ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?
 

Ok, so a little backstory to start with. I live in Chicago in the city so unfortunately do not have a garage. But I do however have a parking spot that I rent from a neighbor that has gates that I lock every night. But my work schedule sometimes fluctuates to where I get home late around 9ish and sometimes requires me to leave again early in the morning. Well, there is a parking lot across the street from my house that I sometimes park in over night. I have an arrangement with the parking lot owner that if I’m in there after 9pm and out by 9am the next morning I’m fine, because he only calls the towing company during the day.

Well, I ended up parking there last night, thinking everything would be ok. I went to bed around 11 o’clock. Left my phone on charge in the kitchen and at night I keep my phone on vibrate. I rent an apartment next door to my parent’s house so it’s times like this that I love being so close to the folks. I couldn’t sleep last night for some reason. Something told me to get up and stretch my legs and go check my phone. Not even a minute later my dad’s calling my phone. I groggily answered the phone, wondering why he was calling so late. “They’re trying to tow your car, get out here and move it now!”. My neighbor on the 2nd floor apartment saw a tow truck messing with my car and hastily called my dad and told him what was happening. So I ran out there and moved it.

That’s not even the kicker people…I called the towing company on my way to work this morning and talked to the manager there. He said he only had one flatbed out last night at 1:50am. He also said he was aware of the lot owner’s policy of not calling tows in at night simply because he is not there and doesn’t really care who parks there during that time. My dad identified the truck as a black flatbed, and the manager said his flatbed is a dark blue. This actually could have been their tow truck and my father could have been mistaken since it was late and he was woken out of his sleep as well. The tow manager could be giving me some bull about saying he didn’t have his tow trucks in the area (he stated that he checked via GPS and his truck was not out in my area last night).But it is a good chance this guy is telling the truth and it was someone totally different trying to tow me. At any rate I dodged a bullet and will not be parking there over night any more.

BUT what I believe happened was that someone tried jacking my Camaro last night. What kind of low life scum does that sh*t?! According to the tow truck company manager I spoke to this morning, he gets calls like that all the time asking if he had towed a specific car at night. Low and behold people get their cars stolen in the city of Chicago all the time by people pretending to be a tow truck company. Am I surprised? No. But am I angry that I came this close to getting car jacked? Yes.

Just wanted to vent a little bit to my fellow Camaro owners. Has anything like this ever happened to anyone or has anyone ever heard of such a shady thing? I would like to hear from you guys.
:mad0260::mad0260::mad0260:

That sucks. Sorry to hear. At least your neighbors are looking out for you though.

Wow man this is what I've been telling my friends. Most of the car thefts here are by tow trucks

:confused0068: I'm disappointed that someone tried to jack your Camaro that way. Did anyone see a license plate? Are there any cameras in the area? I'm guessing that you aren't the first near-victim.

I live here in Chicago as well.. One of my top priorities on locations I rent is secured access to a garage... My car is only parked there and nowhere else in the area.. The only exceptions are when it's in front and I have a passenger while I go inside to get something or my passenger goes inside.

The Landlord likes my car and is extra cautious when he's in the garage working on stuff.

The tenants are also aware of who's car it is.

Wow! What a crazy story! I'm glad you had people watching out for you and that you still have your car. Sotories like this really make you think and end up more paranoid than ever.

Glad it worked out for you, and hopefully this is a lesson for someone else.

I don't understand why you park across the street instead of in your own spot behind locked gates... are you saying you can't get your car out in the mornings?

What part of the city do you live in? I'm on the south side and as you are well aware parking is a bitch on the street any time after 8pm. That's why I rent out that spot from my neighbor. It's better than nothing for sure.

It was definitely a story to share with you all here on the website. And definitely a story to learn from. I will never park my car on the street again with shit like this happening.

that is crazy

North Side... Belmont area...

I know the parking down where you're at sucks... that's why I've bit the bullet on the $$$ of rent and just found a place with a garage... The place I was at before the Camaro was just a covered secured lot..

Those open lots with signs just make me nervous.. Even when I'm in the store that owns them.. They're way too quick to tow and too many asshats around here..

always park your Camaro with the steering wheel turned the whole way to the left or to the right - it makes it harder to steal.........

good idea, thanks for the tip!

actually it sometimes IS hard to get out in the morning, as there are delivery trucks in the morning in the alley for the restaurants in the neighborhood.

I've never had a problem with the lot before. It's better than having it on the street and running the risk of it getting hit. (at least it WAS better). Like i said, I will just park it in my spot like i usually do. For lack of better terms I guess you can say I was lazy last night becuase I knew I was leaving for work today. That will not be the case anymore :thumbsup: