... and buckets of blood, as my glamorous aunt Georgie used to say. Some toerag stole my very useful, fundamentally sound, bought for buttons after consulting HJ himself, fully legal, surprisingly good whatever people say Ford Escort Estate some time this afternoon or evening, from a parker just within sight of the house.
'Most of them are only a couple of streets away,' plod said reassuringly on the phone. Why didn't I believe him?
I always thought a self-respecting toerag would scorn it, but no. Perhaps better cars are harder to steal.
God I'm so annoyed. And most probably this will cause all kinds of grief and expense, not least the problem of finding something equally good with the buttons I get from the insurance, if I can find the bit of paper, and whatever shrapnel I can scrape together.
Please don't jeer. It will only upset me.
|
|
Sure it's not just been towed away by some over-zealous "parking enforcement" twonk?! Sitting in the pound awaiting a 140-quid release fee...
|
|
|
Sorry to hear it, Lud. I hope it turns up soon in good nick.
As for jeering, I'd be surprised if you get any at all. Now if it was a 4x4...
V
|
Now if it was a 4x4...
Yes, that would totally justify theft. Evil 4x4s destroying our precious planet, bah.
|
|
|
|
Hard luck. Hope you get the insurers to cough.
My Austin Cambridge, stolen in 1974, was indeed found by me a couple of streets away in Leeds. Having bussed into the city centre for a minor lunchtime pub crawl and spent my bus fare, I discovered the car on my way home, neatly parked and undamaged except for some wires hanging under the dash.
Hawkeye
-----------------------------
Stranger in a strange land
|
|
Forgotten where you left it? I had an art director who lost a car in Barons Court once.
|
nothing to say but sorry lud
consider not telling insurers
it may be cheaper in the bigger picture?
unless you get lumbered with a
weeve found your car and here is the tow in charge?
|
|
I reckoned that I needed to collect over a thousand pounds before it was worth making a claim for theft.
|
Escort estate stolen? not sure i would be shedding any tears..........
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
|
You can easily shed tears when an old car has done better than you hoped, particularly if it hasn't ever let you down. My first ever car, a 14-year-old Austin A50 bought in 1969, is still fondly remembered for that very reason.
Very sorry to hear this, m'Lud. It might well be in a nearby street - doubtless it was a joy-rider, or perhaps someone from an Escort agency (sorry). Maybe borrow a bike and tour round a bit?
|
Lud, sorry to hear of your plight but full marks for the elegance of your posting.
Think of which streets locally you wouldn't walk down alone and start looking there.
|
|
|
The later versions of the Ford Escort, from around 1995 onwards, were actually very well sorted out vehicles.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
My mate's Escort was stolen from work and bizzarely dumped around 3 streets away from his home address, evidently whoever nicked it lived fairly local to him.
By the time we got to it most things of value had been stripped, the only thing left was a Jimmy Nail CD, for which he got a lot of grief. :-)
Blue
|
|
|
The later versions of the Ford Escort, from around 1995 onwards, were actually very well sorted out vehicles.
But do they still have 'proper' bumpers so that Lud can still go a shunting? ;o)
ps, on a more serious note, sorry to hear about your loss Lud.
|
Replace it for £95:
www.volkszone.com/VZi/showthread.php?t=349510&high...t
|
|
The later Escorts did have slightly better security as well but the scrotes often nick an elderly car to give themselves a motor to ride around in looking for a better car to nick.
|
The later Escorts did have slightly better security as well but the scrotes often nick an elderly car to give themselves a motor to ride around in looking for a better car to nick.
You cant really call the first geneartion PATS system Ford fitted to the Escorts secure.
|
|
Got no engine........wouldn't want buy one from anyone with "m8s" either.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sorry to hear about this Lud
So the skoda in the garden may be of some use?
|
|
The engine is still in that one - read carefully. Bought for the engine, but not used.
|
|
And at that price I doubt I'd quibble about the seller's literacy skills.
|
|
Sorry yokel, I was in a bad mood when I read it !
|
|
|
|
|
I heard that older cars were more likely to be nicked as they were easier to start. My previous car, a Nissan MIcra, was broken into several times and never driven off. Too shameful for a joyrider to be seen in I guess.
|
|
|
|
ex girlfriend had her Escort stolen twice, some years back.......(mk1 1300E).......although to be fair you could open it with a 10p piece and she refused my offer of having yale locks fitted
the 2nd time it was recovered (from outside a local college with a student in it) the officer who restored it was at pains to point out that the 'student' had left a small piece of herbal substance right at the bottom of the glove box under a pile of cassettes
judging by the look on my girlfriends face that find had little to do with the student.......and the officer knew it, because he had a wry grin
the first time it was found at the rear of a local estate, where all the garages are, sans battery, which was irritating as i'd only bought the battery the month before.
|
In the days before good car security, (imobilisors etc) and you live din London, your car was going to get nicked, sooner or later. If it was a ford it would be sooner,
These days with a modern car it does not get knicked, just a brick through the side window to rumage around inside to see what can be nicked.
Snce 1999, every car of mine has either had a window smashed or an attempt to smash a window. The Scenic in amsterdam window smashed, the laguna in a secure carpark in amsterdam had 10 small chips in a rear window where an autopunch failed to shatter the window, and the Touran has the same after a trip to Glasgow.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
|
Lud,
Something to cheer you up. It needs to be sung to the well known Madness song.
Poor old Lud has lost his car
Hope it's not gone all that far
Maybe it will come back soon
hopefully before next June
It was Lud's great pride and joy
The insurance claim will real annoy
But maybe if his luck is in
Out of this he'll really win
For Mrs Lud might lower the bar
And let him buy a Jaguar
|
TVM - If I were you I'd be seriously considering getting that unbreakable film applied to my side windows!
Blue
|
"the scrotes often nick an elderly car to give themselves a motor to ride around in looking for a better car to nick."
Hmmm, I wonder how he knows that?
|
Harrumph.
Don't quite know how to say this. Finally managed to find a parking number for Kensington, just on the offchance that they had mistakenly lifted it.
They had lifted it. The mistake was mine. 20 or 30 yards up the road was a suspended parking bay notice (for tree surgery, not performed). I hadn't noticed it, and the parking folk left the car there all day until afternoon or evening.
Good news then in one way, bad in another (200 goddam quid, I ask you!).
I would like to thank everyone for their sympathetic and often amusing posts here. You can all have a good jeer now if you want. I am too covered in shame to care.
|
|
No self respect theif would want an Escort these days, quite ironic since they were once the most knicked car after the Fiesta.
|
|
|
Good news then in one way, bad in another (200 goddam quid, I ask you!).
Poor you :(
When a near-worthless (but still v functional) old banger of mine was lifted, I wondered if it would be cheaper to let them keep it. I abandoned the idea when some said I'd just get charged zillions a day for storage, and they'd chase me for the money :(
|
|
|
|
|
"bought the battery the month before"
I hope they charged the offender !
|
Tough luck, Lud - but chin up, at least you can still go on preaching bangernomics to the unconverted.
No lesson ever seems to come cheap these days, does it?
|
|
No shame in an honest mistake! Glad to hear you and your escort are reunited.
|
I would be hanging myself, fancy getting an escort back! Damn thing didnt even have the decency to disapear.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
|
would it be possible for you to claim it was stolen from outside your house and dumped in the parking bay by the miscreant thus avoiding the lifting fee; after all you did report the theft!
----------------------------------------------
One mans junk is another mans treasure
|
|
There is only one answer, Lud, and it lies in the bottom of a glass... Commiserations.
|
|
Yesh. Hic. Happy new year!
|
|
|
|
|
|
