Car broken into... next steps?

I am at work, working the graveyard shift where my car was broken into about an hour ago.

Passenger glass broken, DVD player, ipod/fm transmitter, $15, and rear fin was broken in half is the damage to the car. I called the 800 number for my insurance company and think I filed a claim. Security said there is a camera but it is useless at night. He also said they think they found the guy who did it, and he broke into another vehicle just a few minutes before or after mine on the other side of the hospital. Long story short, I think I have basic insurance (just moved out of parents home, paid insurance for 6 months about 2 weeks ago when I informed them I have a new address). But I paid $400 the other day for 6 mos. coverage and that's a lot for a college kid like myself.

I am guessing insurance may not be of any help and would it raise my rates considerably if I followed through with this (or heck, is it too late since I filed a pre-claim, claim, or whatever it is I just did on the phone?).

My real question though: should I just work with the Dayton PD to go after this guy and sue him? Would it be worth the hassle? Attorney fees? I don't really know where to begin here. Car can't be worth more than $3K, damage done/stolen may be about that much. Winter time here in Ohio, not sure if I should get the window fix? If I'm not reimbursed I am not sure it'll be worth it? How much does a window cost these days?

Thanks for any help!

collegerunner said: Winter time here in Ohio, not sure if I should get the window fix?

Just duct tape a garbage bag to where your passenger window used to be. Those are cool.

collegerunner said: My real question though: should I just work with the Dayton PD to go after this guy and sue him? Would it be worth the hassle? Attorney fees?

If he's breaking into cars for a living, I doubt he's got anything to sue for even if you win. And you'll have your costs to eat too.

When my XM Radio got stolen, I was adviced to file a police report with the serial number information so that if it turned up in the future, it could be returned. I didn't actually do this, but I did read that the police turns up these kinds of items all the time with no way to connect them back to their owners. Also you may be on to something with the local pawnshops. I'd be curious if someone knows how walking in there and reclaiming a stolen item works?

PS: Broken windows and stolen items sounds like a comprehensive claim. If all you got was "basic" insurance, I would be surprised if it would cover this sort of thing, anyway.

For sueing him if they guy is breaking into cars it normally points to him having little to no money. This means when you sue him he wont be able to pay you right away, or possibly at all. The court system has ways of working these out ex (a lean of someones home) but the guy might not own a home, but theirs other forms of income. But I would say its a fair bet you wont see a dime out of this guy.

Also you would not really work with the PD to sue the guy. They will charge him for the crime and then you will have a laywer file a case. The courts will send a summons to appear (if he is in jail he wont be able to skip the court date which is good) and then you will uses the evidence that the PD collected against him. But you sueing him and the PD charging him for the crime are to seperate process.

This happened to me in a hotel parking lot in Raleigh last year.

You'll need to file a police report to get your stuff back. Serial numbers are important to match your stuff up with whatever's in evidence. If you don't have serial numbers, give them as detailed a description as you can. A detective will call when they've catalogued everything sufficiently for trial, at which point you can go by and pick it all up. In my case, it was about three weeks later, and because I lived out of state the police sent them (an ipod and GPS) by fedex.

Window replacement should run around $200 if it's a sedan or coupe. Don't know about your "fin"- you mean a spoiler? Or a 50s style tailfin? If it's stock spoiler, you can probably pick a new one off eBay or from an internet dealer fairly inexpensively. You just have to have it painted to match your car, then the swap is generally a matter of unbolting/bolting. If it's aftermarket, well, you know what you're doing.

I have insurance that I pay every year in full for a discount. Never filed a claim. Every year my insurance goes up because someone else filed a claim! Please don't file a claim

Agree with Brad- filng a claim shouldn't increase your rates because it's not your fault. You'll only lose your deductible, but insurance should pay for the rest if you have the coverage.

I lived in Los Alamos, NM years ago and the Mrs. saw a break in on our car. B/c Los Alamos has a surplus of police (not LANL police, they're incompetent) and only 2 roads in and out of town, they caught the robbers.

They had hit 30 cars that day. They had a trunk full of stereos, CD players, disks, etc. They went to jail, but posted bail and were sentenced to time served and a fine. The judicial system is not real worried about theft. Good news is that 4 mos later we did get our stuff out of evidence lockup. There is hope for your stuff, but you'll have to be very patient.

Now, insurance is another matter. The window may be inexpensive, but you have already started the claim, so you're already in their database and they may choose to raise to raise your rates, esp in your age group. You'll have to wait and see.

Since you're young, take an important lesson about the insecurity of vehicles to heart. Even cars with security systems are sometimes easy prey. Thieves know which ones are easy marks. Our toyota could have the windows rolled down just by pushing the window down with both hands. Deterrents work well and a 12V blinking LED goes a long way, but this is all moot since you shouldn't be leaving anything valuable in the car from now on.

CptSavAHo said:
That's probably the only city in NM where a witness would rather call police than just start shooting at the thieves.

If its valuable enough to be stolen, don't leave it in your car. Two years in SF I saw an amazing amount of car related theft and never left anything in the car. I even left the change box and glove compartment open and empty. You couldn't even leave sunglasses in your car without making it a target in the Bay Area.

I dont believe you. Guns are illegal in California therefore its safe and theres no crime.

bigdinkel said: Why does a college kid with little financial resources have a DVD player in their car?

The same reason people in the projects have flat-screen television and a leased escalade.

I can probably figure out the serial number for the ipod, plus it has an engraving of my full name on the back.

tcope said: Damage to the vehicle is covered under comprehensive coverage if you have it. Was the DVD installed? If not, it's probably not going to be covered under your auto policy. The i-pod won't be covered under the auto policy as it's not part of the vehicle.

As far as recovery, you need to make sure the detective knows you feel this same person broke into your vehicle. Did they try to get any finger prints off your vehicle? Was your vehicle broken into the same day (it seems like it was not otherwise the person would have your stuff on him). If the person confesses to breaking into your vehicle you can speak to the prosecuting attorney and ask them to work your loss into any deal they make. If the cut this person any break what so ever it can be conditional on paying you back. Granted, you still probably won't see anything paid back. But this would be the path of least resistence in getting any type of compensation.

The DVD was installed by a shop some time ago. Cop said fingerprints were useless since it was raining at the time. Thanks for the help.


bigdinkel said: Why does a college kid with little financial resources have a DVD player in their car? It reminds me of individuals I call at work telling them they owe this xxx amount of money and they say, "I don't have any money" but have the latest new callertune on their cell phone.

The ipod will be on your renter's insurance if you have it. If you have a DVD player installed in your car then you will use your auto insurance for that.

I work hard - 40 hours a week. Entry level position. I had this installed about 3 years ago as it was something I worked hard for and wanted for some time. I don't have any debt, but it's not like I have the cash flowing either. You've got to live.

Speaking from experience here. My mustang got broken into last week while parked at a meter parking lot. Times are hard and these desperate fawkers will look for any possible sign of people leaving stuff in their car and break into it hoping to steal anything. I read that a guy left his Costco soaps and napkins in his car and the thief broke in and stole them.My case, I left the PDA holder exposed by the coin compartment. He thought that I probably have a GPS unit in the car and fortunately I did not keep anything valuable in the car so he couldn't steal anything. If you dont have comprehensive coverage, don't even waste your time trying to file a claim because insurance won't cover it. Best thing to do is get the window replaced as soon as possible since it's relatively cheap. Google for the names and numbers of auto glass shops in your area and call them to get a quote. You can also get quotes from online but they are more expensive so it's better to call the shops directly and tell them year/model/make/which type of glass needed. My 95 mustang coupe/driver side glass cost $200 if they come to me to do the replacement. You can save up to $50 if you bring the car to the shop. Ask for used glass to save money. My car is old so I went with a used class with barely little of no scratches on it and I only paid $95 compared to $130 new after calling about 4 different shops. So again..shop around and call the shops and decide which one you want to go with. Don't duck tape a plastic bag over the window because it's useless and embarassing driving around that way. I tried driving with the plastic bag to the shop and riped it off after 15 mins. Spend less than 200 bucks and restore some dignity back to you and your car that the fawker took away and get ur life back to normal. Good luck man!

P.S. ANYONE THAT USE A PORTABLE GPS, YOU NEED TO HIDE OR TAKE EVERYTHING WITH YOU... EVERYTHING... IF YOU DONT WANT TO RISK GETTING YOUR CAR BROKEN INTO. THE GLASS SHOP TOLD ME THAT SOME OF THE THIEFS ARE SO DESPERATE NOWADAYS THAT IF THEY SEE A CIRCULAR MARK/RING THAT'S LEFT BY THE SUCTION OF THE GPS HOLDER THEY MIGHT ASSUME THAT YOU HAVE A GPS UNIT INSIDE YOUR CAR AND BREAK IN! SO WIPE OFF ANY CIRCULAR MARK ON THE WINDSHIELD AND DASHBOARD IF YOU SEE ANY VISIBLE MARK/RING LEFT BY THE SUCTION OF YOUR GPS DASHBOARD/WINDSHIELD MOUNT.

Tnyc said: My car is old so I went with a used class with barely little of no scratches on it and I only paid $95 compared to $130 new after calling about 4 different shops.

I would hope theres little or no scratches in the glass since it takes something as hard as a diamond to scratch glass.

To the OP: Check with the hospital - if my car gets broken into at the school I work at, my union will reimburse me for damages.

tripleB said: Tnyc said: My car is old so I went with a used class with barely little of no scratches on it and I only paid $95 compared to $130 new after calling about 4 different shops.

I would hope theres little or no scratches in the glass since it takes something as hard as a diamond to scratch glass.

To the OP: Check with the hospital - if my car gets broken into at the school I work at, my union will reimburse me for damages.

I'm guessing security would have notified me of that by now if it were the case, but doesn't hurt to ask. Thanks.

Similar situation happened to me. Odd thing is nothing was stolen at all, just the front passenger side window was broken. Normally when I park in the city I lock the glovebox, lock the trunk release, and usually don't keep anything of value in the vehicle. I have gone through this before, where a Sony Discman was stolen and since then I have realized not to keep anything in the vehicle unless I want it to get stolen. I didn't bother going through my insurance since even my agent advised that it could have an effect on my rates in the long term, but I did replace the window. If you have AAA, I think they now offer a service to replace windows at a discounted price. Good luck to you. I know it's a really sucky feeling, when your items get stolen, but just look at it as a lesson and heck at least the vehicle itself wasn't stolen.

If by some random chance the OP actually went to court and got a judgement against this scumbag could the OP just write off the loss on his taxes (and in turn make the expense (inflated as high as they can make it) go against the scumbag as "income") - I'm just wondering if that is easier than trying to collect from someone like this.

Or can the OP just write off the loss on his taxes regardless if he knows who stole the goods (assuming he doesn't file an insurance claim)? I don't have any experience doing this and am just throwing it out there as a possibility.

CptSavAHo said: Two years in SF I saw an amazing amount of car related theft and never left anything in the car. I even left the change box and glove compartment open and empty. You couldn't even leave sunglasses in your car without making it a target in the place where I lived.FIXED. I have numerous family members that have lived in the Bay Area for 20+ years, not a single one of them has ever had their car broken into.

Dman081 said: Happened to me two weeks ago while in Columbus overnight. Over 20 cars were broken into in the same apartment complex that night. All I had in the car was a box for a macbook charger. That's probably what made them pick my car. Had I left my car unlocked (as someone else down the row did) I could have saved myself the $170 it took to get the window fixed.

The best advice I can give is ask your local insurance agent for a their preferred glass company. With my insurance company discount it ended up being the same price as another company in town, but I went with them since my agent had personally had work done by them in the past. The company was Guardian Glass and I believe they are national. That ~$170 was for them to come out to my location (important because it was 15 degrees that day), very thorough vacuuming and cleaning of the broken glass, and a new window. I have no idea if it was a good deal. But they did a good job and came within a few hours.

If I were you I would sue the guy, or lady just to make myself feel better. Even if they couldn't pay, just the thought of them having their salary garnished (they can do that right) or otherwise being indebted to you would make it worth it. Perhaps you could work out a butlering arrangement a la the Seinfeld episode where they write a pilot.

Edit: I'll add that my insurance is with Eerie. If you check with Guardian Glass you might mention that and see if they give a discount in your area. No sense in waiting until Tuesday if they'll come out tomorrow for a comparable price.

Thanks, Guardian offered me $616 even with the insurance mention
Some other local shop about $740
but Safelite is offering $484

Apparently my car window is hard to find (honda del sol)

First off, find a U-pull-it JY and get your own window to install. It's easy enough to do.

Then watch the movie Death Wish 3 and see how Charles Bronson deals with people who break into cars.

then if you can find the person who did it, sue them.

Also, be wary of Safelite because they cracked part of the body on my coworker's Mustang when they were replacing his windshield so I'm not sure they actually know what they are doing there.