2nd ZL1 Stolen out of my bloody driveway...

[Nor Cal ZL1]

Originally Posted by JustDo1nMe

I would still like to know how this car was so easily stolen? Did they use a tow truck or what??

Super easy I am not going to give specifics, never know who is reading the threads.

It involves cutting the alarm wire.
A hacked ECM in some cases
Disable Onstar

It takes a few minutes at most.

Sorry to hear OP that sucks. Did you review the video and note them popping the hood? If not OBD hack?

The specifics were revealed by a theft task force in Nor Cal, though I suspect a few different methods. I do not live near there, and don"t take my car there either. Car is disabled in the garage just in case it spreads.

Best advice is Garage the car, and layer on some personalized protections. For now all the cars are being driven away. Most also seem targeted from residences, or parking lots/garages. They seem to prefer the south bay, and Walnut creek affluent areas. Quick trip back with onstar disabled to the chop shop. If it sits outside, it is just a matter of time if it has a V8.

[Desmoden]

Support Car was the car that dropped off the two guys and seemed to hang out in "support"

[Benchys86]

Sorry, hope they find the scumbags.

[Desmoden]

Garage contains my workshop with a LOT of equipment, my Harley and anything else my Wife can talk me into finding a place for.

I tried doing both a workshop & car and it didn't work for me. If I had a 100k, 200k 300k car I would have considered a secure storage location. This is Sunnyvale in the Bay Area, 60-80k cars are _everywhere_. 120k Telsa's everywhere you look. These are million dollar homes where you can take walks at 2am in total safety. Logically if the car is so easy to steal how you could take it to dinner or drive it to work? I feel I should be allowed some confidence in my driveway being safe. Perhaps I am wrong.

For when I was home I added 3 HD video camera with night vision and got LoJack. I also had both GM and OnStar assure me that from 2013 - 2015 Both the security of the car and of OnStar had improved.

When I went away I went further. I would

Leave the gas tank nearly empty
I would put nails under the tires
I would remove the oil cap and other things
I would leave a note in the car mentioning the engine damage that would be done in driving the car.
I would park the car at an angle using my Wife's to block the car in.

This time I was at home, awake, in the living room, 50 ft from the car.

And to be very honest, while I did all of these, I really thought the odds of this happening a second time was very low. Statistically flawed argument I know.

And I really had a lot of faith in LoJack. I still hope they find it.

I would not expect AAA to raise my rates, if they do, they will lose a lot more than my car policy.

[Desmoden]

Added info,

Here is the timeline with what can be seen in the video

3:40:23am support car leaves casting enough light to see person crouched at front of my vehicle
3:41:08am support car returns and reverses by driveway to in front of house on left
3:41:34am 2nd guy arrives and crouches in front of vehicle
3:42:34am 2nd guy gets up and starts walking toward drivers side door and sees camera pointed at him, casually turns around and walks toward house on left
3:50:02am 2nd guy can be seen in left corner of camera image trying to pull a garden tool over the fence, after 4 attempts gives up
3:52:11am guy hand can be seen trying to push camera down to face ground, after a few tries succeeds
4:10am LoJack notified me via email that the vehicle has been moved without the fob.
5:15am I see email and check to see that the car is gone. Begin calling OnStar, LoJack and Police
6:40am Police call back to take initial info statement and ask me to come to the police station.
9:00am I am back at home with police report in utter shock.

[snarky]

get a third one and sleep in it. with a gun. a couple dead thieves wouldn't be a loss to me.

[Faster12]

Originally Posted by flipstyledsm22

OP was proactive on his second ZL1.

If you notice, he also said that he removed two of the three cameras and forgot to re-install them. So, again he didn't do all he could do. Either way, the point isn't to blame him, just to say that we have to be realistic about the circumstances. If you are more than aware of the crime and propensity for those types of cars to be stolen you need to be willing to work just as hard to keep it as the the thieves are working to steal it. I never said it was fair, I just said it was true. And the comment about if a theif wants something he will get it...that's not true either.

[Faster12]

Originally Posted by Desmoden

Garage contains my workshop with a LOT of equipment, my Harley and anything else my Wife can talk me into finding a place for.

I tried doing both a workshop & car and it didn't work for me. If I had a 100k, 200k 300k car I would have considered a secure storage location. This is Sunnyvale in the Bay Area, 60-80k cars are _everywhere_. 120k Telsa's everywhere you look. These are million dollar homes where you can take walks at 2am in total safety. Logically if the car is so easy to steal how you could take it to dinner or drive it to work? I feel I should be allowed some confidence in my driveway being safe. Perhaps I am wrong.

For when I was home I added 3 HD video camera with night vision and got LoJack. I also had both GM and OnStar assure me that from 2013 - 2015 Both the security of the car and of OnStar had improved.

When I went away I went further. I would

Leave the gas tank nearly empty
I would put nails under the tires
I would remove the oil cap and other things
I would leave a note in the car mentioning the engine damage that would be done in driving the car.
I would park the car at an angle using my Wife's to block the car in.

This time I was at home, awake, in the living room, 50 ft from the car.

And to be very honest, while I did all of these, I really thought the odds of this happening a second time was very low. Statistically flawed argument I know.

And I really had a lot of faith in LoJack. I still hope they find it.

I would not expect AAA to raise my rates, if they do, they will lose a lot more than my car policy.

OP, I know it sucks and just to clarify, for you, I do agree you should be allowed to live in peace and ha e things you want without fear of them being taken, but sadly we live in a time where people pride themselves on their shitbaggery. They wear their shame like badges of honor and will proclaim that stealing, dealing, and killing are exciting activities. While we all wish there was a way to rid ourselves of these wretched, infectiously diseased members of society, the truth is we cannot. It's a shame that we have to be willing to die for simple things at this point, because otherwise you can't hold on to much. But, count your losses, recoup and then get a solid plan before the next purchase. I seriously say park it in the back yard if you can't put it anywhere else. It'll kill your grass, but it will save your wallet and your nerves.

[AllBlackSS]

Can't you pull the octane fuses and the car wont start?

[Nor Cal ZL1]

Originally Posted by kingmike

Can't you pull the octane fuses and the car wont start?

Yes

[flipstyledsm22]

Originally Posted by Faster12

If you notice, he also said that he removed two of the three cameras and forgot to re-install them. So, again he didn't do all he could do. Either way, the point isn't to blame him, just to say that we have to be realistic about the circumstances. If you are more than aware of the crime and propensity for those types of cars to be stolen you need to be willing to work just as hard to keep it as the the thieves are working to steal it. I never said it was fair, I just said it was true.

However you look at it, you are blaming the OP.

I honestly would have done the same as he had. I came up out of the ghetto areas and had my fair share of being paranoid that people will steal my belongings AGAIN. Thing is, it's too stressful to have to always worry and practice security/safeguard rituals... where eventually, you actually stop worrying because you get tired of the headaches from the inconveniences it causes. It's unfortunate that he was hit twice now, but it is in no way his fault, that's just a ridiculous blame... unless he left his car unlocked with the keys in the ignition in public, then say what you want. As I mentioned before, we can only move forward by remaining alert, aware of our surroundings, and reporting anything we hear/witness that is a crime. There are a lot of good suggestions posted, but criticizing and picking apart what the OP typed is not helpful, or a solution to the overall delema.

Originally Posted by Faster12

And the comment about if a theif wants something he will get it...that's not true either.

It is very true. If you have been targeted, they will stick to you until the opportunity is there. If not you, they will search till they find what they are wanting. It was already addressed, but eventually he is going to have to go somewhere in his car, which leaves him open to the opportunity for theft.

[E. Bryant]

The biggest surprise in this whole ordeal is LoJack's response. Seriously, they won't/can't track the car until the owner involves the police? If I'm sleeping or otherwise involved, that potentially gives the thieves ample time to move the car and disable the device. This seems to seriously degrade the value of the service :(

[The_Driver]

Originally Posted by sspddmn

Actually, Sunnyvale where the OP is from and where the ZL1 got stolen is considered to be a very desirable and expensive city to live in where residential real estate costs are in the 7 figure range to the left of the decimal point

And this is why a lot of cars like that get stolen from those areas. People have the false notion of thinking just because they live in a nice expensive area that nothing will happen to them. In reality, it is precisely those areas where car theft rings go looking to find their next victim.

[KaBoom1701]

Originally Posted by The_Driver

And this is why a lot of cars like that get stolen from those areas. People have the false notion of thinking just because they live in a nice expensive area that nothing will happen to them. In reality, it is precisely those areas where car theft rings go looking to find their next victim.

Calm down Bernie.....

Rich people should be able to have nice things without the fear of thief's....