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General Discussions Car People talking about something other than the Car Business – Is there life outside of the Dealership? |
View Poll Results: Will I ever see my Jeep Wrangler again.....? | |||
Be optimistic - The cops will find your Jeep and the thieves will have filled your gas tank | 0 | 0% | |
Be pragmatic - Best case scenario is you get your Jeep back with only $1K - $2K in damages | 2 | 22.22% | |
Be realistic - If you ever see your Jeep again it will be nothing but a stripped shell | 3 | 33.33% | |
Face the facts - Your Jeep was probably headed to Mexico before your plane even landed in Seattle | 4 | 44.44% | |
Voters: 9. You may not vote on this poll |
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09-08-2012, 06:13 AM | #16 |
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Close the border!!!
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09-08-2012, 06:40 AM | #17 |
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Good news I guess, can't replace it for 2500.00. Look close there may be something left in there that may help pay for the repairs........
Can you post pictures? |
09-08-2012, 01:34 PM | #18 | ||
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Quote:
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09-08-2012, 01:56 PM | #19 |
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It's funny you mention that because I was running on fumes as I was getting close to the airport and I decided I'd buy $10 in gas just to make sure I didn't run out. I didn't want to fill up because the pump price was too high - I guess in hindsight I should be happy the gas station had high prices or I might still be looking for my Jeep.
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09-08-2012, 02:01 PM | #20 | |
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Concerning Arizona, I'm not sure but I think the prices are regulated by the counties. Concerning the tow company that had my Jeep, while the people were all very nice the facility and equipment would have made Sanford and Son look like a Five Star operation. Given his overhead, I think a tow company in Eloy, AZ can still make money on a $95 tow. |
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09-08-2012, 02:07 PM | #21 | |
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It's not just a money thing, I really like that Jeep and I've had some great times with it over the years. It's no exaggeration to assert that I've probably got 30K+ miles of driving that Jeep with my SeaDoo in tow checking out lakes in Northern California, Southern California, Arizona and Nevada. While it would have been nice to get the Jeep back without any damages, I'm just happy to have it back. My bet (even though I didn't vote in the poll) was the Jeep was headed to Mexico and would never be seen again. |
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09-08-2012, 02:15 PM | #22 | |
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The Jeep is still in Eloy and it won't be towed to my place until Monday. I initially thought I could drive it back to Phoenix but once I saw that the windshield was gone and one of the brake light covers was broken I figured it wasn't worth the risk. The guy who runs the tow yard was very nice and agreed to tow it 95 miles for $250 and he'll deliver it sometime on Monday. It should work out OK for both of us since I was looking for a cheap tow and he needed to go to Phoenix on Monday anyways. Once I get the Jeep back I'll post some photos. |
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09-08-2012, 02:30 PM | #23 |
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If there is any silver lining to this cloud, at least parts for your Jeep are plentiful and somewhat inexpensive used, or there are tons of aftermarket bits you can use to tart it up if that is your thing.
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09-08-2012, 10:14 PM | #24 | |
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09-11-2012, 01:30 PM | #25 |
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Pictures of the carnage.....
Here are some pictures I took yesterday as my Jeep arrived from Eloy, AZ:
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09-11-2012, 03:33 PM | #26 |
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Looks like the body is setting level so the suspension might be OK. Both side steps are still there so the heavy off road stuff might have been avoided. You might want to talk to a paintless dent guy on the hood, it amazing what they can do.
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09-12-2012, 12:09 PM | #27 | |
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That said, they did beat the Hell out of the Wrangler. It looks like they put about 200 miles on it and there were cactus thorns embedded into the rubber bumpers on the front bumper and heavy scratches to the paint. It also appears they drove the vehicle for an extended time with the front windshield broken out because there's damage to the paint on the cowl and the top of the dashboard from the glass moving back and forth. The other thing I determined is what I first thought was just random vandalism was really their effort to eliminate sources of light. All three brake lights on the rear were broken and the bulbs were removed and the same thing with the interior lights. They even broke the radio display and the instrument cluster in an effort to eliminate sources of light. Concerning PDR on the hood, that's a good idea. There's part of me that wants to restore the Jeep so it looks like it did before it was stolen and then there's part of me that understands the Jeep will never be the same and just take the $500 - $1,000 hit on re-sale value if I ever decide to sell it. On a final note, they broke into the Jeep by using a screwdriver in the passenger door lock and used the same technique for the ignition lock. |
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09-14-2012, 07:22 AM | #28 | |
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Wish the out-come would have been better for you! |
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09-15-2012, 12:53 PM | #29 | |
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I've had some locals speculate that the three windows were broken out by the thieves in an effort to deal with the excessive heat in the desert. During the time they had the Jeep it wouldn't be uncommon to have desert temperatures be in the high 90s or low 100s well past midnight. In those temperatures even with AC the Wrangler has a tough time keeping the cabin cool. The other thing I recently determined is the thieves used the steel rod that's part of the Jeep's jack handle assembly to break out all of the glass - it also appears this was the tool they used to stab-out the "Part-Time" light that was illuminated on the IP cluster. I don't think mine was the first Wrangler these guys ever stole..... I'm still in the very happy to have my Jeep back mode. While I agree it would have been nice to get the Jeep back with no damage, the simple fact that I have it back is more than I ever thought would happen. |
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09-17-2012, 10:51 AM | #30 |
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Looking better but still not street legal....
I had a chance to spend some time this weekend and got the TJ cleaned up. It's still not street legal but it looks a lot better then it did when it first arrived from Eloy.
Here's a recent picture: I need to get the glass replaced (rear quarter windows and windshield), three brake lights replaced and seat belts installed and then the Wrangler will be street legal again. If I get a chance this afternoon I'm going to see about getting the brake lights and seat belts from a wrecking yard. If the wrecking yard doesn't work out I can always get the parts via Ebay. |
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