I can not believe my rotten luck!!!!

Scottls · 05-23-2010, 05:36 PM

I can not believe my rotten luck!!!! The van I just got less than a month ago was STOLEN! The police called and I got it back, but the drivers-side window is broken, The steering column peeled, and just about every tool and shred of supplies and materials I had for a job I am working on GONE!!!

Then after I got it home and cleaned up all the broken glass, I attempted to go get another window to put in it and found out they totally burned out the transmision! I just want to cry!!!! In total there's a couple grand FLUSHED DOWN THE TOILET!!! (Grrrr and I don't have theft insurance)

It's in the shop to get the transmission rebuilt but I'll still have to fix the steering column and replace the driver-side window.

LMP · 06-12-2010, 08:44 AM

Sorry for you; the topic was well worth bold characters... I understand the whole car is worth more than the cost of repairs, at least for you... Bad luck indeed, as I do not think this model is high on the theft list....it is mostly praised by those who have it already... well, I'm thinking of the plastic body years like your '92....I think they wanted your tools; too bad they battered the car on top of it...
....were the tools covered by your home or professional insurance ?

Scottls · 06-12-2010, 02:15 PM

No, I didn't have any insurance to cover any of my losses but being the kind and helpful person that I am has it's perks, because when the chips were down I had a great and wonderful surprise. Between family and friends nearly everything that was been taken or broken has been replaced or repaired.

The transmission will be a bill I have to earn and pay off but in time that will be taken care of too. I just got through putting a steering column in that a friend got for me because he's in to working on cars all the time and was able to get it for me really cheap.

I think the reason this old van was stolen is because who ever took it had other stolen property he had to transport to his hide away. Then he just dumped it and didn't even bother to shut it off or turn off the lights. That's what attracted the cops attention when they found it.

The fact that I happen to leave my tool bag in there was just an unfortunate coincidence. I never usually leave those tools in the van, but it was a late day at work and I was suppose to go right back in the morning.

MagicRat · 06-12-2010, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottls

I think the reason this old van was stolen is because who ever took it had other stolen property he had to transport to his hide away. Then he just dumped it and didn't even bother to shut it off or turn off the lights. That's what attracted the cops attention when they found it.
.

Same think happened to me. My '88 Pontiac was stolen a few years ago strictly for use by a thief for a few hours to transpost stolen stuff then dumped. In my case, the cops found the car trunk full of stolen stuff (but the theif ran off).

so the cops asked me if I had anything in the trunk. I said "no". So they KEPT my factory jack and lug wrench, thinking they were stolen along with the other items!

Anyways, theives like these love the older vehicles because they are much easier to steal than the later cars. It may look dopey, but even sonething like the Club or a chain and padlock around the steering wheel may have prevented the theft.

I also had to pay for the window and smashed column out of my own pocket...... but I only go 9 more months use from it

Scottls · 06-12-2010, 11:42 PM

Yeah, I got the Master Lock's version of the club. For a couple weeks that was all I had to keep it from getting stolen again, except for taking the coil wire in with me each night.

Scottls · 06-14-2010, 11:44 AM

OK, after I installed the steering column, I was hoping a different cluster switch (the original one was broken) would again restore the cruise control. Unfortunately that's not the case. I checked ALL the fuses and even temporarily put the 20 AMP fuse back in for the electronic level control, but it still isn't working.

Any suggestions, and should I start a new thread for this topic?

LMP · 06-14-2010, 12:30 PM

Last year I returned my cruise control back into operation after nearly 2 years gone haywire. I had a thread for that in the transport forum....will add the link once retreived....
..OK here it is: http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=962751
...you must have a quicktime plugin to play the movie...if the link does not play readily, download then play from your computer.

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