Car theft is the worst. Except in the rare instances when everything bizarrely works out.
Earlier this week we asked you to share your stories of car theft. Jalopnik has had its own stories about it, like the time when we helped solve a crime by ID’ing the suspect’s car and the time when we tracked down Jason’s beloved Beetle when it was stolen from him.
The stories you all sent in ranged from the bizarre to the heart wrenching to the surprisingly sweet. You can read all the responses here, but these are my favorites.
This Isn’t My Truck
Reading through all of your stories, I’m now increasingly worried about how easy it is to just step into someone else’s car and drive off with it. This story from reader Daryl will explain what I mean. He stole a truck and he wasn’t even trying to:
The Wrong Celebrity
Daryl wasn’t the only one who had to deal with a ‘This isn’t my car’ problem. I mean seriously, how often does this happen?
How I Got To Be Part Of A Police Chase (Kinda)
Particularly strange was this story, where reader Urambo Tambo found out the importance of knowing who else has keys to your vehicle. Because sometimes you don’t know, and then you end up involved in a manhunt, and the cops are pulling guns at your coworkers.
Gorilla Biscuits Got My Stuff Back
Alright, now is the time when we get into the genuine stories of people straight up getting their cars stolen. This is where shit gets bad, and sad. So I’m going to ease us all into it with a story from reader Evo Von Himmel about the positive side of punk.
Still Holding That Grudge From 1993
I’m going to include this story from Mike because I once took a really cool piece of Lego from my best friend Dylan when we were little kids and I’ve never forgiven myself for it.
Don’t Get Back In The Car
So most of your stories involved walking out to check on your car and discovering it had disappeared. That sucks. It’s like a piece of you has been torn away. That’s not what happened here. This dude saw his car getting pinched, and things went very downhill from there.
Insurance Fraud Is Hard
Here’s another story of criminals being dumb. This dude, well, just read the story.
What Happens When A Government Death Squad Steals Your Car
There’s one last story I want to share that’s very sweet. But before we get to it, I need to share this one. It’s not sweet. This story from reader Lucasg is a chilling one, and a very personal side of Argentina’s troubled past. In the 1970s, death squads exclusively used Ford Falcons, turning them into a symbol of oppression. Here’s part of how they got their hands on them:
Take Care Of Her
Finally, I will share the most positive story about car theft you may ever hear. This one is from reader rcasi, where his Acura Integra GS-R gets taken from him. That’s not surprising. But what happened thereafter is.
If you have any other stories of your car getting stolen that you want to get off of your chest, please share them as well. It’s a fucked up world out there, and we’re here for each other.