My brother had his VW Bug stolen from in front of his apartment on W. Silverlake Blvd (about 10 years ago). It was found weeks later, stripped of everything but the tires, including the steering wheel on a street with six tickets on it over in Boyle Heights. (Starting two days after it was stolen.)

He basically owed more in tickets and for it being impounded (it took them 3 days to tell them they found it) than it was worth. So I took him over there to see if there was anything left in it, there wasn’t, he said goodbye.

My older brother had an Accord that was stolen right outside our house in West Hollywood. A day later he was walking down the street and…there it was. They had taken all of his CDs, but that was it. Joyriders, maybe? We didn’t know.

A few months later, he was working in Beverly Hills and his car (the same previously stolen one) was parked in a public lot with a gate. He had had one too many and elected to cab it home. When he returned to pick up his car the next day…it was gone. It hadn’t been towed, and their security cameras were one, but didn’t record.

The second time’s the charm.

I once tried to get my banged up Jetta stolen after I found a stay god in Echo Park that puked up the contents of its stomach all over my backseat (the garbage it had clearly been eating for weeks.) It was late and the dog was injured, so I was more concerned with getting it to a vet and checked out. When we were done with the e-vet, it had been hours – and the puke, well, it had just sat there. I came home, took all my valuables out, and left the doors unlocked and the windows wide open. No takers.

Vomits is clearly the world’s best anti-theft device.

HOlyfuckingshitfuckpiss Julia! As if you haven’t been through enough already!!!!? All I know is that when you get on the other end of this drainbow you’re gonna be veritably wallowing in all the good that’s due you two!

I know Will. It might be time for that milkshake while watching planes land at LAX!

yeesh. that is the suck.

my old roommate had his ’99 altima stolen from our lovely villagio (valley village) neighborhood. he went through the whole scratching his head, i swear my car was here moment before he trudged back to the apartment in shock and called the police. we took him to zankou to help assuage the loss. when we got back, there were police cars on our street. it took them less than an hour to strip everything, including airbags and mirrors, and dump it back less than a block from where they took it.

and i don’t presume that this makes you feel better, but my friend had her ’92 integra broken into about 4 times in one year when she lived in boston.

Bummer.. never had my car stolen(knock on wood), but every car I’ve owned has been in a hit and run while parked..

My suggestion: Lo-Jack attached to plastique in the seats. If your car is stolen, just blast the mo-fos.

Half the problem are the thieves, the other half are the scumbags who willingly buy the parts and look the other way.

Oh no, Julia!

Hope things work themselves out quickly!

Hey, if it would help, I can get you a great deal on some Honda seats, just look for my van in the parking lot…

I’m sorry, inappropriate humor. That totally sucks.

When thieves stole my car, they left the seats in but burned circles all over them with the cigarette lighter. I never felt the same way about the car after that.

I had a 1993 Honda Civic. I left it in the underground parking of my apartment when I went home for Christmas. When I got back my driver’s side door and airbag were missing. D’oh. This was in North Hollywood around 2000. Now that area is so much nicer : )

Eventually, I gave the car to my brother in Hartford, Conn. That little beauty was still going strong at 180,000 miles. But last year it was stolen from a bar. They found it stripped and totaled on the side of the freeway. Rest in piece 1993 Honda Civic. Rest in peace.

That sucks.

I notice there are only two 1995-or-later models. Perhaps the modern ‘key fobs’ etc preventing thefts. Eventually cars will be so high tech that they will be too hard to steal. (and no easy to grab catalytic converter on a hybrid, either)

My Toyota was once stolen in Boston. Note how it’s usually the most popular cars that are the most stolen, for the parts. The really insulting part was when I would receive annual letters from the Boston Police asking me if I had found my car, and if so, to please let them know so they could update their records!

Julia, I don’t know what to say. I only hope the thief gets his in the end at a local prison or jail?

I’ve only had a car broken into once. It my first new car ever and they hacked the dash out for a crappy sears am/fm cassette deck. At least they left their tools so I turned it in for evidence. What really burned my but is in the space next to me was an RXZ and a Jag, on the other side it was a caddy…but noooooooo my f’ing crappy sears stereo they had to take. Whatever, insurance covered all the repairs and I was happy when it was done.

If it make you feel better. In high school a friend had a gremlin. Rusted to the windows and even one in the roof. Awful car. We took it to a mall in South St Louis Thanksgiving afternoon. We left the windows down and the keys in the ignition with a “for steal” sign. His Dad took the call from St. Louis PD about the abandoned car.

If I had a car to give you I would.
fraz