My car, she is missing.

November 17, 2005 12:27 AM

So my car was stolen last night from outside of my work. The police are confident that -- considering the age, make and condition -- it will turn up in anywhere from a few days to a week.

My insurance company is a mom and pop operation so I cannot contact them until morning. I will be out of the country (literally) from the 18th through the 25th and can only hope that my car shows up before I get back.

So what do I do now? I feel like I'm in some sort of automobile-limbo.

posted by nathan_teske to law & government (8 answers total)

Heh, love the tags.

My car was stolen in Boston, right from under the church I parked in front of. It was a 25 year-old piece of shit Toyota. I couldn't understand it at first--I mean, who goes joyriding in a piece of shit that barely makes 60mph. on the highway? I can just see Hombre Pimpo cruising down the street to pick up his baby, pulling up to her house, trying to honk the (broken) horn, getting out and then trying to pry the door open for her, only to realize you have to open it from the inside. "Hey baby, let's roll!"

I first thought it had been towed. These things happen in Boston all-too-frequently, but after the third desparate phone inquiry, the nice lady at the city tow-lot told me, "Sir, your car's obviously been stolen, please call the police or a friend, or basically anyone but us."

So I called the police, described what happened ("Welp, it done gone missin'!") and they told me the same thing: expect to see it again in a week or two.

What they didn't tell me was that it would be found sitting on its wheel hubs, completely stripped. They didn't even bother to put it on cement blocks. It was just sitting there parked in front of a meter looking like a low-rider.

With three parking tickets on the windshield. Fucking ha-ha.

So anyway, what you do is, fill out a stolen vehicle form at the police department, then call up your insurance company in the morning. Don't worry, these things happen. Start looking for a new car. That's about it. Drown your sorrows if you like... at least you won't have to worry about getting a DUI.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 1:05 AM on November 17, 2005

How can one be anything BUT *literally* out of the country?

That sucks about your car being stolen... basically, let your insurance company know, and it's likely that the police will have found your car by the time you get back.
posted by antifuse at 1:39 AM on November 17, 2005

Heh. My car was stolen from my own driveway in broad daylight while my neighbor watched. As I came out the door he told me, "Hey, your friends came and got your car." Yeah? Thanks.

Dude, it's good that you're going to be out of the country. You don' t have a car (unless you sprung for rental replacement coverage). It'll probably be resolved, one way or the other, by the time you get back.
posted by zanni at 4:31 AM on November 17, 2005

My mother's 1991 Subaru was recently stolen from a main street in Belmont MA during the day-- it was returned three days later without any damage except a broken lock. It does happen.
posted by miss tea at 5:13 AM on November 17, 2005

Your insurance company is a mom-and-pop, or your insurance broker is? For instance, I buy insurance from a guy in an office in town who I can only reach 9-5 M-F, but my policy is with Kingsway General, who has 24/7 claims service, and it's them I'd call if my ride was stolen, not the broker.

If it's your broker with inconvenient hours, check your insurance papers to see who your broker has insured you with, and call them directly. You should be able to find their claims number on their website.
posted by mendel at 6:43 AM on November 17, 2005

My next-door neighbor's car was stolen recently. The police found about a day and a half later parked in an alley a half mile away. Some of the stuff she had in it, including the $2000 cash (why the hell my neighbor had $2000 cash in her car, I do not know) was missing, but the car was fine.
posted by fidelity at 10:03 AM on November 17, 2005

Whatever you do, if it's returned with a note of apology and tickets to some event, DON'T USE THEM.
posted by krix at 2:29 PM on November 17, 2005

$2000 in cash? Sounds like someone was padding their insurance claim...
posted by camworld at 2:57 PM on November 17, 2005