My Truck Was Stolen... Anything I Need To Know?

That's a great idea, I never would have thought about that but it could save your butt from some serious hassle. I wonder if civilian Police would check it as well?

 

OP, could you please find out or ask the cops how they stole your truck? It had an immobilizer and aftermarket toyota security as you said earlier. It has me a bit freaked out that our trucks are more vulnerable. This was simply a truck grab to commit crimes, not a targeted ring to chop toyota tacomas. It would seem to me that there are much easier vehicles to steal.
Any word how they got it started???

 

I asked the cop, it was actually the same cop who came when it was stolen and found it. He said he didn't have any info on how it was done. Here is what I do know:

- The ignition was not tampered with from the outside
- The windows were not broken and I didn't hear the alarm (might have been deep sleeping)
- There was one ribbon wire cut under the dash, that was it

If I had to guess, I would say that they had some sort of special tool and some know how, but it also didn't seem to be that complex to do. I am planning on learning about alarms more and what do do. I have two goals.

- Theft prevention. Make it so I just have a broken window but the truck is still there or whatever. I need to learn more about this topic
- Then I want tracking in case the next car is stolen. They were using it for a few days. If I had a tracker they 100% would have been caught I think.

 

I'm pretty naive and thought the immobilizer was a major barrier. Professionals who target these trucks will obviously steal them but the average low level criminal will move onto easier targets.
I agree with your post, has to be some special remote-in tool or bypass. Your description makes it sound like the theft was ridiculously easy.

 

@MojaveMadman

 

Sorry. I live on the SE side near Costco.

 

New high-tech car theft device showing up in the US

 

I saw on the network news that a couple of guys were arrested in Texas for stealing quite a few cars. They used a laptop that plugged into the diagnostics inside the car. Once plugged in a code is accessed that allows The thief to start The car.The info was sketchy and I'm not sure how it works but that's what was reported. Most of the cars were not recovered and it was believed that most were in Mexico.

 

sorry this happened to you, makes me want to

 

Not sure what everyone else's experience has been, but my truck spent a week in an impound lot, two weeks after I got it. Someone broke into my truck, and stole a few well. Items. I got it back and upgraded to a viper, lasted me a few years till I walked out of the bank on my birthday last year to discover someone had hit the truck and ran, some how not setting off the alarm.

I've since upgraded my alarm yet again, to a Smart Start Directed system. Still have the viper key pad, but now I can access the truck from my phone, track it, start, lock, unlock, and even view the status of the security system, what doors may or may not be open etc. Damn thing even alerts when the battery in the truck (the actual truck battery) is running low. It by far is my favorite system out there so far. Managed to lock the keys in the truck.. (don't ask, it was a bad day). Started to panic, realized I had my phone and simply unlocked the truck.

As far as patches... how big a collection did you lose?

Edit: I just saw the patch post.. That effing blows.

 

did they bypass the immobilizer?

Edit: found some info on page 7

 

Is is possible it was just a skinny guy who went in through the sliding window with a thin strip of metal? That's why I did the old piece of wood mod so the back window won't just open if you pop the clip lock.

 

That's one skinny son of a bitch! Still doesn't explain how the little bastard levitated it out of the driveway.

 

I'm 6'0 and have a 32" waist and I am pretty sure I could get through that window if there was a bet and a few beers...My kid is 5'2 and has done it just for fun...
Maybe they should be looking for retired jockey's running a tacoma theft ring

 

Shit, this is not good......
Police don't have a clue, neither do car manufacturers. I can easily see how they got in with doors locked....
Better check ebay to identify what the box is.

 

Shit!!!! Exactly the opposite of what I had hoped for as an outcome. Can't tell by the pictures but damage seems just lightly coemetic vs major frame twisting stuff. And of course the patches were gone. Leads me to think the thief knows a thing or 2 about military service??? I see a new plate bumper in the near future. As others have said, kept us in the loop as we are all now emotionally invested in this.

 

Is there a monthly fee for the tracking feature? I would assume there is.

A few folks mentioned using an old smartphone. Even though a phone has GPS you will still need some sort of data plan in order to track it. I can only find my old iPhone 3GS and 4S with the Find My iPhone app if they are connected to wifi.

 

It's a yearly fee, wasn't outrageously expensive if I remember correctly, but anything of quality is worth paying for. There are a couple different subscription choices, I have a 3 year subscription plan, comes out to be about $70.00 per year ($211.99 all said and done)

It uses that concept. There is a dummy phone that has blue tooth and text capabilities, so if you are out of the blue tooth range the phone sends a text message. The dummy phone is actually wired into the vehicle and you get the app on your phone.

There are also features that allow you to set a vehicle to start on certain days (work days) at a certain time should the weather be under or over your selected temp. You can manage the alerts as well, low battery, lockdown, speed, and something new they came out with that I haven't gotten to set up yet is smart fence, your phone goes off should the vehicle enter or exit a location of boundaries... there are actually two that you can set up for that function.

 

USAA adjuster came today. He did a very very detailed inspection of the truck. He told me I will have all the info tomorrow, but here are the take aways:

- He thinks it is a repair, not a total. That is based off just looking and not pricing yet
- I had a lot of stuff added like new tires for the front because some of the tread was torn up (they were brand new) and 3 new wheels.
- The big one, if they total it and I don't buy it back, he will give me two days to swap any parts off to stock before turning it in. This is a huge one for me!
- Salvage value is determined by the local salvage action. It is an average based on history of Tacoma sales.
- Total value is not determined by KBB, but by a company that compares it with 3 local vehicles that are for sale both from dealers and privately.

Looking at this information I am leaning towards basically the same outcome unless I missed something here.

If it is a repair, I will probably take the cash and do the repairs myself. Most is cosmetic and I can replace most very easily with my shop. Probably change out to fiberglass fenders and do some fun things while fixing the truck.

If it is a salvage, I will probably buy it back and fix it up the same way as above. Right now I am estimating I can do a repair the way I want to for about $4000 give or take. That is leaving some of the stuff like scuffed wheels, but replacing many of the body panels as described above and assuming high on the paint price as I haven't got any quotes yet.

 

News from the insurance company today. Repair bill is $9500 plus anything the shop finds during the repair. Inspection was sent to USAA for final approval and I should hear info by Tuesday. Then from there I can decide to take a check or decide to have the repairs done.

After some thinking I have decided that I will probably have them do the repair. While I would love to do it and do some extras I honestly am already short on time. My wife and kids don't want me in the garage any more than I already am with my business so the choice was made to have it done by a shop. USAA has a shop picked but I will look around for the one I want. Maybe it will be theirs, I just haven't done enough looking into it yet.