OT: What happens after car is stolen?

[Wilfred Xavier Pickles]

Mine was stolen 2 days ago. Police report was made. Haven't placed a claim with insurance.

I know there's a chance I'll never hear anything. Had one stolen in '78, still got the title. They say there's 2/3 chance it will be recovered, possibly with serious damage.

I figure the cop might've scribbled my phone and/or the report # wrong. What do ya do: just wait 3 days and call?

Full-size car was 15 years old, in near perfect condition, 68k mi. Too old to chop for big $. Insurance won't pay what it was worth.

Whotta headache!

Bleeding, Will

[Frank]

We had a 10 year old Mazda stolen and it was found in a bad part of town on blocks with everything stripped. Only thing they did not take was the old radio. Insurance company was a PITA and would only reimburse for book value even though body was in pristine condition and we had new tires. I keep cars a long time but when a repair exceeds book value, it's time to get rid of it.

Same thing would happen with insurance if you were in an accident.

Might as well grit your teeth and start dealing with the insurance company.

[trader4]

Why anyone would pay for insurance that would include theft coverage on a 15 year old car is the question that should be asked. Typically, that comes only with collision insurance, which sure isn't worth it on an ordinary car that old. Blue Book value is probably under $1000.

If it's covered by insurance, I'd probably wait about a week before reporting it to see if it is found intact. I'm reluctant to get an insurance company involved on anything other than an actual claim because no one knows exactly what they use to determine your rates. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out that if you make a claim on this, you wind up getting

[Doug Miller]

Incorrect. Theft coverage is part of *comprehensive* insurance, not collision. Collision covers, well, _collisions_. Not thefts.

[Oren]

It could be worse.

A guy reports his car stolen to police and report filed. Later finds out his family member parked it down the street a little further. He calls the police and cancels the report.

Some days later he is arrested for auto theft.

Turns out the police never rescinded the report from the computers. Then, he gets to spend countless hours having the felony arrest removed from his record.

[Doug Miller]

Why not? When mine was stolen, I called the police the moment I discovered it gone (1:30 am), and the insurance agent as soon as the office opened.

And the first question the insurance agent will ask is why you waited so long to tell them.

Call the insurance company now. Tell them it's been stolen. They'll ask you how long you want to wait to see if it's recovered before they pay you off.

If the insurance pays you off, then they own the car. You'll have to sign the title over to them before they'll give you the check. You may want to wait a while to see if it's recovered, though, then make a claim for repairs of any damages that resulted from the theft, rather than having the whole car paid off.

[Jules]

Call the insurance folk.

Had mine stolen once, never heard anything back of course - got the impression that the cops had better things to do and knew they didn't have the resources to try and find it, plus chances were it had been parted out anyway.

I had it on an agreed-value policy and the insurance coughed up the full amount within a week, so that side of things was good, but I still lost out a bit because I had a bunch of tools and stuff inside when it was taken.

cheers

Jules

[trader4]

Yes, it's part of comprehensive insurance, but many, if not most insurance companies will not give you comprehensive without also buying collision. That's because if you drove the car into a tree and no one saw you do it, you could walk away, report the car stolen and collect.

[JIMMIE]

If it goes on a list and if it turns up they give you a call. If its involved in a crime reporting it stolen may help keep you from being involved. When my 65 Impala was stolen the police and wrecker did more damage to it than the people who stole it. The guys that stole it just drove it until it ran out of gas and parked it beside the road. The wrecker guys smashed a rear 1/4 panel and the police covered every inch of it in lamp black lifting figure prints. I found later that they used the car in a training exercise to teach new investigators to lift prints.

Jimmie

[Doug Miller]

Name one. I've *never* had an issue with that.

[Jon Danniken]

Sounds like he was subjected to a false arrest. If he had contacted a suitable attorney, he would have had law enforcement bending over backwards to help him out.

Unless that is just a made up story.

Jonx

[aemeijers]

Oh, I suppose it may have happened somewhere at some time- almost everything has, after all, and BOLO information is notoriously unreliable due to the zillion different agencies involved, each with their own systems feeding into it. But I think it is mainly urban legend, helped along by TV shows and FOAF.

-- aem sends...

[Oren]

I would not pay for an attorney if I reasonably expected the local police to remove the report from theft to recovered.

I say get a receipt from the local PD that the report *has* been removed.

I do not have a link for this story, but it is not made up or exaggerated.

Wait until your other records are compromised. Just saying.

[terry]

Sometimes a 'homeowners policy will also cover things such as luggage, other articles stolen while away from home'?

Don't know if that would cover 'tools' etc.

[Harry K]

It is an urban legend. Even the dumbest cop is not going to arrest the registered owner of a car that he is driving for theft. Even if he did, the desk sergeant would ask WTH are do you think you are doing?

I worked all aspects of of a jail from intact to release to court bailiff to running records and I can assure you that there are so many places someone up the line would have a cop who did that lined up against the wall...

Even the mere arrest if it were to ever happen does not get into the criminal system until it has been approved by at least a shift sergeant.

Harry K

Harry K

[Oren]

I retired after 25 years. Met some of the dumbest, stupidly acting people I every saw. Even management folks that were saving the world.

At the Lieutenant level I called some bosses out for a dance. They were wrong, plain and simple.

It is about common sense.

"sergeant" ?

[HeyBub]

Oddly enough, sometimes the older the car the more chance it will be stolen!

Suppose you've got a '68 Buick. Somebody ELSE in town has a '68 Buick that was involved in a fender-bender. The repair shop can't find a '68 Buick fender at the dealership or any of the junk yards in the state. So they call "Midnight Auto Supply" and the word is passed "We need a '68 Buick!"

Yours is found.

Cops often find stolen cars with only one or a few parts removed.

[Michael Dobony]

I wish that would have happened to me. I lost a 35 mpg pickup to the crusher, likely totalled in less than an hour. Would have gotten about $300 at the time. Insurance gave me 850 with a $1,000 deductible. Only had comp on it to get towing.

[Wilfred Xavier Pickles]

Yeah, it's stuff like that that scares me, and why I posted.

Some cops and their associates are out there doing a good job, exactly what they're supposed to do. Others do damn near anything that is convenient for 'em, legal or not.

I talked with a desk cop. She said they'd call me direct if they found it, plates intact. If someone pulls the plates, they'll tow it. Local police -and- tow co. are presently under fed investigation: some have left police, others may be in jail or awaiting sentence.

Thx, Will

[aemeijers]

Chuckle. In many college towns, towing and auctioning off 'abandoned' cars from on-street parking has been a racket for decades. They carefully under-publicize the 'must be moved every 72 hours' rules, and the kid goes home on holiday, and when he gets back, his car is gone. If it is a beater (like used to be common with college kids), it may not be worth the ransom, and the tow company gets a free car in exchange for their inflated daily storage costs.

-- aem sends...