Just before 6am, there was a knock at the door, and Princess, my room mate, got there first, then came to get me. "The police are here," he said. I sighed, "What do they think I did now?" "No, someone tried to steal your car." Seeing as I own a 2019 Kia Soul, it was a possibility this would happen eventually. Apparently, the police caught some car thieves, so they were going around looking for damaged Kias. When I park overnight, I remove the starter relay, so the car isn't going anywhere unless the thieves thought to check the fuse compartment and brought their own relay, or they bring a tow truck. So, they failed. I mean, my car is fucked up, but at least I don't have to go looking for it, and it probably pissed the thief off when they tried to start it and the car didn't cooperate. Ah well, from what I understand, Hyundai is providing reimbursements for insurance deductibles, rentals, Uber, and such for thefts and attempted thefts, and for once, I actually have enough money in my account to cover it until I get reimbursed. Had this happened a few months ago, I'd have been fucked. I wouldn't have been able to cover the deductable, and as an Uber driver, I kind of need a car. However, I got a life insurance check and am taking time off work, so it's downgraded to an annoyance. A huge annoyance, but an annoyance nonetheless.
They will need to footage, but might not need your testimony unless you witnessed something or want to say something at sentencing. Submit any money you spend to the prosecutor because they often do come up with the minor restitution. Probation will hound them to pay. You should not have to pay out of pocket and that should all be handled by the prosecutor and state. Give your insurance company the case number and they will go after anything they end up covering. From what I have seen and been through all you should have to do for that is talk to the prosecutor and submit any bills. I do not think they will put you through any contact and it will probably end up as a plea. With all the shit I have been through with court cases I only ever had to testify at one because it was an armed robbery and I saw the defendants and the stupid gas station manager did not have the cameras on. He was nice enough to pay me and a bonus to go to court for his money and charges.
Because the thieves chose to destroy the ignition switch instead of remove it, I am currently not able to start the car. Collision shops near me say they can't take a non-running car right now, but could take one that runs. If I remove the ignition switch, I can start the car, and a collision shop could take it. I had a feeling what the insurance agent would say about this, but I asked anyway. He said what I thought he'd say: Don't. What would be great is if I went outside to check on the car, and discovered that the ignition switch was so loose that it just fell off on its own, somehow.
I don't see how. If the car doesn't start, a tow truck is necessary. If it does start, it's optional. They can't take the car in the situation where it definitely has to be towed over and the tow truck has guaranteed business, but can take it in the situation where it's possible for me to just drive it over myself. That sounds like the opposite of cahoots.
Mechanics have to move cars around. Cars that start are much easier to move around than cars that don't. As such, it is possible for shops to be full as far as non-running cars go, but still able to take cars that can be driven.
I don't know if this will make you feel better or not. 14-Year-Old In Texas Linked To Nearly 40 Kia Boys TikTok Car Thefts
Having worked for a couple and had a non running car towed in the mechanic can just put it in neutral and push it around the parking lot. Been there, done that. Sounds like a lazy shit mechanic to me. Perhaps they have plenty of business and they do not need anymore. It just really sucks everything gets upended because some ass tries to steal your car and the mechanics just won't fix the problem. I remember when I had my delivery business a long time ago. I had a great mechanic who really honest and always got shit done. I paid a tow drive for a 50 mile tow just to get my car to his place once. It wasn't running and the guy had a packed lot. It was tetris time with the cars, but he goit it in and they pushed the thing around when they needed to. OMG I loved that guy. I had my family and friends going to him. If I was ever looking for a used car I would have bought from his lot. A go0d mechanic is a priceless asset in this world.
So, the damnedest thing just happened. I went out to inspect the steering column to get an idea of specifically what is damaged and what is not, and definitely not tampering with the damaged ignition switch, when my hand slipped. I happened to be holding a flathead screwdriver at the time, because I like holding screwdrivers for no reason, and fuck you guys because you have weird hobbies too! Anyway, the screwdriver landed perfectly in the damaged keyhole and twisted, and the car turned on. So, through a totally unintended occurrence and definitely not any deliberate tampering, my car starts and I can take it in now.
Good luck with all of that, and I hope they are snappy with the repairs. It sucks to be out of a car if you do not have a replacement and need it it to work.
I do not have a back up car, and I'm an Uber driver, so, yeah, can't work until it's fixed. However, I decided to take July off to get in some sitting around time and get some things done around the house, so it's not as bad as it would be normally. Although, at some point, I need to transport several sheets of drywall and will probably have to rent a Home Depot truck to do so. If it gets into August and the car isn't done yet, I might rent a Tesla through Uber. It probably wouldn't be worth it normally, but might be under current circumstances.
They are not painting it so it should be a quick repair. It is just a couple of modules and the steering column cover from what I saw in the pictures. One would hope they could get it fixed quickly. At least you do not have to pay for the tow now.
Quick repair, yes. Ordering and receiving the necessary parts, not so quick. As of a few months ago, the rear windows took six weeks to ship as they were on back order. Not sure if that's still the case or not.
Seeing as it's getting reimbursed eventually, I was thinking more along the lines of sending them an invoice for $45/hr I've had to spend dealing with this (including time spent bitching about it on line), plus $100 for every time the police knocked on my door, because I do not like it when police knock on my door.
