Sad tale of the missing side mirror

Sad tale of the missing side mirror

By Zatni Arbi

JAKARTA (JP): The Jan. 6 issue of The Jakarta Post says the
police have arrested ten teenagers for stealing side mirrors
from luxury cars that were stuck at Jakarta intersections.

Oh, well, just three days earlier, I had lost the right kaca
spion (side mirror) of my 1987 Honda Civic Wonder, a car that had
never been a luxury car even when it was still on the drawing
board. No, the mirror was not stolen in the Grogol or Harmoni
areas, as I have always avoided those hot spots. I lost it when I
left my car outside my house a bit too long that Sunday evening.

I never drive on the street due to my limited vision. Still, I
am completely aware that driving without a kaca spion among those
selfish street users would be equal to taking the fast lane to a
costly accident. So, finding a replacement for that stolen mirror
emerged as the top priority project on my To Do list.

The first thing that came to my mind was to find it in one of
those flea markets. You know... those places where they also
offer stolen goods for sale. In fact, with any luck, I might even
buy back the same mirror that had been taken off my car. One of
the places that immediately popped into my mind was a kaca spion
dealer in Jati Baru, Tanah Abang. It is very easy to find him as
he conspicuously hangs dozens of kaca spion outside his roadside
shack.

So, first thing Monday morning my driver and I headed for that
place. They did not have the right kaca spion in stock for me,
but they said they could find one for me for Rp 60,000. Not bad,
I thought. At least it would not cost me a fortune. But they also
told me they would need at least one hour to find the right
mirror. Since I had to attend the burial of a distant relative, I
told them I would come back in the afternoon and left.

But, after the burial, I went up to the top of Atrium Senen
instead. I asked the mechanics there if they had the right
side mirror for my Honda. They said they'd find one for me. I
waited up there, wondering whether they were now busy foraging
around the parking floors below for another 1987 Honda Civic
Wonder...

An hour or so later, one of them came to me with what he said
was a brand new mirror. The shiny, scratch-free and dust-free
plastic bracket swore he was not lying, and he also showed me a
receipt from one of the stores downstairs. He asked Rp 85,000 for
it. I said OK.

So, that is it, folks! When that neighborhood larcenist popped
the side mirror out of its shell that evening, he inflicted a
financial loss of Rp 85,000 on me.

Looking back, I know I left the Atrium Senen that afternoon
with a distinct sense of relief, because, after all, I did not
buy the replacement from one of those illicit places as I had
initially intended to. Even though I ended up spending Rp 25,000
more for the mirror than if I had bought it in Jati Baru, I felt
good because I did not contribute to the continuation of the
side mirror scam.

You see, those teenagers at the intersections keep stealing
our sideview mirrors because there is a market for the stuff.
Being theft victims, we would most likely think of looking for a
replacement for our stolen car mirrors, radios and dashboards
first in widely known places such as Jati Baru, Asam Reges, Senen
and Taman Puring. Now suppose we could all agree never to buy a
stolen side mirror no matter how attractive the price is, we
would be eliminating the market for them and those teenagers
would cease stealing them from us. One does not require Economics
101 to figure this out.

Unfortunately, cutting off the demand chain for stolen
sideview mirrors would be far harder than driving without them.
In my case, I managed to avoid becoming a perpetuator of the
mirror stealing operation because a new mirror was still
affordable.

Other victims may not be so lucky, as they may not have the
money to buy a pair of brand new kaca spion (outside mirrors for
Mercedes and BMWs reportedly can fetch more than a million rupiah
at the auto parts stores).

Besides, telling our compatriots to shun stolen goods even if
they could afford legitimate ones might be tantamount to telling
a newly married young couple not to share a bed for the next
three years of their life. That's why, for the majority of us, it
just makes more sense to scour the flea markets for stolen
mirrors, etc., if they ever get stolen. Which, of course, keeps
the cycle rolling.

So, what can we do? Here's what I did: For an additional Rp
30,000, I had the man in Atrium Senen add a protective bezel on
each of my sideview mirrors. Firmly glued to the mirror housing
shell, the slightly wider rim makes it virtually impossible for
the street racketeers to snap out the glass mirror. The rim of
the bezel also has a very sharp edge that can easily cut anyone's
fingers. These mirror bezels, which are made locally, do not
spoil the look of the mirrors but provide some protection for
your kaca spion.

If you do not have them on your car yet, race -- don't drive --
it to the nearest store where they sell car accessories and get them
installed immediately. Believe me, even if the police whisk a
hundred thugs off our city streets next time, the prolonged
economic crisis will prompt hundreds of others to take over their
operations. The kaca spion thefts will continue, so why not add
this inexpensive protection before it is too late -- as it was in
my case.