Stealing Valve Stem Caps!!!!!

I

imported_ajbarnes

New member
Okay this is the first I'm learning about this and it also has happened to me twice. The first time I thought that a mechanic forgot to replace them or something, and the second time was just about 30 minutes ago...I caught two kids in the act stealing them in broad daylight! By the time I got outside they were flying down the back of my apartment complex on their little BMX's!! Both sets were the chrome caps you get from the auto store. I'm not pissed about the caps, they were only like $5, but it's the fact that it's my personal property...also the property that I use to earn a living. If I didn't know what they were doing, I would have assumed they were trying to break into my truck or steal something from my trailer which is parked right next to the truck...and my assumption could have turned out pretty dramatic for those two kids. I had a car stolen years ago, and ever since I have been very vigilant with my property.



I just read about this and it is very weird why people would steal valve caps?? What's so special about them?
 
I bought a nice set of Stainless Steel caps and they were on for a year...then one day at the Mall I came out and they were gone...My guess is that someone liked them better than thiers...but for the kids..they probaly wanted them on thier bikes...lol....I put the black plastics back on...and no one has taken them yet...



Al
 
Do you own a gun, AJ?





I've had mine stolen countless times. I just learned to keep non-chrome on there (brushed aluminum) as the kids love the bling. God help the kid who I caught in the act :lol.
 
AJBarnes...I know exactly how you are feeling. I had a nice set of Z caps for my show car (300ZX). I had the car at a car show last year and when I got it home I noticed that all of my nice new chrome "Z" valve caps were gone. When I was putting air in my tires I figured that one might have fallen off one of the tires. I go around the car and they are all gone....:mad:



Needless to say I was not happy. Its one thing to steal but at a car show....:hairpull
 
I'll admit, as a kid, I stole them too.



My best heist was off of Senator Frank Lautenberg's (D-NJ) limo during services at my synagogue. My friend and I cut out the service with the typical "bathroom excuse" and bagged the caps when we were like 10 years old.



Obviously I don't condone it and I was NOT raised that way but I was doing typical dopey kid stuff.



I had my VW caps stolen off my Jetta and my folks had their BMW's ones taken too. My mother was a teacher and the kids took them.



The goal is to catch them and scare the heck out of them. Someone egged my father's car and he caught them and called the cops. My father asked the cop to give him a good talking to and these kids were scared to death! I know if I got caught, my father would kill me and I would be scared to death from a lecture from a cop at that age.
 
As young lads we would steal them too.

We lived in a poor section of the city and had a warped view of the Robin Hood philisophy so we'd steal them from the poor and put them on the cars of the really poor. We didn't have any rich people anywhere close.

We stopped when we discovered girls in grade 6 and haven't have a moment's peace since.

I like to think of it as cosmic payback so maybe those lads will hit puberty soon and your problems will just melt away.

Good luck,

-John C.
 
I feel bad for you man, i know what you mean. That's why i never wanted to buy the $40 dollar "///m3" stem caps for my bimmer. They probably wanted the Bling on their bikes. I really, REALLY get irritated when people mess with my property... especially my car. I'd camp outside with a bat and just wait for them next time, or just set them up with a security camera and plant a bait (like polished chrome caps).
 
Next time, put them on with a pair of mechanic's gloves. The little bit of extra torque you can get will make them too tight for a barehanded person (especially a kid) to loosen easily. If they try one and can't get it off, they'll give up. I had the MB caps on my last car and never had them stolen - even though there were finger / hand prints around them in the brake dust a number of times.
 
I've not had my chrome caps stolen but through the years, parking lots have been a common ground for thefts of minor auto parts. Many times I've found my plastic caps missing. Just recently, I noticed the rubber bumpers for the gas filler door on my wife's Tahoe had be swiped. That's annoying because finding the right ones to replace them will be a bit of a pain. The only way to do it is to find another Tahoe in a parking lot and get a good look at theirs before heading down to the parts store to make sure I get the right ones, and of course as soon as I look at someone else's Tahoe, they will come along and think I'm stealing gas from them.



The worst thing ever stolen from me was back in the day before we had locking hoods. Someone opened my hood and stole a battery cap. I got home and smelled the mess I had to clean up. I guess it could have been worse.
 
Stem caps are an every generation item of theft. Its a constant thing. I'm amazed stores are still able to sell the expensive chrome ones or the fancy themed ones. After you've been hit once, like me, its back to the rubber ones, especially since you can find used replacements on the floor in front of air pumps at gas stations ;) lol





One thing that would piss me off is the stealing of antennas. My buddy has a Honda Element and he has already lost one and they are something like $20+ a pop.
 
also they do make theft "proof"

caps the caps just spin!

there is a special tool that goes under the caps to remove/ teighten them
 
About 6-7 years ago, some guy on offtopic.com caught a couple kids stealing his valve stem caps and held them for the police so he could press charges (apparently it had happened before) and this is a picture of one of the kids. Seriously.







pansy kid_owned.jpg
 
Scottwax said:
About 6-7 years ago, some guy on offtopic.com caught a couple kids stealing his valve stem caps and held them for the police so he could press charges (apparently it had happened before) and this is a picture of one of the kids. Seriously.







pansy kid_owned.jpg
Click to expand...





I remember that! HILARIOUS! Any chance the thread is still around?
 
I want to see that thread as well! Does someone have a link? Kids are punks!!! The scary thing is, I looked almost just like the kid in the pic above when I was younger!
 
Scottwax said:
About 6-7 years ago, some guy on offtopic.com caught a couple kids stealing his valve stem caps and held them for the police so he could press charges (apparently it had happened before) and this is a picture of one of the kids. Seriously.







pansy kid_owned.jpg
Click to expand...





:spit:



That would've made my day!
 
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