Repair cost after a Car Theft.... :-(

Hi all

I need a small information...

Some thief broke our car's window and stole the GPS. He had also broke the driver seat's door lock(the lock is jamed). We are really sad about this whole stuff. The car was inside our garage (its an open garage) and he had done this. We have reported this to the police. Dont knw how much we need to spend on these....

As this is a long week end..we are unable to find a service center. All are closed. The whole night i din sleep. I was jus watching our car through our balcony door. As the car is open now, we dont want that culprit to come again & steal the car.
we can do something only on tuesday, as monday is also a holiday(labour day)

Can anyone pl let me know how it will cost to repaire the above items. Yes, we do have insurance....but still we need to pay the deductible...(think some 500$)

Hi Subha,

I am very sorry to hear about this theft. I can totally relate to what happened to you.

Almost a similar incident happened to us about 3 years back in California. We had 2 cars, one in closed parking space and the other in the open parking lot.

The thief had jammed the front driver's seat car door, stolen the CD players and all the CD's !! Next time, they had broken the window shield at the back. These were really nerve wracking instances for us. (this happened to the car parked in the open parking lot)

We complained to the leasing office (since we had guessed who the culprit was) and also to the police.

The cops had enquired all the people in the vicinity and even warned some of the teens and one particular family who were harassing us.

The second time it happened, the cops asked us to install a camera (now why would we do that in a rented area), which I found totally surprising and even suggested us to move to a different apartment (which I found absolutely shocking !!)

That city was supposed to be crime-free and totally peaceful. The cops came, dusted for some finger prints. They openly declared that nothing could be done !

Subha, please don't feel that I am discouraging you here, but wanted to share what happened.

As for repair cost, if there is a deductible, we need to bear the cost of $500. For eg, if the total cost amounts to $700, then the insurance will pay only $200 after we bear the balance. Also, since car window and the door lock needs to be replaced, I guess the total cost may not exceed $500. Again it depends on the service center you go to.

Probably, the insurance people, may suggest you to take the car to a service center (where they have ties with) to get an estimate or someone may come home to do the same. To get a second opinion, we may also take it to any other center to get an estimate. Either way, the insurance will pay only the difference if it exceeds the deductible.

Once again, felt really upset to read about this.

Just treat this as an unsavoury incident and move on. I know it is easier said than done, but we need to get past this.

Always remove the GPS, laptops, CD's from the car. Inspite of this, these thieves may steal. But we need to remove any expensive items and be sure not to leave them in open or in the dash board etc.

Take care !

Cheers
Krithika

Thank you so much for the quick response krithika....i feel relaxed now...

BTW....if it cost exactly 500$, then the insurance compay wont pay anything is it ?

You are welcome Subha !

Yes, if the cost is exactly $500 or less, they may not pay anything !

hi subha,

this one happened to one of my friend also . i donot know how much it costed but the police did not file any complaint as it happens very frequently they said we cannot do anything for that.

my friend said me beware donot keep the GPS in the car as well do not keep even the sucction (where the GPS is put, which holds to the glass of the car). when my friends car was broken there happened another incident the same day in which car only the sucction was holding on the glass. just by looking at the sucction the thief was searching the whole car for the GPS. by breaking the window glass.

Don't ever leave GPS, GPS mount [ even though GPS is removed] important documents and other stuff in the vehicle. Thats a big NONO.

First before doing anything:

(1) Take pictures of the damage, wherever it is. This is very important.
(2) Call police and have a complaint lodged. If you just take away to the service center, without either these 2, there are chances, your request may be rejected.
(3) Before taking it yourself to the service center, call your insurance and find out what are the options available. Sometimes, they might need some agent to come and verify the damage in person and then give you the quote.

About the deductible as krithi said its $500 flat.

Absolutely agree with what Nandhu mentioned about taking pictures. Ooops, sorry Subha, forgot to mention that.

Valid point Nandhu !

It is better to take pictures as soon as possible and keep a record. This applies for even accidents (that is why my dh always feels it is better to keep atleast a disposable camera in the dashboard, since we can't leave digital cameras)

And yes, the insurance people will definitely take pictures when they come home to inspect the car or if we take them to the service center of their choice. This is actually the first step. This hold good for thefts and accidents too !