My sister-in-law had her Jeep Cherokee stolen this morning.

[KK]

Originally posted by: HarvInSTL
What I seem to have a problem with this is the people that leave their car running, have it get stolen and then can't believe that it happened to them. And then proceed to place blame on anything and everything, when all they had to do was take a few simple steps to prevent it.

People that have there car stolen period can't believe it happened to them. Whether they had the car running or locked up. Sure, it's easier for someone to take it with it already running and warmed up than it is to hot wire it, but given where you are located dictates if the benefits outweigh the consequences. Probably the ratio of having you vehicle stolen this way, to all the people that do it in the country is so small it's not really being concerned about.

 

[OrganizedChaos]

Originally posted by: Sphexi
My car allows you to take the keys back out of the ignition once it's running. I'm not sure why, it's not actually supposed to do that, but since it does I just start it then lock it and leave it there. If someone wants to steal my $1000 beater then so be it, I'll just buy another one.

by any chance is it late 80s/early 90s ford or cadillac? i've got a few friends with those and after 150,000 miles they were all like that.

 

[CFster]

I scrape the windshield, start it up, wait 30 sec and drive away.

Leaving it running for 20 minutes just wastes fuel, increases pollution and is hard on the engine. Not to mention you need to do oil changes more often, because more fuel ends up in the oil pan.

And if it's in the summer, that thing is rolling before I have the door closed...

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: miri

Originally posted by: brigden
Don't listen to these jaded morons. In Canada, people leave their cars idling without fear because we don't need to fear rampant car theft.

This wasnt in Canada. You cant do stuff like this in America

I don't have a problem doing it now, and I never had a problem in the previous city I lived in. Thankfully, all of America isn't like where some of you live.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: Bryophyte

Originally posted by: talyn00
Isn't it a bad idea to leave your kids in car with the engine running? One of them could take it for a joy ride

The biggest problem is that kids get stolen with cars. It happens a lot. Usually the kids are dumped off someplace away from home and not killed but still....

edit: whoops, fixed formatting

<waits for links to stories>

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: Linflas

Originally posted by: GeekDrew

Originally posted by: nakedfrog

Originally posted by: IrocZman223
I haven't read the entire thread, but do all of you live on the west coast? I live in Indiana and you HAVE to let your car warm up this time of year. Often it is entirely too cold to sit in your vehicle for 10-15 minutes while the ice and everything else melts off your car while it warms up enough to drive.

I live south of Omaha, and everyone I know around here scrapes the ice off with an ice scraper after they start the car. Seems silly to just sit there until the defroster melts everything.

I live in Central Ohio... I usually start the car and scrape the ice off of it, and then go back inside the house or whatever for another 5-10 minutes, while the car warms up. My car runs like *crap* if it is cold.

I warm mine up in my driveway without babysitting it as well. I also don't lock my doors until I go to bed and generally live a paranoia free life. If I lived in a high crime area I would modify my behavior but I don't so it is not something I am all that worried about.

If I lived in a high crime area, I would move.

 

[Dulanic]

I love how everyone just assumes she was a moron for doing that, but honestly do you know her neighborhood? How can you say it was stupid to do, it varies on where you live. Yes in a big city that would be stupid, but a expensive area with say 2 acre lots where your cars are 200 ft off the road? There are plenty of areas where there is no issues with letting a car run for a few minutes unobserved.

 

[HarvInSTL]

Originally posted by: KK

Originally posted by: HarvInSTL
What I seem to have a problem with this is the people that leave their car running, have it get stolen and then can't believe that it happened to them. And then proceed to place blame on anything and everything, when all they had to do was take a few simple steps to prevent it.

People that have there car stolen period can't believe it happened to them. Whether they had the car running or locked up. Sure, it's easier for someone to take it with it already running and warmed up than it is to hot wire it, but given where you are located dictates if the benefits outweigh the consequences. Probably the ratio of having you vehicle stolen this way, to all the people that do it in the country is so small it's not really being concerned about.

This is a perfect example that no matter where you live the benefits don't always out weigh the consequences. She said she lived in a great area and that no one could believe that this happened. Yet it did happen and I can understand how she was in disbelief that it happened.

All I am saying is that the more precautions you take the less of a chance of being bent over in this world.

I bet that she will have a remote start, or some other sort of protection in her next vehicle.

According to this the town she lives in has a higher auto theft rate than the national average. Not sure about her neighborhood though.

 

[Hammer]

Originally posted by: Ronstang
And something tells me this idiot will then lie to the insurance company as to how the car was stolen.

she would have to i imagine, insurance won't cover it if you leave the keys in the ignition. it's in most policies.

 

[The Linuxator]

Originally posted by: brigden
Don't listen to these jaded morons. In Canada, people leave their cars idling without fear because we don't need to fear rampant car theft.

Well you are talking about Canada, you know that the majority of people in Canada never lock their doors to their houses !!

 

[meltdown75]

first of all, sorry about the incident OP. that sucks balls.

Originally posted by: AdamSnow

Originally posted by: brigden
Don't listen to these jaded morons. In Canada, people leave their cars idling without fear because we don't need to fear rampant car theft.

I agree...

Every morning I go out, start my car and go back into my house... I let it idle for about 5 minutes before I actually go and get in it...

It just doesn't happen around here... I've done it for years...

:thumbsup: :beer:

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: brigden
Don't listen to these jaded morons. In Canada, people leave their cars idling without fear because we don't need to fear rampant car theft.

yea no sh*t. go to north Dakota. people leave thier car running in mall and in grocery store parking lots while they do their shopping.

I start my car every morning and let it warm up and will continue to do so.

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: Linflas

Originally posted by: GeekDrew

Originally posted by: nakedfrog

Originally posted by: IrocZman223
I haven't read the entire thread, but do all of you live on the west coast? I live in Indiana and you HAVE to let your car warm up this time of year. Often it is entirely too cold to sit in your vehicle for 10-15 minutes while the ice and everything else melts off your car while it warms up enough to drive.

I live south of Omaha, and everyone I know around here scrapes the ice off with an ice scraper after they start the car. Seems silly to just sit there until the defroster melts everything.

I live in Central Ohio... I usually start the car and scrape the ice off of it, and then go back inside the house or whatever for another 5-10 minutes, while the car warms up. My car runs like *crap* if it is cold.

I warm mine up in my driveway without babysitting it as well. I also don't lock my doors until I go to bed and generally live a paranoia free life. If I lived in a high crime area I would modify my behavior but I don't so it is not something I am all that worried about.

If I lived in a high crime area, I would move.

The only time that ever happened to us we did as soon as we could break the lease without losing our deposit. We got lucky and the guy that owned the house decided he wanted to sell it which gave us the opportunity to leave as soon as we could find another place.

 

[Project86]

I like the way the OP incinuates that the police are lazy morons, but the owner of the car is just fine. The link you posted was referring to a police vehicle with GUNS and other equipment in it, which makes it a bit more important to recover. And when the OP mentioned the Russian car theft ring as if it was some wacky off-the-wall story that the cops made up... Russian car theft rings are very active all over the country. I know this because my car was stolen (locked and alarm armed) a few years back. And when the local auto theft task force moved in on a Russian theft ring they had been investigating, guess who's car was found (along with lots of other cars and parts)?

 

[HomeAppraiser]

Originally posted by: HarvInSTL
What I seem to have a problem with this is the people that leave their car running, have it get stolen and then can't believe that it happened to them. And then proceed to place blame on anything and everything, when all they had to do was take a few simple steps to prevent it

?I bet that she will have a remote start, or some other sort of protection in her next vehicle.

According to this the town she lives in has a higher auto theft rate than the national average. Not sure about her neighborhood though.

Originally posted by: Hammer

Originally posted by: Ronstang
And something tells me this idiot will then lie to the insurance company as to how the car was stolen.

she would have to i imagine, insurance won't cover it if you leave the keys in the ignition. it's in most policies.

Originally posted by: Project86
I like the way the OP incinuates that the police are lazy morons, but the owner of the car is just fine. The link you posted was referring to a police vehicle with GUNS and other equipment in it, which makes it a bit more important to recover. And when the OP mentioned the Russian car theft ring as if it was some wacky off-the-wall story that the cops made up...

OK so I talked to her today and got some clarifications. She lives in a little town in between Bellingham and the Canadian border. The police showed up promptly, but were running around like the Keystone Cops saying ?This just doesn?t happen HERE!? All of her neighbors warm their cars up in the driveway also; I think hers was taken because it was an SUV and facing out towards the street. She is only blaming herself, and did NOT lie to the police or insurance.

The police attitude was that if it wasn?t kids joyriding then it was professional, probably Russian from another town, and gone for good. They asked if she had any enemies. She said that her ex(papers signed but not filled)husbands new girlfriend hates her. The cop taking her statement said ?Aw who could hate you.? and flirted with her during the rest of the interview.

Insurance is paying for her car rental but she is out of luck on the loss of her personal property in the stolen vehicle. After a 14 day waiting period to see it the car turns up insurance will negotiate a settlement with her for the depreciated value of the vehicle. That should be fun and hopefully enough to pay off the current loan. Yes, she will be getting a remote starter for the new car. Personally I always thought those things were just for teenagers who wanted to impress girls walking by ?Hey look baby, I can start my car by tapping my pants.? And here in Oregon the transplanted nurse from Arizona who lives across from us STILL warms up her Mustang convertible on the street for 10-15 minutes every morning!!

 

[Eeezee]

I really don't care what you have to say about her, she left it to idle in the driveway and is now suffering the consequences of that decision. End of story

 

[HomeAppraiser]

Gee, thanks for your sympathy.

 

[ShadowBlade]

Sorry, man. really sucks.

And to all the people from places like ARIZONA who have never had to ride for ~5 mins in a car when it is below 0F outside, STFU

 

[JoPh]

my car always running in the morning in the driveway while i make lunch for work. uh oh.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: geno

Originally posted by: EatSpam

Originally posted by: geno
how long do you need to let an engine warm up for? cripes 2 minutes max is all you need

This is on really cold days, like you'd get outside of SoCal. If the car has half an inch of ice on the windshield, you'll freeze to death before scrapping it off. Best to let the car run for a while to soften it up.

that's not really that good for the motor...

It's not bad for it either. As long as you keep fresh oil in there it's not a problem.

When I lived in Ohio I would idle my old Honda to warm it up every day in the winter. Must've been terrible for the engine since it had 217,000 miles on it when I sold it and still ran perfectly.

ZV

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Kelvrick

Originally posted by: Ronstang
I am going to touch on this point again. What is she going to tell the insurance company? Is she even going to call them? She shouldn't as she simply gave her car away and should be responsible for paying for the replacement. I still say she will lie to the insurance company.

How is it not stolen. Just because it was stupid of her doesn't mean it wasn't stolen.

Like christmas decorations. Teenage kids love going around stealing them for no good reason. Oh no, that means it wasn't theft, those idiots should have had those things bolted down and chained to support beams.

Most insurance companies do not cover vehicles stolen while un-locked with the keys in the ignition.

Basically, the insurance won't cover it if the owner did not take reasonable measures to prevent theft.

Claiming this sort of incident on insurance is like backing a new car into a pole and then claiming that the bumper should be replaced under warranty.

ZV

 

[mercanucaribe]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: geno

Originally posted by: EatSpam

Originally posted by: geno
how long do you need to let an engine warm up for? cripes 2 minutes max is all you need

This is on really cold days, like you'd get outside of SoCal. If the car has half an inch of ice on the windshield, you'll freeze to death before scrapping it off. Best to let the car run for a while to soften it up.

that's not really that good for the motor...

It's not bad for it either. As long as you keep fresh oil in there it's not a problem.

When I lived in Ohio I would idle my old Honda to warm it up every day in the winter. Must've been terrible for the engine since it had 217,000 miles on it when I sold it and still ran perfectly.

ZV

How in the hell is it not good for the motor? You're lubricating everything BEFORE driving off with load on the engine. Warming up an engine is a good thing. If it were bad, then starting up an engine and flooring it while cold would do wonders for engine life, and would be recommended in the manual.

 

[topslop1]

I would've stolen it too. What a moron. Unlike the person that stole it I would have also driven it off of a cliff with a brick on the accelerator. Hate those damn Jeeps almost more than I hate yuppies who leave their cars on and idle and unlocked while "warming them up to begin with.

 

[KrillBee]

Originally posted by: Sphexi
My car allows you to take the keys back out of the ignition once it's running. I'm not sure why, it's not actually supposed to do that, but since it does I just start it then lock it and leave it there. If someone wants to steal my $1000 beater then so be it, I'll just buy another one.

i carry 2 sets of keys on me in the winter. 1 for starting my car, 1 for locking it after i start it and let it warm up.


i drive a 96 maxima with the stock security system.

question: do you guys think thats still stupid? to leave it locked and idled? If someone smashed a window and started driving away what would happen? Would the alarm sound?

 

[KrillBee]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
sorry, freely idling anywhere open is dumb

I am utterly amazed at how many folks do this at gas stations.

Originally posted by: EatSpam

Originally posted by: geno
how long do you need to let an engine warm up for? cripes 2 minutes max is all you need

This is on really cold days, like you'd get outside of SoCal. If the car has half an inch of ice on the windshield, you'll freeze to death before scrapping it off. Best to let the car run for a while to soften it up.

lmao!! u think SoCal is bad?? Try scraping off ice on a car in Minnesota when its 20 below!