Topic: Break in

[vdk]

It's Friday night. You're having a well deserved drink at a bar after working on a business project with a couple of close friends. Then you come back to your buddy's Jeep and you see this.

Called the Police, and they wouldn't bother to come write a report. I have to say I'm not surprised.

The thief stole 3 iPods and 3 laptops. What's there to do? Auto insurance, or home insurance? His or mine? It's my personal property in his personal car.

 

[Ex-airbalancer]

move to a better place

[Bubba]

Here in Manitoba, personal items are home insurance and NEVER, I repeat, NEVER leave anything visible in the car.  Not even a few cents in change.

[DockMan]

NEVER leave anything visible in the car.  Not even a few cents in change.

That is good advice anywhere. 'tis the season for desperation as well and I'm sure ipods and laptops make great gifts.

Bummer that happened. Dunno about the insurance....but hey you could split his deductable three ways and of course you all had:http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-m17x/pd?refid=laptop-alienware-m17x&~oid=us~en~29~laptop-alienware-m17x_anav_1~~ I hope your data was well backed up. Merry Christmas, eh?

[dr_spock]

Bummer.  I think home insurance for laptops and iPods and car insurance for the windows.   Do you have the MobileMe Find-My-i(device) configured to locate your Apple products?

I hide and secure my laptop in my trunk with a Kensington cable lock.  I do it before arriving at my destination so I am not seen with it.

[Bubba]

I hide and secure my laptop in my trunk with a Kensington cable lock.  I do it before arriving at my destination so I am not seen with it.

A very good idea and something I'll have to look into.

[mmret]

Sorry to hear vdk.

My family used to have a car with some kind of underseat storage thing. It was either a Grand Caravan or a Taurus Wagon...don't remember. There was a compartment under the front passenger seat that would have fit a laptop. Genius idea really.

[ovr50]

That is tough luck, vdk, but leaving that kind of stuff visible in a parked car is asking for trouble most anywhere. It certainly is here, and this a relatively small city.

 

[vdk]

move to a better place

This happened on a side street in Greek town - Danforth.

The only thing that was in view was an old-school iPod that doesn't even work properly anymore. The rest was out of view in the front and back underneath the seats.

Lesson learned though. I always leave electronics in the car. Not anymore...

They stole about 6.5k of electronics all in all. Doubt they're worth much on the market. Will keep an eye on Craigslist for our stuff though.

Very Merry Christmas

[Schmengie]

That is tough luck, vdk, but leaving that kind of stuff visible in a parked car is asking for trouble most anywhere. It certainly is here, and this a relatively small city.

 

Here too, and Vernon's even smaller. I never leave anything in the car if I have to leave it parked for any length of time, not even my registration papers. I leave the glove compartment and the dash storage bin open so the scum-suckers can see there's nothing there. My son made the same mistake as vdk a few years ago and the bastards did $1K+ in damage to his car in the process. A hard lesson to learn, not to mention expensive. 

[neil]

Yeah, I had a friend get his window broken for 35cents in the console.

Another buddy left a case of beer on the front seat for 5 minutes while he ran into check something at work.  Lost the beer and his window for it.

[safristi]

..Man losing BEER that's the worst story i've read all year.... ......are they covered under yer Medical Re_imbursments or  Gov Disaster plans ?.......checking something @ werk when ya have a case inna car...CRIMINAL....

[wing]

That sucks!  Always hear these stories at this time of the year.  That visible shitty ipod was just too tempting to see what else was in there.

Once (a long long time ago) I left only my aux cable visible and my cd-player was stolen.  Thief rightfully had a theory if I had a cable I most likely had a device.  So I don't even leave the cable visible in any vehicle anymore.

[Railton]

Sorry to read about the break-in. That sucks.
As my Dad use to say "There's two kinds of guys in the world, great ones and the rest are jerk-offs in one form or another".
Railton

[Brig]

Photographer friend of mine was in Montreal, and parked in a public lot.  After he parked, he moved all his camera and video gear into the trunk - about $10K worth.  Got back a few hours later, and it was all gone.  I sometimes wonder whether the people at the entry gate at these lots aren't checking the car for valuables when you pull in to pay ahead of time...  See something good, call a bud, look the other way while the newly-parked car is being ransacked.

Sorry to hear of your story, vdk.  That sucks mightily.

[Gardiner Westbound]

Tip: next time park in a Tim Horton's lot.

I can remember when the police gave a damn. They actually investigated criminal activity and tried to catch bad guys!

[ArticSteve]

What's there to do? Auto insurance, or home insurance? His or mine? It's my personal property in his personal car.

Technically only your home policy will apply.  However, since you use your computer for work it may not be covered.  Other factors to consider before making a claim will be your deductible, loss of claims free discount for 10 years that will increase your premium for that entire period, and whether or not you have guaranteed replacement or actual cash value.

Personally, anything under 5K loss I would not claim.

Not only do SUVs and other trunk less vehicles suck for looking valuables, most sedans sucks as well.  The Malibu and I assume most GMs are vunerable.  Once the glove box in the Altima is breached it's a straight shot to the trunk.  My Hyundai brothers tell me the Sonata is vunerable as well.  You wonder why manufactures don't put a little more effort into securing the trunk considering the times.  Generally this requires a key lock for the trunk.

[Schmengie]

Actually one of the nice things about a hatch or a wagon is that you can leave the cargo cover off so thieves can see there's nothing to steal back there. I remember a few years ago someone's car was ransacked at work and the trunk popped with a pry-bar even though there wasn't anything in it. Stupid perp even left the pry-bar behind. 

[rrocket]

The only thing that was in view was an old-school iPod that doesn't even work properly anymore.

But that's the problem...ANYTHING these douche bags see (working or not) will get them to bust a window.  Once inside, it's like a lottery to them; either they'll hit it big (in your case) or they won't find anything.  But once they're in, they'll be sure to check for more loot.

And there's again the police hard at work, eh?  Bet you if you told them you say a guy speeding, they'd be right over to hand out a ticket to generate some revenue...

[mmret]

loss of claims free discount for 10 years that will increase your premium for that entire period

That's got to be the most retarded discount ever.

"If you never ask us for anything, we'll let you pay us slightly less money."