Value Added
By Mitch Berg
One of my co-workers recently got his car – a relatively popular imported model – stolen.
A few days ago, he got a call. The car’d been found. He went to the salvage yard where it’d been delivered.
He came back to the office, perplexed; the car, which was in mint condition (it was a ’94, but my co-worker likes to tinker, apparently), was actually in better condition than when stolen. More to the point, it’d been heavily modified; upgraded suspension, new wheels, all sorts of new, cool parts.
All of them stolen as well, naturally.
They’re still trying to figure out how to settle that one.
October 24th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Mitch reported: “One of my co-workers recently got his car – a relatively popular imported model – stolen.”
So you’re thinking this one’s also Obama-related?
October 24th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
No, I suspect a bunch of rogue clowns. It was a subcompact.
October 24th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Maybe Obama was trying to spead some wealth to this guy.
Same thing happen in Milwaukee a year or two ago. A guy owned an older car, but it is the type the gang bangers like to fix up. It wasn’t in all that great shape when it was stolen, but was quite the machine when police recovered it.
He had to sell it. He said there was no way he could drive that thing around Milwaukee without getting carjacked.
October 24th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
I’m guessing it was a rare case of the thief wanting to keep the car for himself instead of a joyride or parting it out.
October 24th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
If I were a policeman, this would be one of those things that would just make my day!
And I don’t know if the solution is “Solomonic,” but maybe just have the owner pay for the stolen parts so the original owners can replace them? Unless, of course, it’s a situation like the one Chuck describes, and he could be caught dead with a car like that.
October 24th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
If I had a car stolen, and I got a call saying “We found it, it’s down at the salvage yard,” I’d go down to the salvage yard fulling expecting to take home what was left of it in a plastic bag.
October 24th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
I wish someone would do that with my car.
October 24th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
My car, my kitchen, my bass, my porch…
October 24th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Isn’t possesion 9/10’s of the law? I’d say if the cops can find the original parts, then “restoritive justice” might apply. Otherwise, your co-worker just got a windfall. After January 20 it would no doubt be subject to a tax.
October 26th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
How are you going to find the proper owner of a stolen lift kit or rims etc.?