Pagoda SL Group
W113 Pagoda SL Group => General Discussion => Topic started by: Artkez on September 02, 2024, 06:01:49
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sorry if in the wrong forum. not sure why i am even posting, maybe someone might spot it or some of its parts out there (numbers matched on the hood and soft top compartment cover), or can give me advice on how to proceed. obviously I have made a police report with LAPD
recently redone engine - engine number 13098012016620
beautiful car was stolen from closed garage early in the morning in los angeles, with no trace left behind.
im am absolutely in shock. i wonder what they do with these things, my guess is part it out or ship it overseas. if anyone comes across any info that leads to the discovery or recovery that would be rewarded.
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Such a shame. It'll probably end up as what we call in the UK as a "ringer".
That's where its identity is swapped for some rusted out hulk and called a restoration.
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Truly shocking and upsetting, i'm so sorry. Absolutely correct to post it on here, the more people who know about it the better, and can keep their eyes and ears open
Use the search for "Stolen", you may get some further tips about what other owners have done or experienced when they lost their cars
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How to proceed?
Well, you filed the police report… And let’s just hope you have good insurance for the proper value of the vehicle. So contacting your insurance agent or companies claims department is the next step which I am sure you’ve already done.
Take the money and buy another!
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Sorry to see this happen!
Hopefully with any luck they can find it.
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So sorry. And after all the work you just had done.
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I am sure this has prompted everyone to recheck the insurance value they have on their polices, and hopefully it is an agreed value.
jb
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So sorry. And after all the work you just had done.
it was finally in perfect driving shape, after 8 months of work. i was getting ready to post a video and a big update on here about how well it was driving and how perfect it is. at least i got to enjoy a couple of really nice drives
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I am sure this has prompted everyone to recheck the insurance value they have on their polices, and hopefully it is an agreed value.
...and consider a tracking device as well.
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Oh man, what a bummer! Very sorry to hear about the theft. And from a closed garage.
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Hello All,
I would like to personally thank everyone on this forum who helped us and motivated us into making this Little Red pagoda into a beautiful running automobile during the past few months . My son (Steve) and I truly had a great time making this dream come true.
The Car was running beautifully, engine had great power and running quietly ( thanks to the 280SE donor car) transmission was shifting as nicely as my Lexus, and the paint continued to shine, Haha and the Clock was sent off to be authentically repaired.
This violation, of someone burglarizing your home and sealing your prized possession , has been such a shock to every one who knew the car.
Please make sure that you do everything you can to protect your Pagoda, it can be gone instantly.
A picture of my Grand daughter who loved the car and we would always comment that she would in the future take her Drivers license exam test in this car and definitely pass with flying colors
All the best
Arthur and Steve
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Absolutely devastating to hear this. A part of the family has been kidnapped and hopefully the police or this wonderful team will help you locate it
Hard to believe that this car will be sold as a whole given the bright red color and the engine number and VIN are easy enough to trace.
It was suggested by another on this post that a GPS tracker could have been helpful. I would agree, and a simple $20 Apple Air Tag would have enabled you to track its exact location and have it returned by now.
Please all other owners reading this, you can never be sure yours won’t be stolen, even in a locked garage, so add an Air Tag or GPS tracker to you car. This will ensure it is located immediately and help to keep insurance premiums for all Pagoda owners down. Such an easy thing to do and considering how much we fuss over every little detail, just go out and do it.
Good luck in getting it back 🙏🏻🙏🏻, I will be keeping an eye out websites for it.
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So sorry to read this, having enjoyed all of your posts on getting your Pagoda back into the shape you wanted it to be in.
I hope the low life was not someone who learned about your car on this site ! I am not wanting to stir up a hornet’s nest, and truly appreciate being a member here, but presume someone could sign up as an associate and get a lot of access ?
I had a car stolen 18 months ago in the UK. It was a real violation. Fortunately I had a hidden tracker in the car and with the assistance of the tracking company and the police, had my car back before it could be chopped up or shipped out of the country. The thieves had parked it in a quiet location about 20 miles from where it was stolen to see if anyone came for it. I had no confidence the police would have been any help, but the tracker made all the difference
I hope you get your car back
Andrew
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How did they get into your garage, I will assume your garage is connected to your house. Do you think they were only after you SL? So sorry to hear this. It seems some years ago a follow member drove his car to his office in downtown LA, on a Sunday, to do a little work at office on a Sunday. When he finished his work, came back down to the car, and car was gone, never heard of again. And of course this happened on the street in broad daylight. Another story, John Trivolta’s Pagoda was stolen in LA, he did find it however, in pieces. I do hope you find your Pagoda and in one piece. Very sad.
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Robert, that thought ran through my head as well. Was this an ‘inside’ job?
Unlikely it was someone on this site that through posts, tracked down the cars owner, its approximate value, condition etc, but it is a possibility. Perhaps the Administrators of this site can provide us with some assurance that lurkers are screened out?
The other possibility is any of the many mechanics that you may have dealt with. They have had access to your keys, know your address (from invoices) and could join the dots. A horrible thought but obviously this is someone who knew exactly what they were doing with a rare, easily recognisable and valuable car.
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Really shocking. Sorry to hear. Hope it comes back to you.
Were you home when this occurred ?
The thieves had to make some noises like garage door opening etc.
Any leads on how it was stolen - tow truck or just 4 guys pushing it down the street to a flatbed around the corner ?
Certainly they didn't start it up and drive away.
A planned job for sure.
Deep breath.
jz
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Hello
Thanks so much for all the support and sympathy from everyone, we really appreciate it. We are still in shock at looking at an empty garage .
It amazing that you see the pagoda in the evening and when you wake up and ready to take a spin , you come to the unbelievable realization that your
car/baby has disappeared.
Its been and amazing journey and learning experience the past year ,since we purchased the car, and the journey was beautiful and truly treasured between my son and I and i thank all of you for being part of it.
A few details : the car was parked in the garage which was detached from the house, they did not start the car or run the engine since this would have been easily heard . This violation occurred probably during midnight to sunrise. The car had the top off, and the ignition switch was keeping the steering wheel locked so i assume you would need a key. The car could have easily been place on roller and dropped down the drive way . Seems they knew how to do this.
Never did we imagine that this could ever happen .
All the best to everyone and please learn from our experience
Arthur and Steve
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If they didn't start it, they came prepared and knew it was there - not an opportunistic theft.
(f***ing scum)
(I had a motorbike nicked in March that the insurance company and police think was stolen to order - certainly very professional: they took it a couple of miles away before hunting down and removing the tracking device, and then taking it onwards)
The one issue with using a luggage tag as a tracker (airtag and similar) is that if you travel with one, it shows up on your phone, even if it's not your tag. A thief is thus alerted to the fact there's a tracker. Finding it may take them time but they'd find it if they are vaguely professional
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Unlikely it was someone on this site that through posts, tracked down the cars owner, its approximate value, condition etc, but it is a possibility. Perhaps the Administrators of this site can provide us with some assurance that lurkers are screened out?
Regular Full Members cannot find addresses for other members. Only board members and membership admins can... unless: you are a full member and you are on the Emergency Contact List (https://www.sl113.org/wiki/Main/EmergencyContactList), but then only other members who have added their address details can access this list. Unlikely for a thief to have added themselves as a full member and then also added themselves to the ECL.
We have been in operation with this system for over 10 years. There have been no break ins, no data leaks, and not a significant or worrying number of thefts. We suffer very little spam... Our database is encrypted and there are only 3 IP addresses in the world that can access it (with a very long and complicated password which is changed regularly). The 3 addresses are: the website server, my home IP address and my office IP address.
However... do not share personal information in your posts, or pictures from which your car's location may be deduced.
Also, I would be more concerned about vendors from which you have bought stuff (repeatedly) figuring out that you are restoring a car... they will have your address also.
Peter
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there have been a few occasions where I've been followed home when driving my 280SL. In my case they were wanting to make an offer to buy. Also, there are several people in my town that drive around to see if they can make a low ball offer on classic cars. I used to leave my garage door open when I was home but recent uptick in cars being stollen from homes, I make sure the doors are up and i have several ring cameras coverage most of my front and back yard.
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Thanks Peter for all you do. This is an amazing forum and the entire community owe you, and the many other high volume contributors, a large and sincere debt of gratitude! Bravo 👏🏻
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Please make sure that you do everything you can to protect your Pagoda, it can be gone instantly.
Including not posting personal information on this forum!!! Never post your phone number or street address or anything personal. Our forum is completely open! Anyone and everyone, including AI bots, can scour the public threads for information.
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I hope the low life was not someone who learned about your car on this site ! I am not wanting to stir up a hornet’s nest, and truly appreciate being a member here, but presume someone could sign up as an associate and get a lot of access ?
No need to sign up.
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However... do not share personal information in your posts, or pictures from which your car's location may be deduced.
Exactly.
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Including not posting personal information on this forum!!! Never post your phone number or street address or anything personal. Our forum is completely open! Anyone and everyone, including AI bots, can scour the public threads for information.
While THIS is a post, your profile information is not and is generally NOT available to the public.
Part of your profile information, kept "locked up" here, includes a valid mailing address--a simple task which a number of members don't understand. But it is JonnyB and me that deal with all the returned mail. We just got one back from the PW #34 which was mailed in March/April. Five months to make a round trip.
Some countries now--particularly those in the gulf area, are REQUIRING PHONE NUMBERS on the outside of packages.
I don't understand all the crazy obfuscation but it's here and it's real. I updated dozens upon dozens of international addresses with the last mailing...
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To support what Michael says...
- your profile information is private, and cannot be seen by other members, Google, or scraped in any other way
- only Board members, and membership admins can see your address details
- the Emergency Contact List shows only your city, not your full address, and your telephone number -- and only to other members who have signed up for the ECL with their own telephone number. If they need help, they need to call you, and you then choose to share your address details or not. So this mechanism is secure...
- I can tell you from good experience, looking up fellow members in their home town when you are travelling through is very rewarding, even if
you do not need emergency help
Peter
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Just wanted to post a great update!
Our little red pagoda was returned safe and sound on Thursday, thanks to the effort of the Los Angeles Police Department and a neighborhood good Samaritan, who were able to track down this car not far away. Of course the thief is now in jail, we don't have too much info on him or the motives, but he luckily did not get far, its definitely unlikely that hes a forum member. most importantly, our baby is home without a scratch.
needless to say we are grateful for everyone involved and thoroughly impressed by the swift actions of the LAPD. a great lesson to us and and inspiration to increase the security of our investment significantly. maybe we can steer the discussion towards what we can do to prevent this from ever happening again.
some actions taken already are increased locks, security alarms and cameras for the garage, security wheel locks, etc
my question is what kind of gps tracker would you guys install, an airtag seems insufficient, and how would you go about installing a kill switch
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Wonderful news to hear you have been reunited with your Pagoda, excellent!
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Wow, great news.
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Fantastic! Glad to hear car is safe at home. I too would like to hear best practices on installing devices on car to deter theft. As long as its in my garage, I think security is sufficient.
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That's really great news; so happy for you!
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As long as its in my garage, I think security is sufficient.
As the OP for details on the locked garage his Pagoda was stolen from.
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Congratulations, this may be the first time on this forum that a stolen car was recovered 'unharmed'.
Hidden trackers with their own GPS, that you have a subscription with a monitoring service provider for, always seemed to me the best if not somewhat expensive, option. And making sure to have the car fully insured. I have neither. An immobilizer switch will only deter joyriders, mostly.
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What a relief!
The tracking devices were discussed several times on the forum, also recently: https://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=38339.msg280176#msg280176
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Great news!
It would be good to know how the thief managed to mobilise the car "without a scratch".
Is the ignition lock not damaged?
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That is really good news, i'm so pleased for you both, and the parasite is locked up, where he belongs
Now, please update us all about your shifting issues, all sorted now?
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To everyone who does not have, AT THE VERY LEAST, a decent monitored tracker on their beloved Pagoda, in the grand scheme of things they are not that expensive when you think about what we spend on our cars.
Seriously, put yourself in the position of opening your garage door or even returning to your Pagoda where you left it and it is GONE.
How would you feel, anger, disbelief, heart broken, panic ? One thing for sure is that after the event you will certainly wish you had one fitted and hopefully some other security features as well, then at least you can say to yourself "I had done everything I could to prevent this".
True, it may still not get you Pagoda back but you wont be beating yourself up quite so much about it.
Don't wait until it has gone, you may not be a lucky as Artkez, he is indeed one very lucky and no doubt relieved man.
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Congratulations on getting her back and kudos to the LAPD for being effective
I am afraid if this had been the UK it would have been gone for good - fewer than 1% of crimes are solved and the new government has just started to give early release to prisoners !
Hopefully the villain is locked away for a decent time
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Great news!!
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Absolutely awesome news! And with out a scratch :)
Now you are ready for the next Pagodas and Beer meeting on 19 October.
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Artkez, great news, truly fantastic and we look forward to hearing more details on how it was located and returned.
Do not underestimate the immediate power of the AirTag. Your Pagoda would have been located to the meter within a few minutes of you noticing it was missing if you had visited Apple and paid the $20 and hid one in a very inaccessible place in your car. All that stress would not have been necessary. In the meantime, spend all that extra money on the rest of the expensive equipment you mention to prevent it from happening again.
Add one to all your cars and even your dog collar, you never know which one will go missing 😀
*I have no financial or employment ties to Apple, this is purely advice based on actual use and experience.
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Thank you all for the kind words and support! We are very happy, now cleaning up the car and working on replacing a couple of missing items, the guy took out the spare tire and other accessories in the trunk so that he could fit a stolen bike and other stolen items in the trunk. lost a very authentic and complete tool kit, that I was very proud of. but no big deal, just happy shes home
That is really good news, i'm so pleased for you both, and the parasite is locked up, where he belongs
Now, please update us all about your shifting issues, all sorted now?
Shifting is amazing, the internal kickdown mechanism was disengaged and now things are very smooth! will make a dedicated post soon, still have some questions
Absolutely awesome news! And with out a scratch :)
Now you are ready for the next Pagodas and Beer meeting on 19 October.
We will plan on being there! sounds fun
Artkez, great news, truly fantastic and we look forward to hearing more details on how it was located and returned.
Do not underestimate the immediate power of the AirTag. Your Pagoda would have been located to the meter within a few minutes of you noticing it was missing if you had visited Apple and paid the $20 and hid one in a very inaccessible place in your car. All that stress would not have been necessary. In the meantime, spend all that extra money on the rest of the expensive equipment you mention to prevent it from happening again.
Add one to all your cars and even your dog collar, you never know which one will go missing 😀
*I have no financial or employment ties to Apple, this is purely advice based on actual use and experience.
Already purchased, 4 for $75 was too good to pass up
Great news!
It would be good to know how the thief managed to mobilise the car "without a scratch".
Is the ignition lock not damaged?
valid point, he found our admittedly not well secured valet key and garage door opener
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Already purchased, 4 for $75 was too good to pass up
Take the speaker out (youtube). This way they are harder to detect.
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Amazing news CONGRATS. And yes on my way to pick up some AIRTAGS to place in the car!!!!! Great work LAPD!!!!!
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I don't have an AirTag, or any Apple products, but I've read on posts here that a thief's iPhone (if they have one) will detect the AirTag. I don't know if they can manage or disable the thing, but they would certainly start searching for it immediately!
Does one need an iPhone? Is there an Android AirTag app?
Does one need to remember to mute AirTag alerts each time leaving the garage?
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I don't have an AirTag, or any Apple products, but I've read on posts here that a thief's iPhone (if they have one) will detect the AirTag. I don't know if they can manage or disable the thing, but they would certainly start searching for it immediately!
Does one need an iPhone? Is there an Android AirTag app?
Does one need to remember to mute AirTag alerts each time leaving the garage?
AirTags are for Apple products only.
There are Android based trackers as well very similar in size and function. Among those released or on task TO BE released include products by Chipolo, Pebblebee, Tile, Samsung, Kzo and more. All for sale on Amazon.
An AirTag placed in a car will "log in" so to speak, by any passing iPhone, without that passing iPhone being aware of it.
However, if the AirTag is "following" one specific phone that does not belong to the owner, yes, that phone will be advised that there is an AirTag "following" them. So, if a thief steals your car with an AirTag in it, as soon as his phone is near the AirTag, that location is noted, you are advised as to the location...and if the thief has an iPhone, they will eventually be notified that they are being followed. But, by that time you already know your car was stolen and have a general idea of where it may be.
Every time my Pagoda leaves my garage--it's "home base"--I'm advised of that. I'm kept advised of its location unless it's with me. So, if I'm driving it, no notifications. If I park it somewhere and walk away, I'm told that it's left behind.
AirTags were not designed to be perfect, they were not designed to replace GPS trackers, but for $29 they do a darn good job of telling me where luggage is, for example. They won't prevent a thief from taking your car (apparently a locked car in a locked garage won't either) but they will give you an idea of where the car may be located.
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So, if a thief steals your car with an AirTag in it, as soon as his phone is near the AirTag, that location is noted, you are advised as to the location...and if the thief has an iPhone, they will eventually be notified that they are being followed. But, by that time you already know your car was stolen and have a general idea of where it may be.
Thanks, Michael. Regarding the part I quoted, if the thief is by the car in your garage, or a parking garage, or wherever the theft is being attempted, would they know then and there that an AirTag is in the car, attached to his iPhone? He would then set about finding it before moving the car. Just asking as I don't know how they work. (They = AirTags and thieves)
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Thanks, Michael. Regarding the part I quoted, if the thief is by the car in your garage, or a parking garage, or wherever the theft is being attempted, would they know then and there that an AirTag is in the car, attached to his iPhone? He would then set about finding it before moving the car. Just asking as I don't know how they work. (They = AirTags and thieves)
It's NOT when a thief or anyone else comes near the AirTag, it's when it FOLLOWS HIM.
I had my mechanic here service my car. He has an iPhone (so much better in so many ways than an Android but I digress). It didn't tell him about the AirTag until he test drove the car. When the car was in his garage, no. But when he tested the car, then HE and the AirTag were "paired" for some time, and that's when he got the notification.
This was done to prevent bad people from stalking others...as I said, it's not perfect. It's not designed to replace a GPS based tracker. But it's sure as heck worth every penny of that $29...
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Got it. Thanks!
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I don't have an iPhone so obviously air tag is not in the picture. Might there be an android equivalent? But I digress.
My question would be how do members protect their baby? This might be a difficult question to answer in that members might not want to share their methods but let's give it a try
I have redundant systems in that one prevents starting, another limits the fuel flow. Of course there is always the steering wheel lock
jb
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I don't have an iPhone so obviously air tag is not in the picture. Might there be an android equivalent? But I digress.
There are Android based trackers as well very similar in size and function. Among those released or on task TO BE released include products by Chipolo, Pebblebee, Tile, Samsung, Kzo and more. All for sale on Amazon.
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I don't have an iPhone so obviously air tag is not in the picture. Might there be an android equivalent? But I digress.
My question would be how do members protect their baby? This might be a difficult question to answer in that members might not want to share their methods but let's give it a try
I have redundant systems in that one prevents starting, another limits the fuel flow. Of course there is always the steering wheel lock
Keep the car in a garage, that's how I try and keep mine safe. It's worked for 25 years.
Live in a good neighborhood, that is a huge plus. Big ticket crime in my town is rare; not impossible but rare.
Have a real-sized dog that barks a lot. Really. My boxer-lab mix puts the fear of God into every "new" delivery driver she encounters.
One never knows why a car thief steals a car. Do they want to part it out? It's easier to steal a CAT off a new Toyota and fence that than it is dealing with a 50 year old car with obscure parts. Do they want to try and use the car? Will they drive it or flat bed or tow it away? Nothing will stop a determined thief but perhaps staring down the double barrels of a 12 gauge when caught in the act.
Most important: have good insurance for the right amount.
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Replying to John :
I have a security device and tracker in each of my cars. These not only immobilise the ignition and fuel supply, they also set off notifications at the tracking company HQ when it is moved without the ignition being on, or if the battery is disconnected.
The devices are real time, show the precise location (and a few other items) on a smartphone app, and have been reliable to date
I had another car (Landrover Defender) with the same tracking device (but not the immobiliser component) that was stolen last year. I discovered the theft at 18:30, contacted the police (took almost 3 hours….) and the tracking company thereafter. The police were pretty dismissive about finding the car, but the tracking company was in touch with them and within 20 minutes I had a call that the car had been located.
I met the police at the car by 22:30. It had been driven about 20 miles from where it had been stolen. Thieves leave cars in a quiet spot for some time to check whether there is a tracker. The ECU had already been reprogrammed so my key would not start it. I had to recover it on a low loader and have the ECU reprogrammed to match new remotes.
If I had not had a tracker, the car would have been gone….without a tracker the UK police have no means of finding a stolen car.
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Together with the air tags, I just bought myself a couple of tire chucks for parking in shady neighborhoods. Also not bullet proof, but I figure it will hopefully discourage potential thieves a bit.
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Together with the air tags, I just bought myself a couple of tire chucks for parking in shady neighborhoods. Also not bullet proof, but I figure it will hopefully discourage potential thieves a bit.
Yikes! Where exactly do you take your Pagoda and park it on the street? That’s pretty hard core!
Once I drove through the mean streets of Detroit. I rolled through every stop sign and even went through a red light or two (when safe and clear) just to avoid stopping. Made me quite anxious. Was happy to be out of there!
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Of course the thief is now in jail.
In jail? In L.A.? For stealing a car? Unheard of. Thief was probably home before your car was back in the garage.