Finding out that your car has been stolen can be traumatic. The best approach is to remain calm and take the proper steps to report your stolen vehicle. If you act quickly, the police may be able to find your car before any significant damage is done. Even if your car is found damaged, your insurance company may be able to have it repaired and back on the road.
Check With Friends And Family
Are you sure that you did not lend your car to a friend or family member? Did your son or daughter take the car without letting you know? If you were at a social event the night before and drank too much alcohol, someone might have brought you home and held onto your car keys for you. It is possible that your car was towed because you parked illegally, or it may have been repossessed for lack of payment. Before you make a report of a stolen vehicle, you should take the time to make sure it is actually stolen.
Contact The Authorities
Before you call the police, have your registration information ready so you can give the police your vehicle identification number and your license plate number. If you have any kind of tracking system in your car that might come with a security system, then the police will want that information as well.
Contact The Department Of Motor Vehicles
Your local DMV office often provides the police with information regarding stolen cars that can help lead to getting your car back faster. Call the DMV and let them know that your car has been stolen and the police have been notified.
Report Your Loss To The Insurance Company
Believe it or not, you might have car insurance that does not reimburse you if your car is stolen. After you have contacted the authorities, you should contact your insurance company and ask if you have coverage for a stolen vehicle. Even if you do have the right kind of insurance, it could take weeks before the insurance company issues a check. When your insurance company does pay you, it will pay you the actual value of the car based on their database.
Few things in life are more frustrating than walking towards your driveway and noticing that your car has been stolen. Instead of panicking, you should take the proper steps to inform the right parties and get the process started for recovering your vehicle. It might help you to know that around 8 out of every 10 stolen vehicles are returned to their owners.
Jim Treebold is a North Carolina based writer. He lives by the mantra of “Learn 1 new thing each day”! Jim loves to write, read, pedal around on his electric bike and dream of big things. Drop him a line if you like his writing, he loves hearing from his readers!