Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club | Where oh where has my little Delica gone....

..sorry to hear. My friend Shannon's 91 L300 (black on black...rare) was stolen a few weeks back downtown Van. Hope this doesn't become too common...would have thought the rarety of these little van's may deture thieves- but after all they are vans, and can move quite a bit of stuff easily (but not too quickly ) My Toyota LE 4X4 van was stolen 4 times over 2 years in Langley/ South Surrey...cops said they love these little vans because of cargo space and ease of theft. The last time I even had a club on it, it was in my driveway December 23rd in 2 feet of fresh snow...it was found all 4 times in the Mission/ Abbotford area....SO frustrating. best of luck. If any consolation...my friend's Deli was found in east van with only a smashed side window and mangled ignition..ICBC took care of it through Japanoid.

sorry on behalf of everyone who took off with your thread, I have cleaned it up, and hopefully it stays that way.

if anyone wants to discuss things further feel free to derail my new thread talking about this.

I have always thought that our van was relatively safe from theft due to its uniquness but after reading some of the posts, maybe I have been lulled into a false sense of security. Gonna have to think seriously of more of a deterrent than a club
Damn!!
Rod

Thanks for your support. Amazingly it was abandoned at the Scott Road Sky train station just 2 kms from my house. The police picked it up after it had sat with a ticket for two days. No damage anywhere that I can see??? Go figure how they started it without buggering up the ignition or cutting wires? It was an L300 by the way. They didn't even take my GPS or a nice flashlight that was sitting in the glove box....Just joy riders I'm guessing or somebody that needed a van to haul stolen stuff. Anyways paid 112 for the tow to the impound and will probably have to pay a parking ticket...isn't that justice for ya!!...and the incident is over. I have a club installed and will be looking at the BCAAA offer (thanks for the advice!).

Glad it turned out for the best!


are you missing any keys?

beyond that, have you checked to see if your ignition cylinder actually requires a key, or if a screwdriver will turn it? (I've seen that on vehicles before, where as long as you get something in to the opening, it doesn't matter much what)

hot wiring it would be easy enough from inside the steering column, (likely without having to cut wires) but the odds of them putting it all back together when done is rather low... I'm also not sure how the steering lock would play in to things if done that way....

would a police report nullify the parking ticket?

I would say that you should definitely challenge the parking tickets (assuming that the vehicle was reported stolen before the ticket was issued) It should be an easy enough one to have nullified (for that matter, just talk to the issuing officer or their supervisor, I expect they'd likely see the light)
On a related note... I think I'd be a little upset that the police found the vehicle, but instead of returning it to you they simply ticketed it! don't they check vehicles they ticket????

might depend on who did the ticketing. police would be able to check but parking officers probably not.

I can check if a vehicle is stolen from my computer at home, and I'm not a cop, I would sure HOPE that parking officers can!

(on a side note, CPIC still shows this vehicle as possibly stolen...)

how soon do they show up where you can check? is it after reported by the owner or after logged by the police or added to another register? there could be a simple explanation for why ticketed as details not updated. plus there appears to be no visible damage. what is the site called where you can check for stolen vehicles?

Not sure about your town, but here we go to the Traffic Division of the Court to challenge tickets before the court date. I ride motorbikes so have spent a fair bit of time there ;) See the 1st prosecutor and tell him your story, preferably backed up with evidence ie: police report. That towing charge doesn't sound right either- I'd bitch and whine a bit to try and get it back.
But at least you got your Beast back! Unharmed!
I use a Club on everything I own, leave nothing stealable in view, and have never had a problem, except for when I've left stuff sitting in the vehicle- sunglasses, change. Most cops would tell you a Club is your best investment. Or let a big dog live in your van lol.

Man oh man...this site is a wealth of information! The parking ticket was issued by a parking lot company not the police. The police to their credit did call my cell phone when they found it to try and avoid having it towed. Unfortunately it was 2 in the morning and I had left the phone in my kitchen on vibrate so never heard it.

I haven't checked with the parking company to see what their policy is as their offices were closed over the weekend. Given my deductible is 500 I'm guessing any charges less than that will be paid by me one way or the other.

Good luck fighting the parking lot police...If it's Robbins Parking you'll almost certainly lose that battle, they don't forgive parking tickets for love or ....(oh, they will for money!) Anyhow, good news you got your van back intact. Glad to hear it!

http://www.cpic-cipc.ca/English/search.cfm
you can search by VIN, by plate, or by bicycle serial number. I'm not sure how soon it shows up, but it is interfacing to the same database that the police use for every traffic stop etc (CPIC)

However the fact that it was a private lot as opposed to a law enforcement agency explains why they didn't check.

If claiming anything on insurance, include the parking tickets and tow bill, however if there was no damage to the vehicle, and it sounds like it's all below the deductible, you might be better skipping insurance all together and just paying it.

Hey, glad to hear you got it back. I too use the club and will be getting an immobilizer through BCAA. Does anyone know how long the install takes?

Gotta work around the kids and school.