Hot Rods Stolen car... But I have title?

So... Strange thing going on... I have 2 1955 chevys, one 2 door sedan and one 2 door wagon, both 210s... A guy on friday called me at my shop on friday and asked if I had 2 1955 chevys, I told him that I did but they are not for sale... So he said, "well dont do anything with them ill be there in about 2 hours to talk to you, the cars are stolen and they are mine"... Hangs up the phone so I drive to the house and get the titles I got with the cars and double check the Vins that I have... Both check out fine, clear notarized title that has sellers signiture and my name (havent taken them to tag office yet) and I take the title to work to wait on this guy... He never shows up...
On Tuesday he calls again demanding I give him the Vins off of the car so he can go to the tag office and get a title for them... I told him to come by and bring proof of ownership showing he legally owns the cars since I have titles in hand... Again he demands for me to give him the VIN numbers, again I refuse, so he says, "Fine ill contact the Sheriffs dept and we will go that route".

So first thing this morning local County Mounty knocks on the door to my shop with a tow truck telling me he has to come pick up the cars... I usually get along with deputies but this guy had something percured in his rectum... I explained to him where I bought the cars, who I bought the cars from, showed him the bill of sell along with the title for both... Than he stops and gets confused... So I ask him to see the paper work for the guy making the complaint on the car. He has copies of titles and I reference them with the Vin numbers on my titles... Completely different on both with my sedan beginning with VB and his sedan beginning with a C and his wagon beginning with a D and mine beginning with a B with no diferentiating numbers matching... So the officer calls in all 4 Vins and writes down mine and takes a picture with his phone of both bills of sales and titles...
He than explained that he wasnt going to take the cars TODAY but would be back and that this may get tied up in a legal battle for sometime...

SOOOOO... My thinkings are... WTF IS GOING ON HERE? Has some guy found some titles and decided that my cars would be a good candidate to be his for free? In my mind theres no grounds for anything here since not a single VIN matches up to any paperwork that he had... But could they still take the cars and claim them as his?

Any one with experience in something like this?
If the police come back only thing I know is to call my Lawyer but with him being $450/ hour and I gave about that per car I really dont want to...

 

get your butt down there right now.

 

If i were in that situation- i'd just take a REAL HARD LOOK at the vin plates on my cars to make sure they haven't been tampered with. After that checks out, i dont think i'd be too worried about it. And yes- get them bitches tagged in your name! -rick

 

Move the cars to a new location ASAP and get the titles put into your name. It is up to the person trying to take them to prove that they are not yours. Sounds like guilty until proven innocent.

 

X2! QUICK!

 

A state issued title doesn't mean that you actually have good title to the vehicle legally. Check out the VIN's on the cars that you have, and check the hidden VIN's if you can find them . Transferring title into your name won't help if they are actually stolen.

 

Agreed with the hide them remarks- my earlier statement about not worrying too much was from a legal standpoint of having valid titles- i have, however been in the position of being right, even tho someone came and took my car- i was right, but it was hassle, and lost wages to get my stuff back. Lock them up inside, or another location to avoid having to prove your innocence-rick

 

I don't see why you would have to register the vehicle, it's the title that counts.
although "B" for a wagon sounds odd....
http://www.sanjosechevys.org/Tech/tech_decode_trifive_55_57_VIN.htm

 

It is someone working a hustle. His numbers don't match anything on the cars right? The state cannot seize them as you have titles that match the cars in question and the other fella has titles that don't match anything.

I would go about making everything legal and then move the cars to an undisclosed location and no one not even the law looks at them without a warrant.

I am not an attorney and this is not legal advise this is just what I would do. Stand your ground.

 

I don't understand what you have to be worried about. The VIN numbers on the titles that the officer have don't match your cars! How can they possibly claim they are the cars in question? They can't. They are pissing up a rope.

 

all 210's have a "b" prefix the "v" denotes v8, "d" is sedan delivery, does your wagon have a two piece rear gate? one piece is sedan delivery. the "c" prefix is for a belair.

http://www.sanjosechevys.org/Tech/tech_decode_trifive_55_57_VIN.htm

 

Are you sure the Sheriffs Deputy was actually who he said he was ??? Did you record and check out his badge # ???

 

...................................................That's right. The title proves ownership. You can keep a car forever and not register (tag) it and you still own it.

 

Yes the deputy was a Deputy... Ive seen him around before and he was driving a Marked car... The officer told me NOT to move the cars to a different location... but putting them inside doesnt sound like a bad idea... I know for a fact that the wagon is not stolen, I know the owner ship back to 1962... I know who had it in 62-68 and who he sold it to, and thats who I bought it from with his name on the title both of which are stand up guys just to old and in to bad of health to be hotrodding anymore...

 

Not so sure about hiding them since the County Mounty has proof the cars are in your possession and hiding them might make you look guilty. BUT, you should definitely store them so they cannot be removed. Dan10 is 110% correct. It is up to the accuser to prove beyond any reasonable doubt the cars are his. In the meantime, you might want to verify the VINS with the Chevy registry for your own peace of mind and backtrack with the party you got the cars from and report what the alleged owner is saying. In other words, if you have a problem, so does he. FINALLY, put yourself for a moment in the position of the alleged owner. If - despite what appears to be a valid paper trail - it turns out that the alleged owner is in fact the victim of vehicle theft, would you not react in the same way he did? There was a recent thread on the HAMB (or maybe another specialty car website) about an owner getting his stolen car back an incredible number of years after the theft and when the car had received a complete and very expensive restoration. On the other hand, if the alleged owner is blowing smoke, politely inform him that you will press charges for false reporting in the event he cannot prove ownership according to the requirements of the law. Good luck and trust in the HAMB to provide better council than I have.

 

I have to agree with the rest here but I have also seen vin plates changed before as well id make sure

 

oes anyone know any other VIN locations on a 55? all I know is on the driver door post... I would like to confirm vins... But the vin tags do not appear to have ever been tampered with... But I painted them with textured trunk paint so you can read them at the moment, I went out with some laquer thinner to wipe off the paint when the deputy was there and sprayed it back on when he left...

 

What I don't understand is : How did this guy know you had the cars?

 

Best get both of em tagged in your name. Similar thing happened to a friend of mine. He traded his Nomad for a 68 Charger with clear title. Unbeknownst to him the guy had taken the the Charger out of state and titled it with a bill of sale. The sheriff showed up with the owner and was scratching his head over two titles. The dude LAUNDERED his car. The initial owner got his car back and my friend was out $1800.00 which was real money in 1970.
The difference is that the VINs matched in my friend's case. Also it sounds like the cop is in cahoots with the guy (friend or kin) to show up at a residence with a wrecker based on here say.
I had a guy do the same thing about 3 years ago on a damned old 87 Caprice. He didn't even have the year right.

 

The vin tag on the door post is the only VIN on the body. The frame that came with the body has the matching Vin number stamped on it...2x?... but it can be found on the top side of the rail on the drivers side, basically under the front seat area. Hard to see if clean, harder to see if dirty with a body sitting on top. If you can get under the car get a damp rag, a brush that will fit and an inspection mirror. If the frame vin matches the body vin tag, that's further proof (to me) that the cars are original and that he better have documents matching that info, or he is out of luck.

Note: I think I've read that if your car has the leading 'V' on the body vin tag for a V8 car, the VIN number on the frame rail will be the same, but maybe just without the 'V'.

Good luck,

Scott/Gotta56forme

 

Get an attorney now. It may cost you a few hundred bucks but you won't lose your cars. Just sayin...

 

I'd contact the sheriff himself: (sounds like Deputy Dawg is doing some moonlighting)
His boss gets wind of it...Deputy Dawg is called on the carpet.

Some dork that worked for a used car company in San Jose tried to pull one on me in the '70s:
A friend of his told him about a '34 Coupe I bought, no papers. This wang comes over to my shop, and gives me the gas that he's the owner of this '34, my bill of sale's no good, and can he see the VIN#...
I walk him up to the other '34 frame, that went under my '34 pickup, (it was registered at the time, and licensed; but I didn't tell him that) so he copies down the number off the frame, says 'he'll be back'.
I laughed, but came close to beating the c... out of him, but didn't; not in front of my newlywed young wife.

A couple of days later, this leak shows back up! He says there's something funny...I tell him there damn sure is. I explain to him if he hasn't been to work yet, his boss wants to talk to him. It's about 'bunko', and Police chief Burr, and a complaint I've sworn out, and Chief Burr's been talking to Mr. Horton this morning. "Your boss, right? I know him..."
The guy got shaky, staggered to his car...never saw him again.

 

Just because you have a title doesn't prove ownership. Your name needs to be on the titles. You can transfer the title without getting it registered. I would move tHe cars to another location inside so he can't get the numbers. Since the titles don't have your name on them he could apply for a title and come back and take them. He who has paperwork in his name is going to win.

 

In some states you can't possess a car with an open title. I'd get the cars titled but not registered.
I'd talk with a lawyer about whether or not the deputy had the authority to tell you not to move them to another location. If he didn't have the authority to tell you that I'd move them. If he did have the authority then I'd move them inside and like Benno said absolutely, positively no matter what, no one looks at them without a warrant! A judge will require some evidence before issuing a warrant. They probably have less of a chance of obtaining a warrant since the deputy has seen the VIN on the cars doesn't match those of the stolen cars than if they had sought a warrant before their first visit. I'd be concerned about the deputy over stepping his authority since a wrecker showed up with him before he even saw the cars. And also because he may not have the authority to tell you not to move them.
Don't talk to the guy that claims they're his cars. I suspect a lawyer will tell you not to let the police take a short cut around the law. Make them get a warrant before they look at the cars again, and obviously don't let them take the cars without a warrant.

 

Maybe I shouldn't but here goes...

This is the internet. I do not know you , you do not know me. I do not mean this as a personal attack but how do we know you did not steal those cars last week?

How do we know for sure, you are who you say you are? Post Count? Alliance membership?

As far as I know it's you that's trying to get two 55s off of someone else's property and you are on here fishing for some tidbit of info that will make that happen. You also could be on here for some affirmation in that deed.

I feel like the whole story is not being told, but hey that's your right.

If everything is as you say and you are in the right, I cannot understand why you are on here asking for advice from an internet forum and not at the Sheriff's office talking to someone with RANK, and getting to the bottom of this. If they came to my house with a hook, those cars would be under lock and key and I would be downtown straightening things out.

 

went through this, move the cars, do not give them up till a judge orders you to.

 

Have you talked to the guy or guys that you got them from to see if this so called owner has been scratching around them also?

 

also, might contact northcarolinaautotitle.com and get some advice from them. much cheaper than a lawyer.

 

..................................................He said in the first post that his name was on the titles.

 

your first mistake was to even talk to the guy on the phone.

him: "do you have 2 55 chevys?"

me: "who the fuck is this?"

him: "blah blah blah"

me: "fuck you". then you hang up.

beyond that the story makes no sense. a cop shows up with a tow truck for cars he hasn't even seen based on some guys story? got to be his brother in law or something. whatever the cop was doing he was doing it wrong. you are under no obligation to talk to police, EVER. there are many thousands of people in jail because they spoke to police and gave them the evidence they needed to do them in. any lawyer worth a damn will tell you never talk to police.

I'd move the cars somewhere safe right now. the police have no right to tell you what you can do with these cars. if they prove they are indeed stolen then you deal with it. until they prove otherwise they are yours.