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Date:         Fri, 27 Oct 2006 07:04:17 -0700
Reply-To:     Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Re: A Friday Tale of Woe and a Request for Info
Comments: To: Stephen Steele <steeles@HORIZONVIEW.NET>
In-Reply-To:  <C167399C.136ED%steeles@horizonview.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

Condolences. My ratty, faded (but fun and reliable) motorcycle--with TWO locks on it--was dragged out of my driveway in the spring, and the shock of the discovery cannot be adequately described.

Fortunately, it was recovered within a week with butchered wiring and not too many costly parts missing. Insured for everything but theft, I paid out of pocket to repair it.

One piece of advice: contact the police and have THEM read to YOU the VIN they copied off the original report. My guys had transposed a couple of characters and they would have been looking for the wrong vehicle and not recognized mine even if they'd tripped over it. They may be better about this with cars.

They apprehended the perp ("a" perp, since he was merely in possession of it and could not be proven to have actually stolen it) and he pled to Unauthorized Use, and got suspended time and was ordered to pay me $1000, of which I have not seen a dime. No surprise there.

Good luck.

Stephen

--- Stephen Steele <steeles@HORIZONVIEW.NET> wrote:

> The Good, Bad and Ugly of my last two weeks... > Right here and now I will preface this tale with an > acknowledgement that all > of this is about cars, conveyances, transports; NOT > flesh and blood, true > crimes and/or national treasures. But I need to > ramble a bit and get this > whole thing off my chest. If you are pressed for > time...delete this... if > not... read on 'til you become pressed for time and > THEN delete this. > > The Good: > I have been able to drive my wonderful 1989 Westy a > lot in the past two > weeks. I really enjoy it for all the reasons that we > put up with our > Vanagons' idiosyncrasies. It purrs with that > resonant engine tone that can > only be acquired through years of VW van knowledge > and/or a lot of money. > Normally, it would be in my garage out back; maybe > waiting for that last > campout of the year and being readied for winter > storage in a nearby rental > garage in November, perhaps to be brought out for a > late winter trip to the > Southlands along about March. I would love to do the > southern route to the > Left Coast before the 5yo has to go to "real school" > next year. I digress. > Normally, we would be in the middle of a beautiful > Southern Ohio autumn with > bright reds and yellows basked in sunshine days and > brisk nights with stars > that take your breath away. Normally, I would be > packing up to go to a > Central Ohio Westies or a Ohio Valley Tribe campout > this weekend. This year > November came early. Cold rains, dull vistas > appeared overnight with muted > gray, brown leaves flying in the chilly winds. Most > days the skies are > sullen and somber. I try not to be. > Normally. > > The Bad: > "I can't believe it!" > I stood there with my keys in my hand and my mouth > dropped in that slack jaw > look that pervades these hinterlands and most of the > W*llmarts that I've > ever visited (and those of you that know me, know > that that's damned few). > Anyway. There, where my daily driver NORMALLY sits > nightly, off and on, for > seven months or so, every year; sits, while my Westy > occupies its place in > the garage next to Wife's Jetta wagon. There, where > it should be, it isn't. > The leaves swirled in a spot so empty that it sucked > the thoughts from my > brain. In an instant I went from my so-called normal > life to a head-shaking, > numb, Kafka-esque, Sisyphean existence. My white > 1991 VW EcoDiesel Jetta, > with a Yakima rack system and a trunk full of > everyday tools and usable > stuff was G-O-N-E. > Two nights before someone had entered my unlocked > EcoDiesel and rifled > through it (lightly) and found my spare key hidden > under a bunch of gum > wrappers and toothpicks in the ash tray. I > discovered it was missing while > in a hurry to get my 5yo to school and to a "stop, > drop and roll dog and > pony show" that I was doing for his class. I had > forgotten my regular car > keys back in the house and dug for the spare. Not > finding it, I grabbed my > fire gear, the boy, his book bag, his car seat and > threw them all in the > S-10 parked next to the '91 EcoDiesel Jetta daily > driver, humble servant. > Now right about now is a good time to interject the > reason why this humble > servant, 50 MPG, well loved beast was sitting there, > where it should be, > unlocked for the thieves of the city to have their > way with it. We have had > several, actually six, A2 based VWs in the family. > Somewhere along the way a > local thief learned how to gain admission to them > without making too much > noise or mess and thereby relieving the wanted > contents of my and mine and > enjoying them for him and them. After four or five > radio thefts, several > broken windows, replaced trim pieces and a slightly > long learning curve, all > such vehicles were subsequently left open with > nothing of value in the > passenger spaces and the trunks locked. For about > four years now the thief > has moved on, knowing that the factory radio isn't > worth the time to remove > it. OR so I thought. > I finished up with the dog and pony and returned > home to really look for the > key and spend some time with my trusty daily driver > steed. > Upon further inspection I realized that the car had > been entered and the key > was really gone, not just under the seat or laying > under the car or in a > nearby trash can. It was gone. I spent the rest of > the morning cleaning up > the everyday mess of using, really using my daily > driver. I swept out the > car and cleaned the windows. I separated a lot of > papers and books and the > trivia of life, taking quite a few things inside to > the garage where they > belonged, including plumbing and electrical > toolboxes. And here is where I > made a real, hind sight is 20/20, mistake. Instead > of putting the Jetta in > the garage and keeping the Westy outside, I removed > the door handles, took > them to the local very competent lock smith and had > them re-keyed. Stupid > move. > The night before the theft I locked it up and walked > around checking the > doors like I had never done before. > The evil-doer must have been/knew the above thief > and knew how to get inside > easily. Once inside he drove away with the spare > ignition key. > > The Ugly: > The short of it is, after refusing to let the > insurance company dissect my > life for signs of previous perfidy or reasons to > falsely claim the theft of > my daily driver (Have you tried to sell the car > recently? Do you get along > with your neighbors? Will you let us run a credit > check? Your policy states > that you WILL cooperate with us in filing this > claim. ad nauseum) I was > offered about half of what I think the car was > worth. More on that later. > I haven't even gone to my homeowners insurer for the > trunk contents yet... > Oh boy that's gonna be a blast! Snap-On tools and > all! > At least once a day I get to discover yet another > little item that was in > the car and is now unavailable to me, the rightful > owner (the insured). > It's still a bit more than a little unsettling to go > out back to the garage > to the vacuous spot in the driveway and see that the > thief has yet to return > my EcoDiesel to it's right, natural position in my > life. > > After thoughts and such: > € Don't leave spare keys in the car! Duh! > € Take pictures of your vehicles and keep them in > your files. I have a > gazillion pictures of my Vans and none of my daily > driver. > € Don't keep repair/maintenance receipts in your > cars' glove box... I have > no way of verifying that my trusty EcoDiesel was in > GREAT shape and well > maintained. (I hope that $700 R-32 is freezing the > thief's cajones off!) > € Consider stated value insurance... even though the > stated value is for UP > TO the stated value...read the policy. > € Older vehicles are subject to theft...despite the > typical reaction of > "Why would they steal THAT car?!" "But Mr. Steele, > just because you value > that car so highly doesn't mean it's worth that > much." Adjuster says,"If > you put a $2K stereo system in it doesn't mean it's > worth $2k more". I say, > "It does to the person that wants that system and is > willing to pay for it. > There are people willing to pay what I'm asking for > this car in this > condition because they value it for its utility and > practicality." > € An engine like that from my faithful friend is > fetching well over $1500 on > eB*Y. Parting out the car, like parting out our > Vans, === message truncated ===

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