM sets on EBAY for reasonable prices. I do not think you are going to do much better than the stock Michelins, they are one of the best tires made...

Ser05E500

We need some pics of these wheels? Did you have new tires on?

werewolf34

I live in LA as well near LAX. Can you be more specific on location?

The reason I ask is that there has been a huge increase in car part theft on the westside (SM down thru RB). People taking mirrors, xenon lights, etc.

I would suggest check out CL and the classifieds section here on site. The only good news is that LA has a lot of used OEM MB parts for sale.

You may even get to buy your old wheels back. *******

chokaay

Nah... in those places they'd take the whole car...

Badfish

That is terrible! And the process for lowering the car onto blocks is also amazing! MBZ is hot on the West side and we got to look out. If you are remotly interested in OEM wheels, I have just gone through the gammet of Ebay dealers and chose the AMG set you see in my sig. So you can pay 3 digits for Polish aluminum, or you can pay a little less for Chinese. I found the best prices on ContiProContact original sport size 18" tires too at "Americas Tire" here in the So Bay recently for $180 for the fronts. All together, you should be able to replace the set for as little as $1500 incl tax. Get in touch if you want help.

fallen

Thank you all for your support and valuable suggestions!
Insurance took care of my loss and I already have a set of new OEM wheels with Micheline tires.
There's still some insignificant amount of work to be done on the car, I expect to get it back tomorrow (rental Camry is NOT fun!)
I will get wheel locks ASAP! Maybe even two for each wheel

werewolf34: Car was parked in Glendale right of 134 on Brand.

werewolf34

LA is tough on cars. I spoke with a buddy of mine in the auto biz re: wheel locks.

He told me to get them but the thieves work around them pretty easily. Apparently they take a slightly oversize socket and hammer it onto the wheel locking lug and wrench it free that way.

I might get a trunk monkey for the benz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK_mb...eature=related

gaazmon

WTF??? That is a nice area. Prime location in glendale (just got back from glendale tonight). Was it in one of those public parking structures where you get a ticket from a machine?

U live in glendale?

421

yeah this is also what mechanics/auto store employees tell you when you break the key to your wheel locks. personally I've had a key break on me and it was just a pain I'd pass on the wheel locks

Blk04cobra1

It's funny you mention that as that is what a buddy of mine told me as well. Unfortunately thieves are not as dumb as we wish they were these days and have adapted.

novae500

Sorry to see this happened to you. I saw this posted on another forum i belong to (clubsi) where the guy worked with you or in the same building.

http://forums.clubsi.com/ubbthreads....Number/4502378


"Holy ****, so apparently the security guard saw the guy and talked to him, the thief (only one) said they were a mechanic and were "changing the tires" and the security guard asked if he needed any help. "

_________________________


glad insurance took care of you...

mcleantmw

Glad to hear your insurance covered the replacement wheels and tires. Be sure to buy genuine MB wheel locks instead of brand x to get the quality product. Also, most MB Dealers have duplicate wheel lock keys they can use if you forget, like I did last time, to tell them where I had the wheel lock key hidden in the car. I have a set of MB wheel locks on my vehicle's wheels. Like someone said already, they locks will either slow down the theives in removing the wheels or deter them from taking the wheels due to the extra time to remove the wheels.