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I posted this in another thread, but though I'd start my own thread to not hijack the other one.
A few weeks ago this happened:
My wheels were stolen off my car in the middle of the night while it was parked in my driveway, which was fully illuminated by 3 wall lanterns, and it was parked under a blinding 600W halogen motion light, AND I was even sitting in my office with the light on at the time (the window you see in the pic). These guys had some serious *****, or they are just incredibly stupid! And I live in a gated community of only about 40 homes, at the very back of the neighborhood, at the end of a cul-de-sac. So they had definitely scoped the place out and came specifically for my wheels because they were in & out in under 20 minutes according to the gate records.
I mentioned that I was in my office with the light on when it happened, well I had actually fallen asleep at my desk. A little after 3am I woke up to a loud noise outside, got up and turned off my office light and opened the shutters to look out the window and was greeted with a guy standing there pointing a gun directly at my face from about 2 feet away!! I immediately hit the floor and crawled out of the room as fast as I could, then realized I had left my phone in the room so I sprinted to the other side of the house and woke my wife up and used her phone to call the cops. We sat there waiting for what seemed like an eternity for the cops to show up, the whole time I was scrambling for what to do in case they come in the house (didn't own a gun at the time, but now I do!), and when the dispatcher on the phone finally told me they were at my house I went outside. They asked if I had been doing any work on my car and my heart sank into my gut. We walked around to the side of the house and that's when I found my car on bricks. I had unfortunately left my car unlocked which allowed them to get into the glove box and retrieve the key for my custom wheel locks, but they didn't even touch anything else inside the car. I have a $400 radar detector mounted to the window, I had about $200 worth of tools sitting on the front floor that were brand new from HD, and an Alpine sub & amp in the trunk. And also they didn't try the garage door button on my mirror to get into the garage -- thank god, because then they could have walked right into the house!!
Unless you have been a victim of a robbery/theft before, I can't even begin to explain how violating it feels. Luckily they were apparently just there for my wheels and had no intention of coming into the house, but the fact that they had guns and seemed ready to use them is very unsettling. I honestly couldn't care less about the wheels, I value my piece of mind much more than any physical possession. I almost wish I had just woken up in the morning and walked outside to find my wheels missing, because I don't think that would have shaken me up as much. Although, on the sunny side this incident has caused us to be much more careful and motivated me to beef up our security. I installed cameras all around the outside of our house so I can see the entire perimeter at once if we ever hear a noise outside (rather than having to go around looking out every single window), plus they tend to be a good deterrent. I installed an additional double-sided deadbolts on all of the doors that have glass panels so someone can't just break the glass and reach in and unlock the door, added motion sensors outside which alert my phone and trigger the cameras to start recording if anyone comes within about 50 feet of the house, and we've started locking the door from the garage into the house and also disabling the door opener whenever a car is parked outside for the night.
So here we are over a month later and my car is still in the driveway -- on jack stands now rather than bricks. I held off for a month before filing an insurance claim hoping that they would be found (I notified them of the incident, just didn't officially "file" the claim yet) but no luck. The cops basically told me they aren't going to pursue the matter at all since it was "just stolen wheels", unless I can provide them with a lead to follow. Wait, isn't that their job? They even took fingerprints & DNA samples and told me at the scene that they would run it through the system and see if they get any hits, but when I called to follow up on the results they told me they aren't going to waste any time or resources on running it through the system but they'll keep it in file in case a suspect gets caught so they can use it as evidence. So basically they want me out there playing detective and vigilante, and then just call them when an arrest needs to be made?? And the wheels haven't shown up at any wheel or pawn shops around town - I've called them all several times, and I have Craigslist alerts set of for the wheel & tire brand (Ultrac Sessanta) on every CL region within 300 miles.
And to top it all off, they were a set of custom designed Forgiatos worth about $13K (nearly $15K with tires, wheel locks & TPMS sensors), and my insurance company won't fully reimburse me for them since it's way over their coverage limit for aftermarket parts. They said that the limit of their coverage is $1,000 unless the parts are listed on your policy, and even then the most coverage you can purchase for aftermarket parts is $5,000. After a few phone calls of arguing back & forth, I was able to get them to cover the cost of factory replacements which comes out to just shy of $10K. So in the end I guess it all worked out okay since I was about ready for new tires anyways and would've spend $1,200 on those, and I'm only planning to spend about $3K on a replacement set of wheels & tires and use the rest for other mods. And oh yeah, I didn't even pay for the wheels myself - they came on the car when I bought it. The poor schmuck who owned the car before me put them on just a few months before it got repo'd due to defaulting on his loan. What an idiot.
Use the money for a proper drop and get rid of those ridiculous headlight and taillight covers. It's not the 90's anymore.
They aren't covers, it's a painted tint. The car came that way, and I've been wanting to remove the finish and re-tint them a much lighter 'smoke' color, just haven't gotten around to it.
They aren't covers, it's a painted tint. The car came that way, and I've been wanting to remove the finish and re-tint them a much lighter 'smoke' color, just haven't gotten around to it.
Isn't that covered under comprehensive insurance? No deductible either I think. Not sure. It could have been worse!
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!
awful. i'd want to move after an incident like that. AND i'd want to chop the thieves' hands off w/ a rusty machete. never had a gun pointed to my face but have had my old car broken into, apt broken into, my parents' house ransacked when i was a kid, etc., so, i know what it feels like to be violated and ripped off. at least no other harm came about this to you or loved one's. and at least you didn't purchase your previous wheels.
Dang, that is one hell of a story, at least now you have a gun to keep you and your family safe, even in a tiny gated neighborhood like yours.. As for the cops lol...they just dont care haha, but in terms of insurance that sucks how theyre not willing to cover the wheels but at least u didn't pay for them and in my opinion not worth 15k at all.. looks like 900 dollar wheels to me, in my opinion. With the money you'll be receiving at least you can buy a nice pair of Volks now!
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 $$ back and scoped you out and your house out for a while? That definitely wasn't random because the average Joe and even a wheel enthusiast might not know what kind of wheel that you had on your car and how much it was worth.
a lil weird when you actually think about it. i would be happy to get $10K and steal my own wheels and hide them haha. i couldnt imagine them stealing them in front of your room like that and you not hearing.
That sucks man,
Glad your family is healthy. Maybe it was the guy who defaulted on his loan?
---- Edit: Do you have insurance for your home? Things of that nature are covered in my policy. Never tried them for 15k though!
Tried homeowner's insurance, but they said anything that is attached to a vehicle isn't covered. Possessions inside, yes, but not things that are permanently installed.
Originally Posted by MileHIFcar
Are you sure the previous owner wasn't local to your area?? If so it's very possible he saw his old car and his set of 15k wheels and wanted to go get some of his $$ 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.
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.
Originally Posted by Murph145
seems like an inside insurance job to me.......
a lil weird when you actually think about it. i would be happy to get $10K and steal my own wheels and hide them haha. i couldnt imagine them stealing them in front of your room like that and you not hearing.
well good luck on your case
You're right, I just made this whole story up. And the gate entry with random codes at 2:55am was really just me, and the car that was caught on camera (though not enough to ID it) by a neighbor's security camera was a car that I borrowed from a friend to stage the whole thing. GMAFB.
As for not hearing them, apparently missed the part about me being asleep? And you must have also missed the part about how I did eventually hear them?
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 $$$. His nick here is Spoon22 also with black ISF.
Dang, that is one hell of a story, at least now you have a gun to keep you and your family safe, even in a tiny gated neighborhood like yours.. As for the cops lol...they just dont care haha, but in terms of insurance that sucks how theyre not willing to cover the wheels but at least u didn't pay for them and in my opinion not worth 15k at all.. looks like 900 dollar wheels to me, in my opinion. With the money you'll be receiving at least you can buy a nice pair of Volks now!
I know they are kind of flashy (or gaudy to some) but I actually really liked them, they were part of the reason I bought that car. They're a lightweight 3pc forged wheel with an incredibly high quality finish, and I liked that they were different looking. Everyone who has seen them in person loves them, and random people would stop me and ask about the wheels all the time. I've had people flag me down while driving around town just so they could get a look at them, and one day I even had some 80 year old guy at the grocery store come up to me and ask about them. They definitely look(ed) awesome in person, maybe the pics don't do them justice. And although I loved they way they looked, they certainly aren't something that I would have put on there myself and I'm going to get something a little more conservative this time.
a lil weird when you actually think about it. i would be happy to get $10K and steal my own wheels and hide them haha. i couldnt imagine them stealing them in front of your room like that and you not hearing.
well good luck on your case
What a rediculous thing to say. I just love how people decide to assume things like this and make up their own story to accuse another for absolutely no reason at all. Instead of being supportive, you attack. What a good person.....
03-19-15, 10:50 AM
Someone stole my F.... ing wheels!!
. His insurance covered his wheel with a nice sum $$$. His nick here is Spoon22 also with black ISF.
