State Police coming tomorrow to take my car.

How do they know what it looked like when you bought it? It could have easily been a non rolling shell....

 

Yeah, I once had a guy leave me a full chest of mechanic's tools as collateral on a vet bill he owed 6 or 8 months past,no guy. I figured the hell with it,to them home and hung them up. Two days later he comes to reclaim them,then bitches something he was "sure he had" wasn't there. Idiot. I gave him back every damn bit.

As for the car,after all that time the original owner doesn't probably know what was on the car. if you are honest,fine, but "engine,what engine?".

 

BULLSHIT!!! don't believe a GD thing any cop tells you about the law. i've found out that more often than not officers don't know shit about what the law actually says, on most things. if they knew so much about the law they would be lawyers not cops. TALK TO A LAWYER!!! and do it NOW! don't drag your ass on this one. get on the phone RIGHT NOW!!!

 

I'd talk to a lawyer. Sounds to me like the police are working on what they have been told by the previous owner. I seriously doubt he's told them-

"Well I left this car there for six years and the shop sold it for storage and the work done to it. Go get it back for me."

The police only know what they are told. Let's be honest. Even though it's not right. Most times they will look at a situation like as you're guilty till proven innocent.

 

This is Absolutely true. I have often seen police tell people something is "the law" that blatantly is not.

They try to threated and bully people into doing things their way because its easier, and mostly they get away with it.

I would not give this one up without a fight.

Who is the registered owner? When was the last time it was registered? In california at least, if it hasnt been registered in the last 7 years then as far as DMV is concerned it doesn't exist.

Which means it's pretty hard to prove stolen.

 

Talk to the county attourney to see what your options are. The shop should at least be responsible for reimbursing the money they sold it for. I would try to reason with those involved before hiring a lawyer and giving him what you would have lost anyway.Sounds like they are using the felony charge to scare you into taking the bullit for everyone.......Hell ,maybe the guy that wants it back might sell it to you or you could sell him the stuff you have bought for it.???

 

Couldn't you sue the shop that sold it in the first place?

Your lawyer can tell you what recourse you have.

To be convicted of recieving, don't they have to prove that you knew it was hot. WTF

All you did is buy a car with a less than perfect title, who hasn't

 

Thats BS! I would contact an attorney immediately! Might just be the person has cop friends that are trying to scare you and pull a fast one or they might not be cops at all! I would temporarily relocate the car in a secure place until you hear from your attorney.

 

My Dad used to run a small time Body & Fender shop. A few times similar situations arose. This was New York State and it was 20 years ago...

If a customer left a car at his place of business for more than 90 days after they were notified that the job was complete (or sometimes just that the car couldn't be fixed, like when one is towed in and then the estimate for repairs exceeds what the insurance company is willing to pay) there were provisions in the law for the shop to either scrap the car or file for legal title to it.

Even if no one ever filed for title of the car, the shop could submit a bill for any unpaid balance on work that was completed plus storage fees. Six years of storage fees should exceed whatever value the car has.

I'd try to work out a deal with the shop owner that you won't "whine" to the Police and/or Motor Vehicle Department about his hand in selling items that weren't his...if he will help by submitting the bill for storage.

Then tell the Police that you two have a claim to be made against the owner of the car. Your claim is for all the labor and parts/materials that you've expended, shop owner's claim is for storage fees and any unpaid bills for his services. Hopefully something could be arranged so that the car doesn't go back into the possesion of the A-hole who ignoored it for six years until a court hearing to straighten this all out is heard.

Too bad you have gotten into such a head ache, Godd Luck

 

I'd have to agree with the other guys on this. If the upholestry shop had it for 6 years, and it's gone through two buyers before you ended up with it, how long has it been kickin' around since the shop dumped it?

Something stinks on this. Ignore the threats and get a lawyer.

Roger

 

Well I have never seen any law enforcment agency give anyone time to take anything off of a car that is stolen. Two witnesses is as good as a bill of sale in any state! You schould not lose the money you gave for the car, nor should anybody in the chain, only the shop that sold it in the first place, should lose. They are the ones in the wrong for not getting the proper paper work in order to sale it. lb+1

 

i didnt read every last message but it sounds fishy, did the cop/detective send you any paperwork? was all this over the phone?

i wouldnt let anyone load that car unless a detective was present.

you have a few options... but get a badge number and call his precinct for ID verification. if all you did was buy a car without paperwork, there is no reason why any of you would be facing charges.

do some homework on the guy claiming to be a cop...

 

Get a lawyer....and next time remember...if it sounds too good to be true..it probably isn't...

 

plan 9 makes a great point..


most of the time you cant get an officer to show up for petty things like this.

AND.. why should they be chasing down a car that the P.O. idiot left behind for 6 years..

shouldnt police in your area be chasing drug dealers?

 

I think alot of the guys have come up with great ideas for you to jump on - don't waste any time!

 

Yep what most of these guys said...contact an attorney immediately! If nothing else they should be able to file a stay (tempory injunction) to halt the vehicle being taken until ownership can be determined. If they are claiming it to be "stolen" I would determine when a stolen car report was filed. Kind of funny to wait 6 years to file a report. Don't get into a pissing match with the state police, but go up the chain of command to someone other than a "trooper". Speak with a supervisor and if you don't get them to look into it more then speak with their supervisor. It sounds like the body shop screwed up to begin with and I don't like seeing anyone get screwed over on a deal like this.

Bill

 

The fine in PA. is $500 for both the seller AND the buyer when there's no title. Can't even sell a car with an open title {signed but not notorized}. Don't ask how I know! Also the car belongs to the LAST legal owner, the guy with the clear title. If the owner wasn't told up front the shop guy can't just make up a storage bill even after six years. There would have had to been registered letters involved with specific time limits. Sounds like the cop is just trying to make his job easy. You give up the car, no mountain of paper work.

 

Sounds extremely fishy to me too. I've never experienced that before, but I agree with everyone saying get a lawyer. I'd wonder if the person you spoke to was really a cop, and if that car even still legally exist on the books. Six years is a long time to forget about a car. Sounds a lot like a hustle.

 

If the cop were in kahoots with the old owner....why would he give a heads-up about when they'll be impounding the car so there is time to strip it?

He'd want to help his buddy get the improvements that were recently added, wouldn't he?


Ya sure you're not getting "Overhauled" by Foose, right?

 

i guess these guys are rite about contacting a laywer, but that route may end up more than the original cost of the car. you never said what it was. if you paid less than 500 bucks just take yer stuff back off and youve learned an expencive lesson.

if it's conciderably more $ get tough. i suppose if you had friends or family that were cops you'de hav already asked them for advice or direction.
this contact from the first cop was on the phone? so he(or she) hasent seen the buick in question?
where is it? parked on a public street?is it in yer yard? is it parked in a locked garage?
if it's in the yard/driveway cement some eye-hooks into the ground and chain/lock the frame to it. if a tow company tries to take it when yer not home they'lle fuck up the car and yer yard and you can bill them for the damage(to the yard/driveway) dont ask why, but i did this once, but my car was'nt taken.

if you're not a business a mechanics lien is tuff. even when you are a business it can sometimes be difficult.

 

check with a DMV service in your state. In Ca, anybody can file a lien on a car. Its been at your house since whatever date, at $15 bucks a day storage.
You can do this tomorrow morning. Once the lien is filed, nobody can take anything.

dude that wants it will have to pay you to get it.

If the car's on the hot sheet, your ass would be looking for bail money.

That cop is guilty of dereliction of duty for not hauling your ass in and having the car immediately recovered.

So, you know what to do.

 

I'd strip it down to the body with the vin# only and keep all the other stuff... let em have the bare minimum!!!

 

All a law enforcement officer has to do is run the vin. It will come back in either the guys name, lien holder, or no match. Try calling the DMV in your state and they can run it for you as well.

 

I agree w/RetroJoe, you should call your DMV to find out the staus of the VIN yourself. If it's not on the hotlist, get them to fax you something saying so.

 

It sounds as if the original owner is disguising himself as a cop because he found out who has the car, and has also found a way to beat the shop out of paying for labor, material, storage, etc., and is scaring you into giving him his car back.

I've worked in law enforcement too long to be fooled by stories like this.

First of all, if a car is reported stolen, it has to be entered on a state and federal NCIC listing by way of computer entry. This is a Federal Database used jointly by 1 state law enforcement agencies that oversee state, county and local PD's, 2 every federal agency along with Interpol, and 3 is maintained by the FBI. You can verify this by taking the VIN # to the local PD and have them make an entry in the stolen car file. If the car is stolen as reported, you'll know in about 10 seconds.

2nd of all: Did the cop on the phone give any VIN #'s or descriptions of the car? Cops don't seize stolen property unless there's proof the item has been reported stolen, and they don't do this over the phone. They have to physically note the VIN # from the vehicle in question, and match it to an NCIC listing showing the cars details and
#'s.

3rd of all, cops will seize a car on the spot that is documented as stolen. They will not give you an opportunity to destroy the car or make it dissappear. They do not give breaks to folks to remove items from the car. For all they know, you could be taking parts off the car that hide drugs or weapons, and this is not normal procedure. Normally, they would seize the car and impound it. You would then make a claim against the car for personal property of yours that is in the vehicle. Only after the dispute is settled, can the items be removed from the vehicle after you show proof of ownership of those items.

4th thing. You do have restitution rights to recover your money, as long as you can prove that you were mislead by anyone representing themselves as the owner of the car. It's a long drawn out procedure that will most likely end up in small claims court. But in the case of the upholstery shop assuming ownership of the car based on abandonment and non payment, they may have actually committed a felony by selling this car illegally. It depends on the DMV laws in your state, and whether this was on a signed document the original owner signed with the shop.

5th thing-If you think for any reason that this is a bogus claim, and some schmuck shows up with a flatbed stating he is a cop, then call a cop ASAP. Ask for ID, and verify the ID. Ask what Troop or Barracks he is with. If you call a cop because you suspect something is fishy, make sure you tell them over the phone that the guy taking the car is in the act of stealing it and is impersonating an officer. They will usually respond to that because it is a "hot" call, or one that is currently happening.

Most agencies will act on a car that has been listed as stolen for the entire 6 years it was gone. 99% of the time in your situation, charges will not be filed against you, since you're on the end of a long line of "owners". Most agencies will NOT act on a car that has been listed as stolen 6 years after the fact. They will tell the owner tough luck, he should have filed it 6 years ago, and go to court to get it back. There would not be enough justification to enter this car on the NCIC after 6 years, and any agency that does is foolish.

Good Luck. And make sure you get the license plate # of both the "cop" car and the tow truck, and names and ID from everyone.

 

You've been played' so play right back. Strip it to NOTHING and store the parts elsewhere;then report it stolen, and take what's left to the worst part of town. Now the guy has to deal with it and the tow co.,and the tow co. fees, and storage costs. Think he's going to do that by his history? Then buy the "hulk" back at auction and you got yourself a clear title! Some assembly required. BUTCH.

 

RIGHT ON!!!!

 

If it turns out to be true...and that's sounding less and less likely... pull the seats, door panels, etc. Keep the upholstery. You paid for the work done to it, right? Or do what others have said, strip it clean and buy another with a title to rebuild.

 

Go back to the guy you bought it from. He'll be glad to return your cash if you don't press charges.

Hang onto your parts until you start a new build you'd be surprised at ahow many of thos buick specific part will work on your next ride.

And finally, Bummer i hate to hear it.

benno

 

I think he owes you a legal '56 Buick, even if he can't find one in the exact same condition, the gesture would be nice.