Moms car stolen today while at Doctor's office for a checkup...

[aczlan]

Can you get personal items back if it is declared a total loss and then recovered?

Aaron Z

 

[ultrarunner]

Insurance said they do not notify should a total loss vehicle be recovered...

It is still possible Law Enforcement would attempt to contact us if it is found.

Would have to say Mom has been very luck with 65 years driving and never having a claim or ticket.

 

[sld]

It is a very sad story but I don't see you ever getting that car back after this much time has passed. It's probably in pieces by now.

I hate thieves!

 

[KubotainNH]

Sorry to read about this. At this point there probably wouldn't be much left to the car if they found it. Anything personal was probably thrown out. It's close to time to move on.

 

[MossRoad]

Insurance is willing to declare Total Loss.

If accepted we would no longer own the car and would not be able to recover should it be found.

Asked if we could delay and was told OK... still holding out hope.

Also, there are personal items in the car Mom would like back.

After 18 days... is it time to fold?

Well, pretty much everyone I know that has had a car stolen and then had it returned found it in horrible, damaged, stripped, wrecked, etc... condition. I can think of only a couple that had minor damage to a window, steering column, etc... if it was taken by joyriders, you may get it back. If it was taken by true "car thieves" as in, those that want to profit from it, your chances are slim, slim, slim.... just plain sucks.

 

[k0ua]

I know of only one car (truck actually) returned in better shape than when stolen. It was a 60's chevy truck stolen in my area (from a friend) and recovered by police in Texas.. The owner went down to recover it, and found a new engine, better paint/wheels etc.. More miles but in better shape than when stolen. But this is a very rare event. As stated above, they are usually trashed out or parted out or burned out.

 

[ultrarunner]

I'm certain the rims, tires and wheel covers have been removed because what are the odds of finding this very rare combination on the Local Craigslist identical to the one scratched wheel cover the the Brand and Model of tires I had just bought?

So far nothing else has surfaced as near as I can tell... police are right... unless I can definitively identify... it is a waste of time and resources...

Must be a lucrative business because so many have been stolen...

I have printed out many online ads hoping to find a comparable to establish value... nothing anywhere near as nice... have 5 that are within $50 of $7,000 in my market...

 

[MossRoad]

I know of only one car (truck actually) returned in better shape than when stolen. It was a 60's chevy truck stolen in my area (from a friend) and recovered by police in Texas.. The owner went down to recover it, and found a new engine, better paint/wheels etc.. More miles but in better shape than when stolen. But this is a very rare event. As stated above, they are usually trashed out or parted out or burned out.

Some poor car thief somewhere is scratching his head on that one! :laughing:

 

[k0ua]

Some poor car thief somewhere is scratching his head on that one! :laughing:

From what I was told, the guy that did the improvements was not the thief.. He got ripped off too.. Lost a truck he thought was legit and put money into. When you buy a vehicle that is stolen, even if you buy it in good faith, and put money into it, the vehicle still belongs to the original owner that it was stolen from in the first place.

 

[ultrarunner]

Which begs the question... how does a person really know... especially when buying second hand from a stranger?

I found a ranch truck for my brother... the guy seemed a little sketchy so I insisted the transaction be done at the Motor Vehicle Department...

The story was his Grandfather had bought it new when he retired to go hunting and fishing... 20 years ago and had a stroke two years ago and no longer drove... the vehicle had two years worth of back tags and penalties due.

Went to DMV and all checked out... so did the two years of $1200 in back registration fees on a 20 year old truck!!! (No Tickets)

O