So, anyone ever had their car stolen?

[Pierce Tondry]

More importantly, was it ever an advantage to you? Funny story; I'll tell it.

My piece of garbage 93 Ford Tempo was diagnosed with engine failure in January. I was in my Spring semester at the time and very busy, as well as very poor. I ended up taking insurance off the vehicle and forgetting about it.

Flash forward to July. The DMV says they're revoking my liscense because I'm an uninsured motorist. I am in the middle of my final two courses needed to graduate, though, so I set the issue aside and forget about it (again).

September now. After having a chat with an uncle of mine (who's very supportive of me and always has been) he suggests I sell the car for some quick small cash, get a service record from the station where it was kept, and take that to the DMV. So I contact the service station and talk to the owner, who I know personally.

The car wasn't there. Apparently it had been towed, he believed, at my consent.

I do some more digging (just got off the phone with the police in fact) and learn that the car was not reported as towed anywhere. I will need to do some double-checking at the service station, but by all appearances my cruddy little car has been stolen. This is partly advantageous to me because it helps me prove that I could not possibly have been driving the car. Getting a notice of non-operation of a vehicle retroactively applied with the DMV could be easier if the vehicle is reported as stolen, as suggested by a lawyerly friend of mine.

So yeah, that's my story. Losing a car worth like 40 bux may get me out of paying 500.

[Zem Vymes]

Haven't had a car stolen thankfully. My insurance would cover it, but ugh, I would hate to endure that kind of thing.

Especially since I keep a $2400 carbine combat-rigged in the toolbox, um, just in case.

[Pierce Tondry]

Because bears are going to assault your vehicle, am I right?

[Zem Vymes]

This is a distinct possibility and one that requires addressing with extreme prejudice when it does.

But back on topic, I do wonder how insurance handles not only the vehicle, but the vehicle contents. Does it work like home-owners insurance, where you retain records in a strongbox of an itemized inventory to recoup your losses?

[Morgan Evanar]

If you have comprehensive it works like homeowners, I think.

My sister just had her car stolen and trashed a few days ago. :(

[Pierce Tondry]

Heh, well like I said I had no insurance on my vehicle of any kind so I don't really know how they'd handle it.

[Rutabaga]

My first car that I had in the mid to late 80's was a 72 VW Bug, and it was in very good condition. It was stolen from a spot only about 25 feet away from my parents' garage while I was on vacation. It was finally found about 2 weeks later, a few miles from home, completely stripped except for something like 3 fenders and the radio (it was a cheap AM/FM radio only). It was a bummer, especially since I had to fight with the Auto Club to get what I felt was a fair reimbursement for it. I then bought a new car, and a few months later when I moved only about 4 miles, the Auto Club tried to jack my premiums up by over $500 a year. I switched insurance companies immediately and will never go back to the Auto Club for insurance :grumble.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Never had a car stolen yet, thankfully. I did have my old Acura broken into when I was living in Dallas though. They stole my cd player, which ended up being a favor for me since the darn thing skipped even brand spanking new cd's. They also took a 15 dollar wrench set (but left an 80 dollar jumper cable set sitting right next to it), some cd's - most of which they dumped in the parking lot, and my dad's wool naval overcoat. They did leave me the screwdriver used to break the window, and blood on my back seat, though.

[Park Kraken]

They did leave me the screwdriver used to break the window, and blood on my back seat, though.

Did you hand that evidence over to the police?

I've never had a car or truck broken into or stolen, although just a couple of weeks ago, our neighbors had one truck stolen and another one broken into. They are hunters, and the thieves took several high powered rifles and shotguns from a gun rack in the cab of the truck.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Did you hand that evidence over to the police?


ahahaha, in downtown Dallas? Trust me, Dallas cops have better things to waste their time on :)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I wish my hubby's Jeep would get stolen - we have gap insurance on it from when he bought it and it's worth less than what we owe on it. :shakefist

I've never had a car stolen though. ^_^;

[Pierce Tondry]

Adding a little closure to the story.

After a couple weeks of wrangling and whatnot, I got a crapload of paperwork, several fees from both the state and the county, and a bunch of running around reduced to a single 85 dollar payment to the DMV. If I could somehow land a job by 5pm, this would be the single best day of my year.

In all probability, the owner sold the car for parts. I don't care. The car was garbage anyway and there was nothing of value inside it.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Hooray!

That's good. Well, its still bad that it took weeks of wrangling and hassle, but you know what I mean. :)