Almost Lost the bronco Last Night

[Devin]

Are you kidding me? Who's the cop in your family? They actually told me when they took the report that I was never going to see my car again. They told me I should drive around town and look for it. As if I was not going to do that without their advice. I don't expect them to make my stolen car the number one priority but would it be too much to ask for them to talk to the neighbors? The only person who did that was me! Hell I would be happy to get a call from them saying that they have no leads! I don't really care what the statistics are on on stolen cars per minute. To say its my fault that my car was stolen is stupid. My car was locked in my driveway. Its not like I leave it unlocked with the keys under the mat! What would you suggest I do? Perhaps I could get a big chain and shackle it to the house every night. With your logic every person who owns a house without a garage is asking for trouble. At what point does the fault fall to the person who stole my car? You said that scumbags "make their careers out of stealing from unsuspecting people who make themselves easy targets" . I thought that the police made a career of catching them. So they put my cars vin number in a national data base, Big Deal. I bet that took all of two minutes. My brother in law is a cop, even he told me they don't put any real effort into finding stolen cars. Am I pissed that my car got stolen? You bet I am! I hope you never have your car stolen but if you do, I bet you blame the thief and not yourself.

AMEN, brother!!

 

[76 bronco J]

first off thievies suck & they are here till the end & also sorry to here about the stang my buddy with an 88 got cold shivers when he saw this post -- the bottom line is people, you can't sit & do nothing to not make their job more of a pain in the ass because it really does help, go talk to some real thievies(unfortunately I've ran across quite a few growing up here in houston) & they will tell you easy targets are no brainers for them ,then they branch off to harder stuff they really really want--- there are so many ways to stop your vehicle from being driven off it should never never ever have to happen even with the keys sitting in the ignition -- now it being towed away is very hard to defend against depending on where you park & how quick they are-- I like pager systems (along with several other defenses) for close parking outside situations, mine is setup where if power is cut or wires ripped out it's already started sending 3 consecutive signals to me as long as I'm not more than about 3/4 of a mile away

 

[4xfloored]

Casadejohnson... might try postin a few pics on some stang sites ... and some clubs in your area.. One that I know of is corral.net
sorry for you loss,
Milo--

 

[BoltBuster]

More money and time is spent in radar equipment then in criminal investigations of any type because of the city revenue it brings in.....

Heres the other thing, I can not legaly defend my home without being sued if he lives....

If the dog bites him its my fault, if hes gets cut or stabbed by my fence then its my fault, if hes is mangled by my cars alarm system, then its my fault, I wonder if Lojac is an invasion of his privacy???

 

[Dave]

Revenue

More money and time is spent in radar equipment then in criminal investigations of any type because of the city revenue it brings in.....
QUOTE]

When my car was recovered (because it was illegally parked) I had to pay $125 to the police for "processing" fees, $150 for towing, and $50 for one day of storage even though they had not unloaded it from the tow truck yet.:-[

 

[Galt72]

I'm not giving the scumbags out there a pass on anything. I've been a cop for 25 yrs and I can tell you for a fact I've never ever taken a case of a stolen vehicle from a locked garage. I'm sure it happens just never seen it. As for talking to your neighbors that would have been nice PR move but it's more than extremely rare that anyone sees or hears anything at night. Your brother inlaw is right. Unless there is a vehicle theft task force in your area there wont be much or any effort to look for your vehicle.

I fully understand a lot of people have no choice but to park their vehicles in their driveways at night. Just keep in mind your driveway is their Wallmart.
I understand your pissed for getting your car stolen. A few years ago some guys tried to steal my stereo from my GMC x-cab 4x4 at a theatre parking lot. They didn't get it but caused $3000 in damage. Once I was over being pissed I realized I hadn't done anything to protect my truck. I parked in the rear of the theatre where it's view was obstructed. I also left the changer remote on the dash. I don't make those kinds of mistakes any more.

Let the flames begin ;D

 

[Mikey]

See, as a cop you've probably become fairly hardened to the victims. You came off pretty cold in your post. What you have to understand is Joe Q Public isn't around crime 1/100th of what you see every day. Most probably have been around it once to three times their entire life...that's compared to what, a morning's work for you?

That's all. You guys get stuck taking in a scumbag and watching them walk before your report is filed. Nope, not me....couldn't do that job. Problem is the judicial system...doesn't support crime fighting. Guess someone has to do it.

 

[Galt72]

Your probally right about me being a bit hardened. We have got one f"ed up job. I can't remember the last time someone thanked a cop. How many out there can say they have picked human brains out of the lugs in his boots. More than once!!!

I come here to relax and enjoy reading about my favorite hobby, my bronco. I'm sorry if I offended anyone cause I can't sit back while my fellow cops are being bashed.

Peace;D

 

[76 bronco J]

Your probally right about me being a bit hardened. We have got one f"ed up job. I can't remember the last time someone thanked a cop. How many out there can say they have picked human brains out of the lugs in his boots. More than once!!!

I come here to relax and enjoy reading about my favorite hobby, my bronco. I'm sorry if I offended anyone cause I can't sit back while my fellow cops are being bashed.

Peace;D

--------thank you for your service-----

 

[YelloTx73]

Thats crappy man!!! Someone slashed open the top on my moms brand new car last night while I was in the hospital for a measly $6

 

[Dave]

--------thank you for your service-----

Second that. The frustration is with a system and society that is broken. I don't think anyone is personally attacking individual police officers. Although there are nuckelheads in any profession. I suffer the wrath of passengers that get on my airplane after grandma got strip searched because her underwire bra set off the metal detecter. If I had my way, everyone getting on the plane would be issued a Swiss army knife to help defend the aircraft.

 

[70 sport WA]

A few years ago some guys tried to steal my stereo from my GMC x-cab 4x4 at a theatre parking lot. They didn't get it but caused $3000 in damage.... I parked in the rear of the theatre where it's view was obstructed. I also left the changer remote on the dash. I don't make those kinds of mistakes any more.

Let the flames begin ;D

Someone tried to get into my little import once...the old screwdriver to the lock. It happened that I parked at the rear of the movie theater, too. %)

Then, van got window smashed about a year ago in our front driveway. Didn't even hear a thing. Purse was snatched, although there was no $ inside. It was clearly our (really my wife's fault for leaving it on the front seat.

You got a point, Galt72. I still want Johnson's thief to fry and don't know if he didn't anything stupid like me or wifey, though.

Dan

 

[S/C-HD2002]

What part of CO was your mustang taken from??

 

[casadejohnson]

It was stolen in Greeley CO. About 50 miles North of Denver. I talked to the insurance company again today and they are working on an offer. I sent them pages of documentation on all of the work I had done. I hope they are reasonable but I'm guessing I'll have to haggle with them a bit before we come to an agreement. I started to look for a replacement Mustang but I'm pretty discouraged about what I'm finding. Clean Fox Body mustangs are hard to come by and I'm knee deep in Bronco Projects so I don't really have time to start over on the Mustang project right now. I think I'm gonna buy an F250 and a trailer so I can haul the Bronco to MOAB in the spring. I'll get another Mustang some day but I'll probably wait till my boys get a little closer to driving age.

 

[74BroncoCO]

You will have to haggle with them. My suggestion is to come up with a number you are happy with, write a letter explaining why you feel it's worth this much and how sintamental (sp) the car is to you and send it to your insurance company. be assertive, but not demanding. That's what did it for me when the drunk smashed my bronco.

J.D.

 

[Heinz_67]

You will have to haggle with them. My suggestion is to come up with a number you are happy with, write a letter explaining why you feel it's worth this much and how sintamental (sp) the car is to you and send it to your insurance company. be assertive, but not demanding. That's what did it for me when the drunk smashed my bronco.

J.D.

I love your story!!! It gives me a warm feeling inside everytime I think about it. You should post on here what their initial offer was and what you ended up settling with them for.

Jim

 

[74BroncoCO]

Jim - I couldn't have done it without your help! I am trying to remember what they originally came up with for a settlement, but it was near $4000. I said that wouldn't work, the came back with something around $6200. I then began to write my letter and collect receipts and talley them up. My letter (27 pages worth) was strong, but not rude. There was a few more interations of offers in there somewhere. In the end, I said I'd take no less than $10,500 expecting far less, and low and behold, I got it plus $20/day for not having the use of the vehicle for the two months it took me to fight with them. I do believe mine was a special case, because I know they don't do that for everyone, but under the circumstances (having been with the company for 12yrs etc.) they wrote me the check.

Was it fun?...not at all. I was without my wheeling rig in the middle of a summer, had to cancel one camping trip and pass up several wheeling trips. But in the end, I have a better bronco and still have some money collecting interest that has allowed me to continue work on the new bronco.

J.D.

 

[Flash69]

That really sucks. Besides the 60s model bodies the one you had was my favorite style. I think it looks a lot better than the newer styles. My brother had a GT with that body style i think it was a 88 or an 89. Good Luck with getting it squared away and maybe finding you another with the same body style.

 

[casadejohnson]

I already sent my first letter along with about 20 photos and $12,000 of recepits. We will see what they come back with and haggle from there.