StolenCarReports Tipper Recovers His Own Car

Owner Tells How He Recovered His Own Stolen Jeep.

On November 25, 2003 I stopped a local Safeway grocery store to pick a few
items for Thanksgiving dinner. I parked my 1992 Jeep Wrangler, locked it,
and activated the alarm.

When I came out 10 minutes later, my Jeep was gone. I felt terrible when I
realized that someone would do this. It was my pride and joy!
Fortunately, I didn't have my little dog in the Jeep - it was cold that
day...

I called the police from my cell phone to report the theft and they put me
on hold for what seemed like an hour, but was only a few minutes. I also
called my insurance company and reported that my Jeep had been stolen.

Nothing happened for two weeks. Then, my insurance company called and said
that I was entitled to a rental car.

The car rental company was just down the street and I picked up the rental
car on December 11, 2003. It drove like a little roller skate - nothing
like my nice Jeep!

Another month went by. I called the police and they said that there was
nothing they could do.

During this time, I made a list of the items I had installed on my Jeep and
a list of some personal items that were in the Jeep when it was stolen. I
called my insurance company about the items on my list. I was told that my
Auto Policy didn't cover any personal items and that I needed to provide
proof of purchase for the lift kit, the 33-inch tires, the custom wheels,
etc. that I had added to my Jeep. I told them that I had pictures of
everything but that all of the paperwork for the items was in an envelope,
in my Jeep. I was out of luck.

Later, I learned that my Home Owner's Policy might cover the personal items
in the Jeep. I found this out on my own - the insurance didn't mention
this to me when I talked with them about my Auto Policy.

I contacted the insurance company to see if my Home Owner's Policy covered
any of the personal items that were in my Jeep. The good news was "yes."
The bad news was that I had a $1000.00 deductible. And, like all of the
customization I had done to my Jeep, I needed to provide proof of purchase
for the personal items as well. Most of the personal items had been
purchased many years earlier. Wow! What a surprise I got. My insurance
did not cover any CD's, the Radar Detector, or any of the other items on my
list like new jumper cables, tools, flashlight, etc.

As I drove around in the rental car I would find myself thinking about my
Jeep and looking for it. I wondered where it was and what the thief had
done with it.

Finally, the time came to turn in the rental car. The rental agreement
said that I had to turn the car in with a full tank of gas. On my way to
return it, I filled the tank and decided to take a short cut to the rental
company.

I was only a block away from the rental company when I spotted my Jeep! It
was parked in a "Visitor's Only" parking space in an apartment complex. I
had to rub my eyes a couple of times to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.
I pulled in behind it and sure enough, it was indeed my Jeep!

All the plastic windows had been cut out, the Tuff Box had been pried open,
the steering column was smashed, the CD player was ripped out of the dash,
the drive shaft was broken and my new muffler had been dented to pieces.
Someone must have had to push the Jeep into that parking lot.

I called the police and they showed up about 25 minutes later. I was
concerned about my own safety since I had heard a story the week before
about thieves who had killed the owner of a stolen vehicle when he had
approached his car.

When the Police arrived, they looked the car over, filled out some
paperwork and released the car to me. I called a tow truck and had my Jeep
towed to my driveway where it sits now.

Even in the condition it was in when I found it, I was glad to get it back.

I'm not sure what lesson can be learned from this story, but I am thinking
of installing a GPS recovery system in my Jeep.

I also had a long talk with my insurance company about the whole chain of
events and I noticed that they were a lot more interested in getting their
premiums than they were in helping me get my Jeep back... They finally
called me and said that my Auto Policy will cover all of the damages, and
that my Homeowner's Policy will cover my personal items.

Wow! I am so happy now that I have my jeep back!

- Frank

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