Crown

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    I never thought it would happen to me

    Today started off as a wonderful day, I awoke to a newly detailed 997. On my way to church I took my usual backroads route and found myself behind a "brand spankin'" new 997TT with 19' Champion wheels. BEAUTIFUL! Simply BEAUTIFUL! The day turned sour however when I took a quick drive from my home to my barber's. Upon my return I noticed that my headlamps had been stolen! Both of them, in a matter of 30 mins! In broawd daylight! With plenty of traffic! Surely they must have been seen. Sadly, there was no trace of the SOB(s). I then phoned the police to file a report, and while waiting several hours for an officer to arrive, I had the oppurtunity to ponder what had just happened.

    I'm cool with it. Sh!t happens, and this is something that we must learn to deal with. Especially car nuts like ourselves. Besides, the un-ethical low lives that did this probably needed it more than I do. I can afford to buy new headlamps. If they need to rip-off some honest person so that they can sell it, or use it for their "wannabe" fast and the furious cars instead of actually getting a job and buying them, then SO BE IT! Because in the end of the day I can buy all the headlamps I need, and I still get drive my "Silver Bullet."

    Here is a pic.

    Re: I never thought it would happen to me

    Krown I just got mine installed at champion Porsche, and I feel your pain. I'm glad you are very positive about it; it took me about two days to realize the same thing you said "I'm glad I don't have to steal headlights to make a living". By the way I notice you drive a regular Carrera. If your lights are not litronic, I was approached on the street the other day while driving without my lights. Some guy in a convertible Jag told me he had some regular 997 lights for about two hundred a pair. How he got them I can only imagine. He told me he had his 997S lights stolen and he had bought these. I am not sure I believe him, but anyway if you need some lights cheep I will give you his number. If not you can do what I did. I ordered them from sunncoast Porsche for a total of 2400.00. Make sure you order everything from the housing, the controller, the bulbs, tray, bushings, and all the other bits and peaces (totaling $2400.00) Sorry to here this again and best of luck!

    Re: I never thought it would happen to me

    was there any other damage to the car besides the headlamps?

    It doesn't even look like they damaged the body work. Are the headlamps really that easy to remove?

    Re: I never thought it would happen to me

    These things are the easiest of all to remove. I was told that they use a suction cup like the ones for installing glass and they pop out in seconds.

    Re: I never thought it would happen to me

    Quote:
    krown05 said:
    I'm cool with it. Sh!t happens, and this is something that we must learn to deal with.

    ...instead of actually getting a job and buying them, then SO BE IT!



    unbelievable attitude! are you crazy??? I would shoot the punks in the back while running away if they stole mine!

    Re: I never thought it would happen to me

    I don't know about shooting them in the back. That could get you in bigger trouble than them, but pounding thier face would be nice!!

    Re: I never thought it would happen to me

    Keep an eye on EBAY for these lights and if it shows they are in FL, you can figure the rest.

    Re: I never thought it would happen to me

    are these theft covered under car insurance? I hope there wasn't any damage/scratch to your car. Seems like a rash of thefts in Florida.

    can a person tell by looking at the headlights the difference between xenon and non xenon? I wonder if debadging a 997s would deter them

    Anway we can secure these headlights?

    Re: I never thought it would happen to me

    Quote:
    GA997S said:
    Quote:
    krown05 said:
    I'm cool with it. Sh!t happens, and this is something that we must learn to deal with.

    ...instead of actually getting a job and buying them, then SO BE IT!



    unbelievable attitude! are you crazy??? I would shoot the punks in the back while running away if they stole mine!



    Same Here

    BTW, sorry bout the car buddy...gotta love your attitude about it though

    Re: I never thought it would happen to me

    Guys, thanks for all the replies. It feels good to vent my frustrations with fellow car enthusiasts. As for any damage to the car? Thankfully no, not a single scratch, nick, or dent. The police officer who wrote the report told me that they use a screw driver to pop the fixture out of place, and then with a regular bathroom plunger they suck the lamp right out of the socket. What still boggles my mind however, is how nobody saw this happen. I parked directly in front of the establishment. Trust me, my attitude is like this because what's done is done, but if I were to catch these low lives, I would take it upon myself to teach them a lesson about other people's belongings!

    Anyways, RHINO, thanks for the info on the headlamps. I have Xenons and I am just going to either order them straight from my dealer (The Collection or Champion), or I will contact the website you gave me. Thanks again guys, and I will keep you posted on the car's progress.

    OH! Before I forget, as some of you may know I recently posted a thread (approx. 3 weeks ago) about my car's check engine light. After having it at the dealer for 2 weeks, I was finally able to collect it. Unfortunately, the engine light has returned for the third or possibly fourth time (I have to check service records) and I must once again deal with this issue. NOT COOL.

    Re: I never thought it would happen to me

    unbelievable....sorry for you :-(

    Re: I never thought it would happen to me

    Cant believe this happens!! Madness... Are the units actually worth that much for resale????

    Very strang indeed. Sorry to here about it though matey

    Re: I never thought it would happen to me

    This Headlight design needs to be sorted out by P quick . No alarm sounding out ?? . They need a good thrigging slap....

    Sorry to hear this.....

    throt....

    Re: I never thought it would happen to me

    I agree..

    A design flaw such as this is Purley Porsche's responsibilty.

    I'd send a letter straight to the top and refer to this forum as it's clearly not the 1st time that it's happened and obviously won't be the last.


    Re: I never thought it would happen to me

    Sad Sad Sad. I guess some people thinking is why buy when you can steal. Just doesn't make much sense but I guess alot of things don't.

    Re: I never thought it would happen to me

    Krown, really sorry to see that baby like that....

    The world is full of these people, it could happen to anybody of us...

    Very surprising that they can do that in less than 30min!!

    I doubt that the most majority from here (including myself) would take this sort of things, the attitude you are having right now...and is the smartest way to forget about it....pay for them, and then carry on with our dreams!!!!

    Well if this can help you....at first it remind me of a silver 959

    Good luck !!!

    Re: I never thought it would happen to me

    Quote:
    RichJ said:
    Cant believe this happens!! Madness... Are the units actually worth that much for resale????

    Very strang indeed. Sorry to here about it though matey



    They gut the Porsche insides and "lesser" owners cars use the guts to "upgrade" their POS headlights.




    The only thing I can think of... .

    seems like we should be able to tunnel back there from the open hood and fix a wire or chain to the units to make them impossible to slid out.

    Then you'd have to get some professionally made clear sticker (at a decent graphics place, no problem actually) saying that you got ripped off once and NOW the lights are impossible to remove without access from inside car.

    Trouble is you might get a few dents and scratches from them trying anyway, if the damage is not too bad it will add convincing evidence for future a**holes from trying it again... .

    Hopefully the second attempt will result in the look of a little "normal" wear and tear and you get to keep your headlights.

    I hope this helps a bit; depressing as it is... .


    Re: I never thought it would happen to me

    I thought the criminals here were fast! At least they have not resort to stealing headlamps YET. Touch wood that it ever happens. Sorry to hear that man, best of luck to you and hope that it never happens again.

    Re: I never thought it would happen to me

    That's another thing, no alarm! My car alarm usually goes off every second, and this time it doesn't? Just doesn't add up. Condor Man, I am going to take you up on writting Porsche a letter. They should assume some responsibility for these thefts and resolve this issue. Nissan did it with their Maxima, so there is no reason as to why Porsche can't do the same.

    Re: The only thing I can think of... .

    Quote:
    MMD said:
    seems like we should be able to tunnel back there from the open hood and fix a wire or chain to the units to make them impossible to slid out.



    I recommend NOT to do that at this point. PAG should have done that when they first came out on the 996, and thieves would know that the light assemblies were anchored from the inside - a simple bolt through the wall inside the trunk would suffice. If you lock them yourself, it will only lead to damage of the bodywork, given that thieves are not expecting that and will force their way through.

    This is really an unfortunate situation. Even if PAG changes the design on the 997 or future cars, stupid thieves will attempt (and damage) those cars, because they will still think that the units are simply snapped in place. STUPID PAG design decision, really.

    Re. replacement... I'm happy that no damage was done to the bodywork. The original poster should make a "comprehensive" insurance claim - it's for these things that "comprehensive" is part of the insurance policy.

    Re: The only thing I can think of... .

    Indeed Adias, I will file a comprehensive claim. And about the bolt; that is exactly what Nissan did.

    Ray

    Re: The only thing I can think of... .

    Although, this seems to be a predominant phenomenon in the south florida area. Mine haven't been nicked..yet. But it happened to a friend. Anyone else have this happen outside of FLA?

    Re: The only thing I can think of... .

    I heard it has happened in the SF Bay Area too.

    Re: The only thing I can think of... .

    I first looked at your location and knew simultaneously that it would be Florida.

    I think it's Porsche who is culpable in a design that is so easy to pick. It's like simply leaving the doors unlocked and putting up a sign. I also find it reprehensible that no one in the area saw anything. I don't believe that for a minute.

    It sounds like time for a sting operation. I would suggest a video camera mounted quietly in a shopping center window trained on a Porsche 997. Clearly this can be in the daylight! Wide enough angle to capture the purps and their wheels. I'd start by looking for the Jag driver. I would NEVER buy these lights from anyone other than Porsche or you are perpetuating the problem.

    Dan

    Re: The only thing I can think of... .

    Indeed, a sting operation would be something interesting to attempt. And Yes, I would never purchase those lights from anyone other than a Porsche dealer. Buying them off the street would only put me in the very same ranks as the idiots that stole the lights.

    Re: The only thing I can think of... .

    Quote:
    krown05 said:
    Indeed, a sting operation would be something interesting to attempt. And Yes, I would never purchase those lights from anyone other than a Porsche dealer. Buying them off the street would only put me in the very same ranks as the idiots that stole the lights.



    I agree. I would like to think that any member of this forum should know better.

    Re: I never thought it would happen to me

    Did you changed your oil right before the engine light started to appear? On the engine light issue: please check if the oil cap it's well tighten. A loose one could cause the engine light to lit.

    Re: I never thought it would happen to me

    Pentium, funny that you mention that. All these problems began to occur right after I got an oil change. It was always in the back of my mind, especially when the dealer had told me that they had run a number or tests and done a number of things to the car. Prior to the oil change, there was no Check Engine light at all. It could either be the cap (which would be hilarious, and show level of "trouble shooting" by P-mechanics, or it could be the oil itself). I will notify the dealer.

    Re: I never thought it would happen to me

    I agree with not buying the lights off the black market, because it just perpetuates the problem. On the other hand my sales rep gave me the number to a stereo and alarm shop near Champion. They are goin to install shock sensors under the lights and a couple of air horns under the bumber. All this gets wired directly to the stock alarm. It is the only defense I have been able to find. If you want thier number let me know. The install is running me $475.oo w/tax.

     
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