Goodbye Faithful One
Sigh.
Once again I was the victim of theft.
I thought I handled it so well this time, but as I write this I am quite bummed. I have lived in Salt Lake City for six and a half years, in many different locations, and out of those six years I have lost six big items. Yep, that means I am batting approximately one big loss per year. Today’s theft was the worst as the item lost was my car.
Sigh.
To date I have lost the following items, none of which were returned.
- mountain bike - I used to have a real nice bike that was stolen from my backyard. This was a painful loss, leaving me to feel so violated.
- car stereo - this one wasn’t a big deal. I actually was going out to the car to uninstall the stereo in order to give it to a friend. Yet, someone had beat me to the process.
- cruiser bike - this one wasn’t painful at all. In fact, I didn’t know it was missing until months later. It was a beater bike that needed some tuning and I found it missing when Spring arrived and I went to do the necessary work. It was given to me and was a quirky bike.
- wallet / phone - this one was truly painful, causing months of identity and credit worry. The items were stolen from my car while I was bouldering at Cabbage Patch in LCC. The Cabbage Patch boulders are seriously right off the road, maybe a 20 foot walk. Yet somehow the perpetrators broke a window and took the items unbeknownest to me. The person was found and prosecuted, but who knows where my credit cards ended up.
- scooter - I cried for days on this one. I bought a scooter, similar to a Vespa. and truly loved the thing. It was part of my identity and at the time scooters were rare in SLC, which made me like it even more. I truly loved this thing. One day it had some problems as I was driving home from the gym and I had to park it in the parking lot of an antique shop. When I went to retrieve it the next day, it was just gone. The story is long and convaluted, but in essence the lady of this store had given it to her friend who was then wanting a ransom for it … blah, blah, blah. It truly is a real weird and long story that ended in me never getting my scooter back in one piece. Funnily, the antique store went out of business about a year later and I believed it was karma.
- car - today the good old faithful Honda Civic was gone. She wasn’t real pretty with her huge dent, but I adored her. She ran so well, even in her old age.
The faithful civic with H.I.P. #1 on the Salt Flats.
The worst detail of the car situation was my car insurance. Please read: ALWAYS HAVE COMPREHENSIVE INSURANCE. My little Honda was a 1991 and pretty banged up, so I figured I would only get liability coverage. In my mind I thought comprehensive would be real expensive and not worth the investment for an old car. I WAS WRONG!!!! I found out from co-workers that the premium insurance is usually only dollars more as the main expense lies in the collision insurance. I was so shocked at learning this fact that I called my insurance company back to learn the cost difference, the total being… get ready for it… $30. By paying $30 more per year I could have recoupped the cost of my vehicle whereas now I have nothing.
Sigh.
This fact really is bothersome as I research out all areas of my life, analyzing the best deals and thoughtfully planning how I spend my money. Somehow it had never crossed my mind to see the cost difference between the two insurance plans. Why the insurance agent didn’t tell me about my options when I bought my policy? I don’t know. It actually makes me angry because isn’t their job to be… "my agent"? However, the main fault is mine as I didn’t do my damn research. How in the world did it slip my mind to ask when I am usually so diligent?!
Sigh.
Ok … enough of the pity party…. I’m back to the giggly self with a newfound insurance lesson.
Tags: car, salt lake city, utah
June 6th, 2008 at 6:32 am
I’m so sorry that your car was stolen Rachel! I know how hard it can be to even sell a car sometimes, so I would be pretty bummed (to say the least) if my car was stolen! Thank you so much for the insurance advice!
June 6th, 2008 at 9:26 am
oh no!!! i am so sorry to hear about your car. where did you get it stolen from? how awful for someone to do such a thing. if you need a vehicle ever, remember that we are right up the street and both bike most of the time so have two to lend.
June 6th, 2008 at 9:31 am
Thanks Porscha. Yeah, definitely check into the insurance issue.
Thanks Denise. It was stolen from right in front of my house. I went to leave for work.. and the car was just gone. Bummer. Thank you for the offer on the cars… I greatly appreciate it.
June 6th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Likewise, Rach, we have an extra vehicle, so please, please don’t hesitate to call me up and ask for the keys. I’m so sorry about this, Rachel; I hope you’re feeling ok and getting through, and I hope you’re able to feel safe again very soon. Let me know how we can help. xoxo
June 6th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Thanks, Katie. I greatly appreciate it.
June 6th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
That totally sucks rach, i’m sorry about the car. Don’t loose all hope yet. I’ve had two friends (a couple) one of them being the famous wookie get there honda’s stolen. They both got them back. It was joy ride stealth job. Both cars were slightly vandalized but they still have them and are driving them. So maybe when you get back from your trip your car will be found.
June 7th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Sorry about the car! I echo the thoughts on recovering. I’ve had a couple friends get their hondas back. Quick joy rides and they get left along the road. America is full of opportunity. There is never a reason to steal let alone in the U.S. The land of opportunity. It’s amazing how theft can really deal a blow to one’s sense of safety. If you’re in Vegas we’ll lend you wheels.
June 9th, 2008 at 7:16 am
Really sorry to hear about this, kiddo. You know that if there’s anything I can do to help out, I’m behind you 100%. My car basically sits at work for 10 hours per day, so if you need to borrow it you are always more than welcome.
On the upside… you’ve still got that rockin smile, your bodacious pooch, and a super swanky pad [from what I hear, at least]! Despite the bumps in life, you are one blessed kid.
June 9th, 2008 at 11:08 am
Kevin, Don and Adumb,
Thank you so much for the support and offer to help. So far nothing has turned up, but the cops make it sound like they expect to find it within a couple weeks. I will keep you all posted.
Best.
Rachel
June 10th, 2008 at 9:02 am
Good grief! I can’t believe your agent didn’t tell you that your comprehensive premium was almost nothing compared to collision premium! Here’s another fun fact for you: If your car is damaged or disabled as a result of hitting ANYTHING that bounces off the road, that is covered by your comprehensive insurance, not collision. I learned this when an 18 wheeler blew out a rear tire next to me on the Interstate, and a 60 lb piece of flying rubber damaged my bumper, my radiator, and my hood. 2500$ worth of damage. Although I actually followed the big rig to the next exit and got tag number and rig on my camera phone, the insurance company said, “We don’t care, it’s covered by your comprehensive. It’s not even considered an accident.”
BTW, I later got annoyed at my insurance company for raising my rates every year even though the value of my car declines, so I dropped AllState and got Geico…and they’ve significantly lowered my rates each renewal period…
Good luck, keep climbing…and if you ever get a new car (after you get your Honda back), keep your old car to take to the crags….that is what I did…so now I don’t worry (much) when I have to leave my 1995 toyota tacoma 4×4 w 180,000 miles sitting on the side of a remote road for 2 days while I camp and climb. I only carry comprehensive and liability insurance on it, so it costs only a few hundred a year to insure it. Also, I always leave the glove compartment open to show that there is nothing to steal so they won’t break my windows.
Cheers!
June 10th, 2008 at 9:16 am
On a lighter note, since you are taking computer science classes, here is your required humor reading: http://xkcd.com/rss.xml
June 12th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
I’m so sorry Rach! My car got stolen last month too…apparently Hondas are easy to steal and often are. I’ll cross my fingers for you, as I got mine back the next day…
June 14th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Greg,
I know… can you believe they didn’t tell me? Kind-of bugs me as I feel like that is there job! Oh well… the car is found now and I now know to have comprehensive insurance.
Ashley,
Oh man… I can’t believe your car was stolen as well. It is amazing how many people have had their car stolen or know of someone who has. Seriously amazing. I also have read that the Honda, especially the civic, is the easiest car to steal.
Thanks for your comments.
Best.
Rachel