How to see if a car is stolen or not... 58-60 Tbird in Reno with Oregon plates

Hey guys, I know the dr. Phil thread got closed so hopefully this won't get out of hand. My girl friend and I were drivin home from eating downtown in Reno, and we saw this old 58 Tbird in nice shape sitting in a lot in a kind if ... Interesting area. I went up to it, the door was unlocked, and the window was left slightly open. It is night time keep in mind, this sketchy guy cones up to us asking for a lighter, I said no of course because I don't smoke and he said, r u sure? And I said yeah, and then he proceeded to say, "we'll what r u doing here" and I said just looking at this old Tbird, do u know who's it is? The guy said it was his but then I tested him and asked him what year it was and he said after a long pause "I don't even know, I'm too high to know" so clearly it wasn't his car. But he then said, u guys know u r crazy for being here right? And so then we left... But the point to this is, is there a way I could look up if there is a way I could look up who the current registered owner is and give them a call?
1958 to 60 don't totally remember exactly. Can post a picture later, light blue with a white top and Oregon plate on the front, the continental kit was taken off the back.

Just wanting to try and help out someone just in case it was stolen.

All advise accepted

Thanks

 

Report it to the police. They will go check it out. This is safe for you...and they can run the plates to see if its stolen.

 

reported it today, its still in the same place, unlocked and all

 

btt, went back to it today and the front tire was slashed....

 

im curious to see the outcome of this!

 

Damn that sucks....Tires slashed today ,Windows all smashed tomorrow .

 

Keep after the police to go out and check it out. It sounds stolen and you will be doing someone a huge favor. I would call the Sgt on duty and ask if a cop has been there and if not why. That car will be completely trashed by the time it is over if you don't persist.

Someone may return the favor for you some day.

Don

 

Have you googled for anyone posting about a stolen T-bird?

 

If plates are bogus police can run the vin#.

 

damn

 

Keep us up to date.

 

you should post pics maybe someone knows the car

 

This is not going to be the safe way to do this so my disclaimer is do not do this at home kids.

But the only way if you want to know for your own piece of mind is to find the vin number which is either on the driver's A pillar or under the hood on that car. Write the number down. Go to the cop shop and tell them that you are thinking about buying the car but suspect that it may be stolen and can they run the number for you before you invest money in it. They will probably not tell you who it belongs to but they can and most times will tell you if it has been reported stolen or not.

 

based on past experiences.....I doubt the police will be much help unless you are the owner of the property or the car since its probably sitting on private property. Even if they run the serial number(since there was no such thing as a VIN back then) they probably won't give you any info other than "no its not stolen" if even that. Only reeal way to find out anything is to go to the county clerks office and look up the owner of the property and contact them. They should know who owns the car. If they don't....then there isn't much you can do unless they call a wrecker and have it removed. Then you will have to wait for it to be auctioned from impound to get it legally. But....all of this is based on Texas law.....your state may differ.

 

You never mentioned if the Oregon plates were current or not? If they are current you can contact Oregon DMV and tell them you're trying to find the registered owner. They wont give you his name, but they will tell you if it's stolen. They will also forward a self addressed stamped letter to the owner, if sent to them. That may not help much if the car gets stolen, or vandalized in the meantime.

 

Oregon won't tell you who owns it, They might tell you if the plates belong to that car or if it has been reported stolen.

 

Give the crack head $100.00 and trailer it out.
Then continue. Have someone film the transaction so you can document it and at least be semi protected.

 

I suppose it's possible the car may be part of a police sting operation. If so, loading up a car [that's not yours] could land you in jail a long time. And now that the cars' been reported, the po-po will be watching it even if it's not an actual sting operation.

 

In other words, no good deed goes unpunished.

 

thanks guys, car is still there. Took just a quick picture while driving past it today. Not great but i can go back and take another one.

But i have tried entering in the license plate numbers online and cant find anything and dont really know how to do all the fancy stuff. Just it too nice of a car and sitting in a bad area.

ill post it in a little bit. but it is still there.

 

I bought an '85 Buick Regal at an estate sale with 14,000 actual miles on it. I mean this thing was brand new. Sticker in the glove box and everything.

I had it 3 weeks, put it on Craigs List. Gonna make a quick 2 grand on it. I had a bunch of calls. 3 of them asked to come it and my address. One lady said she was from Chicago.

Anyway, 2 days later the car was gone. Right from my driveway. Never to be seen again. Of course I called the cops. Gave then pictures and never heard from them.

So, I figure I gave the thief my address and they must have pulled it out real quiet because I have 2 German Shepherds and they bark at anything.

Maybe someday Karma will get them, but the cops sure didn't.

Just thought I'd share. Beware doing things on CL.

buds
chuck

 

Here is a picture of it.
I feel bad because im sure there is a proud owner out there really missing it. It is just too nice for where it is parked.

 

wow.. nice car.. I'd like to have that beauty.

I think those 3 years are the best of the birds....

 

yeah, its a good lookin car, my girlfriend has been wanting one of these really bad, it was her that actually saw the car first.

Its odd that the continental kit was taken off of it though

 

I drove a $10,000 Japanese import to Reno once and came home in a 1/4 million dollar Greyhound Bus ! .... OK, seriously I think you gots to hound the cops. They need to "serve and protect". Seems at this point a bad out-come is on them.

 

It is currently registered! I will call Oregon DMV tomorrow!

didnt even think about trying to call Oregon DMV.

 

That 'Bird's a '60. There is an online registry for T-birds, plus I maintain a database on them for Vintage Thunderbird Club International http://vintagethunderbirdclub.net . If you can get the VIN/data plate info off of it and log it in chances are a current or previous owner may turn up.

 

I agree there is something goofy about a car in that condition just sitting in what you have described as a not so good area. Someone stashed it.

Please stay on top of this one.

Don

 

Thanks guys, and yeah im going to stay on top of it. Tomorrow once I get off of work I will go over and write down the info on the car. Where is the vin plate on it? right in the front windshield?

 

tag is either on the left door by the latch or under the hood. Not going to be easiest to get.