Left the car parked outside last night. Woke up at 5 am to the sound of the car alarm, looked out the window and thought I saw someone running away from the car down the street. I have very bad vision without my glasses, plus it was dark and I was groggy so couldn't be sure.

Went outside with my big honkin' mag light. The rear window on the driver's side was smashed in. Looking in the car, someone wrapped a piece of concrete in cloth and hurled it through with considerable force (impacted the far side door and damaged the trim there), then climbed in through the window. Must have cut themselves pretty good, as there was a little blood on the door and a fair amount on the rear seat. He rummaged through the center console (more blood), which was empty other than a minijack audio cable and the I-pod adapter (he left both on the passenger seat). He must have exited through a door after being unable to manage the glove box (ha ha), activating the alarm. The police said usually they enter and exit through the window to avoid setting off the alarm at all... perhaps his lack of finding anything coupled with loss of blood made him consider a quicker exit.

The police arrived shortly and took blood samples and plenty of photos. They say they have a high conviction rate on crimes like this when they get a DNA sample, as usually for a smash and grab it's someone who is already in the system.

I have quite a bit going on at work and couldn't take the day off. I vacuumed the glass bits off the driver's seat and took the car to the dealership, as I noted the service adviser was very thorough last time I was there, and went over things with her. Talked to the insurance company and let them know to call the service adviser at the dealership. The insurance adjuster called me with the appraisal before noon. He was very detailed. Damage is almost completely limited to the interior; the exterior window trim is scratched but that's about it.

Total estimate: $9800. In the words of the insurance adviser "Those are some pretty expensive cows!" Jag is not b-s'ing about the quality of the leather on the preimium XF models I suppose.

Glad I have good insurance. Let me just put in a plug for Traveller's. I switched from USAA over a year ago as I was getting annoyed at their marked decline in customer service. Traveller's has been a joy and their rates are good. When my last car was totaled shortly after switching companies, they cut me a very generous check with little issue. Very happy that they were able to appraise the vehicle so quickly, and they've already cut a check to Jaguar to start the work.

It's nice to have a spare XJ-S to keep my Jag fix going in the interim...

Cheers,

- Will

 

I hope the thief bled to death.... My car is outside my office window or in my garage. I always am nervous when I leave it in a parking lot

 

Wow for living in "the worst crime city per capita in Canada" and one of the highest auto thefts in the country this is a shocking story. My car sits outside the house on a bay (in a not great area of the city) all the time and outside my work all day. Knock on wood I will be fine but our insurance up here is great. Best of luck to you with everything macboots! And XF - Xtra Fast I agree and hope he bled to death haha.

 

+10 on the bleed out.

 

Will,

Hanging is too good for them!

$9800 in damage. Even if the police do have a good clear up rate, that kind of criminal never gets a sentence that reflect the cost and inconvenience to the victim.

I'm mad as hell about it. You must be incandescent with rage.

Graham

 

macboots, you might check back with the police dept. in a day or two and ask if they checked all nearby hospitals for an emergency room visit right after the incident. Someone bleeding like that probably went to an emergency room for fixin up.

 

Very sorry to hear about that! Your car is pretty new to you too, isn't it? Sounds like you are in a good place with your attitude in this whole situation. Anyhow, I hope they catch the dude!

 

Check with your neighbors and see if any of them have a CCTV system maybe they caught something on video? I have one and so does my next door neighbor. They are pretty cheap and high quality now. I installed mine myself which involved a Sunday crawling around in the attic. I can check the camera's from my smart phone anytime I want, its pretty sweet.

 

Yes I've owned the car only a month...

Could you PM me what system you have? There are several out there...

Cheers,

- Will

 

My Neighbor and mother have the Lorex system from Costco, they range from $400 - $1000.

I have a system from harbor freight that I bought open box for around $100. It was around $200 new its something like brinks hill.

If you can climb around in your attic and have a cordless drill you can install it yourself.

Between my dog, the camera's, alarm, security doors and guns I feel very very safe.

 

I once a girl "friend" in Dallas who's brother was an FBI agent. I was at his house once for Christmas and he showed me the plethora of very cool video monitoring stuff he had all over his house. Ironically less than 6 months later the guy's house was robbed. All of it was caught on tape and they still never found the thief. The guy lost his West Point ring and a bunch of really cool/sentimental stuff. If that can happen to an FBI agent and they get away with it, makes me wonder how much survelliance stuff helps. I don't know. Just a thought.

Still though, I really hope they find the guy.

Darin

 

....and that is why you have the dog. A 150lb dog that knows who belongs and who doesn't goes a long long way. If I'm home and some breaks in they get shot, if I'm not home and someone breaks in they get mauled.

Its nice when the door bell rings to switch the input on the TV and get a picture of who is standing there.

Its also nice to be able to go back and look at what happened while you were gone. We had a board missing on our RV Gate and I was able to go back and see it fell off on its own but the dog did come around and stand guard for a few mins after if fell. Someone rang the bell last night while we were doing baths for the kids and we were able to go look and see it was a neighbor kid.

 

This is why I had to get rid of my G35 the dog outgrew it

 

6' tall RV gate

 

Here's some more stuff

www.x10.com

 

We have these for sale, many upload to the internet as well, so even if they wreck the system/record in the house you still have the info...

Lorex® 16-channel EDGE+ DVR and 21.5-in. Touch LED Monitor

 

I think the Lorex is the best system. I went cheap but wish I had spent the extra dough. The Lorex nite is very good. My system also has some jerkyness where you see a black screen for a second or less during playback frequently.

 

Yeah, that is pretty sweet. I'm not downplaying the video at all and think it is pretty cool. I am also big-time in favor for guns and dogs...

 

No problem

Video is pretty passive but would at least give you something to go off. I'm willing to be the moron who broke into the OP car lives within walking distance of him. Probably will see him again and not know it. If he had a video he might recognize him.

Dogs are the best I would rather have a dog in my house then a gun.

Mines a Great Dane and he is awesomely protective when hes not busy being lazy. If you come to my house and he doesn't know you expect the biggest bark in the world.

 

We had a great dane a number of years ago. Love that breed. Gorgeous dogs and their bark scares most people away, although they are a lovable dog if you are not a stranger.