Vehicle Stolen last night

The title says it most of it.

This was my mothers vehicle(health issues and doesnt drive herself)… a conversion van that was used for her daily needs, and also my sisters(mothers driver) needs for her mentally challenged/health issues young teenage kids.

The worst part about this is… they just bought this vehicle a week ago when their other van went out! The insurance companies will eventually cover(car/home owners)… either way it wont happen for an X amount of time from when the vehicle dissapeared.

Sorry guys.. I just had to vent. I am not in position to help them and I feel really frustrated. I am sure my friends are getting upset with me calling in the early hours on a sunday morning to see if they have an extra loaner vehicle sitting around.

Why do these things always seem to happen to those with limited resources and often cant replace what has been taken?

We arent asking anyone for help, but I would love to hear about it if someone has a loaner vehicle sitting around. They dont have the money to replace theirs, or rent a car until the insurance settlement happens after a given amount of time.

Hopefully the insurance companies dont give them the run-around for too long if the vehicle doesnt show back up in repairable condition.

Sorry to hear that

Dave, was it stolen in the Twin Cities, I work for Qwest & I drive all round the metro every day. If you give me a describtion & the license # I can have the guy’s in the garage keep & eye out for it.

Dave, we get ALOT of traffic here on the site so could you post a photo of it if you have one along with a plate number. If no pic then how about color and brand of van. Anything that we all could look out for when we are on the road. Very sorry to hear of this happening. If only people [thiefs] would think about the problems they cause others when they do these things.
Thanks, Bill

It is a Dodge 3/4 ton(Ram 250) conversion van with 3 tone paint.. Black, brown and silver. Large tinted conversion van type windows on both sides.. it has curtains and blinds but I am not sure if its visable from the outside. Ladder on the back and spare tire. Its about a 1990 but looks like a newer model, no rust, dents, or scratches(knock on wood). It has all the usual conversion van stuff(running boards, etc). The paint color scheme is rare, I dont recall ever seeing another like it.

LXK 134 is the plate number

It was stolen from south minneapolis. We dont have a picture of the van, didnt think we would need one in a week!

It was probably taken by teenagers or some crack-head that didnt want to walk home in the middle of the night. Hopefully it was just abandoned somewhere and doesnt end up killing someone or ending up n someones living room in a high speed(chase) accident.

I’ll post that info in the garage & have the guy’s keep & eye out for it. All of guy’s do alot work around there & down alot of ally’s so I’m sure they keep & eye out for it.

Sorry to hear this happened to you also. If your situation was anything like mine you are in for a education on how little the police will do about this. When I called the MPLS police to tell them where my stolen truck was the reply was “what do you want us to do about it” . From there I was threatened with a $400 ticket for haveing my truck stolen, and to have my liscence suspended for not showing insurance at a accident. Guess the guy in my stolen truck failed to open the glove box and show the cop my insurance card .
They did catch the guy and sent him to trial. This is where the real justice system kicks in. He got 3 years probation and owes me $150 dollars.

My advice is just be happy no one got hurt. Dont let the anger and frustration eat you up. There is not much a person can do about it. Spend most of your efforts with your insurance company to get every thing they owe you. It sucks but you guys will get threw it.

Sorry about being so negative in my reply. Still a little biter about this.

Bitter is an understatement here. The vehicle was reported stolen and we are not responsable if it gets in a wreck. Our insurance will not cover damages to another vehicle when it is stolen. If the crook gets in a wreck, they are on their own there.

Your problems in the past was probably due to the thief getting pulled over before the vehicle showed as stolen on the computers. I know some counties used to take WEEKS before it would come up stolen.

We will probably get a call from the impound lot 4 days after the vehicle is recovered from wherever its abandoned… just long enough to get stuck with a $300 fee.

The thought of a 3/4 ton van under the control of some idiots still bothers me.. if they are still drivng that thing and continue to do so until they get chased… thats a big heavy vehicle and some serious damage could occur to whatever that steel monster hits.

We just want the vehicle back… they(family) need something for their daily errands. They cant afford another one after buying this last week.

GOOD NEWS

so far so good anyhow. The van has been recovered and is sitting in the minneapolis impound lot. We didnt get any details of where or how the vehicle was recovered. There was no obvious visual body damage in the dark this evening, and the picture of the Mona Lisa(sp?) was still sitting unharmed in the back seat along with the tool kit.

The steering colum is badly damaged and I couldnt get the ignition to turn on with their doctoring… My guess is the ignition cut out on them and it was abandoned when they couldnt restart. Hopefully the damage doesnt go beyond the steering colum…

Most importantly, it has been recovered and its not destroyed.

Now the new fee’s start…

$140 / impound lot
$100 / steering colum
$$$? / other repairs + security system

A couple nights sleeping in the van in the driveway with a loaded shotgun….. PRICELESS!

Quote:

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A couple nights sleeping in the van in the driveway with a loaded shotgun

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Might want to consider a couple doz 5 oz no rolls…

Glad things worked out on the good side (from what they could have been).

In reality, I would love to confront some of the idiots getting into vehicles regularly… but I think my mothers 165# dog might be a better option. It would be enjoyable to watch someone run out of the driveway with Cujo in the window. He’s too big to chase anyone(or get out of the vehicle fast), but nobody is going to get in the vehicle with him.

Extra lights and security systems are in the works. We might go as far as installing cameras. They get people in the vehicles as often as a few times/week digging for change or whatever they can find. They even had someone sleeping in the vehicle once when they started driving away a couple years back.