I got a call today from the police and they said my car has been recovered. I went to the impound lot and it was pretty well stripped. The stereo, sub, headlights (my 6-day-old E36 setup), the FSTB, everything in the trunk (golf clubs, shoes, etc.) and they even took the windshield wipers.

It appears that they crow bared the driver's side door to get in and then punched in the ignition and started it with a screwdriver. The battery was still there and I tried to turn it over but either the batter is dead or they pulled something else; the dome lights did not work.

So, tomorrow I have to pick it up and see if I can jump-start it. What should I do with it then? The engine is good, oil changed every 2500 miles and the clutch and tranny can still chirp 'em shifting into second.

How do I get rid of a car? Do junkyards buy them from people? Can I try to part out the smaller pieces (the grill, all the glass is still there, the window regulators) and sell the tranny and engine to whoever is willing to come and pull it?

Anyway, some advice would be appreciated. I feel a lot angrier about the whole thing now that I have seen the car raped.

Suggestions? Advice?

Thanks guys,

 

Yeah, if your insurance doesnt cover theft, then i would take it home and part it out. Thats the only way that you will make any where close to a fair amount of money, unless you just find pieces to make it run and then you keep driving it.

 

Ummm yeppers!! unless it just means THAT much to you part that sum bioutch out!

 

SOME PEOPLE HAVE NO SOUL!!!!!! That sux, dude. If you are going to part it out, though, let me know. There is an assortment of things I need. Then you can use that money to help hunt those bastards down!

 

im sure you can fix it up..I would tow it home and get parts from junk, or maybe even people here will donate, or sell cheap parts you need to get it running again

 

really sorry to hear this man. i think you should try and keep it, if you can get it up and running again.. as long as the car looks okay, and runs fine, there shouldn't be any reason to get rid of it. the way you explained the damage is not that bad, it will take some time and not too much money and you can get it lookin the way it always did. take some pics if you can, we'll take a look.

just dont let somebody make you give up such a great car because they decided they could steal it and trash it. s*it happens, dont let it knock you down

good luck

edit: good condition VE 5spds are pretty damn rare in some parts. keep that in mind as well

 

that really sucks man, especiallly since you just finished your headlights. unfortunately that's probably what tempted the theives. DO you have theft coverage? i was wondering how the story would end, sorry to hear the bad news. a lot of yards will buy cars. but you could also just buy a broken down 3rd gen and replace everything that was stripped. any pics?

 

I love my max. A lot. That being said, I would part the car. You will end up spending a bunch of time fixing and replacing things that will nickel and dime you to death. No telling how hard they beat the thing in that short period. Besides, everytime you interact with that car you are going to be reminded of the fact that you were violated. Grab the insurance settlement, part the car, and buy another max.

 

I only had lilability on the car so nuts and bolts, I got screwed. Plus all of the stuff inside (sterio, sub, CD's, golf clubs) all did not add up an amount that is over the deductable on my home owner's policy so I can't get any money back that way.

I found a guy that is selling his 94 with a bad transmission and am trying to get a hold of him. If it is a SE with maual I may try to make it whole again. I will take some pics today when I go pic it up and post em this afternoon.

l8r,

d

 

Even if it is an Automatic car, if you get it cheap enough, you should pick it up and put in your tranny and possibly your engine if it doesn't have any problems.

Virtually all of the JDM engines are AT and most guys that get them have manual trannies. I am pretty sure Spipedong90, Jeff and myself all had AT JDM engines. If you look in the stickies about the JDM swap, it will tell you all you need to do.

If you have the space, you can buy your car back from insurance and part it out. I parted out just my old engine and eventually got back about $400.

 

wish I could personally say that was true...I got a 5spd JDM motor and an auto tranny =( still wishing i did the swap back then, but sooner or later

 

just make sure if u ever drive it, check brake lines and stuff, i know it may sound stupid, but if u ever started to drive it again, and your brakes fail, oyur in a world of **** man, hey good luck with that and sorry to hear bout that.

 

i have a full set of keys and locks for i can sell, it includes the valet key, and the truck lock

 

same thing happened to me about 2 years ago. I regret not putting my max back together. They took my stereo and cd's. They even put the bezel back around radio. I felt frustrated and violated so i sold the car after taking tranny out and putting in a 90 se I bought with bad tranny. Like Dejavu I but a 92 gxe gold just like the one they violated for $200. But let me tell you I regret not fixing the car up. Oh yeah sorry to hear about your luck also

 

Yea, that truly sucks man. I'm realll sorry to hear about that. I can kinda relate...My max got robbed last week - they didnt steal the entire thing (thank God) but they destroyed my radio, the bezel or trim that goes around it. Took my amp, destroyed my trunk...like someone said (i 4got who) some people just have no f'n soul.
I'm droppin a few hundred to get a 'decent' radio back in (cant live without music) and it really sux cause its a few hundred i could have been putting to use elsewhere....I just dont have the heart to get rid of the ol girl (not that she was badly damaged, but just the fact of it happening and the chance that it can happen again Its almost not worth fixing)But...i absolutely LoVe my car....
Anyway, just wanted to send my condolences I feel your pain everytime I look at the big gaping hole in my dash!

 

Soothing pics: http://www.baitcar.com/

 

Wait a sec. I thought that if you try to open the door without disarming the factory alarm, the system activates by sounding the horn and disabling the ignition untill the proper key is inserted into the door lock. Am I right? so how did they do it?

 

the factory alarm only goes off if it senses the door opening without being unlocked

 

my gxe sounds the alarm if the door lock is opened not using the code or the key... i know cuz i was sitting in the car trying to find something, my girl friend got off the car, closed the door and locked it... i unlocked and opened the door and it started honking by itself..

 

Right........which is excatly what happened. They forced his door open without unlocking it. So how did they drive away? This doesn't make sense.

 

maybe the disabled the alarm, or waited the time for it to reset