This is what happens when the police in the UK find that your way cool, modified BMW has stolen engine parts. Or in this case, an entire engine from a stolen M3 coupe that obviously got parted out. That’s one thing that makes this tragic. BMW never made an M3 wagon.

Why did the police crush the BMW M3 wagon before being ordered to return it?

But in their zeal to destroy the 3 Series wagon, the police didn’t wait for the judge’s decision. When ordered to return it, they couldn’t. That ultimately cost the UK police plenty. 

According to reports in Express and Star, the owner of this modded wagon had no clue his cool M3 wagon had stolen parts. That has resulted in enthusiasts being outraged. Our first thought was rather than crush it, as ultimately happened, why couldn’t the police have checked back through previous owners? They probably wish they had after what ultimately happened. 

Had the police been patient it could have found the culprits who stole the BMW M3 parts

There has to be a paper trail and somebody knows something. It would be a great way to at least try and catch the thieves. The crushing video was originally posted on the West Midlands Police website. After reading it they probably wish they hadn’t. 

Last November, the police there pulled over the green M3 in Birmingham. When they ran the plates it came back as a 2.0-liter diesel-powered BMW 3 Series wagon. BMW wasn’t selling wagons with the M3 package until the current G80 3 Series. Oh, and it is not sold in the US.

Anyway, the police were suspicious and decided to seize it to smoke it over. Everyone involved knew it was a one-off conversion. But the Police being Police needed to break down the components. But the police knew something nobody else knew. 

Two BMW M3 coupes had previously been reported stolen

There had in the past been thefts involving two M3 coupes. One was stolen in 2018 and the other in 2019. The police wanted to see if the engine matched up with either one of those cars. Another thing was that the wagon is what they call a “cut and shut” in the UK.

That means it is a composite of several wrecked vehicles. Using the good parts from numerous wrecks yielded this “dangerous vehicle.” At least, that is what a cut and shut represent to the public and police. But many enthusiasts know that done right, those types of salvage vehicles can be as strong and safe as from the factory. Sometimes better.

Police found that the wagon contained parts from four different cars

Police found that upon further inspection the wagon had parts from four different wrecked BMWs. Numbers applied to parts and stickers had been ground off. Most of the repairs were just spot welded and not done right. “Whoever bodged this car together had gone to significant lengths to try and hide its true identity,” said Police Constable Mark Weaver of the General Motorway Police Group. 

However, there is drama. “The car was crushed before the owner’s case was actually heard in court,” says Unit 17 on Instagram. “The judge that heard the case ordered the vehicle should go back to its owner. Unfortunately by then, the car had already been crushed.”  But there’s still more.

“Following this, there was a further dispute which West Midlands Police were ordered to compensate for the value of the vehicle, which could not be determined, says Unit 17. “We don’t know how much, but that has now been settled and the police have paid for the vehicle that they destroyed.”