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I suppose it's possible, but base on court records he was locked up until Jan 28 '15. And the theft occured on Feb 1, so he would've had 3 days to see my car and plan the job. And I wasn't even driving it around much at that time because I've been mostly working from home lately.
I found out he's also a forum member over on lexusfforum.com! Only has 1 post back in 2010, ironically asking about what tires to put on his new wheels....right before it got repo'd and then I bought it. LMAO.
He is a local guy, and I was able to track down his name after I bought the car and I looked him up and he actually has quite the rap sheet. But that was 5 years ago and he also lives way on the other side of town, probably over an hour away. I guess there's a slight possibility it was him and his crew, although the guy I saw definitely wasn't him.
I'd be willing to bet it was him especially if he had a rap sheet from what you found out Obviously it's speculation but I wouldn't be shocked to find out that it was him if you find the wheels and the investigation leads back to him.
also make sure if you park your car out at night to set the garage door security feature inside to disable anyone trying to open the door with homelink. I think it is a possibility that someone in the neighbor hood or even your home that has had remodeling with workers, pool cleaners, landscapers, etc could be a possibility
Are you sure the previous owner wasn't local to your area?? If so it's very possible he saw his old car and his set of 15k wheels and wanted to go get some of his $$ back and scoped you out and your house out for a while? That definitely wasn't random because the average Joe and even a wheel enthusiast might not know what kind of wheel that you had on your car and how much it was worth.
Originally Posted by YotaLex
That sucks man,
Glad your family is healthy. Maybe it was the guy who defaulted on his loan?
---- Edit: Do you have insurance for your home? Things of that nature are covered in my policy. Never tried them for 15k though!
First thing that came to my mind was the previous owner as well. He knows what theyre worth so he has a motive more than a random person on the road. I would have never guessed or cared just by looking at those.
I know they are kind of flashy (or gaudy to some) but I actually really liked them, they were part of the reason I bought that car. They're a lightweight 3pc forged wheel with an incredibly high quality finish, and I liked that they were different looking. Everyone who has seen them in person loves them, and random people would stop me and ask about the wheels all the time. I've had people flag me down while driving around town just so they could get a look at them, and one day I even had some 80 year old guy at the grocery store come up to me and ask about them. They definitely look(ed) awesome in person, maybe the pics don't do them justice. And although I loved they way they looked, they certainly aren't something that I would have put on there myself and I'm going to get something a little more conservative this time.
I'd be willing to bet it was him especially if he had a rap sheet from what you found out Obviously it's speculation but I wouldn't be shocked to find out that it was him if you find the wheels and the investigation leads back to him.
I did mention him to the officer assigned to my case, but he said he doubted it was him from that long ago so he wasn't even going to look into it. The feeling I get from the cops is that they aren't going to arrest anyone, or even attempt to investigate the robbery, unless I hand someone to them on a silver platter. I was the one who contacted the HOA to get the data on the gate entry and exit times and the codes used, and the one who went around to every house in our neighborhood asking if anyone had seen anything that night or had security cameras that might have caught them on tape. Cops literally did nothing. I realize they have bigger fish to fry, but after all this was an armed robbery since they had a gun with them. It could have easily gone much worse, and next time who knows someone might get killed. These guys need to get locked up IMHO.
My roommate Sam, parked his car at his work place and had the same result, stolen wheels but the crooks didnt even put any brick underneat it, he reported to the police and his insurance. Also he posted here in Club Lexus regional forum, believe it or not with the help of ours communities, they caught them crooks . His insurance covered his wheel with a nice sum $$$. His nick here is Spoon22 also with black ISF.
Yeah, I think I remember seeing that a while back. Glad they were able to catch the SOB's who did it! They actually busted a crime ring of half a dozen people who had been robbing houses & cars in my area about a week after this happened, and I was hoping my wheels would be among the $50K worth of merchandise that they recovered in the bust. But no such luck. At least I'll sleep better knowing they caught those guys because they were apparently tied to over 20 home invasions in the past 6 months, and they tended to target high end homes right around my neighborhood. I live in a quiet bedroom community on the outskirts of town so police presence isn't very high compared to other parts of the city, and therefore response times are slow which is probably whey they were targeting the area. There are literally 2 patrol cars covering a 10 sq mile beat at night, but go to the run-down north end of town and you can't drive 2 blocks at night without seeing a cop.
LOL I thought you got your stock wheels jacked. If you had 15k wheels on your car you should NEVER park it outside. I dont care where you live. DAMN 15k on a set of wheels!!!???
LOL I thought you got your stock wheels jacked. If you had 15k wheels on your car you should NEVER park it outside. I dont care where you live. DAMN 15k on a set of wheels!!!???
Well I usually don't, it's usually in the garage but I was still rearranging some stuff from putting all of the Christmas crap away. And when I park outside I ALWAYS lock my car which also sets the alarm, I just happened to forget that night. If I had locked it they wouldn't have been able to get the wheel key from my glove box, and even if they tried to steal the wheels without it they would've set off the tilt sensors in my alarm. I also could have looked out and seen them without them realizing it (my shutting off the light probably caught their attention) and then I would've called the cops without them knowing it and they might have showed up while they were still there. They just got lucky that night, and I guess so did I, it could have easily ended up much worse for either one of us.
And I agree, $15k is insane for a set of wheels, I would never in my life pay that much. Here's the price breakdown of what they cost with the exact options they have, turns out it's over $15k even without the lugs or TPMS sensors. A lot of the cost is in the custom finish.
EDIT: Oops, I selected 19x11 in the options but they were 19x10. Price should still be pretty close.
Here is the previous owner's arrest record, he sure likes to get himself into trouble with cars & drugs!! Seems he also has an excellent attorney since most of the charges were dismissed, or plead down.
Sorry to hear ur misfortune, they came on a day u left the car outside & didn't lock ur car's door.. That is indeed bad luck.
But I'm surprised thieves even need to find ur lock key to steal the wheels. They normally have the tools to remove the locks & don't have much time looking for a certain thing. They were not professionals for sure, amateur to say the least.
Sorry to hear ur misfortune, they came on a day u left the car outside & didn't lock ur car's door.. That is indeed bad luck.
But I'm surprised thieves even need to find ur lock key to steal the wheels. They normally have the tools to remove the locks & don't have much time looking for a certain thing. They were not professionals for sure, amateur to say the least.
By the way, any damage to ur rotors?
The lug nuts weren't the kind where just 1 out of the 5 needs the key where they could've just broken that one loose and then taken the rest off with a regular socket. You need the key on every single lug, and it's a customized serialized key issued by the manufacturer, not a standard one that comes with a kit you can buy at Pep Boys. And the way the lugs filled the lug holes with barely any space around them prevented you from being able to simply pound a socket onto it to remove them - at least not without severely damaging the wheels. I know this because after I bought the car I had to take it to half a dozen different tire shops before I found one who could take one off (or even wanted to attempt it) so I could send it in to the mfg to get a replacement key since one didn't come with the car. And it took them about 20 minutes of careful work to remove just one of them without damaging the wheel. And besides, wouldn't a smart thief first check for an unlocked door and a wheel key in the car that before trying to muscle them off and damage the wheels in the processes? That would be like someone breaking a window and climbing into your house before even checking to see if the front door is unlocked. The pro would check, IMHO, while the amateur would just go at it with a hammer and socket.
Originally Posted by speeddem0n
A couple other thoughts...
Are you sure you left the car unlocked? Maybe he had a key/remote/fob?
Also they easily knew where the wheel lock was located in the car?
That thought did cross my mind. But if he had a key fob, don't you think he probably would've just hopped in the car and driven off with it??
The lug nuts weren't the kind where just 1 out of the 5 needs the key where they could've just broken that one loose and then taken the rest off with a regular socket. You need the key on every single lug, and it's a customized serialized key issued by the manufacturer, not a standard one that comes with a kit you can buy at Pep Boys. And the way the lugs filled the lug holes with barely any space around them prevented you from being able to simply pound a socket onto it to remove them - at least not without severely damaging the wheels. I know this because after I bought the car I had to take it to half a dozen different tire shops before I found one who could take one off (or even wanted to attempt it) so I could send it in to the mfg to get a replacement key since one didn't come with the car. And it took them about 20 minutes of careful work to remove just one of them without damaging the wheel. And besides, wouldn't a smart thief first check for an unlocked door and a wheel key in the car that before trying to muscle them off and damage the wheels in the processes? That would be like someone breaking a window and climbing into your house before even checking to see if the front door is unlocked. The pro would check, IMHO, while the amateur would just go at it with a hammer and socket.
That thought did cross my mind. But if he had a key fob, don't you think he probably would've just hopped in the car and driven off with it??
No, easier to be caught stealing and driving a stolen car and of course a bigger crime than just taking the wheels.
03-19-15, 12:42 PM
Obviously it's speculation but I wouldn't be shocked to find out that it was him if you find the wheels and the investigation leads back to him.
. His insurance covered his wheel with a nice sum $$$. His nick here is Spoon22 also with black ISF.
