JustEm Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 So I was heading out to pet sit this morning and started driving off then I quickly noticed my other car was sitting on 2 cinder blocks and the wheels were missing :cursing: :crying: As if we didn't already have enough financial issue now I gotta figure out how we're gonna pay to have the car towed and 4 new tires put on!!! 2 weeks before Christmas no less!!! Involving insurance would be no help since our deductible is a little less than the total cost I'm guessing. I think I'll be spending the morning crying! Vent over! *update: So as of today we still have not gotten word from the insurance company with even a ball park estimate of what they'll be giving us (they essentially dodge that question when I ask.) Because of this we haven't been able to order the new rims since I need to have some idea of what they will be covering so I don't overspend. This afternoon we noticed a cop car behind the car. I went out and talked to them, gave them my case number for the police report, explained to them that we're waiting on insurance so we can get the tires taken care of, and that it should be handle this weekend or Monday. They said the have to mark it as an abandoned vehicle and if it is not moved off the street it will be towed in 3 days!! So I call insurance company to tell them that if that happens I expect them to pay the tow fee and any storage fees that accrue because they are not moving to get this taken care of. They insisted that they'll have the complete amount to me first thing Saturday morning. I head to the tire place and ordered the cheapest rims I could get. He assured me that he'd pick them up this afternoon and would get it done tomorrow. 20 minutes later he calls to tell me I 95 is closed because of an accident and he can't even get to the warehouse where the rims are until Monday because its closed on the weekend. Joy!! So now I have to call the police department in hopes that they will give me an extra day to handle this. I could just have it towed but then I would have to battle with insurance to add that to the amount they give us and it will prolong how long it takes to get money from them. All that being said... in the end we'll actually coming out ahead because the value of the rims we had is more than what we are replacing them with. So I'm sitting here drinking a beer to calm me after this stress and imagining what I'll do with that nice chunk of change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeatherL Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 That's awful! Can you talk to neighbors and see if anyone saw/heard anything? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSOchristie Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Oh, my, that is terrible :crying: . I, too, would call the police, maybe it has happened somewhere else in your neighborhood and someone else has more clues to who may have done it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 if your car is sitting on cinder blocks, you need new wheels too!! you can look at junk yards for used ones. I am so sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRG Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Oh no!! That is awful!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 That is awful. I'm so sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 My mom's car insurance covered criminal damage without the deductible. I don't know if that's common? She needed a police report. That totally sucks! :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Unreal! Definitely look into used wheels and tires. I got a whole new set of barely used tires for about $130, when usually the tires for my car run close to $200 a piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Call a junk yard for the wheels for sure. I am so sorry. That really stinks. The timing really sucks. This happened once to my family/parents when we were living on the edge of homelessness. I never forgot that awful feeling and the looks on my parents' faces when we all saw it, even now nearly 30 years later. It just kicks you when you are already down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 My mom's car insurance covered criminal damage without the deductible. I don't know if that's common? She needed a police report. That totally sucks! :( Yes, definitely check your policy. Checking doesn't mean you have to use it. But it might be covered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heatherwith4 Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 I'm sorry. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 I am so sorry. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustEm Posted December 13, 2013 Author Share Posted December 13, 2013 My dh's aunt is our contact for our insurance so I'll talk to her about it to see if it's worth it. Dh will be filing a report Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 I'm so sorry. What a crummy thing to wake up to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandylubug Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Wow. Insane! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 :( that stinks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celticmom Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigs Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Hopefully, your insurance co. will cover it and wave the deductible since it was theft. Consider purchasing wheel locks for your next set of wheels so you don't have to worry about this happening again. Hugs! K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandelion Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 I'm so sorry. How awful! Definitely check with your insurance company - if you have comprehensive coverage, this should be covered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustEm Posted December 13, 2013 Author Share Posted December 13, 2013 Hopefully, your insurance co. will cover it and wave the deductible since it was theft. Consider purchasing wheel locks for your next set of wheels so you don't have to worry about this happening again. Hugs! K Wheel locks are a must! The funniest part about the whole thing is that our HOA left a note on our door yesterday saying that we should considering parking that car in the driveway so when it snow the plow doesn't bury the car. I was going to move the car this morning after I got home from pet sitting. hehe can't now! Thanks everyone for listening to me mope and giving me advice. Still waiting to hear from insurance company and police department so we can file a report. Luckily we have been experimenting with only using one car for the last week because we've been considering going back to being a one car family, so we haven't had to juggle schedules to figure out who gets to use the car today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momacacia Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 I'm so sorry. :( I hope you have a beautiful Christmas anyway. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto10blessings Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 I'm SO sorry. People can be cruel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggie96 Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 This happened to us three years ago at Christmas, also. It really sucked. Our Tahoe had wheel locks. They left truck sitting on landscaping bricks. It took 2 weeks to get new wheels/tires because the Chevy dealership was hit the same night. Yep...all Chevy Tahoe and Suburban wheels were gone for many, many miles. No stores had any in stock because of the string of robberies in the area. Got a lecture from police for not parking in our garage instead of our back-entrance driveway. We were told that we should expect this sort of thing because we were affluent (???). Nice... :( Thieves knocked out all the exterior lights up and down the alley-way that night. It sucked.. Timing was awful. We paid in full because of our deductible...at the end of the year...when it went back to zero 2 weeks later. Grrrr... Next vehicle we bought was NOT a Chevy Tahoe/Suburban, and this experience factored into that decision heavily. All that to say, I'm sorry and empathize. Have a Merry Christmas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustEm Posted December 13, 2013 Author Share Posted December 13, 2013 This happened to us three years ago at Christmas, also. It really sucked. Our Tahoe had wheel locks. They left truck sitting on landscaping bricks. It took 2 weeks to get new wheels/tires because the Chevy dealership was hit the same night. Yep...all Chevy Tahoe and Suburban wheels were gone for many, many miles. No stores had any in stock because of the string of robberies in the area. Got a lecture from police for not parking in our garage instead of our back-entrance driveway. We were told that we should expect this sort of thing because we were affluent (???). Nice... :( Thieves knocked out all the exterior lights up and down the alley-way that night. It sucked.. Timing was awful. We paid in full because of our deductible...at the end of the year...when it went back to zero 2 weeks later. Grrrr... Next vehicle we bought was NOT a Chevy Tahoe/Suburban, and this experience factored into that decision heavily. All that to say, I'm sorry and empathize. Have a Merry Christmas! Oh man! those were some busy thieves! Can't believe the cops gave you a hard time. Thats just silly. As if any victim of any crime needs to hear "you should have done...." I can imagine not going with the same car the next time you purchased! Apparently our deductible is only $250 (I thought I raised it relatively recently but I guess not) so we filed a claim because it'll likely cost closer to $500, after taking into account 3 out of the 4 are pretty new, the cost to tow it, and the labor involved in installing the tires. Dh's aunt said theft and vandalism like that won't effect our insurance rates if we file. Its only if we caused an accident or filed a theft that was because of our negligence (not locking doors) that they would consider increasing the rates. Still waiting for the police to come start a report Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Ugh, I just don't understand it. How much could they possibly get for used tires? I'm sure it's much less than you will wind up paying. That stinks. I'm sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 This happened to us three years ago at Christmas, also. It really sucked. Our Tahoe had wheel locks. They left truck sitting on landscaping bricks. It took 2 weeks to get new wheels/tires because the Chevy dealership was hit the same night. Yep...all Chevy Tahoe and Suburban wheels were gone for many, many miles. No stores had any in stock because of the string of robberies in the area. Got a lecture from police for not parking in our garage instead of our back-entrance driveway. We were told that we should expect this sort of thing because we were affluent (???). Nice... :( Thieves knocked out all the exterior lights up and down the alley-way that night. It sucked.. Timing was awful. We paid in full because of our deductible...at the end of the year...when it went back to zero 2 weeks later. Grrrr... Next vehicle we bought was NOT a Chevy Tahoe/Suburban, and this experience factored into that decision heavily. All that to say, I'm sorry and empathize. Have a Merry Christmas! I wonder if they could be tracked through the local Home Depot stores-- for buying lots of landscaping bricks (assuming they didn't steal those too) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Ugh, I just don't understand it. How much could they possibly get for used tires? I'm sure it's much less than you will wind up paying. That stinks. I'm sorry. It's not the tires, its the wheels--- those are the costly/valuable part. and really if you have NO investment, then what ever you make is profit.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 That is terrible! :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brilliant Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 I'm so sorry that happened to you. I can't imagine the shock I'd feel if I walked out to that in the morning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 I wonder if they could be tracked through the local Home Depot stores-- for buying lots of landscaping bricks (assuming they didn't steal those too) I am pretty sure they stole those, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikin' Mama Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 I'm so sorry. That stinks! What is wrong with people!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 That sucks, I'm sorry. :( We had our entire car stolen last year, the day after christmas, so I totally understand what a horrible, helpless feeling it is. If you have a paypal account, I'd like to send something to help. I can't send much, and not until payday, but every little bit really does help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 How awful!! FWIW, we buy second sets of rims + tires for our cars so when we swap snow tires for regular tires, it is a cheap and quick swap. (It is a lot cheaper to swap the wheels out than to have the tires remounted each season.) We've found that tirerack (on line) has very good prices on cheap rims and great prices on tires, too. You can order the rims + tires together, then they ship them mounted already, so it just costs maybe $10-15 per wheel to have a tire shop stick them on the car. Their shipping is very fast, and it is easy to select the right wheels/tires on their site just by plugging in your vehicle make/model. HTH (((hugs))) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMV Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 This is horrible. I'm very sorry this happened to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Oh my! That would be a shock. glad you noticed before you tried to use that car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustEm Posted December 16, 2013 Author Share Posted December 16, 2013 Oh man so I've been on the phone with the insurance company today. They want me to get the wheels put on and then they'll reimburse minus the deductible. I said ok, not knowing exactly how much it will cost. Went to mechanic to get an invoice from last time we had tires put on so I could fax that to insurance company and ask for an estimate. Without labor and tow its about $400 per tire!!! Umm there is no way we can pay that and then wait for reimbursement. Now we could go the used rims route but if insurance will buy new ones then I don't want to do that. Time to put on my big girl pants and insist they write us a check after I submit the estimate to them. Also, our mechanic said this was the 4th Honda Fit he's dealt stolen wheels this month. Looks like we'll be cleaning out the garage and parking it in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenamiles Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 When we've had work on the car done before under insurance, the insurance company was able to pay the mechanic directly on a pre-approved PO. Could you get your insurance company and mechanic to do that? The mechanic faxed over the estimate, the insurance company verified and approved the work to be done, then the mechanic submitted the final bill to them minus the deductible we had to pay to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indigomama Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 We were recently in a fender bender, other driver's fault. The autobody shop dealt directly with the insurance about everything. Your mechanic should be able to get paid directly through the insurance company, minus your deductible. I can't believe they'd expect you to pay first and be reimbursed, that just seems ridiculous. I'd definitely call your insurance company back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustEm Posted December 16, 2013 Author Share Posted December 16, 2013 When we've had work on the car done before under insurance, the insurance company was able to pay the mechanic directly on a pre-approved PO. Could you get your insurance company and mechanic to do that? The mechanic faxed over the estimate, the insurance company verified and approved the work to be done, then the mechanic submitted the final bill to them minus the deductible we had to pay to him. We were recently in a fender bender, other driver's fault. The autobody shop dealt directly with the insurance about everything. Your mechanic should be able to get paid directly through the insurance company, minus your deductible. I can't believe they'd expect you to pay first and be reimbursed, that just seems ridiculous. I'd definitely call your insurance company back. Yeah, I thought it was a little ridiculous too when they said they'd reimburse but I had just woken up (the call woke me) so I was not thinking clearly about how much it would cost so I said ok. Right now I'm waiting for mechanic to call with the actual estimate so I can pick it up and then I'll call the insurance company. Dealing with all this is so odd. Hoping it gets figured out today so we can get the work done soon and get the car off the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuirkyKapers Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 I'm so sorry! :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Mechanics are also more expensive than tire places-- since this isn't really a mechanical issue-- I don't think you need a mechanic-- just a good tire/wheel company. - I would call Discount Tire (if you have one) and see what they say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisbeth Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 That is awful! I have honestly never heard of that before. Yep, make insurance do the right thing. I can't stand it when we pay insurance for a service we may never need, and then when we do need them, they pull crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustEm Posted December 16, 2013 Author Share Posted December 16, 2013 Mechanics are also more expensive than tire places-- since this isn't really a mechanical issue-- I don't think you need a mechanic-- just a good tire/wheel company. - I would call Discount Tire (if you have one) and see what they say. It actually is a tire place but also where we get our mechanical work done. From the research I've done this is what it costs for factory rims and since refurbished factory rims for my vehicle are not easy to come across he had to quote new rims. Now of course we can get cheaper rims and will do so if need be but our insurance company wanted an estimate for replacing the exact rims that were on the car. All the paper work is in! Now I twiddle my thumbs as I wait to see what the insurance company wants to do. I hope they just write us a check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowing Brook Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Are you sure your mechanic is not taking you for a ride? I just bought four new tires very high end tires and paid $725 for all four including tax, tire disposal and the fee to put them on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Are you sure your mechanic is not taking you for a ride? I just bought four new tires very high end tires and paid $725 for all four including tax, tire disposal and the fee to put them on. She needs rims too. That is the reason the bill is so high. Tires are less than the rims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowing Brook Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 She needs rims too. That is the reason the bill is so high. Tires are less than the rims. Thanks I missed that some how. I was wondering how tires could possibly cost that much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustEm Posted December 17, 2013 Author Share Posted December 17, 2013 Thanks I missed that some how. I was wondering how tires could possibly cost that much! hehe I was not expecting it to be so much either. The tires themselves are only $400 total. The rest of the $2900 is the rims and they got that price from the Honda dealership. Who knew rims were so expensive!?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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