tires and wheels FOUND tii - West Hollywood

[darnallt]

Hi all. I'm Taylor Darnall, a student at UCLA from San Diego.

My car, an orange 1972 BMW 2002tii, was stolen from Rosewood and Sweetzer (near Beverly and La Cienega) in West Hollywood, between 12:30AM and 10:00AM on Monday, 3/29. The car is in excellent restored condition, with great-looking paint. If you see it driving anywhere in or around Los Angeles County, please call 911 to report it; I would be more than happy to give a substantial monetary reward to anyone who does, if I do end up getting my car back.

YEAR: 1972, MAKE: BMW, MODEL: 2002tii, COLOR: ORANGE, LICENSE: 5KUA195

Distinctive features:

There is a green decal on the rear windshield that says “La Mirada.”

Brass-colored honeycomb-looking wheels.

Two T-bars in the place of a front bumper, with the front license plate mounted on one.

I’d really appreciate the help! My father and I took five years restoring the car with one another before it was passed on to me; it has much more worth to me than just its appraised value. Like I said, I’ll give a reward to anyone who reports the car and helps get it returned.

Thanks!

All best,

Taylor

UPDATE:

-I am quite certain that the heist was planned, since I live in a nice neighborhood where no cars get stolen, and because no one would steal this car if they just needed a car. I am very suspicious of a Pep Boys in Los Angeles, on Hollywood Blvd. It is the only shop I’ve taken the car in to in all of LA, and when I was there they had broken my key and then made a copy for me to drive off with; nothing would have stopped someone from making another copy. Plus, they’d have my address on file, maybe. This all makes sense to me, as no windows were broken to get into the car, and it may have been taken during daylight hours with no problem. Someone with some car knowledge could break into it and start it easily and quietly, with or without a key.

-The other car in the first photo I put up (the only picture I had at the time) IS indeed the same car model and same color—BUT, that is the ONLY 2002 tii that I have seen after 5 years of driving my car in Southern California, and my car is still unique because of its lack of a front bumper, wheels, etc. The other orange 2002 tii is located in Encinitas, CA, so unless you’re there, assume any orange tii that you spot is my car.

-Undoubtedly the people who stole the car are trying to repaint it and change the plates or something. They've probably already booked-it out of Los Angeles, maybe heading south (someone thinks they might've seen it in Fallbrook). If you see a tii with T-bars instead of a front bumper, CALL IT IN! My car will be identified by its VIN number, which is located under the hood above the left fender, in plain view

Here’s a link to my Twitter, so my latest post (this one) can be retweeted:

http://www.twitter.com/2scoopicecream

And here's a link to a blog post I made, so you can see more pictures and larger pictures:

http://firstweregonnaslam.blogspot.com/2010/03/stolen-1972-bmw-2002-tii.html

[mtriple]

Man this is F'n ridiculous. I feel your pain man and I will definitely keep my eyes open for you. I have a feeling that they will get caught. Its not like you see 02s left and right in southern cali. It sounds like the Pep Boys might have something to do with it. Good luck Taylor

Hamada

[MAD02]

Damn this sucks balls! I will definately keep an eye out for your 2002. Good luck!

[M3M3]

what is the VIN in case it does get repainted and shows up in a for sale somewhere?

[vic74]

Hey sorry to here this, I'm always on the 5 FWY around LA at least (2-3 hours a day fighting traffic). I will definitely keep an eye out for your car. Hope these guys get nailed.

[darnallt]

what is the VIN in case it does get repainted and shows up in a for sale somewhere?

The VIN is 2760245. If I ever see a tii with T-bars like mine has, then I'll for sure be asking the driver--enthusiastically--for a peek under the hood, heh.

Thanks for support! There's a good deal of buzz around this on Reddit.com (a post a friend of mine made), so here's hoping someone spots it.

http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/bjwz8/southern_california_redditors_please_keep_an_eye/

[obiglou1]

sorry to hear about your luck. have you checked ebay parts or cragslist.

i'll keep checking. you may want or need to rpt it to dmv to prevent tfr of

title, or maybe see if someone tried to register it. people are are kind of

stupid. maybe also check the bone yards ie ecology, pick a part, + impound yards. foreign auto dismantlers is off the 5 in your area. again,

sorry about your bad luck

[obiglou1]

sorry to hear about your luck. have you checked ebay parts or cragslist.

i'll keep checking. you may want or need to rpt it to dmv to prevent tfr of

title, or maybe see if someone tried to register it. people are are kind of

stupid. maybe also check the bone yards ie ecology, pick a part, + impound yards. foreign auto dismantlers is off the 5 in your area. again,

sorry about your bad luck

[mo's72tii]

I am in the OC and on the 73 and 5 daily. I have a couple of 72tii's an Inka and a Taiga. Both are in shops being restored. I am always on the lookout for 02's so I will call the Po if I see your ride.

[mo's72tii]

I am in the OC and on the 73 and 5 daily. I have a couple of 72tii's an Inka and a Taiga. Both are in shops being restored. I am always on the lookout for 02's so I will call the Po if I see your ride.

[Harv]

The VIN is 2760245.

I'm sure Les will chime in. He keeps a list of VIN numbers as they change hands.

John

[rover1]

Oh man Taylor i really feel for you man. I guess thats a good reason to replace my worn out ignition. I have 3 other friends that have 2002's and all there keys will work in my ignition. they will not turn the door cylinders but they will work in the ignition kinda scary. The only leads for your investigation that i have is there is a used car lot by my house in Costa Mesa CA. that has about 6 2002's and everytime i pass by it seems like they got a differant one on the lot. i think they are called house of luxuries.

[Weber1569]

Sorry to hear about your situation. Something to keep in mind might be to watch the sales of front bumpers on ebay of craiglist. Who ever stole it might be dumb enough to get caught doing somthing like that. I know I sold a front bumper about a month ago and 5 different people bid on it. I'll see what I can do to look into it maybe if it was planned like you say they boughta bumper previous to the heist.

[kpolito99]

Taylor,

I am so sorry for your loss.

One comment to add is that most 2002's display their VIN number on a small stamped metal number plate on the console above the steering wheel. This is usually painted black and blends into the panel. If you do feel that you located your car and can make out this number looking through the windshield perhaps you could contact the police and set a trap for the thieves.

You really do not have to get everyone with a suspicious 2002 to open their hood.

Best of luck with getting your 2002 back.

[bmw4169]

That sucks! I'll be on the lookout. I work in Beverly Hills(La Cienega and Wilshire) I'm on the road for about 2 1/2 hours a day.