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Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Letter Crime of the Day

posted by on September 12 at 13:52 PM

This morning I found my car’s gas-tank door open, the tank cap removed and placed neatly next to the tank opening. I looked around and noticed that the cars nearby all had their tank doors open, too. Judging by the gas gauge, it seemed like at least a couple of gallons had been siphoned out.

I have no idea what to make of this. Why did the gas thieves leave an obvious indicator that they had been messing with cars? Why not close everything back up and hope no one noticed? And who steals gas, anyway?

I was parked at the dead-end on Pike just after 18th. It’s pretty dark there at night; maybe I’ll make a point of parking near street lights next time.

Mark

RSS icon Comments

1

Maybe someone didn't realize that bottled water is more expensive than gasoline?

Posted by Will in Seattle | September 12, 2007 1:56 PM
2

Who steals gas? All of us in 4 years or so.

Posted by laterite | September 12, 2007 1:59 PM
3

I'm just here for the gasoline.

Posted by Max | September 12, 2007 2:00 PM
4

Sounds like time to spend the $20 or so for a locking gas cap.

Posted by COMTE | September 12, 2007 2:07 PM
5

Stealing gas is awesome. What?! You've never done it?! BS. What #2 said.

Posted by Mr. Poe | September 12, 2007 2:12 PM
6

I remember my father installing a locking gas cap back to prevent siphoning back when gasoline had rocketed up from 30¢ or so in the early 70's. Don't most newer cars have locking gas lids?

Posted by mmbb | September 12, 2007 2:12 PM
7

people forgot that gas gets stolen when its expensive.

its expensive again.

thieves siphon gas, that's who.

Posted by maxsolomon | September 12, 2007 2:14 PM
8

That neighborhood and a lot of capitol hill are having weird petty crimes. I guess they're not bothering to steal the whole car anymore, or the scooter (happened to me) just the gas.

Posted by yowza | September 12, 2007 2:14 PM
9

I rented a U-Haul truck the other day and the clerk complained that people had been stealing fuel from his trucks.

Posted by Orv | September 12, 2007 2:18 PM
10

friend that lives near lk union has had gas stolen several times - bought locking cap - that was pried off the next time - his tank was drained $30 - 50.

think these were suburbanites coming to the hill to do crime?

Posted by whatever | September 12, 2007 2:22 PM
11

I would steal gas if I had a car. It can be so easy after all.

Posted by david | September 12, 2007 2:23 PM
12

I would bet they didn't put the caps back on because they were taking a few gallons from each of the cars in the line, assembly line style, and then they were interrupted and had to leave. Just a guess.

Posted by Julie | September 12, 2007 2:36 PM
13

Be still my dog of war. I understand your pain. We've all lost someone we love. But we do it my way! We do it my way. Fear is our ally. The gasoline will be ours. Then you shall have your revenge.

Posted by Humungus | September 12, 2007 2:49 PM
14

But most of all, I remember The Road Warrior. The man we called "Max". To understand who he was, you have to go back to another time. When the world was powered by the black fuel. And the desert sprouted great cities of pipe and steel. Gone now, swept away.

Posted by Narrator | September 12, 2007 2:52 PM
15

Maybe it was a "heads up" by the thief so you don't run out of gas thinking you had a full tank. What a nice thief.

My first thought at finding my gas door open would be to look for signs of sugar. There is no better way to do a few grand worth of damage than to drop a little sugar in the gas tank.

Posted by monkey | September 12, 2007 2:55 PM
16

I don't think parking under a light does much good. Were any of the other cars under street lights? I'd stand to guess they were.

Get a locking gas cap. They're cheap and pretty easy to use.

Posted by Gomez | September 12, 2007 2:55 PM
17

@13 & 14 - LOL

Posted by roflcopter | September 12, 2007 2:56 PM
18

just do what I do - fill up your tank with about $5 worth or less every time. It can't be fun to siphon gas so at least make them work harder.

Posted by outta gas | September 12, 2007 3:00 PM
19

Prior to the 1970s, there was no such thing as locking gas caps. Then gas spiked; about quadrupled in price in a year or two. There were long lines at the gas stations. Sometime you had to wait an hour or more in line, just to fill the tank. Siphoned gas tanks became an overnight problem. In the mid 1970s, stolen gas was rampant. That's why most cars now are built with latching covers or locking gas caps.

What the hell kind of car are you driving in 2007 that doesn't have a locking gas cover? They've been standard equipment for about 30 years now.

Posted by SDA in SEA | September 12, 2007 3:10 PM
20

@19: It's not "standard equipment" in my experience, although you can get locking caps for most cars. At least, most cars I've had or driven have not had locking covers. The exceptions have been:
- Luxury cars, which usually have an inside release
- Cars made in the late 1970s/early 1980s, when this was a fresh problem.

Cars I've owned or driven that did not have a locking cap included a '90 Ford Econoline (dual tanks!), a '95 Ford Crown Victoria, and an '86 Volvo 240. My '89 VW Cabriolet has one, but it's one that's obviously an aftermarket add-on. Most of the "locking" flaps are flimsy and pop open without much effort, anyway.

Posted by Orv | September 12, 2007 3:18 PM
21

A friend just told me that she ran out of gas on the 520 floating bridge because of this. Caused a pretty bad backup.

Posted by D. in Seattle | September 12, 2007 3:29 PM
22

I do have a gas cover that latches shut - but all you have to do is open the driver door and pull a lever to unlatch it. I had gas stolen from my driveway in my old house, which is why we started locking the door of a rusty old $3000 car at night.

Posted by StotheL | September 12, 2007 3:34 PM
23

Maybe leaving the gas tank lids open was the thiefs way of leaving his special signature so he could blog about it later on gassiphon.blogspot.com. Or, to keep track of what cars he had screwed w/.

Posted by mongo like slog | September 12, 2007 3:35 PM
24

@21

Smart friend. Glad they took the time to screw the cap back on and be completely oblivious about the lack of gas.

Posted by Mr. Poe | September 12, 2007 3:37 PM
25

It's a weird economic indicator, apparently. Can't remember the source, and Googly's being no help to me at the moment, but believe researchers of some ilk once observed decades of data and concluded that crime trends up at the beginning of an economic downturn and stays up through the early part of the next recovery, whenever that may be. If so, could be interesting around here for a good long while.

Posted by tomasyalba | September 12, 2007 3:40 PM
26

@21: You know, there's this interesting piece of instrumentation called a "fuel gauge"... ;)

@23: I think it's an evil plot to pollute the atmosphere with unburned hydrocarbons. We should notify Captain Planet.

Posted by Orv | September 12, 2007 3:41 PM
27

thieves often choose effeciency over long-term sustainability. (@12)

Posted by infrequent | September 12, 2007 3:47 PM
28

Anybody know how to get the taste of gas out of ones mouth? Blech...

Posted by Jimmy Legs | September 12, 2007 3:52 PM
29

I hear bleach works really well to get that gasoline taste out of your mouth, Jimmy...

Posted by COMTE | September 12, 2007 4:07 PM
30

It would be pretty funny if they stole my biodiesel :) Maybe I should leave it open just for them.

Posted by neighbor | September 12, 2007 4:15 PM
31

why waste time putting the gas cap back on? my guess is there were two people, one finding cars WITHOUT locking gas caps - the other following behind filling cans. maybe they're arsonists and tomorrow you'll be blogging about a rash of fires, lit by people who didn't bother to take their gas cans with them when they left...

Posted by come again | September 12, 2007 4:28 PM
32

I shall laugh when my plug-in hybrid arrives!

Posted by Will in Seattle | September 12, 2007 4:43 PM
33

Were all the siphoned cars giant gas guzzling SUVS? Just curious.

Posted by Big Sven | September 12, 2007 4:45 PM
34

Locking gas caps are a great idea just as long as the thief doesn't have the foresight to invest in high-tech burglary tools.

I once worked with someone who had a locking gas cap. She'd lost the key to it and was just about out of gas, so she was in desperate straits. Including the time it took to ask her whether she cared if she could use the gas cap again after, it might have taken 30 seconds to walk to my car, get a big screwdriver, come back, jam it in the lock, and twist. Problem solved.

Posted by Been there done that | September 12, 2007 5:04 PM
35

Someone should leave a dead car on the side of the road with an inviting non-locking gas cap and a gas tank full of sugared gas that is all ready to steal.

Hee hee.

Posted by Thinkin' Hard | September 12, 2007 5:39 PM
36
Posted by Don't Believe The Hype | September 12, 2007 5:50 PM
37

OK, I know this thread is pretty much over, but someone smashed the window of my car in order to pop the hood and steal the battery. (This was at 4pm on a summer's day on Cap Hill; he of course was witnessed, and he'd left greasy fingerprints on the hood; he was found guilty at jury trial.) My point is: criminals are dumbasses. My other point is: the broken glass cost much more to fix than the battery would have to be replaced. Criminals, have some socialist logic in your vandalism, for fuck's sake.

Posted by S | September 12, 2007 8:39 PM
38

I got paid in gas for smoked salmon.

Posted by Lloyd Clydesdale | September 12, 2007 8:48 PM
39

of course the local hardware store might have a surplus of locking gas caps that they wanted to get rid of, plus anything else the locals might buy. one night of larceny and you get gas and customers. another angle would be to drain a bunch of tanks partially and thus be able to return again for a refill. or to cover some other car crime by distracting people with an obvious pattern.

Posted by idle hands | September 12, 2007 8:57 PM
40

No 15 - apparently "Sugar in the gas tank will ruin the engine" is a myth. See:

http://www.snopes.com/autos/grace/sugar.asp

Posted by pshy | September 13, 2007 3:32 AM
41

@14: They're pumpin' it out of the ground! Thousands of gallons! KA CHUNKA CHUNKA CHUNKA I SWEAR!

Posted by mookie | September 13, 2007 3:34 AM
42

I siphoned gas one time, that sucked. Got a big gulp of it down my throat. I was burping gas for hours, after drinking gallons of water and milk.

Posted by PdxRitchie | September 13, 2007 3:56 AM
43

I'm not about to turn this into a parallel to Les Miserables. Have you been watching the gas prices bounce around like a bipolars emotions? I could see someone loosing it and deciding to make that decision. Leaving the proof is a form of apology. Weird but I get it.

Posted by Dan | September 13, 2007 8:47 AM

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