They probably used a jingle key, very common for car thieves.

 

Good to hear bro! Does that mean it's a salvage title due to theft? Or do u need stuff stolen off of it er sumthing?

 

cars get a salvage title when it's considered a total loss. in a theft case it would be because either so much stuff was stolen it was cheaper to replace the car, or insurance paid out before the car was recovered.

 

wow great news man!

 

Aaaaah i see.

 

haha yea that 6 speed with racing clutch. lol. glad u found it!

 

whoda thunk you would ever be praising our fickle trannies? subaru's next ad campaign should be: "if our our security system doesn't stop thieves, our sh!tty trannies will!"

seriously, you should at least tell the police what shops you went to before it was stolen. that way they can see if there is a pattern if it happens to other cars.

 

Pleasse ....please,,, please!!!!!

Put up the names of the shops.. So we all can be aware..... This is very random act.

I wana make sure it doesnt happen to me. Or pm me the details.

 

I don't think that's right and I believe he can get sued for slander if he does that. There is NO PROOF that a shop had anything to do with it and until there is I don't think names should be thrown around.

I have told VERY few people about my shop issues until this thread and I saw my deck with my own eyes in the shop and the alarm rig they did.

just a word of caution.

 

glad you got the suby back

 

:wacko: Thanks again for all of the support, both when the car was 'gone', and now that it is back. Lots of questions & suggestions & curiousity...so...

I have misc answers and comments:

My age: I'm probably a fair bit older than the average age of a highly-modified-Subie owner but hey, now is a time in my life where I have some money (but no time at all) to mod my WRX to more power and handling than a stock Sti...without going broke, and still pursuing several other hobbies (I like the '02-'03 body style, so didn't want to buy an '04+ Sti)

What happened: the car was apparently abandoned hastily Saturday morning when apparently the clutch or input shaft blew (TBD). 3 caucasian males got out and left according to eyewitnesses across and down the street. There may be a so-so picture taken by a kid across the street, but he isn't quite forthcoming with the police (hiding something else??). Car was reported as 'abandoned' by said neighbor. Police got around to checking it out TWO days later (sheesh) and I got my car back on Monday. The gall of somebody to drive it in broad daylight just 8-10 miles from where they stole it....

How: well, I did notice that only the ground wire is connected to the alarm horn still...so even if the alarm activates, no sound...it used to work I'm sure. The 2nd metal tab on the alarm horn not only is not connected, the wire is GONE. I can't find where it came from. This makes me think it was removed completely (by some shop, some time ago) so I wouldn't notice it was disconnected, while my key was copied and my address noted for a later theft.

Damage: yes, the car has plenty of evidence of being thrashed around (scraped sidewalls, slight curbage, clutch smell, and worst, low oil). I keep a detailed logbook, so I know they put ~250 miles on it, I know that they burned up almost exactly 1 quart of oil which either means a lot of full throttle high-rev driving, or they blew a gasket somewhere.

Insurance:
So far, they've agreed to give me an initial $2000+ for what they can 'observe'...fair enough...refurbing 2 rims that have minor curbage, a new clutch/flywheel/bearing (*maybe* ACT like I had in there), 4-wheel alignment, 2 new tires + install, and 1-hour of diagnostics after which they will consider additional 'found' damage to the engine and/or tranny or anything.

Shops and places that had my car: I will not say, sorry. I have zero evidence of anything. The police aren't going to do s**t, but that doesn't mean I can or should reach my own conclusions, publicly or not. PM me and I'll let you know where the car has been, but you must have the understanding that we'll probably never know anything for sure and i'll say now that I've had all good experiences with the shops this car has been at.

 

That's weak but fortunately your insurance is helping you out. Hopefully the diagnostic finds everything because it would suck to have something blow a month or two down the road and have the insurance company say it's not covered. Booo on that.

Make them take a close look.


And yes a detached horn wire does sound very fishy.

 

Just a few suggestions to everyone and for the future.

1)When you take your car to a shop, even if you know everyone there and have taken it there for 20 years. Stop, pop the hood, and inspect a few things before you go. Check your alarm wires, make sure the sensors are still hooked up, check for any "new" wires or odd things.
2)Always ask to have the mechanic pop the hood with you, and show you what they did and changed. Do you see new bolts? clean spots? thats good...still looks dirty, no sign of scratches on the bolts? you have a consnern

 

I never use my home address. I use my parents.

 

Dont forget to have the compression tested on your motor, easy to do and can tell you lots about the shape it is in.Glad you got it back man.