Apparantly in Portlandia you can steal a car, hold onto it for a few years and then the cops can’t do squat about it. It is due to “statue of limitations”, which for stolen property runs out after three years. IMO, in the case of stolen property this wouldn’t be an issue if theft were considered a crime in progress until the property is returned.
I heard about that story, it’s a huge slap to the face of classic car owners and car enthusiasts, who knows where else this applies. You would think the guy who bought the car would at least felt sorry for the true owner instead of denying the true facts and saying there’re lying; sorry for going off like this, this just burns me up and I know people from local car meets and shows who would do everything they can to get their car back.
I recently found out that the original owner managed to get his car back, but in a way no one wants to see their prized possession returned
(Warning: if you’re a Mopar fan, you will not like what you see)
HEY GUYS, THAT IS HOW BARN FIND WORKS!!?!?!? (O),(O) so you wait for the car to get past the statue of limitations and then you get around stealing a car from a barn and no repercussions. Perfect
I don’t know how it works elsewhere, but in my state you are required to turn over any stolen property even if you purchased it legally, or you will be charged with receiving stolen property. However, this does allow you to file a lawsuit against the person or entity that you bought the car from.
My take on this incident… For starters, I am convinced that the man who had the 'Cuda has something to hide. He may not have stolen it himself, but I suspect he had knowledge that it was. No one in their right mind buys a car of that kind of value or pedigree without a title, NO ONE! No one in their right mind forgets to register a car of that kind of value or pedigree… Why? Because these are things that are designed to protect the owner and purchasers of the vehicle. And all the while being a CEO of a construction company, I’m pretty sure he’s not that stupid to pull this kind of stunt, and if he is then as an employee of the company I’d be concerned about his ability to perform his job with that level of stupidity looming over his head.
So what have we learned?
When buying a car make sure that it has a title, if it doesn’t have a title it’s best that you walk away.
But if you insist on buying a car in which the owner/possessor of the car in question doesn’t have a title on hand you instruct them to go to the DMV and get a new copy of the title. It’s not a hard or expensive process, and in my area it’s just going to the DMV, filling out your information and the car’s vin and paying $10.
If they do not have a title, and the car is not registered to them, I’d really suggest backing out at this point; but if you’re still intent you need to perform your due diligence. Report the vehicles vin to the DMV to see if the vehicle has ever been reported stolen. If not, then you need to research on where to go from there. If it has been stolen… RUN!!!
And lastly when you do purchase a car and get the title, register it ASAP!
chop shop? I mean what is the difference from buying a car that was stolen and it is safe because of SOL, but a chop shop car you can get arrested for stolen parts… something is wrong here
There was an update to this story a couple weeks ago, the 'Cuda has been returned to it’s owners. The owners filed a new report with the police that gave them the ammunition to go in and take the car by force, however upon return the car was missing several parts.