Sunday, July 12, 2009

Stole My First Car Today

Well, I stole it back, anyway.

Gina's car got swiped at a park-n-fly in South San Francisco about a week ago, then found yesterday in San Bruno. I guess The Portable Dad thing (and The Portable Mom thing...) is literal because Diane and I drove in today to get the car. (And it's not just because we're nice - the car is in Diane's name and they would only release it to her.)

Anyway, stops at the SSF PD and San Bruno PD and then to the towing yard that hauled it. The guy said the ignition had been punched, which didn't surprise me too much. My plan, based on nothing more than wishful thinking, was that if the thieves could punch the ignition then start it with a screwdriver, then so could I. I brought a few tools.

The tow guy pulled the car out to the street, then we were on our own. The key didn't work. A screwdriver didn't work. A smaller screwdriver didn't work. One of the nice things about messing with something that's already seriously broken is that you don't really have to worry about breaking it more. So I tried a few more tools and hit on the magic combo - the car started right up.

Gina and Ben got it back home, where they will deal with real repairs later. (Or carry screwdrivers on their key rings - who can say?) Fortunately the damage wasn't much more extensive than that so the car should make a full recovery.

7 comments:

  1. It's always good to add new skillz.

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  2. First, sorry to say this happened in my hometown.

    Second, you said, "The key didn't work. A screwdriver didn't work. A smaller screwdriver didn't work."

    The Portable Dad would say (and Gina should remember): "WD-40."

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  3. Are the instructions for starting a car with a screwdriver going to be in the sequel to Portable Dad? Cuz I always wanted to know how to do that... :-D

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  4. Glad she got the car back! Try not to include too many details on how to start a car without a key in the sequel... law enforcement types frown on that sort of thing.

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  5. I scrupulously avoided mentioning the specific combination of successful tools (although every car thief in America knows them and could have that car started in under 20 seconds, I'm sure...)

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  6. Wow, Steve. You've added another talent to your list of many. Can you come to Oregon if any of our Hondas are stolen?

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  7. Sorry - my portability has a 200-mile limit!

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