Autoblog

This one may seem like a no-brainer, but it's probably not a good idea to hide the spare keys for your first and second car inside your... uh, car. Perhaps you can already tell where we're going with this... for the sake of the story, though, we'll continue. What might happen if your car were stolen? You'd be giving a thief keys to the car they just stole, plus, as a bonus, the keys to your other car.

Unfortunately for at least one man, the scenario in the preceding paragraph is a true story. "We believe the keys for both vehicles may have been inside the initial vehicle that was stolen," said Cornwall police spokesman Blake Paquin, who added, "We never recommend hiding keys in a vehicle." The spare keys for the man's 2002 BMW 325 were hidden in his 2003 Hummer H2, which led to the theft of both vehicles... within the same hour. Doh!

[Source: Andrew Seymour / Ottawa Citizen]

Browsing through eBay, it us quite common to come across an ad for an older car that is without a title. Before bidding on the item, perhaps it would be a good idea to make sure that the seller has the right to sell the car. Case in point: Bruce Rask of Rainier, Oregon just received his 1940 Plymouth sedan back 21 years after it was originally reported stolen. It is unclear where the car went after being stolen in August of 1986, but it was recently purchased by a man in Sheridan, Oregon who bought the car without a title. Despite the fact that the man who purchased the car did not know that it was stolen, he very well may be out the money he spent on the car, as it is being return to Rask, the rightful owner.

Trooper Jeff Dickerson of the Oregon State Police says, "Never buy a motor vehicle from a third party without a title to the car. If the seller is unable to provide a title to the vehicle, there is a very good chance the seller is not authorized to be making the sale at all. You could end up losing what you paid for the vehicle if it can be shown it actually belongs to someone else." This story brings meaning to the saying, "Buyer Beware"!

[Source: KATU News - Portland, Oregon]

Today's tale involving the questionable decision-making skills of criminals comes from Norwalk, CT. It seems that one Jazrahel King had visited the Wholesalers of America used car lot on Main Street in the hopes of test driving some vehicles. The staff at the dealership nixed the drives, however, after discovering that Mr. King had some issues with his credit.

According to sales manager Diego Coleman, this particular setback did not exactly deter King, who was seen by staffers walking around the lot at the same time Coleman was prepping a recently-sold 2003 Jeep Liberty for customer pick-up. The Jeep, which had the keys in it, must have been left unattended for a moment, because the next thing anyone knew was that both the SUV and Jazrahel King were history.

Read on to learn how not to flip your boost.

[Source: AP via the Connecticut Post]

From the bible of the collector car world comes a cautionary tale of a stolen Shelby and a good lesson in caveat emptor. John Draneas of Collector Car Market recounts the story of a 1965 Shelby GT350 that was stolen back in 1979. The insurance company paid the owner $6500 and the vehicle was never seen from again. Well, not with its original serial number at any rate. While running a cursory check of eBay, Shelby American Automobile Club Registrar Howard Pardee came across a nice looking '65 GT350. With a little legwork, he discovered that the car had been reported stolen and unrecovered back in 1979. He contacted the eBay seller and that's when things got really interesting.

The seller had purchased the car in 1980 with a reproduction Shelby serial number tag and a seemingly clean New York title. Pardee also tracked down the original owner who was shocked to learn his Shelby was on eBay and more amazed that, although the bidding was only at $121,000, the value of the car might be closer to $150,000 or even $175,000. He contacted his insurance company and the police and wanted his car back. The car was taken off eBay and impounded, but didn't go back to the original owner. The insurance company had already paid off that claim a long time ago. Case closed.

The eBay seller was out of luck too, as he had no legitimate claim to the vehicle unfortunately. He is trying to work out an arrangement with the insurance company so he can perhaps repurchase his car from them and recoup some of his loss. Although he had paid for the vehicle back in 1980, the seller at that time was not legally able to sell the car, as he was an accomplice of the thief. So although he had possession of the vehicle for 26 years and watched the value skyrocket, he is not legally entitled to any of that windfall. Bummer for everybody except the insurance company and the thief ironically, as the statute of limitations has long since passed. A civil suit appears to be the eBay seller's only hope of justice. Read the whole story by following the link.


[Source: Sports Car Market]

If this doesn't make you chuckle, chances are nothing will. Dallas police apparently have an APB out for a stolen car with no description and no last known whereabouts. A vehicle used by Dallas police to catch unsuspecting would-be car thieves was stolen over the weekend. The "bait" car had been equipped with cameras, a remote engine kill switch, and some type of tracking system, but still managed to disappear sometime between Friday and Monday. Police were not releasing info about the type of car or the location of the theft because they are holding out hope that they may recover it. They believe it can be returned to their fleet and may be reused on future undercover operations.

This reminds us of the time the D.C. police chief had his car stolen from in front of his house. Police Chief Charles Ramsey was shocked to find an empty parking spot where he had recently parked his black Crown Victoria. At least it was unmarked. Or better yet the case of the stolen Boulder County Sheriff's Deputy K9 patrol vehicle, complete with canine. A suspect was pulled over for speeding and subsequently cuffed and buckled into the passenger seat of the patrol car for investigation of suspected DUI. While the deputy was checking out the suspect's vehicle, the suspect freed himself from the seatbelt, got his hands in front of him and took off with the poor dog in back. At least he was caught soon after and the dog was unharmed. And it can happen in other countries as well. Arab News reported a case of an officer walking out his front door to find an empty parking spot. He had to walk to the station to file a stolen vehicle report on his own car.

Maybe they should consider one of the theft prevention devices we've covered in the past:

• Prevent wheel theft by stupid thieves
• Auto thieves get stuck on new deterrent
• Insert Caption Here: Pontiac Sunfire with bees Read Comment #3

[Sources: Dallas Morning News, NPR, Boulder County, Arab News]

Tipster: Richard R

The National Insurance Crime Bureau had good news and bad news for U.S. car owners Tuesday - the good news is that theft rates were down 2.1 percent in the first half of 2005 compared to 2004, marking the second straight year of theft decline. The bad news? If you live in the West, you're in car thief heaven.

In 2005, the ten metropolitan areas with the worst auto theft records were west of the Rockies, with California laying claim to six of the top ten. Here's the full list:
   1. Modesto, CA
   2. Las Vegas/Paradise, NV
   3. Stockton, CA
   4. Phoenix/Mesa/Scottsdale, AZ
   5. Visalia/Porterville, CA
   6. Seattle/Tacoma/Bellevue, WA
   7. Sacramento/Arden-Arcade/Roseville, CA
   8. San Diego/Carlsbad/San Marcos, CA
   9. Fresno, CA
  10. Yakima, WA

As you might expect, the NICB has recommendations to help you hang on to your ride, including the use of warning and immobilizing devices. You can read about their "layered approach" to protection here.

If your city didn't make the top ten, you can find out  where it ranks and how many vehicles were boosted last year by checking the NICB web site, here.