I have a 2005 Prius. Last night, it was stripped of its battery, radiator, front airbags, side airbags, whole front console [a/c, stereo, ....]. They got in cleanly by punching in the cylindrical lock on the driver's side. Is this a new trend? Obviously a professional job. Anyone else had this happen?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ctse @ May 1 2007, 12:43 PM) [snapback]433468[/snapback]</div> Yikes, I'm so sorry this happened to you. What part of LA did this happen in? I live in LA, too, and must park my car on the street. I'm knocking on wood as I type this. Though I did opt to get a LoJack because I have to park on the street, it clearly will not help me if something like this happens. What did your insurance company say about this? Did they say if they had heard about this before?
Thanks for replying so quickly!! I'm feeling rather upset about all this and needed some support. We live in Palms [north of Culver City, south of West LA]. I think you'll be okay parked on the street. It was a big job and someone would have noticed if our car was in clear view. Our car is under a carport off of National Bl [which is really busy street]. But the carport shields people from seeing what's going on. We have LoJack which doesn't help at all in this situation. We're thinking that we should back into our spot from now on because everything that was ripped out was in the front. My insurance company [AAA] said that they hadn't heard anything like this.... same with the cops. Toyota has got to do something about how easy it was to get into the car [the cylindrical lock was punched out without any scratches or such].... but then again, they could have easily smashed a window, too.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ctse @ May 1 2007, 04:18 PM) [snapback]433489[/snapback]</div> Yikes. What's your car look like with all that gone? Any pics? Weird they went mucking about in the back of the car. Sounds like they must have been ripping it up for a while. Did they try to get at the hybrid battery too?
I am so sorry about your car. That is so weird. There are a few car parts on ebay from supposed salvaged prius cars. My guess is that folks keep them a long time and there is not the volume of parts out there except brand new from Toyoto. Did they hack the car up to remove everything? How much $$ damage was this?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusmaybe @ May 1 2007, 02:38 PM) [snapback]433503[/snapback]</div> Yes, it's hacked up. Wires and bolts everywhere. Don't know what the damage will be yet. Waiting for the cops to call back to set up an appointment to fingerprint it. They say maybe at the end of the week. Yep, that's LA for ya. Otherwise, my insurance company is just waiting for the cops before they can assess the damage.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MegansPrius @ May 1 2007, 02:20 PM) [snapback]433490[/snapback]</div> That's too bad. Yes, I would like to see pics too. Crashes are one thing, but this level of theft is rare (at least on this list).
My sincerest condolences. They must have been rather familiar with the Prius if they were able to even FIND the battery, much less get the hatch open to steal it!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ctse @ May 1 2007, 12:43 PM) [snapback]433468[/snapback]</div> First I've ever heard of it. I suspect that the thieves will have quite a bit of useless junk on their hands now - there just isn't a demand for the stuff they stole. Perhaps they were on a "fishing" expidition and just grabbed everything hoping they could resell it for something.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveG @ May 3 2007, 09:44 PM) [snapback]435179[/snapback]</div> to me it sounds like an inside job...i.e. someone that works on these vehicles.
