June 3, 2011 by onstarconnects
Stolen Truck Recovered Before Lunch
Like almost everyone else these days, Thomas Wilson was looking for ways to cut costs — and discontinuing his OnStar subscription was one way he planned to do it.
“Everyone’s been going through tough financial times,” Wilson says, adding that he wanted to free up some extra money so he could continue helping out a family member and a close friend who have been out of work for several months.
“I had never used OnStar, so I thought I could cut it and save 20 bucks a month,” says Wilson, who lives in Wichita Falls, Texas. “I just hadn’t gotten around to doing it.” But on the morning of January 14, Wilson was glad he’d procrastinated.
After a long day at work in the food packaging plant where he’s worked for 25 years, Wilson came home on a frigid January night to find that his electricity wasn’t working. Rather than stay in a cold, dark house, he took a room at a nearby hotel for the night and planned to fix the problematic breaker box the next day. But when he headed out to the parking lot the next morning, his 2006 Chevrolet TrailBlazer was nowhere to be seen.
“Thank goodness for OnStar”
Wilson headed to the hotel office and called the police. “They wanted to know the VIN number and all this information that I didn’t know offhand,” he says. “Then it dawned on me that I have OnStar. The police officer told me to call OnStar immediately, and they were very, very helpful to the police in finding my SUV.”
Not only did the OnStar Advisor provide the car’s VIN number and other information, he also tracked the car and almost immediately pinpointed its location(1), Wilson says.
Within two hours, Wilson received a call from OnStar, notifying him that police had located his car. “It was in an abandoned barn way off the road,” he says. “The police told me that when they went to the location OnStar had given them, they couldn’t find the car, so OnStar started beeping the horn remotely(1) to help them find it. The officers just followed the sound of the horn.”
Although the TrailBlazer was full of food wrappers and smelled like smoke, there was no real damage to the vehicle. “I was back in it by noon,” Wilson says.
After the theft and recovery, he no longer views OnStar as an optional budget item; for Wilson, it’s now a necessity.
Is OnStar a necessity for you? Tell us why (or why not) in the comments below.
1 Services vary by model and conditions.
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Tags: Remote Horn and Lights, stolen truck, Stolen Vehicle Assistance
I just moved to Oklahoma City being new to the city getting lost came second hand. If I didnt have Onstar no telling how my last six months would of been. Oklahoma City is a Very Exspansive Metro area. 167 square miles with streets that can have 3 names depending on what part of the city you are located in can get confusing. Thanks to Onstar getting around has made it very easy. My family and new friends are very impressed with Onstar. Having Onstar came in handy when I was in a accident back in January where A brand new Chevy Silvarado colided with the rear of my Saturn Aura. With both vehichles having Onstar the driver of the Chevy who ran the red light and I in my little Saturn were very calm through the ordeal. I believe our level of calmness was the result of both of us having Onstar. The policeman who took the accident report was amazed the level of calmness especially being on a Holiday Weekend where it took the police 3hrs to respond to the accident. None of us was injured so thats why the Police too the accident with lower priority. During all that time Onstar kept checking with dispatcher to give us a response time. I feel the whole situation remained calm just because both of us drivers had Onstar. Any vehichle I have from now and into the future what ever it takes what ever i am driving its better be equipped with Onstar.