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My only car theft experience was a little different. I sold a '97 Cadillac and the buyer paid with a bogus cashier's check. When my bank alerted me to the fraud, I reported the car stolen. I filed the report around 2:00 3:00 in the afternoon and at about 9:30 that night, I got a phone call from a cop who had discovered the car parked in a "high drug activity neighborhood" (his words). With my permission, they towed the car to impound and processed it for prints. While the officer was waiting for the tow truck, the s**t h**d who stole it came up to him and asked if there was a problem. When the cop told him the car was stolen, he dropped the keys in his lap and ran off. For better or worse, the cop chose to stay with the car and let the guy go.
When I went to get the car the next day, I found that although I had told them nothing in the car belonged to me and it all could be bagged up as evidence, they had left everything there--including the title! I called the police and told them I had some stuff for them, including two cell phones and a couple of bottles of prescription drugs, that could be linked to the suspects. It took a detective over a week to come and retrieve them, but he told me the suspects were part of a theft ring that had gotten several other cars the same way. I never heard anything more from the police, so I have no idea if they caught them. One thing belonging to the suspects that I did keep for my troubles was two pairs of brand new Nike sneakers in my size.
I had my Chevy boosted in college. It may have been gone for a couple days before I noticed. They found it a day later, impounded it, and I had a peeled column, a shorted battery, a pried off fuel cap locking ring, a bent fuel cap, and a stolen radar detector, and scratches on my sunglasses.
New column ring, new cruise lever, had insurance do the dent my grandma put in it as from the thieves, and that was it. Had a lot of crappy backpacks, scratched up R Kelly CDs and worn out basketball shoes belonging to the thieves, which I conclude were two big African Americans, of which Nashville has plenty.
I enjoyed throwing their crap in the dumpster. I invested in better parking for the Chevy ever since, and the nights it has spent outside since is about 10, and the rest of the time it is in good garages.
Hagerty is finalizing my claim. My car is a total loss and I had to get a salvage title.They did let me buy it back for $125. I learned two hard lessons: never under insure your baby and never underestimate a thief.
wow, I'm just getting back to this thread. Sorry they totaled it - in my eyes and I bet many, many others a salvage title woudn't matter if you ever did decide to sell the car. Not sure what I would do if I was in your position. I'd either keep the car and repair it, as your car, like mine, probably has a lot of emotional memories tied to it. Or maybe that is what would push me over the edge to buy a new modern muscle car.
Edit: Insurance is crazy. I finally upped my insurance on my convertible W30 to what a #3 car would bring (mine may be a #2) but to me even the prices of #3 W30 convertibles is a crazy valuation.
Last edited by stevengerard; August 27th, 2018 at 04:07 PM.
Years ago I had a friend who had a 73 mustang for sale for $2500. They ended up selling to one of their friends boyfriend. He gave them $1250 cash and a check for the other $1250 which he asked them not to cash for a week. After a week they tried to cash it and it bounced. They tried to contact the guy but he would not respond so the called the cops. Turns out the guy had a warrant so when the stopped him he was arrested and they got their car back, with new dual exhaust, headers, intake, carb and tires. Plus the got to keep the cash he gave them. He went to jail. They sold the car the next weekend for $4000.
Very happy you got your baby back. Sorry to hear you got her back stripped of all things performance. I cannot add anything to what was already stated regarding the possibilities of whodunit. Please take precautions to protect your baby in the future. I sincerely hope that your car was insured and you will be compensated for your losses. Please refrain from bringing the car to a place that requires you to leave your address. Please consider changing your phone to an unlisted number to help stop people from finding where you live. If you don’t have one already, place a lock on your door. Try to keep a car parked in front of your garage when possible. Put in a kill switch (I’ll be adding one to my car soon). Dissuade potential thieves from taking advantage of you again,
Your story, even with the “happy” ending...sucks. My hope is that the people involved in this thievery get caught in the act by an armed owner (and that they live in a state) where you can protect yourself if you fear for your life. Some people suck.
Years ago I had a friend who had a 73 mustang for sale for $2500. They ended up selling to one of their friends boyfriend. He gave them $1250 cash and a check for the other $1250 which he asked them not to cash for a week. After a week they tried to cash it and it bounced. They tried to contact the guy but he would not respond so the called the cops. Turns out the guy had a warrant so when the stopped him he was arrested and they got their car back, with new dual exhaust, headers, intake, carb and tires. Plus the got to keep the cash he gave them. He went to jail. They sold the car the next weekend for $4000.
I got my check from Hagerty Sept. 20. I'm in the process of interviewing body shops. My next posts will be in parts wanted to try to piece it back together. No parts have been recovered.
Last edited by aqua67w30; September 24th, 2018 at 04:13 PM.
Reason: incomplete post
I was sitting in my chair and then the wreck in front of my house. I got out of my chair and went outside and saw this Dodge van stuck up against my truck. I asked for her lic # and Ins and she said I'm backing my car out. I said don't even move your car till I take pics. Mt neighbor was across the street and had his cell and took some pics. I bought the 1999 Chevy step side 3 years ago for $2200 and only had PL PD Ins on it. She had no lic. or Ins or tags. My ins. is sending me $4500 to SALVAGE it but I'm buying it back and fixing it.
Last edited by Gerald Nickels; October 3rd, 2018 at 11:31 PM.
Friday Oct. 5th at 2:15 P.M. the "68 Camaro race car of the owner of Jerry's Speed Shop in Toledo was stolen out of his home garage. A neighbor's camera showed an early 80's chevy pickup pushing it down the street where it must have been loaded into or onto something. The car was recovered a few miles from where my car was recovered at around 7:00 P.M. the same day stripped of engine , trans and electronics. These cars were targeted. We don't live in a high crime area. The Toledo police need to get off their *** and do something about this!
A couple people might want to get together, build an awesome car, and use it as bait for vigilante justice. Some people need shot and buried shallowly.
Your on the right track with the bait. But remember what ever you do: nobody saw anything, heard anything, knows anything or said anything. A silent alarm with a transmitter to a unit held by someone who is willing to deal with the perps would work providing that it is monitored while the bait is "active." Like any crime the best way to STOP it is AT THE POINT WHERE/WHEN IT OCCURS. Remember, the last person these thieves want to encounter during a boost is the owner. This is esp true with bikers. When you mess with a guys Harley you're likely going to face a gun.
Years ago while in college I worked at a service station which also had a tow service. We were having problems with people getting in the fence where towed cars were stored and stealing things from them. The local PD provided a 'bait' car. 90's Caddy with hooptie rims that had an electronic device on it. First night we put it inside the fence with the other cars, the police caught two 'upstanding citizens' in the vehicle trying to steal the radio...
Last night at around 7:00 P.M. an '84 Monte Carlo with a hot small block, nice wheels and a Ford 9" rear was stolen out of his driveway less than a block from my house. I live in a good blue collar working class neighborhood. I've warned all of my car friends to protect their property. I warned my neighbor after my car was stolen but apparently he didn't take enough precautions.
Man, that just plain SUX. I'm totally bummed for you. I hope you get it back, whole, and in good shape. Then, I hope the thieves suffer grave misfortune.
I know the horse is already out of the barn, so to speak, but you (and others!) may want to look into buying some inexpensive WI-fi "PTZ" webcams and set them up to record when motion is sensed. They are less than $100 each, online, and there are a number of brands. I have D-Link. You can set them up to email you videos or stills when motion is detected, and/or to store the video on a local PC/server, along with viewing them remotely via your smartphone, tablet, PC, etc.. They really are pretty simple to set up. I've got one on my driveway facing the street, two in my garage at opposite sides, and a number throughout the house facing both indoors and out of windows with good street and yard views.
Good Luck!
Great idea!! Do you need AC Power for the camera's??
I empathize with your loss. I read some great ideas to deter theft: cameras, cell phone, kill switches, advertising for parts wanted, and spreading the word to jail house snitches. You have no idea how much they know and are eager to share in order to lighten their sentences.
Please avoid the temptation using a lethal weapon on a suspect.
State laws provide conditional protection of your life, Under no circumstances use a lethal weapon to protect your personal property. You will be prosecuted by your state and defense costs are exorbitant. At the minimum, you will be convicted of a felony, and more than likely, find yourself incarcerated.
Use other means, please. I know others are thinking the contrary, and it may feel good initially, but it is not lawful to take one's life for protection of personal property. Keep a cool head!
Last edited by twilightblue28A; October 17th, 2018 at 08:41 PM.
God I am sooo sooo sorry to hear you lost her and got her back this way. Lets hope we can all ban together and find the scumbags and put them where they belong. I have an amcrest camera on the delta at all times. Sadly I don't have a garage. The camera works great, streams right to my phone. It only cost me about 75$ Hopefully we can find the parts and Hagerty gets you up and running soon!!
Sorry your car was found like that. It's always been a fear of mine waking up and finding my car gone. I keep mine in the garage plus I always park my little around the town beater right behind it to block it in. Best security ever, I have nosey neighbors.
Last edited by 1972@442; October 25th, 2018 at 05:04 AM.
A tile tracker for a wallet would be a good idea they are flat and can be hidden under carpet no charging required just replace very few years.
-Futuramic
From what I read, it appears your phone would need to be in Bluetooth range (300 feet) in order to get a location; otherwise it shows the last location that was within range. That would likely be your garage before the car was stolen, but you already knew that's where you left the car so not much help there.
Randy,
Conditionally. Your life must be in imminent danger. Merely entering your home does not provide for use of lethal force.
I'm asking all to be careful before taking the law into your hands
I checked on that. It varies by state. In my state, you can use lethal force to prevent unlawful entry of your home, your curtilage (your house's lot and garage, etc) and occupied motor vehicles. So, if it is on your lot, you can use lethal force. If it is not on your lot, and it is not occupied, you can use reasonable force to stop a crime, like theft. This turns into lethal force if he comes at you. Any thief you scare off will be back later, especially if you point a gun at him, so, to quote a great cowboy: "If you're going to shoot, shoot; don't talk about it."
Check your state laws on salvage titles. I've been told that in some states a salvage title can limit the amount you can recover/ receive on a claim should you get in another accident. After all it is a salvage auto.... Tedd
Any updates? just read through this again, how are the thieves fencing the parts? Craigslist? ebay, racingjunk.com? overseas? it seems more important than ever to have all the serial numbers and vins and perhaps post this in a registry? Hardin Marine valve covers are not that common, especially outside of boat racing there was just a set on ebay though... I also concur this seems like its Death from within, somebody attending cruise nights, races etc maybe street racers who don't plan to sell the stuff, as that would be riskier? IDK what to think, btw bleach doesn't remove all traces of blood, hydrogen peroxide.... just saying in case you cut yourself on sheet metal or something
Here in North Carolina, we live by the 'CASTLE DOCTRINE' (version of stand-your-ground) law, with no legal obligation to back down - and, covers your home, vehicles & work space.
One Monte Carlo was found totally stripped in Detroit. Word is my neighbor's Monte is totally stripped and low lifes are trying to sell the parts here in the Toledo area. There was an arrest in Detroit but other than the one Monte the rest were Hellcats. No one here in Toledo area has been busted yet. No one has heard anything about my missing parts. I'm slowly getting my car back together. It rolls now and has the fuel system in place. I should have a motor complete in a couple of weeks. I've removed all the trim and getting ready to strip the paint off most of the body. Toledo thieves are fair weather people. There hasn't been any thefts since the weather got cold.
First I've heard of this. Mine was stolen with a sling type tow truck. The kind with the rubber straps that keep the car from hitting the wrecker and pick the car up by the bumper.
My neighbor's 84 Monte Carlo was found Thursday in a garage at a vacant house on the east side of Toledo. It has been stripped of the cowl hood, passenger side door, wheels and tires, engine, trans and headers, radiator and electric fan, gauges, shifter and ignition. They didn't take the Ford 9" or the driveshaft.
August 24th, 2018, 07:42 AM
