So last night some dip$#!ts decided they needed my center caps more than me. They actually stole the center caps from my HHR SS and the wifes G6 GT. Does anyone know where I could possibly find replacements other than from the dealer? They also kinda scratched up the rims a bit where they pried the caps out. I was really thinking about filing an insurance claim and trying to get the rims replaced but I don't know if they would for the small amount of scratching that there is. I haven't called the cops yet and I know I would need to if I file an insurance claim.

 

Here We Go Again:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Set-o...item33563f7d36

Good Luck ,

 

Wow that really sucks, and so stupid. They must of needed some crack.

 

What a Coincidence ! The Ebay Link is in His Back Yard ! Things that Make You Go HMMMMM.....

 

Go to your local flee market this weekend and you'll probally find the caps , and the scumbag that nabed them.

 

Kevin, I think you are on to something. The Ebay dude is making a career on sets of hub caps, look at his other items. I say file a police report and hand the cops a copy of the ebay auction. Criminals are that stupid.

 

Ya , It's strange that everything he sells is easily stolen, And with all the dif. mfgs , he should have some proof that he's a dealer, that has paper work for this monster accumulation of stuff. I went to his completed auctions and if you look close at some of the pics , you will see scratches on some of the caps, meaning he's not getting them new. Call the cops !

I'd bet he's a full time thief.

 

By the time the cops can get a warrant to get Ebay to cough up the seller's info, they will be sold. Chances are the seller is a second or third purchaser down the line, anyway.

We had a similar situation in my city that I investigated. A local shady used car dealer allegedly sent out people to pop center caps off of GMC Envoys, etc. He would get them and then Ebay them. It is difficult to prove as there is no identifying marks particular to a specific set of caps, and he was in the auto business, so.......difficult to prove.

He would pay about $20.00 to the guys to steal them, to replace them was about $80.00 apiece. Quite a racket he had going on. He had some other problems that interrupted his resale business, but it certainly did not help the owners of the center caps.

You can search on Ebay all day and find center caps to everything out there. Obviously, people are not losing four at a time accidentally and people find them on the side of the road. Also, owners would not sell them separately if they had the wheels and wanted to sell everything as a package.

My answer will not make a lot of people happy, really this is not the crime of the century and the cops have to investigate cases that usually have higher priority. Try engraving your caps with identifiers, best is a driver's license # with state info. May not save you from losing the caps, but it certainly does make them more difficult to sell. The situation definitely sucks, though.

The next thing, and good luck with this one, is complain to Ebay. If you cut off his sales, he has no easy way to get rid of these things except maybe Craigslist.

 

It's not like this guy has 10 sets of caps and when there gone there gone, this is what he sells, He's been doing it for a long time, and mostly higher end rides. It's called reselling stolen property , whether he stole it or not , It's a crime, and with the cash he's bringing in probally a felony.

 

One question to you. How do you prove it? Prove that it is stolen property, not a supposition.

You ask him where he gets them, he says none of your business. What do you do then?

I've been doing this for 25+ years. Been there, asked the questions. Is he a thief, maybe. But, prove it. Anyone can accuse anybody of anything. How do you know he may not be recovering them from wrecks, may have a friend in the auto salvage business and is sharing the profits? May be a wheel/tire dealer getting in the stock wheels, owner doesn't want them and he resells the caps. On and on and on. It comes down to one thing, before the State's Attorney will file any kind of charges, you have to have a confession, video evidence or a good eyewitness to the crime. Do you have any of those???

I love armchair police, they have no idea what the job entails. And remember, the police don't charge the guy, they only gather the evidence that is there to gather.