This happens all the time.
Having your car stolen can be a violating, frustrating experience. Most people don't fully realize just how dependent they are on their vehicle until it's suddenly gone, sending their life into a tailspin. While finding out your missing ride has been recovered should be a happy time, for people like a family in San Antonio, Texas it can bring with it more frustration and fines.
Check out the stolen cars that are found all over Detroit here.
The family's car was stolen from a parking lot in downtown San Antonio, but little did they know it was taken to a street just a few blocks away where it was parked illegally. After picking up enough parking citations, it was towed to a city impound lot where it sat for 10 days before the owner got a notice in the mail to pick it up.
However, the owner was shocked to find out he'd have to shell out $465.55 to get the stolen vehicle back. Quite frankly, we think he got off easy compared to the outrageous charges some municipalities push onto citizens.
That wasn't the end of the ordeal. The car owner then received numerous parking tickets in the mail, adding up to $204.
Understandably, the car owner wants to know why after he reported it stolen, nobody informed him of the location of the vehicle. After all, parking enforcement records the VIN when issuing a citation, so if the car has been reported stolen that should send up a red flag in the system, right? Apparently, that's not the case in San Antonio, and we know that's not how it works in other areas.
Ideally, a stolen vehicle report would flag the VIN in any city, county or state database, so something like a parking violation would trigger a police response and the car could be recovered immediately. Of course, government bureaucrats excel at making excuses and those always end with their not being responsible and not being able to do anything.
While pushing for reform in different municipalities so this sort of thing doesn't happen is a good idea, we also suggest installing a GPS tracker in your vehicle. Even if you just drop an Apple AirTag somewhere hidden, in a case like this, that would help you get your car back immediately.
Oftentimes, thieves will steal a vehicle and then park it somewhere public for a few days to see if anyone shows up to get it. That's your chance to stop the theft, but if you don't have a tracker installed, you miss the opportunity. This is the sad reality we live in these days.
This article originally appeared in The Auto Wire. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News. Republished with permission.
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