West Seattle Crime Watch: Wheel-stealers strike again

Lightning may not strike twice, but crime can, as Jim in Seaview just found out.

Overnight someone stole all four wheels off our Honda Fit in Seaview. This is the second time, first time it happened in October 2008. It was the exact same pattern – Sunday night / Monday morning, car up on concrete blocks, lug nuts left behind, no other damage to the car.

We published Jim’s 2008 report here. (A few months later, a similar theft happened in Sunrise Heights, and that car’s owner sent a photo.)

7 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch: Wheel-stealers strike again"

  • Tony January 25, 2010 (11:44 am)

    Wheel locks… They’re only $50.

  • grr January 25, 2010 (12:47 pm)

    ugh..this happend to my Mini Cooper a few years ago. Yup..wheel locks would fix it..but, a lot of these guys have ‘master’ keys and such to get them anyway. Just takes them longer.

  • Daren January 25, 2010 (2:09 pm)

    Also, you may want to consider up to 4 sets of wheel locks: use a different one for each wheel. It’s more money and four keys, but i think it makes it that much more difficult for theives.

  • CB January 25, 2010 (9:04 pm)

    What’s up with the Honda Fit wheels that makes them so valuable?

  • dsa January 25, 2010 (9:49 pm)

    I got interested in why Honda Fit was the target so looked around and found an ongoing thread here which started in Seattle: http://www.centraldistrictnews.com/2009/02/08/robbery-honda-fit-wheels-stolen-22nd-and-marion In it I learned that those wheels fit any Honda Civic 2002 or older.

  • Sasquatch January 26, 2010 (3:12 pm)

    A friend had one Subaru wheel stolen off her car in the alley behind the east side of 35th SW & Kenyon. Maybe I’ll invent a device that sprays skunk odor on people who steal tires.

  • Jim February 3, 2010 (2:40 pm)

    More links about this trend:

    Arlington, Mass.Arlington police are digging into Registry of Motor Vehicles records in an attempt to stymie a rash of thefts targeting Honda Fit wheels.

    Penbrook, PAThere have been several incidents in our area where thieves have stolen the wheels off the popular Honda Fit compact car. Police are puzzled as to why the Fit seems to be a favorite.

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