Posted on 05/19/2024 9:28:06 AM PDT by lowbridge
An Oakland man has been left heartbroken after his rare vintage Corvette was stolen from his garage just before his 80th birthday.
Dave Lechthaler, 80, described how a mob of thieves broke into his home on April 15 before riding off with his $200,000 1959 Corvette, which has been his pride and joy for the past 18 years.
Surveillance footage captured the brazen act, showing two suspects breaking into the garage, before running off in the Corvette within a matter of minutes.
'It's like a stab in the heart,' he told the Fox affiliate KTVU.
He is now pointing fingers at the city's leadership for what he perceives as a lack of accountability for criminals.
'There are no consequences in this city. People can steal and rob,' Lechthaler told KTVU.
Lechthaler has a strong passion for automobiles, with his home now adorned with photos from his racing days.
'It hurts because my life, my whole life, has been hot rod cars since I was 14 years old,' he explained.
Lechthaler said he poured his heart and soul into the convertible, dedicating countless hours to its maintenance and upkeep.
He also carefully rebuilt the engine, gave the car a fresh coat of paint, and reupholstered it.
Lechthaler believes he may have been followed from a car show in Pleasanton, where his prized possession caught the eye of the thieves.
While the Corvette is insured, the loss is irreplaceable for Lechthaler.
His message to the perpetrators is simple: 'I want my car back.'
Figures from January show a shocking one in thirty Oakland residents had their car stolen last year - a total of 15,000 vehicles.
This is a 45 percent increase in just 12 months, and the highest number in 15 years
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Tell me he was smart enough to put a GPS tracker on it.
Who did he vote for?
Biden lost his ‘Vette?
Joe Biden, Izzat U?
That shouldn’t be hard to locate...
Oakland is a quagmire. Time to send in the US Marines
You knew it was Oakland when you parked it there. Did you really think it was safe just because it was in your garage? I wonder what party he voted for at election time.
And want to bet he votes Democrat, so he can enjoy the karma.
I have AirTags on my car and every bag or expensive item. Surprised if anyone doesn’t have them or something to help quickly track things down. But this guy trusted his Democrat government and police to protect him, which he now blames.
“$200,000 1959 Corvette”
I might believe $100k
Or maybe a kill switch.
“Surveillance footage captured the brazen act, showing two suspects breaking into the garage, before running off in the Corvette within a matter of minutes.”
Reminds me of the time me and a friend were playing in a band in New York city in the 1980s and after playing at a rehearsal we drove up to see Harlem leaving 2 guitars in their cases in the back seat, very naive. I am absolutely not kidding when I say we parked, locked the car, went around the corner to this bar, saw it was too crowded, said “Let’s go somewhere else”, walked back to the car and saw the guitars were gone. Not only that, the doors were locked again! HOW?
I’m talking no more than 3 or 4 minutes, GONE. How the hell did they know? Were we followed? Did a thief just happen to be waiting hiding out? Or did he just happen to be walking by? This was at night in the dark, maybe 8 pm, just unreal.
I have a ‘74 Vette with a 454. It is not worth tens of thousands of dollars, but I’d be pretty pissed if it got stolen. I have heard thieves go for common cars that have value in their parts, not classics like that which stick out like sore thumbs.
Do law-abiding citizens still live in Oakland?
He could have moved to civilization before this happened...
Yes 100k more like it. In fact there is one almost exactly like it on Ebay motors right now for 109k. Hmmmmm?
Maybe he’s spent $200,000 on an otherwise $10,000 car? And now, once they find it, probably worth $100 for scrap. How much did he have it insured for? Bet just liability insurance as it really wasn’t worth much.
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