My car is missing from my private parking spot. Yes, I filed a police report, checked all the towing companies and streets and sanitation. The car was a '96 Saturn. It was not street legal (no current registration), it had maybe 5% of its braking ability left (in other words if you approached an intersection at 30 mph you wouldn’t be able to stop), it had a manual transmission with a failing clutch and had a wonky ignition switch (you had to turn the wheel a certain way in order to turn the key) and there was no gas in the car. I am at a total loss why or how someone stole this car, or why they wouldn’t abandon it a block later. I was in the process of emptying it of my belongings in order to sell it after a long period of inactivity. The only good thing about the car was the motor which was in excellent condition. I can’t find one of my keys in the house and am afraid my b.f. left the key in the car as he was helping me clear the car. I don’t live in a neighborhood with a lot of car theft. It’s not the car so much I’m worried about, but what was in it. I left documents and personal items in the car, and I’m not even sure what was there. This really bothers me.
A few weeks ago, our building had a yard sale in the parking lot. A handyman who apparently works in the neighborhood approached my b.f. and asked him if he would sell the car, (there was no “for sale” sign on the car and the tires were flat) he said a friend of his was a mechanic. My b.f. didn’t tell him any specifics about the car, just that he’d take his number and get back to him because the car had “issues” that we had to flesh out. I keep thinking back to that incident. Should I be suspicious? I still have this guy’s name and phone number.
How do I go about finding out if my car, or pieces of it were sold to junkyards or “chop shops”. Where do stolen parts end up? Should I advertise on Craigslist? Offer a reward?
It may be sold for melt value to the scrap yard.
When stealing a car to sell for quick cash, its easier if it looks like it is due for recycling, then there won’t be any questions asked- they won’t even strip it for spare parts so its not sitting on the lot ..
I know criminals are stupid, but you would have to be beyond stupid to first come up to your victim and hand him your phone number before ripping off his car. Add to that the fact that the handyman is well-known in the neighborhood and it doesn’t make a lot of sense. But, yes, some criminals are stupid.
Actually, it was I forgot to take off the insurance. It was cheap because the car is old, and I have a good driving record. Also, only a $100 deductible. I’m still mad though, and want to catch the culprit or just figure out what happened to the car. Don’t people check the VIN on the engine when they deal in parts? Can I call the local junkyard and say: “Hey look out for my car”. I still can’t believe it wasn’t just towed. The handyman thing. I just thought it was really strange for someone to ask out of the blue if the car is for sale, and I even said so to my b.f. at the time.
I used to have an older car which I used to drive the three miles to work (shabby but mechanically sound). I regularly had people knocking the door asking if it was for sale.
When I retired it was nearly due for its annual check (MOT) and I was sure it would fail so was thinking of the best way to dispose of it. A guy offered me £100 and after we established that I wasn’t going to sell it to him, I asked him what he intended to do with it. “Scrap it” he said. I could get well over £200 for it.
Apparently he and his mate spent their weekends driving around looking for old cars on driveways. We have a new law about insurance that makes it more trouble to keep old cars now, so that was a lever he used to persuade the owners.
I drove it to the scrapyard myself and got £220 cash.
Wait, you actually still have insurance on it? Like comprehensive insurance? If so, you basically just won the lottery (well, at least a very minor jackpot)-- from your description it sounds like your car was in pretty rough shape, but the insurance company should give you the book value which it sounds like will be much higher than the actual value. So you should only be trying to find the car in order to finish the job so the insurance company doesn’t try to give it back to you!
I would bet on it being a joyride situation instead of a for-profit theft. My money would be on your car being abandoned in a legal parking spot somewhere (probably not very far away based on your car’s mechanical condition) and it’ll turn up as soon as someone notices it hasn’t moved and complains. So you may want to make that insurance claim now before it turns up!
If it was stolen for a joyride then abandoned in some legal lot then(depending on how long it has been gone) you may not want to get it back if a towing company has picked it up. Go check the tow truck companies and, if they have it, see how much it will cost you to get it back.
No, the tires were flat when the guy wanted to buy the car. I pumped up the tires to get it ready to sell, and discovered the brakes were almost completely useless. The shop I took it to told me there was a brake fluid leak and it would cost more than the car was worth to redo the brakes.
No, the tires were flat when the guy wanted to buy the car. I pumped up the tires to get it ready to sell, and discovered the brakes were almost completely useless. The shop I took it to told me there was a brake fluid leak and it would cost more than the car was worth to redo the brakes.
If it was taken to a chop-shop or something similar, you don’t want to mess with those people. Seriously. Just let the police handle it and write it off as a learning experience.
But I want to know what happened to it, and I had personal stuff in the car. It wasn’t worth the trouble to steal, it’s a '96 for God’s sake. Even for parts, it’s not worth the effort and the risk of getting caught. It was dangerous to drive and the plates were expired. These cars are a dime a dozen. Not a good rate of return. I don’t live in a neighborhood where cars are stolen a lot, and it wasn’t really visible from the street. I still keep calling towing companies and the city because I can’t believe someone would try to drive this car. There was no broken glass on the ground.
My money says it was towed by the city and they just don’t have their shit together so the tow yard isn’t talking to the PD.
This happened to a Doper a few years back. Her Jeep Cherokee was gone from it’s spot. She reported it stolen, followed up on a regular basis with the police and was even told that she should stop bothering them IIRC.
Turns out it was recovered by the cops within a day or so of her initial report. The city of Chicago told her she owed thousands in storage fees, more than the car was worth.
Long story short: they crushed her car and sold it for scrap, she was never compensated.
And I had a similar experience with the Chicago auto pound and the police not talking to each other (police were at fault). Check the auto pound. Take the registration, title, and proof of insurance with you.
Streets and Sanitation has an online database you can search with VIN and license plate number. Nothing resembling my car is in there. We called them. Nothing so far.
If the car was stolen, all of your personal items now belong to someone else. If there was anything of even minor value, it is gone too. Sorry to be a downer, but I have personal experience having work autos stolen.
I had a car stolen from the convenience store that my team was visiting in Des Moines. It turned up a week later in Kansas City in a parking lot. All of our equipment was gone and the car was full of personal stuff from the dumbass who stole it. That was the only instance of the five cars stolen that was actually found.
Yeah, then they don’t have it. The city’s not good at a lot of things but you can find your car in the impound pretty darn easily. I saw a co-worker’s car towed from my office window and she saw where it was going online within seconds.
If you know where the handyman lives you can cruise his neighborhood. Odds are that if didn’t take it, he knows who did and since they’re stealing a 17-year old Saturn I don’t think they’ve got private parking somewhere - it’s on a public street gathering dust. These aren’t criminal masterminds - I had a car stolen from work and everyone suspected a co-worker. Why? It was recovered 3 doors from his home address.
Another option is checking the city web site for tickets on your plate; six months after someone took my Fiat 124 Spyder I got a ticket in the mail from down-state.
I forgot to take off the insurance. It was cheap because the car is old, and I have a good driving record. Also, only a $100 deductible. I’m still mad though, and want to catch the culprit or just figure out what happened to the car. Don’t people check the VIN on the engine when they deal in parts? Can I call the local junkyard and say: “Hey look out for my car”. I still can’t believe it wasn’t just towed. The handyman thing. I just thought it was really strange for someone to ask out of the blue if the car is for sale, and I even said so to my b.f. at the time.