Saturday, December 1, 2018

When the Stolen Car is Not Important but the Thief Is

Our car was stolen...I wrote about that experience last week. Being the Pollyanna that I am. I know that in the scheme of things, losing your car is not that important. I was reminded of our many blessing and moved on. It was Thanksgiving, we had company coming and all the groceries were in our refrigerator. We live about a half a mile from a grocery so we were fine.

What were we going to do...what is, is! 

This had never happened to us before so we did not know what to worry about and maybe that was good thing. Again, what was done was done. Even now I am not sure what we did right and what we did wrong.

We called the police and filed a claim with our insurance electronically. That all seemed logical to us. The police part was fine but filing with the insurance on our computer was not. That was a bad idea because I believe now that our insurance agent would have taken better care of us and walked us through this process. Our computer and the company rep that called did not do that for us at all. Darn.

My husband began searching for a new car immediately (we only had the one car here in Tucson) and we made plans to shop. Eventually we settled on the Hertz resale place in Scottsdale, Az. With in a few days we rented a car so we could drive to the sales lot with a good idea of what we were going to buy.

Through all of those days we were in touch with the police still feeling hopeful that the car had not been driven into Mexico. But there had been no word so we plowed forward. (Our car insurance did not have rental car coverage and that was hot a good thing.) 

We found a car that we could afford and were sitting at the desk with the salesman when my cell phone rang...it was the Tucson police. I laid my pen down I had in my hand ready to sign for the car and listened as the officer explained to me that 1) they had our car, 2) it had been involved in a robbery and 3) we could pick it up on that day or the next. It was drivable although not undanaged, My husband and I looked at each other in disbelief...could the timing have been any odder? Really! 

We went ahead and bought the car. Our old car is 10 years old.


So we now own two cars in Arizona and another in Oregon. We now have two homes and three cars...unbelievable. 

Do things like this happened to other people? It seems that "yes" they do. Everyone I talk to in Tucson has had their car stolen. One friend had seen her stolen car being driven across the border in Nogales on TV. I am not kidding.

I have not been angry or unhappy the whole time. Then we found the drivers license of the young man that took the car under the front seat of our car. He is 18! Now that made me sad.

The way I look at it the car is nothing. I am fine. We don’t have to worry and we’re blessed with more that we need or even want. But a young person making choices like that may be beyond help. It is very sad. Darn.

How do you see it?

b+

13 comments:

  1. Our car was stolen years ago where my husband had it parked on the street. He worked night shift in Downtown St. Louis. It was a hardship for us. We had only one car at the time. Police report was filed and then we called our insurance agent. Our insurance did cover a rental car, thank goodness. It has been so many years ago, but I seem to remember that there was a waiting period before we would be reimbursed for our car so we could buy a new one. Luckily, after a few days our car was found parked in a downtown neighborhood. It had damage, steering column/ignition area, and some body damage. These things were able to be repaired. We got our car back after it had been repaired, and drove it for quite a few years after that. Remember, years ago, there was a steel club sort of thing that attached to the steering wheel and the car's brake pedal? We had one of those , and used it, for the car the rest of the time we owned it. It makes me really appreciate all of the security that is built into cars now.

    You are a much nicer person than I am. The things I thought then about the thief/thieves who stole our car are not printable here, and all of these years later I still don't have a kind thought or word for them.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I see it pretty much like you see it. Fortunately, most car rental co.s offer temporary rent insurance for a fee if your own doesn't cover it. Police did a good job notifying you immediately. However, that doesn't keep an 18-year-old thief from making bad decisions --if it was an 18-year-old thief. The I.D. could be bogus or stolen. Thieves work in a strange world in which identity is fluid.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm glad it all turned out for the best car-wise. And I too think it's a sad world where so many people are either homeless or turning to theft instead of looking for other ways to get by. The homeless situation is getting worse and worse in our part of the country. :-(

    ReplyDelete
  4. You stayed so calm and have a good attitude about your car being stolen. It is easy to get furious or sad but staying calm is best, for your own well-being. I am glad you got your car back quickly.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good attitude on the loss. I would not have been so calm. Your experience is suggesting to me that I should quit leaving my purse in the car in parking lots. We have a pickup truck, which are very popular with the thieves, and so we always use The Club. It can be cracked with liquid nitrogen, but generally will dissuade the casual thief because it requires effort to remove.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Barbara! Bummer about the car issue. But I agree with the other people who commented, you have a VERY good attitude about it. After all, fussing would only make the experience harder to take. And by recognizing that you had other options and weren't stranded, that certainly helped. I agree that it is sad that a young person stole it--and to do a robbery no less. But perhaps by being caught this early on it will keep him for entirely ruining the rest of his life. We don't know the role we play in other people's experience but we do know that how we see it does effect our own future. ~Kathy

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yo haha. Funniest blog I've read so far. Generally speaking as a Mobile App Developer in Dubai we don't have incidents like these in the UAE. Most Mobile App Developer Dubai anyways don't have a car even. Neither do thieves have time to do so at the first place. But anyways. Whoever wrote this blog, is one heck of a writer :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. One of our cars was stolen from the parking lot of a large Scottsdale mall while my wife was inside. The police found it a few days later, The radio had been ripped from the dash, otherwise it was fine. Insurance covered a replacement radio but we did drive a rental for a few days before everything was back to normal. I don't think we were as calm as you.

    BTW, it looks like the comment just above me is there for the link to a mobile app developer. In memory of your stolen car, you probably want to delete it, just like your car was deleted!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Both are important the stolen car as well as thief.. Well good to read that you had shared.

    Mobile App Development Company

    ReplyDelete
  10. Amazing post, thanks for sharing. Top Software Outsourcing Companies in 2021 Outsourcing Software Companies

    ReplyDelete

Leave your thoughts...I am interested.

Featured Post

Things that Go Bump in the Night

Do you live alone? Are you afraid? Do noises make you jump? My little dog is a barker and noises make her jump. She barks at her reflection ...