BMW crushed after police discover it was cut together from four stolen cars

By Jack Evans via SWNS

British police have crushed an award-winning BMW after discovering it was pieced together from at least four stolen motors.

Footage shows the striking bright green M3 Estate taking part in a car show in Germany last year.

Months later cops stopped it as it travelled on Dartmouth Middleway in Birmingham on November 15 last year.

Eagle-eyed traffic officers became suspicious when it emerged because BMW never made an estate version of the M3.

The car was also registered as a two-liter diesel but it had a three-liter gas engine and was fitted with four exhaust pipes.

It was seized for inspection and police were stunned to discover the distinctive car was a death-trap botched together from at least four cars.

Parts were traced to one BMW M3 stolen on September 30, 2019, from a car showroom
in All Saints, Wolverhampton, plus another M3 stolen on March 20, 2018 in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands.

Two estate vehicles were used to create the main body and the panoramic roof.

Police crushed the car into a 3ft-wide cube and said the owner is not suspected of being involved in the thefts of the other motors.

Police Constable Mark Wheaver from the Central Motorway Police Group said this should act as a reminder that people need to be diligent when buying cars.

“This BMW looked great on the outside, you can’t fault the paint job, but scratch beneath the veneer and it was just tag welded and structurally unsafe," Wheaver said. “A coat of paint won’t save your life in a collision. Whoever had bodged this car together had gone to significant lengths to try and hide its true identity."

Wheaver said CMPG is increasing the number of officers being trained to examine stopped cars for stolen parts.

“They are patrolling the region, stopping and checking any modified vehicles for insurance and stolen parts, and any we find will face the same fate as this M3 show car," he said.

Specialist vehicle examiner Boyd Howells said the force has had to seize “countless cars” from people who thought they’d bagged a bargain after unwittingly buying “cut-and-shut” motors.

“These buyers don’t get their money back," Howells said. "We seize the vehicle as it’s illegal and unsafe – and I’m pretty sure criminal gangs selling such vehicles don’t offer compensation."

He said that’s why it’s so important car buyers are aware of the signs a car could be shady.

First he said remember, ‘if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.' He also recommends buying cars from main dealers or approved used car deals.

“If you are buying from an independent dealer pay a deposit or minimum of £100 on a credit card as it offers protection," Howells said. “If they refuse credit cards that should be a red flag."

Lastly, he said always get someone to inspect the car before closing the deal.