Happy Ending?..

[Brock Samson]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/21/BAGPDQJD9826.DTL


....except for maybe the Gal that bought the thing, she gonna be reimbursed?...     
anyone know?.

[Forza]

She wouldnt be reimberced by the original owner, unless he's generous. She would have to get the money from the person who sold her the vehicle which was probably the thief. Very cool story though.

[Drache]

Sadly if you buy stolen goods you won't get any reimbursment. She should just be happy she's not being charged for buying stolen goods. I think what saved her on that is the 31 years later. Why none of the past owners tried to register it no one knows but lucky for them it seems. The police will try to track it's sale and get to the original person who sold the car and most likely stole it. As for the lady who purchased it, she's most likely SOL.

[Forza]

She couldnt be charged for buying stolen property if she claimed she had no knowlege that it was in fact stolen. If the officers were real gung ho about it they could charge her but it wouldn't stick in court. It'd definatley be cool if they caught the prick who stole the vehicle. What's even better is the car was returned to him restored lol.

[Brock Samson]

"

Stolen 1956 Thunderbird recovered -- 31 years later
Marisa Lagos, Chronicle Staff Writer

Thursday, June 21, 2007

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(06-21) 17:07 PDT PALO ALTO -- When the phone rang at his car-rental business in Milpitas this morning and Palo Alto police were on the line, retired Officer Ronald Leung figured he was being solicited for the department's bowling league.

The last thing he expected was that Officer Brian Philip would be calling with news that Leung's stolen 1956 Ford Thunderbird had been recovered in Ventura County -- 31 years to the day after it was ripped off from a Palo Alto parking lot.

"I was very shocked. I mean, you'd be shocked, too, if you lost something and you found it -- 31 years later," Leung said. "Let me tell you, after 31 years, I thought that car was long-gone history, like the Roman Empire."

Since 1976, when the car was stolen from Leung's auto-repair shop on Forest Avenue and High Street, the 59-year-old car aficionado has fathered two kids and retired from a two-decade-long career in law enforcement. The classic car, meanwhile, stayed in mint shape, according to the Ventura County California Highway Patrol officer who helped piece the puzzle together.

"It's in really good condition," said CHP Officer Christopher Throgmorton, who works out of the agency's Moorpark (Ventura County) office and has gained a reputation in Southern California for being able to track down the vehicle identification numbers, or VINs, of old cars. "It looks like somebody had it refurbished. It's been restored."

The CHP entered the picture when a Ventura County woman who had bought the car on eBay from an Ohio seller tried to register it. The VIN number listed on the car's title didn't exist in the California Department of Motor Vehicles registry, so the agency referred her to the CHP.

Throgmorton located the true VIN number and ran it through a CHP database, which identified it as a stolen car from Palo Alto. The CHP took custody of the vehicle and called Palo Alto police, who couldn't locate the original theft report but still had information about the owner stored in a database. The woman had no idea she had bought a stolen car, Throgmorton added.

Fast-forward to this morning, and Philip was ringing up Leung's Milpitas shop, "A Rent A Heap."

"It's pretty cool, pretty fun to make that call," Philip said. "It's not your typical stolen vehicle."

There's a good reason, by the way, that Leung assumed the call was an invite to go bowling: He was a Palo Alto police officer for a year when he was 21, until he moved over to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Department because, he said, Palo Alto wouldn't let him moonlight at his auto repair business. However, Leung continued to bowl with Palo Alto officers on and off for years.During that time, he often has thought of the stolen collectible, which he bought in 1974 for about $1,500. With just 24,979 miles recorded on its odometer, the car could now be worth more than $20,000, if other 1956 T-birds are any indication. It was "sea spray green" when Leung first bought it, but he painted it white. It's now light blue.

"I belong to a car club, and every time I look at a Thunderbird, I go, 'Oh, I had one of those!'... You always think, 'Whatever happened to that car?' " he said. "I have one son who's 30 and a daughter who's 26 -- it's unbelievable, that car is older in theft than they are in age."

It's not the first time a stolen car has popped up on eBay, officials said. In fact, Leung had a friend who spent two years refurbishing an old classic he purchased through the online auction site only to find out it was stolen when he went to register the vehicle.

The odds of finding the thief of Leung's car are slim, Throgmorton said.

"It appears to have bounced around a little bit, been through a couple states," he said of the car. "I have no idea who stole it."

  they say in the article the t-bird is worth $20K i have a feeling that's a waaaay low figure for a first gen restored bird numbers matching with low miles..

hmmmm,.. and i wonder if any chargers on this site will... oh, never mind.. 

[BMOTOXSTAR]

Broc,
  You post the coolest info. Thanks man.

[Charger_Fan]

That reminds me of the guy back east who got his '69 (I think) Corvette back last year, after it had been stolen in something like 1971. Remember that one? It was found in decent condition, too.

[ca 69charger]

Yeah, pretty cool story. I watched on ktvu channel 2 this morning. Guess the guy's going down to So. Cal thursday to get it.

[bull]

This is interesting to me: "Leung had a friend who spent two years refurbishing an old classic he purchased through the online auction site only to find out it was stolen when he went to register the vehicle."

It might be worth it for guys like us to run our Charger's VINs through the DMV before we spend 5 years and $25k restoring them.

[PocketThunder]

This is interesting to me: "Leung had a friend who spent two years refurbishing an old classic he purchased through the online auction site only to find out it was stolen when he went to register the vehicle."

It might be worth it for guys like us to run our Charger's VINs through the DMV before we spend 5 years and $25k restoring them.

The first thing i do when i buy old cars is take the paper work to the DMV and get a clear title in my name. 

Who would do otherwise, restore a car and then go get it titled? 

[Charger1973]

This is interesting to me: "Leung had a friend who spent two years refurbishing an old classic he purchased through the online auction site only to find out it was stolen when he went to register the vehicle."

It might be worth it for guys like us to run our Charger's VINs through the DMV before we spend 5 years and $25k restoring them.

The first thing i do when i buy old cars is take the paper work to the DMV and get a clear title in my name. 

Who would do otherwise, restore a car and then go get it titled? 

You could tear it apart and then go get it titled...  chances are no one will want it back if its a rusted shell out in the weeds.   

[Brock Samson]

i just checked NADA for their prices on a 56 t-bird...

here's the spread...

$25,965 $42,880 $65,780   

[Drache]

She couldnt be charged for buying stolen property if she claimed she had no knowlege that it was in fact stolen. If the officers were real gung ho about it they could charge her but it wouldn't stick in court. It'd definatley be cool if they caught the prick who stole the vehicle. What's even better is the car was returned to him restored lol.

It can be easy to hold up in court even if you say that you didn't know it was stolen. Like I said though the only thing the saved her was she probably paid full price for the car. If you buy a brand new TV for 1/4 of the price from someone in a bar and it turns out stolen it won't matter what you say. The judge will simply tell you that nothing new is going to be sold for 1/4 of the price in a bar.

[bull]

This is interesting to me: "Leung had a friend who spent two years refurbishing an old classic he purchased through the online auction site only to find out it was stolen when he went to register the vehicle."

It might be worth it for guys like us to run our Charger's VINs through the DMV before we spend 5 years and $25k restoring them.

The first thing i do when i buy old cars is take the paper work to the DMV and get a clear title in my name. 

Who would do otherwise, restore a car and then go get it titled? 

Yea, as long as the red flag comes up then. I didn't do anything to mine until I got the title in my name but I've always wondered if things will go as smoothly when it comes to registration time.

[41husk]

wouldn't there be s sttued of limitation on stolen property?