Ford Dealer Stole My $820 Harley Special Edition Spare Tire And Rim
#46
Originally Posted by surf_ox
think about it
4 tires gone and truck on blocks would trigger massive police action
4 tires gone and truck on blocks would trigger massive police action
#47
Originally Posted by redford
Why would a common criminal breaking in at night care about the police investigation? Only someone on the inside of the dealership would care.
#48
Regardless of whether the truck was a special order or not, not only will the original selling dealer still have the paperwork, but Ford will have it too. There are laws affecting paperwork that dealers must abide by. Here in CA, the paperwork must be retained by the selling dealer for 7 years.
This was obviously an inside job. Most ppl have no idea what the spare looks like, and how many thiefs would have access to a new tire that would fit the truck? None. 35 yrs as a Ford partsman tells me the offender was prolly a lot porter, or some sort of flunky. No tech would risk losing his job over a spare tire theft. New or take off wheels and tires are usually stored in parts departments, or service dept storage rooms, accessible to most employees.
When the truck was on a rack, someone walked by, took a look and thought...hmmm, who would notice that the spare tire was changed? Where is the tire and wheel now? Local swap meet or fleabay.
This was obviously an inside job. Most ppl have no idea what the spare looks like, and how many thiefs would have access to a new tire that would fit the truck? None. 35 yrs as a Ford partsman tells me the offender was prolly a lot porter, or some sort of flunky. No tech would risk losing his job over a spare tire theft. New or take off wheels and tires are usually stored in parts departments, or service dept storage rooms, accessible to most employees.
When the truck was on a rack, someone walked by, took a look and thought...hmmm, who would notice that the spare tire was changed? Where is the tire and wheel now? Local swap meet or fleabay.
Last edited by NumberDummy; 07-03-2007 at 01:03 PM.
#49
There is as much chance that the "dealer" did it as someone cruising the lot looking for parts or one of the employees...etc. My point is, just because it happened *at* the dealer, doesn't mean the dealership is involved. Stuff gets stolen from dealer parking lots everyday....
I'd be careful of whom and where you accuse someone of something.
I'd be careful of whom and where you accuse someone of something.
#50
OK, I stayed out of this one, but just to bring it back on track, here's the key points I picked up:
1) The truck was ordered with, and the spare was padlocked by, the ORIGINAL OWNER.
2) It was there a few days before going to the dealer.
3) After returning from dealer, wheel is gone, and a Ford generic 16" spare is in it's place. Padlock is gone.
4) I tend to trust pissed off people who show up on web sites So far, this seems to be true information, overall.
5) A thief will not put a brand-new spare back.
This leaves the dealer. Period.
I know it's only an $800 item, but talk to the District Attorney's office. The subterfuge in this is amazing. That someone would go through putting a brand-new spare back in place, with non-Ford hardware (which I think means they cut off the original lock AND the guy's padlock).
I'd figure out what all the stickers on that spare tire mean, figure out the DOT codes on it for when it was manufactured, and get on their ***.
Amazing...
ONE other thought!
Is it possible someone destroyed the spare and hid the damage by replacing it with a stock spare? Instead of the "stealing" angle, maybe persue it with the dealer as it was possibly damaged and see if they flinch?
1) The truck was ordered with, and the spare was padlocked by, the ORIGINAL OWNER.
2) It was there a few days before going to the dealer.
3) After returning from dealer, wheel is gone, and a Ford generic 16" spare is in it's place. Padlock is gone.
4) I tend to trust pissed off people who show up on web sites So far, this seems to be true information, overall.
5) A thief will not put a brand-new spare back.
This leaves the dealer. Period.
I know it's only an $800 item, but talk to the District Attorney's office. The subterfuge in this is amazing. That someone would go through putting a brand-new spare back in place, with non-Ford hardware (which I think means they cut off the original lock AND the guy's padlock).
I'd figure out what all the stickers on that spare tire mean, figure out the DOT codes on it for when it was manufactured, and get on their ***.
Amazing...
ONE other thought!
Is it possible someone destroyed the spare and hid the damage by replacing it with a stock spare? Instead of the "stealing" angle, maybe persue it with the dealer as it was possibly damaged and see if they flinch?
#51
Or, did the spare rim show up on one of your truck's four corners ? Is one REALLY REALLY SHINY compared to the rest?
I'm thinking they screwed up a rim and shuffled the spare rim into the running gear.
I'm thinking they screwed up a rim and shuffled the spare rim into the running gear.
#52
IMO: If they did damage one wheel, I would have thought they just would have shoved the damaged back as a spare.
It'd be a lot harder to prove the lock fell off and the wheel was damaged there as opposed to "road damaged" while under the truck.
It'd be a lot harder to prove the lock fell off and the wheel was damaged there as opposed to "road damaged" while under the truck.
#54
i agree with the sticker ID on the spare, the bar code if there - should give some info as to where it came from.
and what about finger prints, people do get careless.
when i was in fla visiting relatives i took my bronco to a highly recommended repair shop to have the ac converted to 134.
i didnt think it was strange to see 3 other ford trucks of the same year until i was traveling back & my truck would die while driving.
well i had the problem before the trip and had to replace the relay, well that new relay was gone and replaced with a different color.
to top it off i was also missing 2 of the screws that hold the hub caps on on both front and rear drivers side.
i know for a fact that each cap had all 3 screws before i took it to them.
its not as bad as the special rim/tire - but it really p*&&$d me off.
i hope you get the person responsible.
and what about finger prints, people do get careless.
when i was in fla visiting relatives i took my bronco to a highly recommended repair shop to have the ac converted to 134.
i didnt think it was strange to see 3 other ford trucks of the same year until i was traveling back & my truck would die while driving.
well i had the problem before the trip and had to replace the relay, well that new relay was gone and replaced with a different color.
to top it off i was also missing 2 of the screws that hold the hub caps on on both front and rear drivers side.
i know for a fact that each cap had all 3 screws before i took it to them.
its not as bad as the special rim/tire - but it really p*&&$d me off.
i hope you get the person responsible.
#55
yeah, each tire has numbers on it to tell the production date. you can tell if the 16" spare has a production date of 2006 and the truck is 5 years old. that would tell you if the tire was switched. i doubt it if the 16" tire was 5 years old. they dont leave tires laying around that long.
#58
Beside the DOT stickers on tires, I thought they also had a serial number to track the tire for warrenty issues. Keeps you from buying new tires and then swapping with older worn out tires and returning to the dealer for money back.