As I was walking out of work with my coworker, I headed towards my normal parking spot. Looking… looking…am I going crazy? Like, “Chels, where’s my car?” I keep walking and you know that wave of panic that washes over you…yep. As I got closer, I saw my door handle on the ground. Oh, it’s gone! Where the heck is my car?!!
I did all the right things: parked under a light, parked with all the other employees, put the club on my steering wheel. Yes, I own a Kia. Optima. Great condition, panoramic sunroof, low miles and finally had a clean interior because I am not carting around messy kids with sticky hands and muddy shoes. I loved my car. It fit me. I just celebrated my 3 year anniversary of my purchase. This car I was particularly proud of because it was the first car in decades that was fairly new so I didn’t have to worry about repairs or breaking down. I had built my credit score so I got a decent rate for a car loan. Plus, I finally had a car loan that I didn’t have to roll over the previous loan into. I was always on the other side with the financial instability which added to my stress. This time…I could get in my car and go. No anxiety. I could breathe easy.
Now I hear you. You are saying”but it was a Kia. You knew the risks”. Mind you, I bought my car at least a year before the whole video thing came out showing thieves how to steal Kias. So it wasn’t even a thing at that time. And.…who is going to buy my car at market value, so I could pay off the loan and get a different car. I would, again, be put in a financial loss of rolling the balance into the next car. I don’t have cash laying around at my disposal or I would buy a vehicle out right. And…now you are blaming the victim of the crime, not the criminal. I should be able to have the car that I want without having to worry that it is at high risk. Like I said, I even had the club on it. Obviously it didn’t work. The police officer said they don’t work, antitheft doesn’t work. Basically, if they want your car, they will take it.
The next morning a get a call from a woman who says she is a manager at an apartment complex and found some of my personal items in their parking lot. So whoever took my car drove a few miles up the road, took the time to dump some of my stuff…took my spare eyeglasses though….and took off. What are you going to do with my prescription eyeglasses? I got the club back, as you can see. Bent! Anyways, it was obviously not a 13 year old thug out for a joy ride and crashing it up. It is someone who knows what they are doing; having a reason. My guess is to strip it for parts. Semi-professional criminal at best.
Here’s the part that unsettles me though. From the time I discovered it was gone, to the cop showing up, to getting a ride home, to going to this apartment complex the next day to pick up my stuff, I was super chill. Like, crazy how calm I was. Heck, just a few short years ago I would have been a raving, raging, motherf..n, out of my mind lunatic. That would seem like a normal response. Nope, I am Zen(that’s what working on myself did for me). Until I think about it more. They knew my car was there. They’ve probably been watching for a bit. And that night, some of my coworkers who got out earlier than me were hanging out in the parking lot talking for a while. And my car was there. Whoever took it was watching them and waiting for them to leave. They didn’t stumble upon my car. That was their night. And the window of time from when my coworkers left to when I got out of work was less than an hour. And it was clean hit. No broken glass, no alarm, no fuss, just the broken door handle. Knowing that I was specifically targeted and that whoever stole it was watching my coworkers…that unhinges me.
At the time I sat down to write this post it’s been 11 days with no car and no news. And then I wrote the title of this story. As I am typing, my insurance contact called. She got a report that my car has been found. 2 days ago. Wait, what? The police are supposed to call me immediately when they find it. Nope! So now what? I’ll share another post after everything is finalized; whenever that is.
Oh, and how did that apartment manager get my phone number to call me? I had my most recent receipt from my annual car inspection still in my car that had my info on it. One lesson to learn…do not ever leave anything in my car that I don’t care about. Just because it’s mine doesn’t mean someone else can’t take it. Remember that!
