Statue of limitations on stolen cars

friend of mine found his car that was stolen 2 yrs ago from a guy who was suppose to fix it . now the guy is in jail and he wants his car back , what can be done or has to be done to get it back....

Thanks Hambers

 

If your friend is certain that the car is his and the VIN number hasn't been altered or removed then it might be fairly simple. I would definitely contact the local authorities first and ask what steps need to be taken to re-claim the vehicle. Maybe he should even contact his insurance company too and get them involved since they probably paid him off when the car was "stolen". You can also find out when the police auction is held and simply buy the car back. Whatever course you decide to take...be persistent because there should be NO statute of limitations on re-claiming something that rightfully belongs to you. Hopefully your friend still has the ***le, etc which will make things much easier. Keep us posted.

See you down the road.

Adios,

Buzz '4

 

Well, if he filed an insurance claim and was paid for the loss, then he has NO legal right to the car. The insurance company does. He can go to the insurance auction and bid on it like any other joe schmuck, but otherwise he is out of luck. Otherwise, if he did not file a claim, and the car has been recovered by the police, it should just be a matter of proving that he is the rightful owner (i.e. matching the VIN to the ***le he still has).

 

Its statute of limitations and that sienfeld episode was just on.

 

at least in Michigan (last i knew) there is a statute of limitations on stolen vehicles. seems to me it was between 6-9 years. been a loooong time since i've heard anything about it.

seems to me the insurance company would now own it IF they paid out a claim on it, but i'm sure they would rather have their money back than some old car. yer frined need to talk to the cops and any insurance company that may have been involved. i imagine they will work with him to get his property back.

 

If the guy's in jail, all the better.

Gtting him searved with papers is a snap and they don't HAVE to let him out to appear in a civil case... so your buddy wins.

Hope it doesn't have to go that far.

Me? If I had the ***le, and my .44, I'd just go get it.


JOE

 

[ QUOTE ]
Me? If I had the ***le, and my .44, I'd just go get it.


JOE

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah but yer such a BAD*** Joe!!


let us know how this all pans out. i'm curious now...

 

If he was paid by the insurance company for the car. He doesn't own it anymore. The insurance company does. He could buy it from them. He would have the first opportunity to purchase it back.

 

1) Did he report it stolen to the police? If so, there will be a record on it, and he can get it back.

2) If he reported it stolen, did they take a report on it? Since he gave it to someone to fix, the police might not take a report since it may be a civil deal.

3) Does he have paperwork saying it's his?

4) If he has paperwork, and the VIN has been altered, does he have photos or know personal points of identification to get it back.

5) Did the 'guy' file a mechainics lein on it? Or has that been done, and is it in the 'guys' name now?

7) If he reported it stolen, and if he had insurance to cover theft, it now belongs to the insurance company. I'm sure they'd want it too. Then you take it off their hands at a very cheap price !

It's all about proof of ownership, and what he did to try to retrieve his car two years ago. As far as I know, on the west coast states, there is no statute of limitations on possessing stolen property. I once picked up a 13 year old stolen Porsche for the insurance company.

 

Not to hi-jack this post, but it kinda pertains to the subject.

My friend Mike had his Camaro stolen from him several years back, he only had PLPD on it, so he was *** out. About a year or so later, he was contacted by the Flint police, stating that they had found his car. When he went to the impound yard, he was figuring that it would be a pile of parts, since it was found when a chop shop was taken down. To his surprise, the car had been completely repainted, it had a set of nice rims on it, and was in excellent condition. When the car was stolen, it was a rusty, mid 70's average beater Camaro. That was quite a nice gift given to him by the Flint police, and to think, all of the restoration had been done...free of charge, he just had to cope with its loss for about a year.

 

I heard about this one last week.Car was stolen 23 years ago.


http://wfan.com/water/watercooler_story_363094310.html

 

[ QUOTE ]
Not to hi-jack this post, but it kinda pertains to the subject.

My friend Mike had his Camaro stolen from him several years back, he only had PLPD on it, so he was *** out. About a year or so later, he was contacted by the Flint police, stating that they had found his car. When he went to the impound yard, he was figuring that it would be a pile of parts, since it was found when a chop shop was taken down. To his surprise, the car had been completely repainted, it had a set of nice rims on it, and was in excellent condition. When the car was stolen, it was a rusty, mid 70's average beater Camaro. That was quite a nice gift given to him by the Flint police, and to think, all of the restoration had been done...free of charge, he just had to cope with its loss for about a year.

[/ QUOTE ]


that is the greatest story of a lost and recovered car i have ever heard... almost.

i remember years ago, when i was a kid, i heard a story about a local vehicle (this would have been in St.Johns Michigan) that was stollen and later RETURNED. it seems like it was an old truck, i don't remember the details, but i know it was true cause i saw it in the paper ( ). anyway, the truck was stollen from a shopping mall or some other big store's parking lot. no leads no nothin. then several months later the truck was returned to the EXACT same parking spot but the truck had been completely restored/repaired and had an appology note attached to it. like i said, i forget the details cause i was like 10 years old but the story has stuck with me all these years.

there are some CRAZY people out there... wonder if that is how Foose got his idea for the "Overhaulin" show???

 

fairy tails, urban legends.,,none of mine ever came back, even as parts. life in the northeast, back then.

 

He who holds the ***le owns the vehicle, regardless of how long ago it was stolen.

If he was paid off by the insurance company, he doesn’t own the ttle anymore.

There’s a guy up this way that got involved with a very rare Packard. Seems it was spirited away from it’s owner in the sixties.

It wound up in the hands of a liar (he told the seller he was going to restore it when all he wanted to do was turn it for a profit.)

Well, the car wound up in Hershey and one Tom Mix walked past it and remarked something to the effect ‘I know that car. It was stolen thirty years ago. I’ll bet the owner still has the keys”

Long story shortened. The owner flew down, put the keys in the ignition (along with a host of law enforcement officials) and the seller was out one nice Packard phaeton.

He did get something in return. To settle matters, the guy he’d bought it from couldn’t produce any paperwork so he forfeited his ’63 sport roadster to hush things up.