buns

http://www.msn.com/en-ca/autos/news/...5&ocid=U142DHP

Mark_Milner

Beat me to it. I was just posting this and saw yours now.


I always have mixed feelings about these kind of stories. I mean, it is great the car is returned, but if the person had it insured, it isn't their car anymore. Of course, the insurance company probably dumps them so going to the last legal owner is probably going to be better for the car than going to the insurance company.

I also wish they would tell more of the story, like did the thieves get arrested? Did the current owner, who probably was innocent and simply bought a car he didn't know was stolen, get compensated from anyone? After all, he paid for it and now he is out. The most due diligence most buyers can do is check the title matches the VIN, and often they do, unfortunately, many old titles would list a Corvette as "Chev 2dr" or such, so a title and VIN off an old Impala, Belair, Nova, and so on would make it seem "legal". Only someone well-versed in Corvettes would know the number was wrong.

hope2

I have a similar story on a 20,000 mile original 67-435 roadster.
I tripped over it at a cruise night for sale with a Nova vin plate. Different story from the stamp pad. Police friend ran real vin number, came up clean, then a detective called wanting to talk about that "Camara" that I had seen. Then the FBI called. That vin number is forever etched in my brain.

Railroadman

More than the VIN does not add up :

Get out your calculator or abacus and crank those numbers!

Geralds57

I think it's a typo. He should have said the family had the car for nearly 30 yrs. before the cop discovered it.

Railroadman

That's what I was figuring. And I admit I had a brain fart and was trying to calculate the 40 years from 1987, not from when it was actually stolen. Oh well.....

3JsVette

It's still a great story.

woodsdesign

I once looked at a 64 coupe that had a 65 convertible vin. The vin on the title did not match the car. Both the vin tag and the trim tag were painted over in black. The trim tag was cut in half so only the bottom half was there. The vin tag was attached with standard pop rivets. The guy who was selling it owned the car for over 15 years. I actually knew the guy he bought it from who owned a body shop. When I confronted him he claimed he had no clue. I suppose as long as it stayed in the same state no one would have noticed. He finally sold it to a local guy who didn't seem to care.

Frankie the Fink

Dollars to doughnuts the last owner is 'out' his investment. Especially if he owned it for decades as there is prob nobody to chase down for recourse and if it wasn't sold to him intentionally as a stolen car prob has to bring civil suit to recover anything...and then THAT owner will start chasing down another.

I think the only happy dance done here is by the people whose car was recovered.

Kerrmudgeon

Seems to me there would be a lot of legal questions as to who actually owns a vehicle like this. Assuming the insurance company paid off on the claim years ago it makes sense that THEY would become the legal owners of the missing car. And the poor sucker who last purchased to car would be the biggest loser of ALL of his investment. Just goes to show you that you should always do your due diligence when purchasing one of these cars. you never know???

hope2

Yes, the stolen 67 I discovered was a legal mess.

Railroadman

Aside from the dollar loss, I have to feel even more sorry for the guy's loss of something that had to be extremely special to him. A gift from his wife (how many of our wives would buy us a Corvette?), and a family treasure for about 29 years. That's got to be devastating!

I agree the woman in CA probably is not even the legal owner, despite the feel-good story. The insurance company who paid off is the owner (assuming THAT company is still in business). It would be a nice gesture if the woman said she eventually got over the loss of the car and allowed the latest "owner" to work something out with the insurance folks to keep the car.

kolsen911

So I lived on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. I knew all the cops and they knew my car so never bought theft insurance. There was only one road to "get out of town".

Took a job in Las Vegas and two weeks later car was stolen. Once a month for over two years I'd call the Vegas PD and ask if the car had been found. It never showed up!

Kerrmudgeon

If the owner had to pay back the insurance company for the claim would it be in 40 year old dollars like 5 or 6K, or would it be that sum, PLUS the 40 years of inflation on that sum?
All things to thinks about.

Bowlerdude

If the insurance company paid off the claim then they own the car and can sell it for what ever they can get for it.

If the owner it was stolen from didn't have theft insurance then they get the car back.

The last guy that had the car is left holding the bag.

If whoever stole the car is caught they would probably be off the hook due to the statute of limitations running out.

Railroadman

In fact, since this story is on Fox News on line, it's possible the thief is sitting at a computer somewhere and remembering how the whole thing went down.

pop23235

The legal owner is the one with a legit title. If the insurance co did not change the title.........

ChattanoogaJSB

its also possible the thief is drooling on his pillow in a nursing home!

Little red 63

I would bet in 76, that car may have only been worth a couple thousand, maybe $2500, and possibly the owner didn't have insurance or theft coverage so she would get it back as the rightful owner.

Railroadman

While the car would have been worth far less in absolute dollars back then, it's all relative. $2500 was a lot more money when everybody was making $8 an hour. Even insurance was cheaper so it's anybody's guess.

Wonder if there will be any follow-up articles about what happens next.