Re: Impala-Thon in Philly
 

I sell and buy project cars without titles all the time. I have used Broadway title for about 50 cars so far and NO problems over the past 15 years.
Norm, you are telling me if some dead beat loses the title to a 69 Camaro Z/28 sitting in his back yard, I don't have the right to go to broadway and get a clear title for it?
The auctioneer had a piece of paper from the PA state police saying they came down and checked all the vin numbers and they were all clean.

Re: Impala-Thon in Philly
 

Though the PA State Police may have run a current stolen check on the VINs that in no way means there wasn't a theft issue well into the past. Normally the "stolen" status stays on the law enforcement records for about 10 years, then gets purged. The period may be less depending on the statute of limitations for the theft. Otherwise every car that was ever stolen in the past 100 years would still be on the records and the data storage issues would be beyond comprehension. Imagine going to your local police station and asking them for the theft report on a car stolen in 1962. Think they still have it?

This is one of the things that NICB (National Insurance Crime Bureau) does: they can do off-line searches for old theft reports through their insurance claims records - records that are archived, not purged. So the end result is that there still may be issues well into the future for a prospective buyer from a ill-reputed seller.

Re: Impala-Thon in Philly
 

Record checks can't be that hard - remember this story from 2 years ago?


Stolen Corvette found after 37 years
A Corvette sports car stolen when it was brand new in New York 37 years ago has been recovered in California and will be returned to its rightful owner, authorities said on Monday.

The 1968 car, which vanished from Alan Poster's garage in the borough of Queens on January 22, 1969, was identified as stolen as it was being loaded on a container ship for Sweden last November, U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesman Mike Fleming said.

The car had recently been purchased for $10,000 (5,680 pounds) by a man in Sweden who was unaware it had been stolen nearly four decades earlier, Fleming said. Since Poster's insurance at the time did not cover the Corvette's theft and he was never compensated, he is entitled to get it back.

Re: Impala-Thon in Philly
 

Norm He had titles to all those cars but they burned up in the fire he had at his place years ago. thats why there were no titles. State police were there checking all the vins before the sale went on. I think as long as the car is not stolen then why not retitle it.

Re: Impala-Thon in Philly
 

My dad's 55 Chevy was stolen on July 4th 1968 and we have all of the past documents to prove that it was stolen 40 years ago. I am going to pursue this car after reading this. What are the chances of getting it back if the vin is indeed found to be on record and the car is still alive???

Re: Impala-Thon in Philly
 

If your father was paid off by the insurance company for the theft claim, he no longer has any ownership interest in the car: the insurance company would own it in the unlikely event it was ever found.

Re: Impala-Thon in Philly
 

He paid $800 for it. He only had it for 3 months if that and I have no idea if my grandmother paid for it for him. I have no clue about the money issue or insurance. My grandmother is still alive and I am going to take her to the notary so we can do a vin search on the car.

Re: Impala-Thon in Philly
 

I used to meet up with a guy at Carlisle every year who was (then) an active cop outside Chicago and specialized in auto theft. He would locate a suspicious car then run the VIN through the NICB records. He found several that were stolen many years prior and in most cases was able to return them to the original owner. He said the most satisfying part of his job was when he tracked down the original owner and made the phone call to let him know his old car (now fully restored) was found and waiting for him to pick it up! https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...lins/laugh.gif

One story involved a '67 GTO that he snooped at the Mecum auction.

Verne https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...mlins/flag.gif

Re: Impala-Thon in Philly
 

[ QUOTE ]
If your father was paid off by the insurance company for the theft claim, he no longer has any ownership interest in the car: the insurance company would own it in the unlikely event it was ever found.

[/ QUOTE ]

But, if you have a "deductible" and were not reimbersed 100% in full, you still have a leg to stand on. Have a friend that happened on a stolen (in 1968) 67 Corvette being sold about 10 years ago. He dropped a dime to the police after researching the vin number and his lawyer had him buy the original insured owners position on the car. Then all he had to do was reimburse the insurance company for their expense. It wasn't cheap buying out the original owner, but he did get the car, and a clean title.

By the way, thief went to the grey bar motel for his stupidity. https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/imag...ins/tongue.gif

Re: Impala-Thon in Philly
 

sorry but I do not agree title wash or re-titleing to me is the same as re-bodying a car it just not a ethical thing to do to much grey in this
as far as there was a fire and the titles burned I do not buy it The more I am thinking about it the more I remember this guy that is why to me red flags went up a lot of things went on back in the late 60s and 70s any one who had a busness down there back then knows what I am talking about I will be talking to my state trooper about this title wash thing To me this is a big no no but in the end most of the stuff that sold was nothing more than junk any way