The bingo the lotto you know I'll never win those

A week ago a helpful neighbor of Seattlest's reported the fact that our car hadn't moved in ten months to the city. Chalk on the tires, then a ticket and then an impound notice appeared in quick succession. Fair enough. However, the car hadn't moved since 2006 partly because we despise the automobile and all of the congestion, traffic and earthly ruination it stands for, and partly because it wouldn't start. At 11:59 on Sunday this car--which has zero cash value and, in fact, requires several hundred dollars of repair to be drivable--would be towed and impounded at our expense. The greatest thing that could possibly have happened would be for it to be stolen and never recovered. Alas. If only we'd seen the P-I's handy guide today we'd have known to leave it unlocked and running in a dark spot, crammed full of valuables...

Car theft in Seattle is falling, says the full piece:

Still, police seem to be making a dent. Car thefts have dropped about 12 percent this year, compared with the same period last year. And the numbers have been dropping for the past 18 months.
For Seattle to get off the nation's top 10 list for auto theft, Edwards and Calvo say, penalties will have to be harsher, and it looks as if they're getting their wish. In April, Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a bill into law that creates severe penalties for repeat car thieves.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@seattlest.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Dan in Miscellaneous on May 30, 2007 10:21 AM

Comments [rss]

mountaingoat

...partly because we despise the automobile and all of the congestion, traffic and earthly ruination it stands for..."

So you left it there taking up space and contributing to the congestion for 10 months? When you could have donated it to charity?

Here's a good organization if you're looking for a good place to donate: www.siblinghouse.org.

Matt the Engineer

Pick any charity and they'll likely have a car donation program. Cystic Fibrosis is a good cause, if you're looking for one. Google for their foundation - they've got a link to a car donation program. I've done this before and it was quite easy - they didn't care that my wreck barely ran, and it gave me a nice tax write-off plus a nice warm feeling to replace the feeling of car hatred.

kasa

Ah, a post after my own heart. Hell, I even have expired Virginia tags on mine. Does anybody know of a donation service other than that creepy "Outreach Center" being advertised on the back of buses?

Anybody want a running Jetta for about 500 bucks?

Fuck cars.

Matt the Engineer

Just last week my car was broken into and my nice HD radio stolen on the quiet residential streets of Queen Anne. $2,600 in repairs (all but $250 paid by insurance), plus time off work to deal with the mess, all for a $400 stereo. It's certainly a pain not to have a garage in Seattle.

off topic: Did you know that although we have a large handful of HD radio stations up until a few months ago you couldn't buy an HD radio in Seattle? I had to buy mine off the internet (and will now have to again, as Seattle still doesn't sell anything good with HD), and have it installed at Car Toys (which I don't recommend - it took half a Saturday). So if anyone runs across a used Panasonic HD stereo, it's probably mine.