My 7.3 PSD truck was stolen off of the street in front of my residence about 2 years ago. They are extremely easy to steal if not secured in some extra way and I blamed myself for leaving it in the same spot for too long on the street. All the their has to do to get in is punch the key lock in the plastic door handle and it breaks off and falls inside the door. He can then easily unlock it and in he goes. The ignition tumbler is easily damaged using a slide hammer, a screw driver is then the key. Bye-bye truck.
I was sure that it was on its way to Mexico by the time I noticed it missing, simply because the border is 2 hours away and it would be a popular truck down there. Pay someone off and presto!, it's a "legally" registered vehicle in another country. Nothing at all against the people of Mexico, it's just the way it's done all over the world. When a new Range Rover or Mercedes G-63 gets boosted, you can bet that it's quickly in a container going to Eastern Europe or Russia, maybe the Middle East.
Anyhow, just when I was about to get paid off by my insurance company, an intrepid LAPD officer on patrol in DTLA found it in a hobo camp. Apparently, the thief had sold it to some bum and he was using it as his truck. All of my expensive tools in the locking box in the bed were gone but it was otherwise in shockingly undamaged condition. After replacing the ignition and door lock, all it really needed was a good interior cleaning and about a month of airing out since it seemed like the thief or the bum chain smoked in it with the windows closed. I did not think that it would ever be ok but it is. I just drove it to WA. state and back, pulling a car trailer.
It's now parked in a much safer place.
