Wifes Car Was Stolen from Auto Repair Shop

[DaNgeRMaverick]

A couple weeks ago my wifes car was stolen from a big name auto repair shop here in Louisville, Ky. She called the day of us dropping the car off and made an appointment for them to replace her tires. They had to order her tires for her vehicle which was a 2015 Subaru Impreza. We told them we would drop the car off in the evening after hours and the girl on the phone explained to my wife how drop it off properly. We got there, put her keys in a zip lock bag with a note with my wifes name, phone number and what was being done to the car. The next day we hadnt heard anything all day from them so she called to check on the status and they had no clue the car was even stolen. The said they had no record of a Subaru and had not seen it in the parking lot. The lot is not secured at all, the drop box is a brass mail slot on a door with a 3" opening and your keys just hit the floor on the other side. Their is no camera watching the door from the inside and there is only one camera at one corner of the building outside watching across the parking lot. on the far side of the building there really isnt any lighting and the camera isnt great quality. My wife went up there and watched the footage and they saw the vehicle was stolen at midnight. the thieves actually showed up a total of three times. The first attempt was not a success so they left and then about an hour later showed up again and fished her keys out from the other side of the door. They later showed up the third time and unlocked the car with the keys and drove off. Police were called immediately and a report was made. No officers showed up due to the virus and high crime rate at this time. The officer on the phone told my wife it would be 2 or 3 weeks before it was assigned to a detective. We've told our insurance about it and have gotten a rental for now but my question is due I have a suit against the repair shop for negligence due to the fact that the drop slot is not really secure, they only have 1 camera watching the lot and their isnt sufficient lighting out there? Do I just chalk this one up like my insurance is making it seem and take the payoff for what the car is worth or do I get an attorney and make a claim against the shop? Any help with this would be much appreciated. Thank you

P.S. They were able to give us a copy of the video footage on a thumb drive but it is locked and they told her their security company has to unlock it. They also told her they only save footage for 30 days and then delete it. If this was an ongoing investigation and they did that wouldnt it be obstruction of Justice?

[llworking]

A couple weeks ago my wifes car was stolen from a big name auto repair shop here in Louisville, Ky. She called the day of us dropping the car off and made an appointment for them to replace her tires. They had to order her tires for her vehicle which was a 2015 Subaru Impreza. We told them we would drop the car off in the evening after hours and the girl on the phone explained to my wife how drop it off properly. We got there, put her keys in a zip lock bag with a note with my wifes name, phone number and what was being done to the car. The next day we hadnt heard anything all day from them so she called to check on the status and they had no clue the car was even stolen. The said they had no record of a Subaru and had not seen it in the parking lot. The lot is not secured at all, the drop box is a brass mail slot on a door with a 3" opening and your keys just hit the floor on the other side. Their is no camera watching the door from the inside and there is only one camera at one corner of the building outside watching across the parking lot. on the far side of the building there really isnt any lighting and the camera isnt great quality. My wife went up there and watched the footage and they saw the vehicle was stolen at midnight. the thieves actually showed up a total of three times. The first attempt was not a success so they left and then about an hour later showed up again and fished her keys out from the other side of the door. They later showed up the third time and unlocked the car with the keys and drove off. Police were called immediately and a report was made. No officers showed up due to the virus and high crime rate at this time. The officer on the phone told my wife it would be 2 or 3 weeks before it was assigned to a detective. We've told our insurance about it and have gotten a rental for now but my question is due I have a suit against the repair shop for negligence due to the fact that the drop slot is not really secure, they only have 1 camera watching the lot and their isnt sufficient lighting out there? Do I just chalk this one up like my insurance is making it seem and take the payoff for what the car is worth or do I get an attorney and make a claim against the shop? Any help with this would be much appreciated. Thank you

P.S. They were able to give us a copy of the video footage on a thumb drive but it is locked and they told her their security company has to unlock it. They also told her they only save footage for 30 days and then delete it. If this was an ongoing investigation and they did that wouldnt it be obstruction of Justice?

Let your insurance company handle it. That is what you pay them for. You won't get any more money than what insurance would cover.

[adjusterjack]

Agree with Ilworking.

Why would you spend thousands on an attorney to get the same amount of money that your insurance company would pay you? Doesn't seem to make any sense to me.

If your insurance company feels that the shop is liable, it will seek reimbursement and refund your deductible.

Unfortunately, I don't see any negligence on the part of the shop here. That the thieves (probably pros) were able to fish the keys through the slot is their ingenuity, not the shop owner's negligence. They could have just as easily broke the door open to get the keys.

Besides, leaving your car that way was a risk you chose to take. Never leave your car at a shop after hours.

[DaNgeRMaverick]

Alright thank you for the input. We were not sure if we should just take the money from the insurance and move on or if there was a possible case against the shop. I rewatched the footage and saw the man actually fished our keys from under the door, got in his car and drove off and 35 minutes later is seen walking down the parking lot to our car and just unlocks it, gets in and drives off. This is bullcrap that this has happened and I know it happens alot but this was a first for us. We just found out from a friend of my wife that someone she knows who works there had their vehicle stolen just the other day as well. Maybe with multiple cases it could turn into a thing later down the road but it looks like we are screwed out of a nice vehicle and now have to buy some used crap that she doesnt want. Again I appreciate the insight into this and we will just try and move forward.

[gmdahootersman]

Agree with Ilworking.

Why would you spend thousands on an attorney to get the same amount of money that your insurance company would pay you? Doesn't seem to make any sense to me.

If your insurance company feels that the shop is liable, it will seek reimbursement and refund your deductible.

Unfortunately, I don't see any negligence on the part of the shop here. That the thieves (probably pros) were able to fish the keys through the slot is their ingenuity, not the shop owner's negligence. They could have just as easily broke the door open to get the keys.

Besides, leaving your car that way was a risk you chose to take. Never leave your car at a shop after hours.

This is definitely a spot-on answer that I would take to the grave with me. Arguably, leaving your vehicle or belongings with anyone to work on is already a risk being taken. Want to reduce the risk? Either A: Leave your belonging with someone trustworthy during business hours to have it worked on, or B: Work on it yourself at your property or any permissible place.

[Zigner]

I understand that this thread is several months old, but since I'm the new kid on the block, and since another member already resurrected it, I'm going to respond.

You aren't entitled to anything beyond the value of your car and, additionally f you sue them and win, you will have to reimburse your insurance company for whatever they spend (up to the amount you recover), so why bother?

[budwad]

but since I'm the new kid on the block,

Hardly!

[llworking]

One thing that is a bit ironic, is all the auto shop would have to do to avoid that in the future, is to attach a small box under the mail slot and no one could ever do that again.