Bastards messed up my Tundra!

Some asshole crankhead broke the passenger window of my brand new Tundra last night and pried open the locked glove box. In the process, the paint on the door got scratched and the dash right at the top of the glove box has a couple small pry marks. Son of a BITCH! The truck has 3000 miles on it.

I'm particularly bummed about the dash, because it appears to me that I now have two choices: either I live with the little pry marks for the next 15 years, or I have a new dash put into the rig. RIght now, I have no rattles or buzzes and I just know if I have new dash put in, it's not going to be as "tight" as this one, the factory installed one, is. Next in line that I'm bummed about is the scratches on the door. I don't see how that can be fixed other than overspraying it and blending it into the other panels. My truck is metallic silver and that seems to be a particularly hard color to get right, judging by some stuff I've seen on the road.

Then there's several plastic parts that need replacing, and of course the glove box itself. And the pistol that was in the glove box. What a pisser!

I am going to insist on Toyota glass for the window; anyone know what kind of resistance to expect from the insurance company on that issue?

Damn it.

-jeff

Reply to
Jeff Olsen
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They will most likely try to get you to go to one of the shops they usually do business with, meaning cheap, after market parts.

I went through this a couple of years ago and got three estimates from three Toyota dealers, making sure the one I usually go to was the lowest. I has some initial resistance because the insurance agent wanted me to go to one of the places they usually do business with. I was insistent and they finally admitted that I could get the truck repaired anywhere I choose.

My Tundra was fixed using factory parts and, while it cost the insurance company more than taking it to the cheap place, it didn't cost me any more than the deductible I had to pay anyway.

My advise is to get estimates from places that have factory parts and be a step ahead of the insurance people. Remember, the insurance company's job is to NOT pay you if they can get away with it.

Skip

Reply to
Skip

WHOA. Stop RIGHT there. There was a PISTOL in the glove box?

This should have been mentioned right up front, not buried in the next-to-last paragraph of the story. In newspaper accounts, this deliberate suppression of 'uncomfortable' details that they want to downplay is called "Burying the Lead" - they have to say it, but they also hope nobody reads through to the end of the article and spots it.

First: When this happened, did you immediately call the local police or sheriff's and have them come take a theft report, including the weapon serial number, and dust the truck for prints? If someone commits a crime (or several) with that weapon, and it is recovered and traced they will come right back to you - and without a police report to back your side of the story, to quote Ricky Ricardo "You have some 'splainin' to do, Lucy..."

Next: Who saw you put the weapon in the glovebox, or would otherwise have reason to know it was in there?

Odds are if this happened at your residence it was done by someone you know. It could have been a "Friend" who isn't, or a neighbor kid who saw you handling the weapon and always wanted a new toy. And if you catch them, you can make them pay for the repairs to the truck.

If someone may have observed you put the weapon in the glovebox at a gun range or police station (or other public location), go there first thing tomorrow and see if they have cameras, review the security camera tapes for the last few days if they do, and see if you get any ideas on who it might be. It may be a known local lowlife - but if the tape gets recorded over in the weekly rotation, you'll never know.

And the obvious: Why in the F*** were you leaving a weapon in the glovebox instead of placing it in a locked gun safe securely bolted under the car seat, where they would have to work at getting it? Car Gloveboxes are NOT proper secured storage for weapons.

I have no problems with proper concealed carry, but leaving the weapon not properly secured is stupid at best. Depending on your state and local laws, either get a proper concealed carry holster or carrying case and take the weapon inside the house with you at night, or buy a proper and secure storage box and be a bit more discreet when using it.

It all depends on your insurance coverage. I would insist on matching factory glass - it shouldn't cost much more - and if they made a model-year change to the glass, that's going to be the only place to get it for a while till it gets into the aftermarket pipeline.

The entire door will have to be painted rather than a spot touch-up. You are right that metallic paints are very fussy about paint technique, because the metal flakes act like millions of tiny mirrors. The painter has to match the 'wetness' of the paint and thinner mix, and match the 'hand' of the paint robots at the factory (spray on the right-to-left or left-to-right stroke only), or the repainted panel will literally stand out like a beacon in direct sunlight.

I wouldn't try changing the dash pad - you are right that you're inviting rattles. They have repair putty and vinyl paints you can use to repair and blend out the scars on the dashboard, so nobody sees them unless they know where to look - and let the last faint tracks remain there as a reminder, so you'll never be tempted to do that again.

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

I was sympathetic until you mentioned "pistol". I own guns, too. But, only a complete moron leaves a gun in the car. The BEST scenario now is that it's in the hands of a truly bad guy who knows how to use it. He probably won't shoot anyone unintentionally. If statistics are true, he'll probably shoot someone just like himself. But, in reality, most car break-ins are done by youngsters. So, now your pistol's in some kid's sock drawer and he's probably got NO idea how to even pick it up safely.

Nice work, putz.

Reply to
Doug Kanter

Yep, my biggest worry would have been the gun, and why I would ever think of carrying it in the glove box in the first place. Forget the truck with a few scratches IMO.

Cheri

Reply to
Cheri

Hey Jeff,

Betcha never expected the comments about the gun in the glovebox, huh?

Reply to
bearman

Yeah he screwed up by placing the weapon there, but what's done is done and hopefully a lesson learned, so that automatically disqualifies him from seeking an answer about the vehicle?

Reply to
Grip

No. He can still have an answer to the body work questions. But, keep this in mind: There is a segment of the population which likes to say "Well...it was legal for me to leave my gun in the truck. It wasn't legal for them to come and steal it, so don't blame ME if somebody's little brother shoots himself with it".

Hopefully, the OP is not going to come back and try THAT routine here, even though he might be the type who thinks it's a valid thing to say.

Reply to
Doug Kanter

I didn't see anybody say that. He got a lot of answers about the scratches. I'm just saying my biggest worry would have been the gun gone missing, since the scratches can be fixed.

Cheri

Reply to
Cheri

If he didn't want comments about the gun, he shouldn't have included that info in the message.

Cheri

Reply to
Cheri

This is why you carry low deductable comprehensive insurance. I had a rock smashed thrugh my windsheild a year ago by some kids partying and it damaged hood too. Insurance fixed it quickly no problems and it only cost me 100 bucks out of pocket.

----------------- The SnoMan

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Reply to
SnoMan

Who said anything about that?

Bearman

Reply to
bearman

IMHO, mistake to keep a weapon in the truck, but a good body shop should be able to fix everything back to the original or near-original condition. I would think the truck alarm would sound without putting in an ignition key within so many seconds--mine does! Sorry you became a victim--vandalism can happen to anyone.

Reply to
Phisherman

Reply to
Grip

in article snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com, Bruce L. Bergman at snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.invalid wrote on 4/17/06 12:23 AM:

No, it's called being on-topic! This is a truck group and that comment was incidental to the thrust of THIS posting.

If you want to, go look at the rec.guns and see my post entitled "Bastards stole my gun" or something like that. Typed moments before (or after !) the post you replied to...

I of course notified the police, gave them the serial number etc. They cannot or will not or want not to have any involvement beyond that. Dusting for prints would be absolutely out of the question. The police are very understaffed here, or so they say.

Nobody. Someone might have seen me lock the box. The pistol was in it when I left the house.

I was playing guitar in a band at a benefit party for a friend with probably terminal cancer. It was at a pub owned by friends of mine. Though it would be legal for me to carry in their pub since it's not posted otherwise, it would be disrespectful to them. Plus I knew I'd be getting hugged a lot! :-) Getting "made" in their would be disastrous. OTOH, it's not a good neighborhood and I had about $5k in equipment with me.

I think it was because my new Tundra was by far the nicest, shinyest vehicle there and this dope needed his fix and played the odds there'd be at least some cash in there (which there was).

(by the way, we raised over $3200! Maybe a vacation for a very sick man)

Easy there big fella. In Oregon people routinely do that; not many safes in cars here. Not saying I won't do that, mind you (I've only had the truck 2 months). Bedliner was the first priority by far. Do you know of such a safe for the Tundra Access cab truck? I had a Tuffy in my Jeep...

Some good advice in there. I live in the deep woods and have several other guns of various types in the house (in a gun safe, I agree gun safes = good thing). Nobody can see where I park the vehicles on my land. I don't like concealing in a holster; I can do it better without.

Thanks! I get the window (Toyota glass) tomorrow... that puts it out of crisis mode at least!

-jeff

Reply to
Jeff Olsen

Actually, he could have problems in his workplace. Private businesses can make ANY rules they want, which is exactly how black people were excluded from restaurants in the South.

Some cops are more understanding than you'd imagine! When I first got my carry permit, I was in line in the bank, wearing a short jacket, and I didn't realize how much the gun was sagging. An inch of muzzle was sticking out from under the jacket. A copy was in line behind me. He tapped me on the shoulder and whispered "You're a little bit exposed down there", and sort of used his eyes to direct my attention the problem. I had my wallet in my hand already, so I flipped open to the permit, which put him at ease. He pulled out a notepad, at which point I wondered if I was getting some sort of summons. Instead, he wrote down the name of a police supply place for me, and said "Go see these guys - they'll make sure you don't have this problem again".

That was that.

Reply to
Doug Kanter

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Just for the record, I wasn't commenting pro or con on the gun issue. I was just trying to say that the gun would have been my biggest worry since the scratches could be fixed. My 04 Tacoma is silver, and it had a ding in it. We bought the scratch fix and tried to fix it, but you can notice it, so next time I will take it to the Toyota dealership. I have guns, but not in the truck. :-)

Cheri

Reply to
Cheri

I know. This has been a nicely balanced discussion, in terms of nobody popping up (yet) and saying "Ha! This is why nobody should have guns! I told ya so!"

Reply to
Doug Kanter

You do realize that you SO just jinxed it, right?... ;-P

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

Sometimes I use absurd examples, but the fact is that a car is so easy to break into that you may as well leave it unlocked.

Oh please....theft has existed forever. This is nothing new.

Reply to
Doug Kanter

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