These Are Your Worst Automobile Theft Tales

It is simple to overlook that automotive theft has been round for so long as there was avenue parking. Transportation theft so ubiquitous in American tradition that it predates each the trendy car and the U.S. Structure. Earlier than vehicles, horses have been a typical goal for thieves. In 18th-century Pennsylvania, horse thieves have been branded as punishment. Repeat offenders have been marked with the letters H and T on their foreheads. That is after getting tortured for over an hour whereas trapped in a pillory, however I digress.

We requested our readers final week for his or her worst automotive theft tales, and the responses have been overwhelming. There have been even just a few feedback that exceeded the character restrict for a single message. Nevertheless, you all have been wanting to share your heartbreak and tales of frustration. Thefts themselves ranged from elaborate multi-vehicle schemes to frantic crimes of alternative. With out additional ado, listed here are automotive theft tales that you will always remember:

Month-long household trip – first we went tenting in New Hampsire after which we went north of the border to Montreal. Huge caravan of 3-4 vehicles + a 1994 F150 with the entire tenting gear, quite a lot of baggage, and so forth., performing as a tail automobile. Tenting was nice, and so was the primary week in Montreal, till we awoke one morning, seemed exterior the resort, and seen the F150, and every little thing in it, was lacking. Cops have been referred to as, and so they ended up discovering the truck just a few hours later, however every little thing was gone – fortunately, it was solely the tenting gear and a few random different issues. I understand how loopy it sounds to depart all of that stuff unsecured behind a truck, however it was the 90’s, and it was Canada.

Submitted by: Michael Almeida

My automotive bought stolen in school, I reported it to the cops, bought a name per week later that it was in a tow yard ready for me to select it up. Apparently, the thieves ultimately deserted it when it ran out of fuel.

Went to select it up on the tow yard, needed to pay $400+ to get it out, regardless of my reporting it stolen instantly after it was the week prior. They did not even have it in that yard; they’d moved it to the long-term lot, so I needed to trek midway throughout town to even see it. I get there, it is trashed and will not even begin. I could not afford to have it towed someplace, not to mention get it fastened. I used to be given the choice for them to take it off my palms for like $200 or no matter, or I would proceed to pile up storage charges till I took it out myself. I actually had no alternative.

So, to sum up, in school, I primarily had the pleasure of paying $600+ for my automotive being stolen.

Submitted by: JayWantsACat

I used to be at an ex’s work Christmas occasion, which was being held at an area restaurant within the night. The parking for this restaurant was throughout the street in a dust lot that had no avenue lights. About an hour into the occasion, a girl got here working in saying somebody had damaged into everybody’s automotive by smashing out their facet home windows. On the time, I used to be driving a 2009 Pontiac G8 GT that I had bought a month earlier. Everybody ran out to test their vehicles, and out of everybody, mine was the one one which hadn’t been damaged into. I don’t know why they spared mine, both they figured it had an alarm or had good style in automobiles. Who is aware of.

Submitted by: Nick B

I as soon as had two vehicles stolen in the identical evening. My girlfriend was spending the evening on the home with my brother and I. I had an MGB and he or she had an Austin-Healey Sprite. My brother got here residence late and requested why my MG was parked across the nook with the lights on. I seemed out the window, and it was gone, and so was my girlfriend’s Sprite. Walked to the place my automotive was and located that it had been correctly hotwired however simply would not begin. Reward Lucas, God of Darkness! The thief (or thieves) had apparently gone again for my girlfriend’s automotive as a substitute. It was recovered a few days later, and after I popped the hood, I discovered the battery had been changed with a a lot larger battery from one other automotive. The police officer informed me they’d a report of a battery being stolen out of a Buick not removed from the place it was recovered, however mentioned, “simply preserve it.”

Submitted by: Norm DePlume

Got here residence sooner or later to seek out my brother residence, however his automotive was not exterior. Requested him the place he parked, and he mentioned proper exterior.

No automotive, seemed up and down the road however nothing, we went for a stroll and one avenue over there was his outdated Ford, nostril in to the sidewalk. We needed to push it again to our dad and mom’ place as a result of the engine was nonetheless sitting in my Dad’s storage!

We figured somebody had tried actually arduous to bump begin it, pushing it down the slight hill till they discovered there was nothing within the automotive to start out.

Nonetheless giggle about that one.

Submitted by: Bruce Arnott

Early 2000’s dwelling with a buddy in a residential neighborhood, left city for the evening to go fishing with one other buddy a few hours north. Returned residence the subsequent day to seek out the trunk of my 96′ Cavalier open after we rounded the nook on my block. At the moment, I used to be huge into automotive audio and had a speaker field with 2-10″ subs within the trunk with 2 amps and a crossover mounted to it. Regarded within the trunk to seek out the speaker field, amps, crossover, 100+ CDs, and the radio gone. I used to be working within the low-voltage trade at the moment and had all my instruments in my trunk as nicely. Thieves used my instruments to take away all of the audio gear and left them within the trunk, luckily. I wanted the instruments for my job, I used to be blissful they left them so I did not have to interchange them that day in an effort to work on Monday.

Submitted by: Philip Nelson

Okay, so after I was 19 and going to highschool, my highschool sweetheart and I have been in several Schools. Issues weren’t going nice and the writing was on the wall that the space wasn’t working. She invited me for the weekend to her school within the Bronx. My automotive on the time was a 2000 Honda EX with a JDM B18C swap. Sizzling swap in 2008. After a few hours there and my automotive parked on the road proper subsequent to the dorm she dumped me. Heartbroken, I went to go residence solely to have discovered my automotive had been stolen in broad daylight. Heartbroken and unhappy after calling the cops and having to attend just a few hours for a buddy to return get me, I had to return and ask her if I might wait in her dorm till my experience bought there.

Submitted by: 4RingKing1234

That is at a dealership. We had a used Enclave on the lot, 8 or 9 years outdated, 150k miles, nothing particular, a fundamental driver. A man referred to as from out of city, mentioned he was and that he was sending somebody to examine the automobile. This isn’t exceptional. The “inspector” confirmed up subsequent day, appeared like a traditional dude. First mistake: I didn’t ask for ID. He knew my identify and the “buyer’s” identify. It was pouring rain so I had it ready within the service lane. He began taking a look at it, I used to be delivering one other offered automotive so I left him to it. Second mistake.

Went to test on him and he and the automotive have been gone. We hadn’t mentioned a check drive however I figured that is what he was doing. A half hour later, he was nonetheless gone. I had thought he had arrived in a giant pickup and that wasn’t there both. I requested a service advisor and he or she mentioned he checked out it for a minute after which drove off.

I referred to as each him and the “buyer” a number of instances, no reply after all. Known as the police, they took a report and that was the final we heard of that Enclave. The names have been faux, the telephones have been burners. They should have had a particular use for a largely worn-out household hauler and their elaborate scheme netted them one.

Submitted by: mnmrosen

I offered Hummer H2s and H3s in 02-07, and we had a big stock on the lot, parked in a row alongside a freeway on the town. We seen automobiles would simply be lacking from the road typically. So we began to drag key fuses from the fuse field on all of our automobiles. As a salesman, I’d stroll round with a pack of fuses to place again in place every time we confirmed or offered a automotive.

However the vans stored disappearing.

We’re not speaking about 12 at a time, however one or two each few months. You’d seize the keys from the field, exit to discover a truck, and it simply would not be there.

After we began pulling the fuses, it slowed down, however it did not cease. Then the dealership down the road bought hit for wheels on over 40 automobiles in a single evening; it was wild. Automobiles had all or a few of their wheels eliminated, some vehicles mendacity on the asphalt, others with cinder blocks beneath the management arms, some with just one wheel gone, others with three. Clearly, a case the place the thieves knew they solely had a lot time to get out of there. That triggered the native and state police to extend patrols. And but our vans stored going lacking one after the other.

It was throughout that elevated surveillance that the police stored working into the identical man at our lot, an worker who closed up or frolicked after his shift to talk and be pleasant, and so they began to attach the dots. He ultimately pleaded to solely the final of the thefts, 2 automobiles, however I sort of assume he was concerned in additional.

He allegedly took $6k per automobile.

Submitted by: potbellyjoe