My car that was stolen 15 months ago was found - update page 2

[briannesmom]

Got a call from the police tonight that my car that was stolen last summer was found. The officer said it is drivable and intact. It is at an auto recovery center about an hour from my house. I have to call them in the morning to find out what I need to do.
I was just wondering am I going to have to pay them to get my car back? I was kinda in shock and didn't think to ask a lot of questions when I got the call.

 

[3boymthr]

Got a call from the police tonight that my car that was stolen last summer was found. The officer said it is drivable and intact. It is at an auto recovery center about an hour from my house. I have to call them in the morning to find out what I need to do.
I was just wondering am I going to have to pay them to get my car back? I was kinda in shock and didn't think to ask a lot of questions when I got the call.

Wow! So unusual. Good Luck with the car. I would think you wouldn't have to pay to retreive it as you did nothing wrong to have it put on the lot. But I could be wrong.

Another question to ask what happens if you got reimbursed by your insurance for the theft?

 

[briannesmom]

Wow! So unusual. Good Luck with the car. I would think you wouldn't have to pay to retreive it as you did nothing wrong to have it put on the lot. But I could be wrong.

Another question to ask what happens if you got reimbursed by your insurance for the theft?

I just had the most basic insurance on it so I didn't receive anything from insurance. I just can't believe someone has been driving around in my car for that long. I am almost afraid to see what kind of shape it is in.

 

[NotUrsula]

If it's in a towing-service impound lot, you probably will have to pay to retrieve it. This happened to us after my dad died; my mother let my brother use Dad's car, he parked it illegally and it was towed. Brother didn't let Mom know about the tow notice, and it was a couple of months before they bothered to track the title and contact Mom. By that time the fees had run up to well over $1000 -- more than the car was worth at the time, so Mom just let the impound lot keep it.

Storage fees of $35/day are not unusual these days. Depending on how quickly they found it, you could discover that there are over $17K in storage fees owed on it now. If you want it back, your insurance company might be able to work out a deal to get it back for a lot less than what is owed in fees, so check with them after you talk to the lot.

 

[dawson5]

My car was stolen and found a week later. We had to pay the impound and tow.

You might want to contact the police dept to find out what you might need to know before getting it. It's been this long, I would assume your plates aren't valid anymore. Would you be able to drive it from there to your home without having to get plates?

 

[KAMLEM]

If it's in a towing-service impound lot, you probably will have to pay to retrieve it. This happened to us after my dad died; my mother let my brother use Dad's car, he parked it illegally and it was towed. Brother didn't let Mom know about the tow notice, and it was a couple of months before they bothered to track the title and contact Mom. By that time the fees had run up to well over $1000 -- more than the car was worth at the time, so Mom just let the impound lot keep it.

This is a little different though seeing that the owner's family was responsible. Since a police report was on file, maybe you won't have to pay it. Good luck!

 

[tuckerkeys]

My brothers motorcycle that was stolen out of his locked garage was found after 7 years in Florida!!! the man who had it said he bought it from a shop without a title. It only had @ 500 miles put on it in that long time period. He was caught b/c he was driving it too fast through a park, and got pulled over with no info on it. They ran a check on the #'s and up it came through a national database of stolen vehicles. It was stolen in NJ.

He had to drive from NJ to Tampa FL to get it and he had to pay @ $175 in recovery fees. I do not think he got this back from his insurance b/c when it was stolen he did get $$ for it. He is with a new insurance co. now so when he got it back to NJ he just placed it on his current insurance.... It was very strange how he just got it back after so long, and it was in almost the same condition.

 

[briannesmom]

I am going to see the car on Monday to decide if I want it back. They are waiving the storage fee since it was a theft but I still have to pay the $75 towing fee. If I decide to take it I have to put insurance on it before it can leave the lot but I can drive it home without a plate.

 

[golfgal]

I am going to see the car on Monday to decide if I want it back. They are waiving the storage fee since it was a theft but I still have to pay the $75 towing fee. If I decide to take it I have to put insurance on it before it can leave the lot but I can drive it home without a plate.

As a "newly acquired" vehicle, your car should be covered for about 30 days without actually calling your agent and putting the car on your policy. It works the same way as buying a car on a car dealer lot.

 

[MinnieMe87]

When I saw this thread at first, I thought it said My CAT that was stolen.. and I wondered who in the world would steal a cat. I guess I can't read today!

OP, that's crazy that they found it after all this time. I hope it's in decent shape, and worth getting back. Let us know how it turns out!

 

[Liberty Belle]

My car was stolen and found a week later. We had to pay the impound and tow.

You might want to contact the police dept to find out what you might need to know before getting it. It's been this long, I would assume your plates aren't valid anymore. Would you be able to drive it from there to your home without having to get plates?

Same thing happened to me. It was about 12 years ago, though, so I can't remember if we had to pay anything, but I'm thinking we did not (or I think I'd remember!).

OP, be prepared for some icky feelings. Our car was ok when we got it back, except for some damage to the window frame where the stuck in a bar or something to open it. The thieves stole a mag light and something else that I can't remember, but aside from those things, the car was fine.

I felt so violated, though. It really was unpleasant driving it and riding in it for quite a while, not knowing who had it or what they did in it. I never would have guessed how violated I would have felt. It's just not pleasant at all.

 

[dakcp2001]

ok I am so curious! How did they find it and where? Was someone driving it? You will have to let us know if you find anything interesting in it. I hope it is still in ok shape, its sort of incredible that it got found!

 

[ilovedisney1]

Well I guess there is still hope for my family. Someone stole our minivan in January so we might get it back you never know.

 

[briannesmom]

OP, be prepared for some icky feelings. Our car was ok when we got it back, except for some damage to the window frame where the stuck in a bar or something to open it. The thieves stole a mag light and something else that I can't remember, but aside from those things, the car was fine.

I felt so violated, though. It really was unpleasant driving it and riding in it for quite a while, not knowing who had it or what they did in it. I never would have guessed how violated I would have felt. It's just not pleasant at all.

Thats what I am worried about. I loved that car. It was the first car I ever bought brand new all by myself. It was almost 8 years old when it was stolen but it was still in excellent condition. I took really good care of it and it only had about 60k miles on it. I am kinda scared to see what it looks like now.
I haven't heard back from the police about how they found it. It has a new ignition and set of keys but the vin plate is missing. I am guessing whoever stole it replaced the ignition, put a different vin on it and sold it. I know they busted out the back window to steal it but I was told it is fully intact so they must have replaced that.

 

[bumbershoot]

If there's any meth use in your area, I would be too worried about it having been a mobile meth lab to get it back.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Well, that is strange indeed. I wonder if it was recovered in some kind of drug situation/sting....that makes me a little nervous.

Take a look, the mileage was probably altered too and how will you know if it will even "last"? Wow, I hope you'll let us know what happens and what you decide.

If you decide Not to take it, the tow place is out their Money anyway, so try and negotiate it down a bit.
Good Luck!

 

[briannesmom]

I got my car back! I went to pick it up this morning and wasn't sure what I would find. It is actually in better shape than when it was stolen. It had a few minor problems that had all been fixed and it is still nice and clean. There is a small dent in the front fender but other than that it looks the same.
After it was stolen they retitled it with a different vin # and sold it. They removed the vin plate from the dashboard so I have to have that replaced before I can do anything with it. I just bought a mini van last month that is much newer so we are going to sell the car as soon as we get the vin situation straightened out. Still haven't been able to get the details on how or where it was found.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Glad you got your car back.

Mine was stolen once and I found it myself in a local high crime area near where I grew up.

Just one question I'm curious about - how did they know it was yours if the VIN was changed?

 

[briannesmom]

Just one question I'm curious about - how did they know it was yours if the VIN was changed?

Good question, I have no idea how they figured it out.

 

[Piglets Mommy]

I'm glad you got it back!
That's good that they are straigtening out the VIN issue...you don't want to sell it and then have anything that was done illegally with it while it was stolen traced to you or the new owner!