would you be worried or not

[Old Moparz]

It sounds like you did the right thing to cover yourself (and morally, too) by tracking down the last known owner, but like mentioned, maybe the car is owned by an insurance company. There are stories of cars being purchased many years after they were stolen, then restored, & later returned to the last owner. The resto cost isn't something you can ever get back from anyone, so a previous owner gets a fully restored car for free. I wouldn't think that some insurance company wouldn't want to get a restored car that they may have paid pennies on the dollar for to resell at auction.

If there is a better way to check on the rightful owner before you pour cash into it, I would at least give it a try.   

[bakerhillpins]

If you are worried about it being listed as stolen you should be able to have your local PD run the VIN to see if it was ever listed as such.

[model maker]

You have the Charger & she signed the title over to you and now you ARE the owner. If she tried to take you to court to get the charger back for any reason, she would NOT prevail, Not in MY court or any other of the lower courts in the judicial system. You paid her for the title & do you really think she would want to go through  all the work & everything else the Charger may need to get the car back in shape to drive it ?  I am confident you have no worries,    & " THAT IS MY RULING "    

[Old Moparz]

Not to strike fear, but.....

Texas man finds his car 42 years after it was stolen:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/16/us/california-stolen-car/index.html

Stolen Car Returned, 37 Years Later
http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-201_162-1216695.html

Stolen VW bus returned — after 36 years
http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2010/12/vw-bus-reunited-with-its-owner-36-years-after-it-was-stolen.html

Missouri man recovers stolen car in Utah, 16 years later
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705392753/Missouri-man-recovers-stolen-car-in-Utah-16-years-later.html?pg=all


I bought a car about 15 years ago that only had a bill of sale. The seller was selling it in New York, for a friend who moved to Florida, but was supposed to have come from Texas, but was last registered in Alabama.

I wrote down the VIN before handing over money & checked with the state police before buying it. It came back clean & I've had it since & registered in my name & have never had trouble. It's better to be safe than sorry.   

[Tilar]

Not to strike fear, but.....

He already has a title for the car signed by the owner transfering ownership to him. He might call and have them run the VIN to be sure it's not reported as stolen, but other than that I wouldn't go around searching for trouble.

[Ghoste]

Thats what I think too.  She knows he has the car, she seems to be aware of why he wanted the title, it seems squared away.

[model maker]

I can surely understand his concern,  Can you imagine getting a charger such as this, investing a ton of money making it exactly  the way you want it,  something that will now last another 40 years and then  one day you find out that someone says they saw your Charger in your driveway, or in the newspaper story about how YOUR Charger won BIG at a car show where it just won BEST OF EVERYTHING  & before you can thank them for the compliments, they tell you your Charger LEGALLY BELONGS TO THEM  & they want it NOW    just as you invested your last dollar into it. Sure they KNEW you had the Car from seeing it at earlier car shows but decided to wait a little longer, waiting until you completed EVERYTHING possible and now they have a showcar winner. I am sure this has happened to someone somewhere, but in your case 928007 . you are in the clear.
Bert

[Ghoste]

Oh absolutely, the world is full of shady characters looking for an easy out.  I think in this case he's good though.  No bills of sale or anything to suggest a problem other than saying it was "stolen".  I think that once she signed that title with the knowledge that the car was also in his possession, everything was good at that point.
Enough lawyers can undo anything but you can't spend your life worrying sometimes either.