My First 'Total Car Theft" Sucks

Sorry to hear about this ,

And when you have new shiny tires and wheels does it become a bigger target ?

Thats what car battery thieves do , steal your old battery knowing you will put a new one in that day.....

Wow. That's awful. I hope you're able to get this resolved.

Floating Doc said:

johndej said:

Don't forget to push for diminished value also.

It'll have a theft/recovery record on the books.

That's an important consideration, but I don't know who that affects in the case of a lease. I'd sure like to know more about that.

It's a leased vehicle, OP would have no legal standing to make a diminished value claim.  Only the leasing company can, and they probably won't.  It's also very likely excluded by the OPs policy.  Very few policies allow first party DV claims (typically just Georgia and one or two other states).  I wouldn't pay it here anyway.

Car theives should be hung in the town square at noon on Saturday.....

With that said, it's sad that most tow companies treat the cars like crap. Seen to many cases where minor damage was turned into major damage by poor recovery and storeage practice. And there is little to no recourse sadly. Every time I see a tow yard use a forklift to move a car,....if it wasn't totalled before, it sure is now.....

In reply to aircooled :

So we did have video and it is a two person thing. They break a window to gain access to the car and somehow disable the alarm, steering lock, and trans lock. They then put the van in neutral pushed it down the driveway and used a large pickup truck to push it to where they dumped it. Never needed to start it. Covered their faces and kept their backs to any light source so no images of their faces. 

One of the residents of the neighborhood the van was left in says they hear the car alarms and tools and call the police but no police come for hours. As was the case for my van. I guess this neighbor was pissed that she called early that morning as the car alarm(s) woke her daughter up and the police didn't show up until lunch.

Gearheadotaku said:

ALL theives should be hung in the town square at noon on Saturday.....after being tarred, feathered, and dragged behind a rally car over a gravel road for 50 miles...

FTFY....

Advan046 said:

In reply to Saron81 :

Totaled, I don't think so. I am sure they have some algorithm to trigger that. 

We owned the van for a couple weeks shy of one full year. We leased it and I am not sure if the lease holding bank has a say. But I assume USAA will total up the cost and decide repair is the better choice for them. 

 

Yes, but 4X wheels and tires, plus I'm assuming damaged rocker panels from road side wheel removal, plus whatever unseen damage done from the thiefs to the interior,  plus whatever damage from dragging the car onto a flatbed, plus whatever damage from weather might get you closer than you think! 

Klayfish said:

Floating Doc said:

johndej said:

Don't forget to push for diminished value also.

It'll have a theft/recovery record on the books.

That's an important consideration, but I don't know who that affects in the case of a lease. I'd sure like to know more about that.

It's a leased vehicle, OP would have no legal standing to make a diminished value claim.  Only the leasing company can, and they probably won't.  It's also very likely excluded by the OPs policy.  Very few policies allow first party DV claims (typically just Georgia and one or two other states).  I wouldn't pay it here anyway.

having seen too many leasees get dinged on things that cannot even been seen when they turn the car in, what is this going to do when the lease is up if it's not totalled?

(not) WilD (Matt) said:

aircooled said:

Sort of a side question, but how (no need to be overly specific of course) do you even steal a 2019 car without the key fob?  How do they get past the security systems?  It's not like you can just how wire it like it's a 58 Buick!

I often wonder what the range on the fobs is.  For example, keys are on the nightstand on the other side of a wall less than six feet away from the car.  Maybe it will start?

I know my current car ('18 Mazda 3 Touring), and last two cars, '15 BRZ Limited and '13 135i.............I couldn't stand outside of the vehicle and have someone still be able to start it. It wants the key fob inside the car to operate the drivetrain.

z31maniac said:

(not) WilD (Matt) said:

aircooled said:

Sort of a side question, but how (no need to be overly specific of course) do you even steal a 2019 car without the key fob?  How do they get past the security systems?  It's not like you can just how wire it like it's a 58 Buick!

I often wonder what the range on the fobs is.  For example, keys are on the nightstand on the other side of a wall less than six feet away from the car.  Maybe it will start?

I know my current car ('18 Mazda 3 Touring), and last two cars, '15 BRZ Limited and '13 135i.............I couldn't stand outside of the vehicle and have someone still be able to start it. It wants the key fob inside the car to operate the drivetrain.

Our '17 Kia, my parents '16 Subaru, and my MIL's '14 Lexus won't even start it if I have my right foot in the car and the key is in my left pocket. They seem to have a pretty good idea of where the key is.

The Kia will not start the car if the key is in the little cubby on the door and the door is open. It WILL start if the door is closed, or if the key is in the "trunk". Not sure about if I threw the key under the car or not... May have to try that one tonight. 

They won't start unless the key is in the car but you can drive a short way from the key once it's running

FuzzWuzzy said:

All for stock wheels...

I've never understood it and still don't.

A local Dodge dealer has had it happen once or twice within the six years I've lived here. They now close/lock their gates and park a truck/long van in front of every gate door. They've also gotten even brighter LED lights to cover the entire lot.

I'm sure it wasn't just for wheels and tires. The vast majority of stolen vehicles in my area are a place to get warm, shoot up, ride to commit other crimes, then dump it. It literally has no bearing if it's a valuable or sought after vehicle. Just transportation they can use, abuse and then steal whatever they can carry afterwards.

Thieves suck.

I would push to have it totalled and get a new vehicle

a few things pop into my mind on this.

1.  In illinois if a vehicle has over 33% of it's value claimed for water damage, it's totaled.
2.  IF they go to total it and you didn't get some sort of gap insurance, you will most likely be on the hook for the remainder of the lease payments PLUS a payoff. 
3. Even if you get it back and it's "repaired" the leasing company may say that it's worth less than what it would have been before the damages and want you to make up the difference (not sure on that part TBH).

Proceed carefully and remember that all parties are looking to screw you right now

Well finally got the van out of the dreaded tow lot. 

I got a chance to look at the van and was surprised that is wasn't terribly destroyed on the bottom. It is bad no doubt. A lot of the front facia damage is due to the towing to and fro.

In reply to Brian :

Surprisingly little water seemed to have got into the van so even though they wouldn't let me see it, they just might have kept it indoors somewhere on their lot.

We have gap coverage with our lease holder actually. If the van is totaled in the first year we would just be released I think, as long as we start a new lease with them. Need to go reread that section. 

I don't think they can come after me for lost value due to theft. Drunk driving crash maybe but not theft. I do now have my full contract management persona going that I use at work when dealing with good and bad contractors alike. I am fair and will always be polite but won't let them take an inch from now. 

I will say at this point USAA and the repair shop seem to be headed towards making the van and us whole. I worked in the auto industry and to be honest we repaired worse damage that occurred in the factory. As long as the structure and suspension are good I think we are ok. The rear liftgate may be off color compared to the rest of the van though. IDK. It all just sucks having to go through this and not have my new van anymore. 

So, I had a '04 1500 Off Road package (with fancy stickers saying so) stolen out of a retail parking lot while I shopped.  It was taken to Mexico, heavily modified, then used for human smuggling across the boarder.  

It was recovered outside Tucson and initially brought to a Tucson adjuster.  I live in Phoenix and had it shipped up after the initial estimate was only $7,500.  I pulled up pictures of what it looked like before and it was totaled with ove $20k after seeing the amount of modifications.  This was '09 and it was still worth around $20k.  The final nail in the coffin was that the insurance company is forever on the hook for motor and transmission damage.  You can always re-open the claim and state that the damage was due to abuse from the time the theft was in possession and what they did to it.

Use that leverage to your advantage if it is on the verge and you want it gone.

In reply to Advan046 :

I'm gonna guess $9k repair/replace needed. That will probably leave you a long way from totaled.  I wasn't factoring in anything for undercarriage damage. That could be the decided factor. It doesn't seem to be leaking so nothing damming like broke oil pan or trans pan.

In reply to John Welsh :

I think you will be right on the money. Once I saw the van I realized that the layers of slush/snow and soft mud/clay probably provided the best case scenario for dragging a van onto a flatbed and back off again. So it is FAR from a totaled value. The almost full length front and rear underbody covers maybe hiding some nasty damage though. I think the most significant underbody damage might be the underbody flanges/ribs near where they left the van on wood blocks and maybe damage from the jack(s) wherever they lifted the van to steal the wheels. I am certain they didn't use the recommended jack points.

The adjuster did say that the cost to reset the steering column lock can be extremely variable depending on make and model of modern cars. According to him, it can be as simply as resetting some lever from the driver's seat to having to take the dash apart to replace something. 

Let's hope everything can be made right. Either through totalling it out or repairs

Well the current tally is $15k. There is a back ordered part holding up the work. 

Basically 99% of the damage cost is due to the towing. 

Saw some of the repair work. So far USAA mandated all OEM parts. I am happy with their performance.

In reply to Advan046 :

Wonder if the insurance company can sue the tow company for damages.

I mean, they probably will anyway, but I wonder, you know?

Tow damage is just considered part of the loss. You couldn't move it without doing some damage. Tow company didn't really have a choice.

The only time we go after a tow co is if they improperly tie it down and cause damage underneath.

Only one back-ordered part from Fiat-Chrysler? That is nothing short of amazing.

As far as lease turn-in 'damage' the insurance company is the first stop, not the car owner.

I had my boost beetle stolen a few years ago. Sitting in the street, turbo goodness hanging out for the world to see... they got it fired up and drove about a mile out the dirt road at the end of my street before the steering locked and hammering a screwdriver in the ignition cylinder wouldn't unlock it so they just left it there. It wasn't too bad really, fix a couple wires and replace a lock cylinder...

Sorry your experience was less pleasant. 

FWIW, I recently learned that Chryslers with leverless shifters can be easily put into Neutral without a key.

The issue is, Chryslers (and I assume Mercedes) will put themselves into Park if you open the door, and will not shift out of Park unless a specific sequence of things occur.  This makes it impossible to be able to, say, tow a vehicle that has a dead battery or otherwise won't run.  So, there is a mechanical interlock that you can access inside the car to disengage Park.  You do not need to have a key to be able to do this, and due to the reason for the interlock's existence, needing the key would be contrary to its purpose.

BMWs with electronic transmissions also have such an interlock.  I would imagine that every vehicle that doesn't have a physically connected shifter has an easily accessible way to shift out of Park for reasons of towing/service.  Most of the time you have to remove interior panels, which is a pain in the ass if you're servicing the car.  But if you're just stealing it, you just use a big screwdriver or hammer to pry/beat your way down to the interlock, because you don't care about interior panels, you just want to move the car so you can steal the wheels for that sweet sweet $50 scrap value.