Seattle Forrest

I was walking my bike up the hill I live at the bottom of ( one block - I like to get "warmed up" before I start taking hills ) and saw the back door of my car open. That's not right - the battery will die. When I shut it, I saw things strewn all around the interior. And then it dawned on me what had happened. I've had to take the day off work to deal with this, and so far, the response I've been getting has been especially ironic, since I commute by bike.

The only thing missing seems to be a check book. I keep one in the bottom of the glove box for emergencies, eg if I ever lost my wallet on a hike and had to buy gas or food. I've had to freeze my account, which meant buying a few odds and ends this morning, and withdrawing some cash. I'm doing this on my road bike, not my commuter. When I got to the coffee shop, the barista said "Hey. You got a new bike. That looks nice!" I told her that my car was broken into, etc, etc, and she gave me a blank look then asked "If you have a car, why do you come in on a bike every day on your way to work?"

The ironic thing is that I'd be in a really foul mood if someone had messed with my bike; luckily, it's "just" the car. Of course, the bike gets stored on a hook coming from my bedroom wall, while the car is just left outside on the street, where criminals can prowl. There's no where else to put it, it's just too big. While I get nervous parking my commuter temporarily at work, or outside of stores, it doesn't leave me vulnerable in the way a car does.

Anyway, I needed to rant, and I figured some of you would appreciate the shock people are giving me when I show up on my prized bike, complaining about my perfectly usable car.

groovestew

That's a bummer. Thieves suck. Especially when they leave damaged property in their wake.

It's funny how it can take a minute to realize what happened. My truck was broken into once in a downtown parking garage. When I walked up to my truck, I could see some bits of plastic and metal strewn around in the empty spot next to mine, and thought, "Some unlucky sod had a bad day!" Then I looked in my truck and noticed the seat back was leaning forward, and I thought, "Why did I leave my seat like that? I don't remember needing anything behind the seat!" Then I went to unlock the door, and lo and behold, the door handle was missing. Actually, it was lying in bits of plastic and metal in the empty spot next to mine. It finally dawned on me that I was the unlucky sod. The thief got a crummy pair of sunglasses that I was going to throw out, and a handful of nickels and dimes. I got a repair bill of several hundred dollars.

Thieves suck.

colleen c

Have your car been parking there for period of time? Sometime thieves will see an unattended vehicle and will break into those since it's less of a chance the owner will show up anytime soon.

Funny how people does not see why we select to commute by bike when we have a car to use. Last month I donated my older twin turbo car. It needed a lot of work and I rather just spend that money on another bike instead of fixing that car since the insurance is so outrageous on a sport car. However, some folks thought I lost my mind.

no motor?

+1

dcrowell

Sorry to hear your car was broken into.

I completely understand the priority thing though. Since moving into town I don't drive anymore, but my wife does. I have a truck that is still fairly new and I'm still paying on it. It sits in parking spot off the alley while my bikes are in the house.

The upside is that I no longer get upset when my wife leaves crap in my truck, as I'm never in it.

whitecat

I remember there being a flamethrower mod for cars, on the market a while ago. It was connected to the alarm system, and after a warning or two, if the thief would keep on trying to break in the car, it would set of a volatile mixture of gas in the air and ignite it, setting the thief on fire. Sometimes I think it must be worth a couple of thousand of dollars it costs. Otoh, I wonder is it sold anymore, because of all those pesky problems with liability and all that. Anyway, a beautiful invention. Beautiful.

xtrajack

Exactly, Before I got my Xtracycle, my truck was MY truck,--No one else was allowed to drive it-- now, it is just the truck.--I leave the key under the floor mat in case my wife or her daughter need to use it.

somedood

3000gt?

colleen c

3000 GT VR4

How did you guess?
Darn thing fail smog everytime with different issue. The last fail was the ring finally worn out and engine was blowing more smoke than my Weber. Along with Gazillion other stuff, it was too costly to fix when I am mostly using my bicycle.

Seattle Forrest

I made my last car payment this year. That was a great day ... I felt a lot like a slave until then, partly because the economy went sour. I had a really terrible job that I was afraid to quit, largely because I was already on the hook with the car loan. Great to be out from under that!

That's another way bikes are better than cars ... people rarely go into debt for a bike, making payments for years. Just the interest on a typical car loan will pay for a carbon fiber race bike with Ultegra all around. To my credit, though, I was commuting 20 miles each way when I bought the car ... now it's 4.7 miles each way, on the bike. Better late than never, to benefit from knowledge.

coldfeet

You know the answer, do I have to say it?






Sell the car!

And yes, thieves suck!

unterhausen

Sorry to hear about that, it's such a violation to have something like that happen.


I used to leave my car unlocked so thieves wouldn't break the window to get in and find out there was nothing in there. Then I became afraid people would think it was abandoned and start using it as a place to put their garbage. When I left it unlocked, the neighborhood kids tried to steal my radio, but that neighborhood was so backwards that they didn't know how to remove the radio. They took off the knobs and were stymied because the radio was mounted from the back.

dcrowell

I've still got a while to pay on my truck. I just bought it last year after my old (paid for) car died. I considered going car-free (did for two weeks), but the 33-mile round-trip commute was a bit much to do every day.

If I had known I'd be moving I would have bought a $1000 beater instead.

Selling the truck isn't even an option. My wife loves it. If I can get her to sell her car though... but it's paid off.

009jim

the thing I always find strange is that we all know cars can get smashed in a collision and/or broken into and it's a fact that it happens - yet cars are made up like fancy display items

if I had my way I'd be driving a vehicle that had more resemblance to an iron safe

wunderkind

Sucks when such things happen. It is a human violation more than the material damages. You now feel that where you live is no longer safe. And that there will be a nagging feeling of another hit. It's the emotional anguish that is so not needed because some ****** needed a drug fix or simply naughty neighbourhood kids.

I am glad both my cars and bikes are tucked in an enclosed secured garage guarded by a Siamese Python.

stringbreaker

Nothing (well almost) makes me more angry than a thief. You work to get stuff you need or want and some low life comes along and steals it. Luckily your house hasn't been broken into that really makes you feel violated. Upside is this turd will eventually have to pay one way or another for his actions. If you have ever seen those videos of the "trunk monkey" thats what I'd like to see happen to these creeps.

JanMM

You saw this in an action movie or a dream, right?

Greyryder

There used to be (and probably still is) video floating around the net of something like this, but it was intended to prevent carjackings. As I recall, it was being marketed in South Africa. Probably one of the few places on the planet, where it would be legal.

diff

My friend had a vr4. This was about 7 or 8 years ago. That thing was DANGEROUS. I do remember that clutch being the hardest clutch to push I have ever seen in my life.

His 3rd gear went after only a few months of owning the car. Then started to burn oil like crazy and he sold it. Very fast car.

whitecat

Here: https://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/africa/...e.thrower.car/
I knew I had that link somewhere. Link it with an alarm system, and you're ready for thieves