subie recovered: now the fun begins

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

Got a call at 2:30am this morning (thanks LAPD). The Subie is sitting in an impound lot somewhere in central LA. Evidently they stripped "some stuff" off of it. I'm going to do a drive by and see if its drivable. Either way I'll pay whatever the ridiculous fee is to get it out and either drive it home or have it towed to the dealership.

And then the fun continues...pics when I get them.

cantdrv55 · 08-19-2005, 08:43 AM

Damn that sucks. And what's up with cops calling after midnight. It's never good news. They could've waited until later this morning. Bad news is easier to take after a cup of Pete's and a croissant. Hope insurance will take care of you.

Burnin' oil · 08-19-2005, 11:59 AM

I am sure the thieves were careful and didn't over-rev it or anything, since it wasn't theirs. I believe that's what the phrase "drive it like you stole it" means . . .

notfarnow · 12:10 PM

I'm sure Geico is already working on ways to make this experience as comfortable for you as possible. As we speak, they have already assembled a crack team that's going through their policies to see if there are some rules they can bend in order to help you.

They'll be calling you shortly to see if they can take care of all teh arrangements at the impound.

notfarnow · 08-19-2005, 12:13 PM

Plus, it's Friday. They will want to get right on this, to make sure you aren't inconvenienced on the weekend. Furthermore, they wouldn't want any work to sit until Monday.

arcsine · 08-19-2005, 12:59 PM

subie recovered: now the fun begins

Probably would have been easier to not have recovered it. Good luck.

speeder · speeder's Garage

Maybe we could steal again for him?

white87911 · white87911's Garage

24 hours since his post about going to get the car, does not seem to be a good sign, I bet he has been on the phone alot inthe last 24 hours.

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

Well, that was a waste of a day. Went to the impound yard in the am. Here are the pics:

I forgot to take a shot of the rear tailight assembly, which was also taken. Obviously a pro job, and likely a body shop that had a Subie in the shop and they needed some parts. The removal looks pretty clean.

Anyway, paid my $177 to get the car out, called AAA since I couldn't drive it (no ignition), and of course my ex had forgotten to pay the AAA bill. So I renewed, and they sent a guy out. I told them I needed a flatbed (awd car), but they said "we'll send him and he can assess." So he gets there, says "yeah, you need a flatbed" and that one can be there at noon (its 11am now and i've been there for an hour already). I have an appt in Pasadena at 12:30pm, and while the tow yard will gladly release to AAA, the driver of the flatbad *has* to see my AAA card so I have to be there. I tell him I need to do it later, so we settle on 2:30pm. So I go back to the tow yard at 2:30pm, get a call at 2:45pm saying the guy is late, and at 3:15pm he shows up. In the meantime I've kept geico apprised of what's going on, and all I need to do is fill out this damn questionnairre and have it notarized.

Car gets towed to Santa Monica Subaru. I go out to meet the car and talk with the service writer. While I was at the tow yard I was able to determine that the first tow was done with a regular tow truck, not a flatbed. In my mind that means I need a new drivetrain (from what I understand the differential doesn't like being towed). At any rate, guy writes me up for the missing stuff, adds the part about the drivetrain, and says, "hope you're not in a hurry...subarau parts take forever to get." The geico adjuster is supposed to go to the dealership in the next couple days and they can come up with an estimate.

Then the real fun will begin. They didn't take anything out of the car except loose change and cell phone headsets. Left my son's gameboy and all the paperwork in the glovebox.

FrayAdjacent911 · 08-20-2005, 10:12 AM

Looks like they plucked it for a few specific parts. I'm sure the theives made some decent money. Hopefully getting it all back together won't take too long for ya.

HardDrive · 08-20-2005, 10:30 AM

Well......this all sucks, but at least they just plucked the parts they needed. It defintely looks like pros who had a order to fill....The car does not look like they were abusing it.

singpilot · 08-20-2005, 05:38 PM

Dontcha just wish just once you could catch these guys?

Wish there was some way to check which body shop place had tried to order these parts recently at the dealer and was told 3 months wait.

speeder · speeder's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by nostatic
While I was at the tow yard I was able to determine that the first tow was done with a regular tow truck, not a flatbed. In my mind that means I need a new drivetrain

Lots of luck w/ that one. You will be lucky to get the car back together in a reasonable amount of time, but you get a rental car until then I hope(?)

Unless there is very concrete evidence, (sorry to use that word), of damage to the drivetrain, they will likely laugh in your face. Or at least as soon as you hang up. All in all you did better than the average auto theft victim, that's for sure. I once lost a nice mint/concours '66 Bug that I never saw again, (no theft coverage), and another one I got back but didn't recognise it at the impound lot down in South Central. Walked right past it.

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by speeder
Lots of luck w/ that one. You will be lucky to get the car back together in a reasonable amount of time, but you get a rental car until then I hope(?)

no rental car. I don't have that in my coverage, but as part of comp they said they'd do $25/day for a car. I'll just ride my bike.

I know it is a long shot, but I want it documented both with insurance and with the dealer. That way if something does go south I have a paper trail of "I told you so." Of course that still might not do me any good, but at the very least they could check it and change fluids...

1973911s · 08-20-2005, 07:20 PM

That sucks!

Hope you really don't need a new drivetrain.

Michael

Aurel · Aurel's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by nostatic
no rental car. I don't have that in my coverage, but as part of comp they said they'd do $25/day for a car. I'll just ride my bike.

What hapened to the 911SC? Not a daiy driver anymore?

Aurel

Joeaksa · 08-21-2005, 11:15 AM

Are you sure you want it back? Who knows what damage they caused to the rest of the car and a few months down the road when the engine or gearbox pukes doubt that they would cover it.

Might be worth totaling the car and getting another one...

Joe A

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by Joeaksa
Are you sure you want it back? Who knows what damage they caused to the rest of the car and a few months down the road when the engine or gearbox pukes doubt that they would cover it.

Might be worth totaling the car and getting another one...

Joe A

I would love for them to total it. I would buy a second set of track wheels for the 911, put some street tires on the Fuchs and just alternate between my motorcycle and 911. But I doubt they'll total it. I suppose I could keep pounding my shoe on the table...

Aurel, the SC has morphed into more of a track car, and has R-compound tires on it right now. I'm trying to make this set last the rest of the season (about 10 more track days), so hence limiting street miles.