Car Broken into. What to do?

There has been in a major problem with car burglaries in our complex lately. This is the second time my car has been hit. The first time I had left a door unlocked. They really didn't take anything, maybe a few CDs but most of them were just mixed CDs that I'd made and weren't really worth anything. I was annoyed and felt a little violated but that was about it.

A little while ago I hopped into my car to go to the store and noticed that my passenger seat was pulled forward, I had been looking behind the seats for something last night so I didn't really worry about it. Then as I was leaving the store and went to open my passenger door I noticed this!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6.../June06118.jpg

What should I do. I heard that if you call the insurance agency then your premiums go up? Is this true? I don't want to make them go up for something like this because I know I can fix it for almost the same price or less as the decutable.

Should I file a police report? I've never delt with a situation like this before so I'm not really sure how to handle it. Is there really anything they can do or am I just wasting their time? I know that several people have called before about their cars, but nothing has yet to happen.

Oh you want to know what they stole out of the car? A carton of cigarettes! That's right, that's the only thing in my entire truck that they took. All of this hassle for some cigarettes! I guess it's a sign that I need to quit.

If you think you can get it fixed for about what the deductible is, I would not call the insurance company.

And, yes, it is a sign you should quit smoking!

Thanks Rachel. I was really confused as to what I should do. I was leaning towards not calling, but I guess I wanted someone else to agree with me.

I really didn't want to call my parents for advice because my dad is out of town and I don't want to talk to my mom because she would freak out. I could just picture her lying in bed dreaming that I live in some horrible crack den of a neighborhood because my car was broken into. So I'd prefer not to worry her!

I'm kind of leaning towards not calling in a police report, I mean it's not like I expect them to track down the guy who stole a half carton of cigarettes.

I'm at least cooling off now, I was feeling so angry and confused and just horrible when I first saw what happened to my car.

I wouldn't call the insurance company, but I would call the police. Even if all they do is lift the prints, chances are that this isn't the only offence the perp has committed, and they can add it to the list of charges against the individual.

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Originally Posted by Lady's Human

I wouldn't call the insurance company, but I would call the police. Even if all they do is lift the prints, chances are that this isn't the only offence the perp has committed, and they can add it to the list of charges against the individual.

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I didn't think about that. Will they still be able to find prints if I touched the handle? I was fiddling around with it to see how bad the damage was.

Possibly, and they should be able to separate your prints from the prints of the preson who did it.

Thanks for your help. I found a form on the Tucson Police Department webpage so I'm going to fill out the non emergency online reporting form.

Just wanted to say,
"Yes! This is a sign that you should quit smoking!" :)

Ok the police report has been filled out. It said that they would notify me after they have decided if further invesitgation is necessary.

My husbands truck window got broken out on Thursday and our cd case with about 100 cd's in it were stolen.... He was pissed. Nobody saw it happen (his truck was parked right in front of his work's office) but thankfully nothing else was taken (he had my video IPOD in the center console). He didn't bother filing a police report and it was $200 to fix it. Our deductible on our insurance is $200 so he just paid out of pocket for it.

It's absolutely horrible what people will do for a case of cd's (or in your case, carton of cigarettes) and I just have to think, karma will get them eventually :mad:

Just remember, if you DON'T file a police report, you are giving the perp a free pass to do it to someone else. Even if you don't care about what was stolen, think about the next person the perp might decide to steal from.

USUALLY theft goes against your comprehensive and does not cause your insurance rates to go up.

I would call my insurance agent and ask. It is not the same as filing a claim.

(I learned this when I had my entire car stolen once.... :rolleyes: )

Mine got broken into years ago and they tried to steal the radio. They did get the speakers and was trying to get the radio but someone must have come along and scared them. I didn't hesitate, I called the police... I was MAJOR PO'ed!! I had worked 2 jobs for 2 years to buy that car and some lazy so & so wanted to take the radio???!!! Insurance replaced the speakers, report was file with police, nothing ever came of it but it at least was on file!

When I lived in Tucson (three years ago), my car was broken into and we called the police. They never showed up and just sent us a form to fill out. :( We had about $500 worth of stuff taken as my hubby had sub woofers in the trunk that he never "attached." CDs were also stolen, which was probably why they first broke in in the first place.

I lived in Tucson for five years and it wasn't until the last three/four months before I moved that anything was taken. My old roommate had her car broken into twice in six months in the first apartment I had. It just seems to happen quite frequently there and I'm not sure there is much that can be done.

I hope that you can get everything worked out.

Glad you filed a police report. They may not do anything, but at least they know about it, and if everyone in your complex notifies them of even the most minor break ins, maybe they will start partroling the lot or just starting to be more aware of what's going on in your area.

Is there someplace safe you can leave your truck while you're in England? What a drag it would be to come back to a broken window or something. :(

Let me just say that I am so sorry that this is happened. It makes you so angry that some punk has nothing better to do but mess up your car for what??

Petty theft seems to be racheting up in California too.

I'm sorry to hear about your car. All of that for cigarettes? Amazing.

My car was broken into once while it was parked in the driveway. They stole a pair of sunglasses and my tokens for the tolls. I was pi$$ed. And I felt so violated. Luckily, there was no damage (door was unlocked).

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Originally Posted by CalliesMom

I lived in Tucson for five years and it wasn't until the last three/four months before I moved that anything was taken. My old roommate had her car broken into twice in six months in the first apartment I had. It just seems to happen quite frequently there and I'm not sure there is much that can be done.

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Tucson has a very high crime rate, I think out of all the US medium sized cities Tucson ranks #1. This is the first time I've had any kind of problem, ironic that this is happening now that I live in a "nice" neighborhood. I never had any problems at all when I lived in "bad" neighborhoods.

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Originally Posted by Uabassoon

Tucson has a very high crime rate, I think out of all the US medium sized cities Tucson ranks #1. This is the first time I've had any kind of problem, ironic that this is happening now that I live in a "nice" neighborhood. I never had any problems at all when I lived in "bad" neighborhoods.

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It's getting harder to find a "safe" neighborhood anymore.maybe the
reason you had no trouble in the bad neighborhood is because no one
had anything worth stealing. My car has been ransacked more than once
because I leave the overhead door open a bit for my outside cats. I just
leave the door unlocked so they don't break the door or windows out to
get inside. I never leave anything of value in my car.

I think it's just the idea of someone going into your space. I'm glad you filed a police report. One of my co-workers was just livid this morning because someone had opened her desk! Nothing was taken, fortunately.

Sorry about your car. You should all file non-emergency police reports if you want to possibly get your stuff back. I go to police auctions twice a year to buy cd's and many have names in the cd case or written in sharpie on the cd but nobody claims them. I got 184 cd's in two cases that were both stolen from the same person (same initials on some cds in both cases) and never claimed.

Just wanted to explain my reasoning for suggesting you not contact your insurance company if you are going to pay for this yourself.

My experience with the reporting was with a water line which froze in my home and caused some damage in the basement. I called my insurance company to inform them of the problem immediately but never filed an actual claim because the damage was repaired for under the deductible amount. Years later when I was trying to find another insurance company, I discovered that incident was on my *permanent record* which the other companies have access to. Since we didn't have anything else after living her 14 years, it did not prevent us from getting the insurance, but I was shocked to know that this one informational phone call was *on the record* and could be used in determination about my insurability.

Another reason is that your insurance company may conclude that you are living in an area where these type of crimes occur and thus are subject to a higher risk (and higher rate).

I am in favor of informing the police, if for no other reason than they should be aware where these types of crime are occuring and maybe they will keep a watch out.

Sorry to hear this happened to you.

Years ago when I was working at Children's Hospital and about to graduate college my car was broken into along with two others in the hospital parking lot. My stereo was stolen along with my book bag (police said the used it to carry the stereos). Luckily they dumped out my books which were worth more than all three stereos combined. Anyway, I contacted my insurance and was given a check. My rates didn't go up.