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Car was just Stolen :/
- Thread starter Simplegamer
- Start date
Lol. Yeah its the fault of the thief but don't be ignorant. You leave a laptop in the open at Starbucks go do something else, you leave your garage open all day with no one home or in this case leave the car running with the keys at the gas station youre just making yourself vulnerable when you don't have to
My buddy had his car stolen during the recent polar vortex under somewhat similar circumstances (he was warming it up outside his house and ran inside to grab his wallet).
The good news is that because it was a crime of opportunity, the thief was naive about doing grand theft auto-type crimes, and didn't really know what to do with the car. So instead of taking it to a chop shop or shipping it out of state, or even changing the plates, the idiot sold it as a legitimate car to a regular person he knew living just a few miles away. Police found it a week later parked on the street in perfect condition, and now my friend has his car back. Turns out the kind of person who hangs out outside at 8 am when it's zero degrees and who's willing to steal a car on a whim isn't necessarily your most intelligent thief. Probably made $2k cash and now is looking at like 5 years in prison.
My buddy would have been pretty fucked, because insurance was NOT going to cover it, and being that it was a 6-month-old car, he was going to be on the hook for several years of car payments for a car he didn't even have. As a single dad on an already-stretched income, that was a pretty scary position to be facing.
The good news is that because it was a crime of opportunity, the thief was naive about doing grand theft auto-type crimes, and didn't really know what to do with the car. So instead of taking it to a chop shop or shipping it out of state, or even changing the plates, the idiot sold it as a legitimate car to a regular person he knew living just a few miles away. Police found it a week later parked on the street in perfect condition, and now my friend has his car back. Turns out the kind of person who hangs out outside at 8 am when it's zero degrees and who's willing to steal a car on a whim isn't necessarily your most intelligent thief. Probably made $2k cash and now is looking at like 5 years in prison.
My buddy would have been pretty fucked, because insurance was NOT going to cover it, and being that it was a 6-month-old car, he was going to be on the hook for several years of car payments for a car he didn't even have. As a single dad on an already-stretched income, that was a pretty scary position to be facing.
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Op, Let us know what your insurance says. Really curious if they'll actually cover you or not in this circumstance.
Same here cause I work in a mall that is right next to a really well known apartment complex (known for drugs and such). My coworker told me the other day she's now had her jeep broken into twice (unfortunately her jeep has a soft top so it's easy for them.. good luck locking that). First week I worked there some one had their car stolen.
But, these days it seems few people know manual so I'm hoping that dissuades the thieves from taking my car. And I try to leave nothing visible in it as well so hopefully they don't break in (plus it does have an alarm... I'm banking on the it's easier to go to some one else's car and mine has nothing tempting in it anyways). I remember a guy in college whose car was broken into (he rented a house in a not great area) and they stole a 5 dollar pair of binoculars (the window cost more). He decided he wasn't bothering locking the door as he kept nothing too valuable in the car and he'd rather they just take the stuff than break the window and he was going to be pissed if they still broke the window next time.
There were people in here that were outright blaming the OP. Also, there's a difference between, "Well next time don't leave it running and it will help deter people from doing that" and "it's your fault cause you left it running". yes, the second one absolutely is blaming the victim. I agree it's unwise to assume people do what they are supposed to do (see my above post, I don't even leave anything in the car visible for them to steal and if some how I accidentally do I feel very thankful it's still there and my window in tact when I get back). But I really disagree with this attitude of blaming the person whose stuff was stolen for it being stolen.
Oh, and btw, even if you do everything right that doesn't gaurentee they won't steal it anyways. They might have been looking (probably really) for something to steal and just went with the easiest one. If there wasn't an easy one they'd find some other criteria on what to pick. Or it could have been a crime of opportunity. Either way, it's 100% on the thieves for stealing it.
I'm glad I have a Lexus that locks all the doors if it's doesn't detect the key fob inside and a GPS locator via the app
If he has Comprehensive coverage, the theft will be covered. It is a dumb myth that insurance will be denied for things like that.
Lying about the circumstances of the theft is more likely to get it denied.
I don't disagree with you, I just want to draw a distinction between victim blaming ("it's your fault entirely!") and saying well, you didn't help yourself much.
It's not a dumb myth. I know someone whose similar claim was denied in Kentucky just this month.
And you know for a fact that had comprehensive, and that he didn't try to lie during the claim process, and that they said "No" rather than to see if it shows up? The vast majority of thefts like this get found, so insurers often wait and see rather than churning out the full cost asap.
Total Theft where the car is never recovered is actually really rare these days.
OP
OP
I do have comprehensive insurance and it seems like we're moving forward with the settlement so I don't know how everyone with a similar experience in this thread have been getting denied.... Unless there's a later step when they deny me.
I also agree, it depends where you live. I do this daily, but I can also see my car from the counter and I live in a small town where this is common place.
You're asking me if I audited my friend's documents? No, I did not. This was what my friend told me. One possibility is that he was exaggerating, myth making, or simply mistaken. Another is that told the truth about his situation, and that he is in a better position to know the facts of his situation than you are.
Ok, I emailed him to clarify, and he says he didn't have comprehensive insurance after all, so I retract all claims about his insurance coverage regarding this discussion.
Nice, got your car back. Worried it would be torn down for parts.
Especially for Civics.
Civic owner too.
Wow, thanks for following up. I'm kind of surprised he didn't have comprehensive, because as far as I know it be is often a condition for getting an auto-loan.
Were there really people out there lamenting the tedious chore of putting a key in a hole and turning it? Or is this one of those things where the car companies say "Aren't you sick of having to laboriously hold, insert and turn keys?!" and the audience replies "Oh, uh... like, not really?" And then the car companies say "Well great news, we improved it for you! Behold the march of progress!"
Fob systems are harder to start without the key, and is probably one of the reasons why carvtheft as dropped so much over the last decade.
Okay, now THAT I can buy. As an anti-theft measure, I see the appeal for sure.
i get your point and i wasn't going at you but there's a reason these fobs first appeared on luxury vehicles and has now trickled down to budget cars and such. convenience. same reason there is push button lock/unlock which predate the touch-less fob.