Have You Ever Had a Car Stolen?

Posted on Feb 13, 2022 in Safety | Comments Off on Have You Ever Had a Car Stolen?

If you’re one of the unfortunate people to have experienced an auto theft, you’re familiar with how invasive and unsettling it is to know someone has your car.

At first you think you just can’t remember where you parked. You spin in circles, visually scouring the parking lot for any sign of your car. Then you replay the events in your mind of where you parked and try to convince yourself that your memory isn’t playing tricks on you.

Soon the realization sets in that you haven’t merely misplaced your car, it’s been stolen.

Varying degrees of panic ensue, along with calls to the police and family members asking for help. In some cases the car is found and returned unharmed. Sometimes it’s found but completely destroyed. Sometimes it’s never found at all.

Keep reading for an example of a car returned 42 years after it was stolen, and an attempted theft that resulted in some hefty “car-ma” for a would-be thief.

Maybe the below video is an advertisement from Mercedes-Benz. If not, it’s better than any ad the company could have purchased. In the surveillance video, a would-be thief tries to break the window of a Benz, only to have the Benz fight back. The result? The thief gets knocked out cold by his own brick.

Next we have the story of a woman who had her brand new Chevrolet Corvette Stingray stolen, but later got a call saying it had been found. The only problem is that there was a 42-year span between the theft and the return. The car was stolen just six months after it was purchased in 1972 and not seen again until this year. It was discovered when a car restorer purchased the car, then compared the car’s VINs and called the police when they didn’t match.

Since the theft happened so long ago and an insurance claim was paid out, the car will probably end up going to auction rather than back to the original owner.

These are extreme cases, but also a good reminder that a car is stolen in the U.S. every 26 seconds. To make sure yours isn’t among them, park in brightly lit areas, lock all doors and windows, and keep valuables out of sight.

Or you could just buy a Mercedes.