Stolen Pagodas

[Douglas]

As Pagoda values escalate, Pagoda theft will as well. Unfortunately, that's just how things go.

I suggest we all stay vigilant, act as a community, and contribute to this thread as often as necessary.

Here's a description of a Pagoda that was stolen at Essen in 2003:

http://www.classicdriver.com/uk/magazine/3300.asp?id=11556

Keep your eyes out for this car. (There's also a nice reward mentioned in the article.)

Douglas Kim
New York, NY
280 SL #018260

[peterm]

I don't think we need worry too much about theft.  This is a niche market with relatively speaking, very few cars around.  The main theft market is for parts.  Most of us have migrated to high end repair facilities which will not likely use stolen parts ergo, there will be little market for theft.  A complete stolen vehicle is so easily traced and visible I doubt it would go unnoticed.  theft and overseas hipment is a possiblilty but thats an awful lot of work for a relatvely low value poor stolen car market.

And lastly as we baby these cars, its unlikely they will be left unattended for any peiod of time in a "theft" zone.  Though a garage in NYC with keys in the valets hand could be problem.

All that being said mine is likely being dismantled as I type.

[J. Huber]

Much depends on where you live. In my neck of the woods (the woods!), the likely thief will be kids trying to grab it for a joyride and then sending it off a mountainside (ouch). In more urban areas, I think nabbing various chrome parts would be the modus operendi.

James
63 230SL

[Cees Klumper]

I do worry about thefts. Since about two years, I have heard about four thefts of Pagodas, two from group members in Europe (Switzerland and Italy). I don't know where they take these cars but I imagine there's a lot of 'new money' in for example Russia that's waiting for a purpose.
My car has an immobilizer, is always parked in an inconspicious garage etc. A few weeks ago I heard about how some classic car thieves in The Netherlands tend to operate: when they spot an attractive car on the road, they take down the license number and have it tracked to the owner's home address. I am glad my garage is a few miles from my home ...

Cees Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[SL113fan]

Perhaps a good defense is to splice in a discretely located kill switch on one of the coil wires.  Note that too long of a spliced connection could bring the coil + or - wire resistance out of spec.  As such, check the resistance afterwards.  A well-hidden kill switch basically requires someone to tow the car if they really want it.

[rwmastel]

Who was the guy on the Yahoo! Group who got his W113 stolen?  Tom Collitt?  I can't remember.  Anyway, it got stripped and then the police found it.  From what I remember, he got it back and is restoring it.  Is that correct?  I don't want to spread lies.

Rodd
Powell, Ohio, USA
1966 230SL, Euro, Auto, Leather, both  tops
1994 E420

[Bob G ✝︎]

Los Angeles is the car capital and cars like toyota camery and Hondas get nabbed alot. I have a very good alarm system that will notify me directly to my cell phone is someone has broken in plus I have a locating system used by the police to track my car. Too much security to enjoy a classic car.

Bob Geco

[France]

Cees,

Ha! and I wasn't going to voice my American-in-Europe rude thoughts about the Russian black market!  For the info of list members living outside Europe, in western Europe we have indeed seen an increase in eastern gangs preying on posh western stuff, including cars. Things disappear into thin air, either taken whole to places like Russia or immediately parted out and smuggled out in vans.  In fact, when they were looking for the Merc test driver "involved" in that accident I mentioned on your speed thread, people were joking that his car was probably in parts in the Czech Republic by the end of the day...



Trice
1968 280SL US, signal/bl leather, auto

[Gerhard]

I must agree with Cees, here in europe things tend to be different maybe because there are many former east european countries. From a lot of those countries we do not know peoples mentality. In the past years strange "accidents" have happened on west european highways. Just a couple of weeks ago when I drove my 230sl back to the garage I saw someone was following me all the way home. This guy just wanted to ask if he could use my car for his wedding but I know people have been followed just to find out where a car is parked if they can't track it down on licenseplate. I don't want to scare anyone but these things do happen. Over the last weeks we had a program on TV called "Peking Express" It's a race from Moscow to Bejing, couples hiking their way through Russia, Mongolia, China. The couples visited a number of major cities which according to western maps do NOT exist.

Gerhard Radstake
1965 230SL

[Douglas]

Here's a striipped white 280SL in LA for sale:

http://adcache.collectorcartraderonline.com/10/8/9/74182889.htm

(Hope Bob Geco's car is under lock and key!)

Douglas Kim
New York, NY
280 SL #016220

[promedical]

Ohhh god. Thanks where I life a 250SL A Boeing 747 or a Ford Victory really doesn't make any difference. Pretty beutiful country area.

Gus

[hauser]

Was the Essen Pagoda ever recovered?

1969 280sl 5 spd        1999 ML320          Gainesville,Fl.

[babarsheikh]

I just got my first Pagoda: 1970 280SL.  I live in Southern California and would like to install an alarm. Does anyone have any experience and suggestions? I would really appreciate it.

[Cortez-Campos]

funny, I was just thinking of this topic today, could we as a forum do anything to prevent theft?
As babarsheikh ask, does anyone have experience how to install an alarm etc?
Also what can we do if our car got stolen? make a datalist with the ID numbers perhaps? so we can see where the pagodas belong?


280 SL 1969 anthracite 172, with red inteior.

[Bob G ✝︎]

I had my beautifull Toyota 4 by 4 stolden in a nice neiborhood in West Los Angeles. It took three months to recover a disinvowed shell with nachos littered in the passenger compartment and parts missing and body work dented and mangled. No way I was going to try and restore that. Such a chame at 147,000 miles it looked not a day old in my care.
So I will not drive my pagoda with out in being in my sight. Sorry to say that  theses cars are worth more in parts than in one peice. I don't even trust a grauge to work on my car with out being their. "I have heard too many stories of parts disapearing  like the jack and any loose items that can be hustled from an SL that the unsuspecting owner may not notice till its too late to report.
Sorry but if I have to learn to work on my won car its the price I will pay to keep it safe.
Bob Geco

[rwmastel]

quote:Originally posted by Cortez-Campos

Also what can we do if our car got stolen? make a datalist with the ID numbers perhaps? so we can see where the pagodas belong?

Cortez,

Like this one?
http://www.sl113.org/data/carreg/show_table.asp

Rodd
Powell, Ohio, USA
1966 230SL, Euro, Auto, Leather, both  tops
1994 E420

[JamesL]

The London police were warning Merc owners last year/2004 of a spate of thefts of W123s and the early E's, by no means classic cars

Nice cars were literally spirited away, never to be seen again. It took months of surveillance for them to work out that they were being nicked, stripped or driven whole into containers and taken straight to Lagos. Taxis in Lagos are, apparently, predominantly 123s/E's....

Go figure

Alarms are not worth the money, IMO. When was the last time you paid attention to one going off? Get an immobilier fitted and a tracker. And hope your car doesn't get lifted

Another tale... A DB5(?) disappeared off a posh London street last year. Broad daylight, a crane/low loader pulled up, lifted the car and drove off with it. Neighbours watched this and assumed that either it was broken down, being reposessed or was illegally parked...

[Sven]

I didn't have the car stolen, rather a set of those elusive sunvisors.  They were in the trunk while at the shop and walked away during that time. I do have a possible culprit in mind (if your reading this, you know who you are, and don't forget I'm 6'5" and 235#).  Maybe when I am having a really bad day........