What to do when they've stolen your car seats?
December 3, 2011 1:05 PM Subscribe
Someone broke into my car and stole all the seats! What to do now?
So this morning I went out to my car to find the driver's side window smashed open and all the seats missing! The car is a 2001 Acura CL Type S and from the research I've done it's more than likely that someone with an older model Honda went shopping in mine for some nice new leather seats. I didn't have theft coverage on this particular car (it has 140000 miles on it and doesn't get driven every day, so I didn't think the extra money way worth it) but it is in very nice mechanical condition (brand new front and rear struts, 4 new tires with less than 3,000 miles on them, engine and transmission in great condition, spotless exterior and, previously, interior). They took the driver and passenger side front seats, and the rear 'bucket' seats, but not the backrest. They actually did it very cleanly, took out the seat rails and left the wiring harness intact. They also attempted to get at the navigation system, but must have realized what they were in for and abandoned it mid way through (you'd have to take apart the entire front dash to get at the navigation system) and just took off fake-wood front console runners and pried off a little of the screen bezel. Oh, and they also stole my shift knob, which just adds insult to injury. I filed a police report, I have zero confidence anything will happen on that front. Will be checking craigslist and ebay to see if anything shows up, but I'm not holding my breath.
So what's the best option here? OEM seats are insanely expensive from my research, it would probably be around 5k to bring it back to factory condition. But I really don't care about that, I just want the best way to bring it back to drivable condition and yet still have it look pretty nice, for preferably not a whole lot of money, but if it were between 1-2k, I would be ok with that. Should I contact junkyards, collision centers, someone else? Anyone with experience have any ideas? I'm in Providence, RI, if it helps.
So this morning I went out to my car to find the driver's side window smashed open and all the seats missing! The car is a 2001 Acura CL Type S and from the research I've done it's more than likely that someone with an older model Honda went shopping in mine for some nice new leather seats. I didn't have theft coverage on this particular car (it has 140000 miles on it and doesn't get driven every day, so I didn't think the extra money way worth it) but it is in very nice mechanical condition (brand new front and rear struts, 4 new tires with less than 3,000 miles on them, engine and transmission in great condition, spotless exterior and, previously, interior). They took the driver and passenger side front seats, and the rear 'bucket' seats, but not the backrest. They actually did it very cleanly, took out the seat rails and left the wiring harness intact. They also attempted to get at the navigation system, but must have realized what they were in for and abandoned it mid way through (you'd have to take apart the entire front dash to get at the navigation system) and just took off fake-wood front console runners and pried off a little of the screen bezel. Oh, and they also stole my shift knob, which just adds insult to injury. I filed a police report, I have zero confidence anything will happen on that front. Will be checking craigslist and ebay to see if anything shows up, but I'm not holding my breath.
So what's the best option here? OEM seats are insanely expensive from my research, it would probably be around 5k to bring it back to factory condition. But I really don't care about that, I just want the best way to bring it back to drivable condition and yet still have it look pretty nice, for preferably not a whole lot of money, but if it were between 1-2k, I would be ok with that. Should I contact junkyards, collision centers, someone else? Anyone with experience have any ideas? I'm in Providence, RI, if it helps.
I'd poke around Craigslist and see if anyone has a non-running version of your car they're trying to unload.
posted by jabes at 1:12 PM on December 3, 2011
posted by jabes at 1:12 PM on December 3, 2011
Response by poster: The CL Type S is pretty rare from what I know, does anyone know if standard 2001 CL or TL seats would fit as well? That would widen the search a bit...
posted by Fidel Cashflow at 1:13 PM on December 3, 2011
posted by Fidel Cashflow at 1:13 PM on December 3, 2011
File a report with your insurance company anyway --- you've got nothing to lose, and they might even pay off (I got hit by an uninsured hit & run driver last year, and was surprised they didn't charge me any deductible.)
posted by easily confused at 1:15 PM on December 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by easily confused at 1:15 PM on December 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Not sure on the non-type-S interchange, but do check car-part.com, most junkyards are plugged in. I just picked an area and saw a lot of CL seats for quite reasonable prices.
posted by ftm at 1:19 PM on December 3, 2011 [6 favorites]
posted by ftm at 1:19 PM on December 3, 2011 [6 favorites]
Response by poster: File a report with your insurance company anyway --- you've got nothing to lose, and they might even pay off (I got hit by an uninsured hit & run driver last year, and was surprised they didn't charge me any deductible.)
The cop that came warned me against filing with my insurance company. He said if it's not covered for theft or collision, they'll probably just deny me and raise my rates. Considering they just reduced my premium by 600 a year (My coverage actually renewed yesterday), I'm hesitant to do that...
posted by Fidel Cashflow at 1:20 PM on December 3, 2011
The cop that came warned me against filing with my insurance company. He said if it's not covered for theft or collision, they'll probably just deny me and raise my rates. Considering they just reduced my premium by 600 a year (My coverage actually renewed yesterday), I'm hesitant to do that...
posted by Fidel Cashflow at 1:20 PM on December 3, 2011
Response by poster: Not sure on the non-type-S interchange, but do check car-part.com, most junkyards are plugged in. I just picked an area and saw a lot of CL seats for quite reasonable prices.
That's just so perfect, thanks!
posted by Fidel Cashflow at 1:22 PM on December 3, 2011
That's just so perfect, thanks!
posted by Fidel Cashflow at 1:22 PM on December 3, 2011
It seems unlikely that Honda would change the bolt pattern on it's seats on different models of the same basic car - sorta like walking away from the whole industrial revolution. I wouldn't even be stunned if seats from a similar class Ford, GM or Honda happened to fit. (Not that I'd bet on it.)
I've found that you-wrench-it type places are cheaper than places where they carefully part out the cars and go get your piece for you. But, often the you-wrench-it type places are full of cars with missing glass / doors and if you don't happen to get there shortly after they get the car, the seats won't be worth having.
If you do go scavenging at these types of place make a sort of gauge out of a piece of scrap wood and some popsicke sticks, so you don't have to guesstimate the contours of your car floor.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 1:26 PM on December 3, 2011
I've found that you-wrench-it type places are cheaper than places where they carefully part out the cars and go get your piece for you. But, often the you-wrench-it type places are full of cars with missing glass / doors and if you don't happen to get there shortly after they get the car, the seats won't be worth having.
If you do go scavenging at these types of place make a sort of gauge out of a piece of scrap wood and some popsicke sticks, so you don't have to guesstimate the contours of your car floor.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 1:26 PM on December 3, 2011
Definitely check car-part.com, if you think you can handle replacing the seats yourself. I've never done it so I don't know offhand what's involved, but I'm a Honda guy and I would totally attempt it if this happened to me.
I would recommend that you get the Helm service manual for the car. These are the factory-authorized service manuals, they are specific to the make and model, and usually a small range of years. They're much better than the Haynes or Chilton manuals. They'll give you the best step by step instructions, with diagrams, of how to install the seats properly. I always recommend that people get the Helm manual for their car, even if they don't do much work on it themselves. For $75 you can get an idea of what's involved in a repair that someone else is doing and avoid getting ripped off.
I would also recommend that you post on Honda Tech and ask for tips and advice on this process. You may learn a few extra helpful things.
Keep in mind that the seats are an integral part of the safety system in your car. You want them to be mounted properly, with everything tightened to the right torque spec (buy or borrow a torque wrench if you don't have one), so that your body stays where it's supposed to when you get in an accident.
Good luck, let us know what you end up doing.
posted by autojack at 1:53 PM on December 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
I would recommend that you get the Helm service manual for the car. These are the factory-authorized service manuals, they are specific to the make and model, and usually a small range of years. They're much better than the Haynes or Chilton manuals. They'll give you the best step by step instructions, with diagrams, of how to install the seats properly. I always recommend that people get the Helm manual for their car, even if they don't do much work on it themselves. For $75 you can get an idea of what's involved in a repair that someone else is doing and avoid getting ripped off.
I would also recommend that you post on Honda Tech and ask for tips and advice on this process. You may learn a few extra helpful things.
Keep in mind that the seats are an integral part of the safety system in your car. You want them to be mounted properly, with everything tightened to the right torque spec (buy or borrow a torque wrench if you don't have one), so that your body stays where it's supposed to when you get in an accident.
Good luck, let us know what you end up doing.
posted by autojack at 1:53 PM on December 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
A couple of additional things...
I would have guessed that the Type-S was mostly a performance upgrade, as is typical with Hondas, but Wikipedia does say that, "While the regular CL featured a 225 hp (168 kW) V6, the Type-S boasted a 260 hp (194 kW) V6 with 17" wheels, a firmer suspension, slightly larger brakes, and firmer seats." That said, I can pretty much guarantee that regular CL seats will work fine. This is just to note that they are (supposedly) technically different.
On the insurance front, you don't mention who your carrier is, but if you have a local agent/reseller (i.e. not Geico or something), there should be no harm in simply calling them, explaining what happened, and asking if you would be covered. That's not the same as filing a claim, it's just a question about your coverage. You don't even have to say that it did happen, just that you're wondering about the extent of coverage on your policy.
posted by autojack at 2:05 PM on December 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
I would have guessed that the Type-S was mostly a performance upgrade, as is typical with Hondas, but Wikipedia does say that, "While the regular CL featured a 225 hp (168 kW) V6, the Type-S boasted a 260 hp (194 kW) V6 with 17" wheels, a firmer suspension, slightly larger brakes, and firmer seats." That said, I can pretty much guarantee that regular CL seats will work fine. This is just to note that they are (supposedly) technically different.
On the insurance front, you don't mention who your carrier is, but if you have a local agent/reseller (i.e. not Geico or something), there should be no harm in simply calling them, explaining what happened, and asking if you would be covered. That's not the same as filing a claim, it's just a question about your coverage. You don't even have to say that it did happen, just that you're wondering about the extent of coverage on your policy.
posted by autojack at 2:05 PM on December 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
If you go the junkyard route, get the mounting bolts as well as the seats. I bet the thieves didn't leave the bolts behind, and finding the right grade metric bolts might be a pain.
posted by Marky at 2:32 PM on December 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Marky at 2:32 PM on December 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: On the insurance front, you don't mention who your carrier is, but if you have a local agent/reseller (i.e. not Geico or something), there should be no harm in simply calling them, explaining what happened, and asking if you would be covered..
My insurer is Amica.
posted by Fidel Cashflow at 2:45 PM on December 3, 2011
My insurer is Amica.
posted by Fidel Cashflow at 2:45 PM on December 3, 2011
My insurer is Amica.
I guess what I mean is, if you have a local agent that you deal with for the insurance (i.e. John Doe Insurance who resells Amica), that's the person I would call with a question about whether you might be covered. Whereas when I had Geico at least, I just set up the policy online and that was it. It looks like Amica might work that way too but you'd know better than me.
posted by autojack at 5:18 PM on December 3, 2011
I guess what I mean is, if you have a local agent that you deal with for the insurance (i.e. John Doe Insurance who resells Amica), that's the person I would call with a question about whether you might be covered. Whereas when I had Geico at least, I just set up the policy online and that was it. It looks like Amica might work that way too but you'd know better than me.
posted by autojack at 5:18 PM on December 3, 2011
He said if it's not covered for theft or collision, they'll probably just deny me and raise my rates.
They won't raise your rates (as it isn't anything they can point you for, since it isn't an accident that is your fault,) but with it being a comprehensive claim they won't cover it, either.
posted by SuzySmith at 2:02 AM on December 4, 2011
They won't raise your rates (as it isn't anything they can point you for, since it isn't an accident that is your fault,) but with it being a comprehensive claim they won't cover it, either.
posted by SuzySmith at 2:02 AM on December 4, 2011
Absolutely file with your insurance. This sort of thing is what it's for.
You are correct when you surmise that little will come from the police report. The report is really just a formality for insurance purposes. Sort of a double-check to confirm a legitimate claim.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:15 AM on December 4, 2011
You are correct when you surmise that little will come from the police report. The report is really just a formality for insurance purposes. Sort of a double-check to confirm a legitimate claim.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:15 AM on December 4, 2011
« Older Recommendations for an inexpensive unlocked... | It's great and all that I'm getting some in my... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by bq at 1:08 PM on December 3, 2011 [2 favorites]