Bonaire -- Spare Tire Stolen From Truck at Something Special

[boat sju]

nippurmagnum,

I'm just saying, its not your fault that a thief targeted their vehicle either. Who's tire got stolen, yours or theirs? They can pay for insurance too.

Anyway, my real point is they're always selling/auctioning their old fleet. I'm sure they could just take a spare off one of those.

But I do understand your point. If you like them, $150 is less than the full insurance, so you win some you loose some.

 

[dmaziuk]

The "full coverage" insurance from Budget would have cost me nearly as much as the stolen tire.

And that is why we rent from AB: so far their price with full coverage's been better than anyone else's. Plus our visa does not cover anything other than a basic family sedan, they probably even have an exclusion for station wagons buried someplace in the microscopic print.

 

[boat sju]

Actually, I also like AB with full insurance also. And we've had vehicle issues, some of our own doing, and they've always been great to work with.

 

[carol_swimmom]

Hmm.. was it fully inflated and not a donut? I wonder if it would have floated. Next time, remove the tire pre-dive and test it in the surf zone. If it floats, tie a spool to it and tow it with you like a dive flag. If it sinks you could either leave it submerged and pick it up on your way back or attach a lift bag or SMB to it and then tow it. Did you leave the truck unlocked and the windows down? If so you may want to do this with anything under the hood that is easily removable as well. Packing tip for Bonaire - bring lots of lift bags.

I would love to see a picture of you towing a spare tire on your dive.

 

[O-ring]

I would love to see a picture of you towing a spare tire on your dive.

I haven't been to Bonaire in years, but the last time I was there we did a lot of night diving at weird times down south (salt pier and beyond) and were often the only truck in sight. We wore wetsuits in the truck so left basically nothing in there except a towel or two and left the windows down and the doors unlocked. Someone went through our truck one night while we were diving and left the door open. We couldn't figure out what the heck the light on shore was until we got close enough to see that it was the interior truck light that was on due to the open door. Shame it has extended to tires now.

 

[NDL_Diver]

Our 1st time to Bonaire 25 years ago we had to lock our steering wheel with a chain. They were either taking the whole truck (before FOB and such) or gas. It hasn't gotten worse, it is just better reported and amplified by this forum.

In my 100's of days here, we had our flip flop stolen once. Heck, 5 cars got broken into one night on my block back home. I live in a bedroom community north of wichita and feel very safe there.

I read the Bonaire Reporter and see dive sites, mainly North get hit once or twice a week. Usually someone left something of value in a locked car. Andrea I and II used to be the worst.

If you read the Bonaire Reporter they list all the burglary and breakins for the last 2 weeks. Really not that many or not many reported.

Just leave you valuables at home or take them underwater.

 

[Bubblesong]

Friends, just got back from a delightful trip to Bonaire. I will post a detailed trip report later, but in the meantime, just wanted to share that while I was doing a night dive at Something Special, someone made off with the spare tire under my rental pickup truck. I had parked right at the corner where the road turns left towards the boardwalk. Lots of people were milling about when we got into the water, but it was quite deserted while we got out. We know that the tire was stolen at that time because the evildoer(s) left the chain that helps secure the tire dangling loose. Budget charged me $150 for the stolen tire when I returned the truck. I had relied on my Costco VISA for insurance, which supposedly covers damage and theft, but when I called to file a claim, they said that the theft coverage was for the whole vehicle being stolen, not for parts or equipment, and that a claim for a stolen spare tire would be summarily denied. I pointed out that there was no explicit exclusion for stolen tires, and they said that there was no explicit inclusion for it, either. So, I am the new owner of a $150 anecdote. Next time I'll be sure to torch the entire vehicle and push it into the sea so that they'll cover the stolen tire.

So did you actually file a claim? They might try to talk you out of filing to save money, but if you DO file, and press issue, they pay. Problem is you are earning your own money back having to bother them.

 

[nippurmagnum]

So did you actually file a claim? They might try to talk you out of filing to save money, but if you DO file, and press issue, they pay. Problem is you are earning your own money back having to bother them.

Wasn’t worth the bother for $75 (we split the $150 with our buddies)... and the credit card insurers were pretty adamant that they weren’t going to pay. The whole Bonaire trip was so ridiculously inexpensive that it seemed silly anyway.

 

[Rickk]

I am in the camp to take full coverage from the rental company.

Even with your CC insurance, you have to pay the damage and claim back, you may be charged full rental rates while the repairs are being made and you can bet that that will be the last repaired car on the lot as well.

Once you have paid the damage, then you need to convince the credit card company that the repairs were needed and actually done and that the repair price was reasonable.

And you have to do this while dealing with a rental company, repair shop in a foreign country with different laws and different language.. The nice English speaking person you dealt with when making the booking will not be anywhere around, instead you will get No hablo inglés. or Spreek geen Engels. or Pas parler Anglais. or لا تتكلم الانجليزية. or 不講英語。 or .....

Insurance serves two purposes. It will mitigate risks you do not want to have like a catastrophic loss or it will buy you peace of mind and freedom from hassles.

Its a vacation, who wants hassles, you can always get that from TSA.

 

[Protondecay123]

I’ll 4th endorse AB Dive full coverage with their dive and drive package. They are cheap Chinese trucks that can’t pass inspection for the EU, US nor Canada. AB has their repair shop on site. But word to the wise, A buddy and I arrived late and ran down to the Salt Pier for a quick dive after the Sunday afternoon arrival. We left our wives who don’t dive sitting on shore on the tailgate of the truck. When we finished about 45 minutes later our truck was the only one in the parking lot. As we got to the truck a small beater truck with blacked out windows was pulling by doing a “ drive by” . We saw another beater doing a drive by at ?Aquarius? as we were heading into Kralendijk. They roam at dusk looking for solitary vehicles in parking lots. There’s more safety in numbers. If you are the only vehicle in a parking lot with no one to watch you are in a very risky situation. We are fortunate that our wives are happy to sit on the beach and soak in the rays (and have a rum punch) while we shore dive. A few weeks ago the police raided 4-5 houses and recovered lots of stolen items according to some of my Dutch friends on the island.