Dealer Sells Man Stolen Car Which Police Then Take

[@timdelaney2798]

The original dealer who reported the car stolen wouldn't happen to have the word "Hertz" in its title somewhere?

[@Nickle314]

Painful , very painful.

[@MiGujack3]

@@Nickle314 It hertz a lot

[@douglasboyle6544]

Carvana?

[@57WillysCJ]

I watched the news video of this and there were two great things that happened. One the police officer was really kind and reasonable. He did not treat the guy who was black like a criminal. The second great thing is Wells Fargo cancelled the dept and returned his money. That is a rarity for them, but they could use good PR right now. You hear of to many instances of police thinking cars are stolen and approach with guns drawn and treating people with little respect. So kuddos to this officer and the bank.

[@virginiamoss7045]

Even more important, the buyer was a Black man in a Black part of town and yet everything went down respectfully.

[@johnbriggs3916]

Notice who didn't behave well -- even when the TV station got involved.

[@johnpublic6582]

I suspect Wells Fargo has piles of money left from laundering drug money and arms trafficing money from which they can pay this bad loan back.

[@xlerb2286]

I'll grudgingly give Wells Fargo some credit for making it right. But not much, because they only did so after it hit the news and they were getting yet another publicity black eye. But I totally agree the police did an A+ job, which is more common than people think. But sadly far from a given, especially if you're black.

[@Philflash]

I loved the arrogance of the spokesman from the dealership! He had that shit eating look and did not concede to anything. He could have shown some empathy to the situation. If that happened to a family member of his I could only imagine the colorful Spanish that would come out of his mouth!

[@3SM20Pilot]

This reminds me of a story local to Michigan. Tom Bailey's (He's on youtube, look him up) truck was stolen. The police investigator dropped the ball in contacting Tom when the truck was found. The tow yard that had the truck sold it to cover towing and yard fees. Tom finds the truck and takes it back since he still has the keys and title. Tom informs the police that he got his truck back and that they can cancel the search. Police come and take the truck back (and the keys) and give it back to the guy who bought it from the towing company. As far as I know he still hasn't been made whole. I'd love to hear your take on this, Steve.

[@Hevach]

While not on this particular case Steve's done a few videos with the theme "Self help is fraught." That sounds like a situation that could have gone far worse for him, and if he has any relief under the law, it's not from the guy who now has the truck.

[@fireman1226576]

They do that on purpose. They want to steal your car. It’s no accident or “dropped ball”. The city I live in had dog catchers going into peoples back yards taking their dog, never informing them they were caught even if the pet was properly registered and contact information was clearly displayed. Then when you try to find your last dog and you call them, they will tell you they don’t have it, and you should call back in a few days in case they find it. Then when you call back they say they had it since before you called the first time, then charge you overnight boarding at like $75 a night.

[@phlodel]

My brother's truck was not stolen but was towed for expired registration. It was towed on the weekend. When my brother went to get it out of impound when the tow yard opened Monday morning, it had already been sold.

[@rmhartman]

Sold? After only two days?

[@solidmoon8266]

If he can prove the cops found it, but failed to contact him while it was being stored. The cops are liable due to negligence and owe him the full value of the car. Negligence isn't covered under their immunity and the cops could potentially be personally sued in the matter as well.

[@okaro6595]

It is obvious that the dealer should pay in full. They then can collect from the one who sold it and to it should go as far as possible.

[@CPMG2000]

The state of Georgia is also accountable as their systems did not show the car was stolen.

[@jon9103]

@@CPMG2000 only if it was a failure of their system, it's only their responsibility if they knew or reasonably should of known.

[@n1gak]

@@CPMG2000 that presumes that State of Georgia has a legal Duty of care. I would be willing to wager that the report the state gave the dealer in GA had enough weasel-language to leave themselves with zero fault for lack of information. Someone else upthread brought up the thought that OH may have dropped the ball by not doing THEIR part to notify the stolen vehicle in a timely fashion.

[@New525]

Funny how this never seems to happen while its at the dealership.

[@darkmantlestudios]

Maybe the cops should roll through and run the plates on used cars at dealerships

[@HDReMaster]

@@darkmantlestudios they dont have plates at a dealer

[@darkmantlestudios]

I think that depends on the area, but all I mean is that they should check dealerships for stolen vehicles. They obviously found this guy's truck on the road somehow

[@davidh9638]

If not plates, then VINs. Or both.

[@Yildun28]

It actually does. Quite often. It just doesn't make the news because it's a non-story.

[@AlanTheBeast100]

Finance co: "Payup or we'll repo the car!" Guy: "Ok - take it!"

[@BuckshotPA1]

Doesn’t the dealership have ID on the person who traded it in? Go after them!

[@HDReMaster]

fake id. criminals

[@DJBREIT]

If the ID was stolen or bogus. The dealership is out of luck. The car may have been sold to them for cash.

[@northyland1157]

Most used cars are bought though Auction, not from individuals. Yes the dealer could go after whoever sold them the car.

[@natelorimer8567]

​@northyland1157 that may make sense. If not in a stolen registry, they bought a car from an auction that was impounded due to abandonment possibly. Then as a dealer obtained a Georgia title. The Devil stole it for a free ride to fiddle once again in Georgia. Abandoned it there. A spawn of ruin resulted.

[@musicloverme3993]

@@natelorimer8567I believe that @northy Land meant a regular used car auction, not an impound auction.

[@rogerp5816]

Fast forward three weeks and Steve will be doing a follow up story where we find out that the dealership bought the car at an auction from Hertz. :)

[@robertthomas5906]

Bought it from Hertz and it's not really stolen. That would be something. Ok, it's your car again.

[@tomg5176]

Had the same thing happen with a pickup bought in NM. When we went to register it in AZ it had to be inspected because it came from NM. During that inspection the vin came back as stolen from OR. Long story short, it was stolen from OR. Recovered in WA, who failed to clear it from the system and issued a new vin and sold it to the guy in NM that sold it to us. I could write you a book about the stupidity, keystone cops and Barney Fife AZDMV enforcement officer.

[@davidmorley7778]

The guy should not only get all his money back, but get an extra $150,000.00 for his trouble.

[@TriCountyMotorsEastman]

As a dealer in Georgia, the dealership is required to carry a title bond that likely would cover this

[@kevinmach730]

Like title insurance for a home

[@TriCountyMotorsEastman]

@@kevinmach730 something like that. Dealerships generally try to avoid claims on the title bond as a claim will likely mean you will have to find a new place to get you required bond to keep your license and the new bond will cost significantly more if you can find a place to give you one. Additionally, the bond holder will generally come after you to recoup their money. So a dealership might as well pay the money back to the customer and avoid all the other issues.

[@ninehundreddollarluxuryyac5958]

Wonderful story! Black guy, stolen car, and the cop is polite, professional and respectful, so everyone behaves in a reasonable way. I hope they promote that guy and put him in charge of officer training.

[@deesmith8576]

wtf does race have to do with anyting whats wrong with this generation

[@FUGP72]

Again...ss the police usually do. Please tell me you don't believe the bullshit narrative of the last 3 years. The difference between this and the ones the ultra wokies try to use is this black man was clam and respectful, and didn't try to run, jump in his car and get away, or reach into his waistband, or punch to cop. In 99.999999999999999999% of encounters where the black man is cooperative with police, the encounter is just like this one.

[@jeanettewaverly2590]

Absolutely. I watched the news report with the body cam footage. The incident could have turned into a dumpster fire if the deputy had not been so professional and courteous.

[@Guspech750]

We had a dealer threaten us with the get a lawyer comment. No problem. 3 years later. We won in court. 4 day trial for fraud. Turned out our case opened up a huge can of worms on more fraud and they lost everything 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 It was beautiful 😂😂😂😂

[@agkittyhook2257]

Love your shirt today! There also 2 towns in Minnesota called Fertile & Climax (between Frago/Moorhead & Grand Forks). I recall an old story about an obituary headline that actually said "Fertile Woman Dies in Climax". It's an urban legend! 😂😂😂

[@twillison8824]

Good idea getting the news involved. I wonder how "cooperative" the dealership would've been otherwise.

[@mexicanspec]

This same thing happened to me back in the '90's. It turned out the 1970 Cadillac 9 passenger sedan I bought from a dealer was stolen along with its title. Since the dealer handed me the title, and they shouldn't have, DMV forced them to make me whole. I was sad to see that car go.

[@jimjackson5544]

I agree, a dealership MUST have a clean title to sale a vehicle to anyone!!! I too feel bad about the loss to the dealership, but then again, they too have legal recourse to negate their loss!

[@sarowie]

I would argue that the contract was about selling a car and that they effectively did not sell the car, because they legally could not sell the car meaning essentially, the dealer got money for providing nothing. Even giving back the money does not make the man whole again - the contract was about a specific car and the buyer had extra expenses like title transfer, financing etc.

[@ericm5315]

@@sarowie That's what civil lawsuits are for, no?

[@knurlgnar24]

Exactly. They're lucky they aren't out the total cost of the vehicle and the bank took the hit. They would have to try to get their money back from whoever sold it to them - probably an auction house or Carvana or Hertz or something.

[@darrylroederer2680]

I watch the original news report on this story. While the reporter didn't say it outright, the feeling I got is that someone in Ohio dropped the ball by not listing this vehicle on the national register of stolen vehicles. The guy who owned the dealership was very straightforward and honest in the news report. I actually felt sorry for him because according to him he followed all the rules and did everything right.

[@johnbriggs3916]

He was not "straightforward and honest": he sold a stolen car and refused to refund the buyer even after he knew that the car was stolen.

[@Unsensitive]

​@@johnbriggs3916 sounds straight forward and honest.. Just completely wrong.

[@ThatDamnPandaKai]

I saw the original report and the manager was acting shady AF. Either he knew it was stolen, or he knew someone didn't properly get the title from whoever they got the car from (whether or not the original dealership sent them the car and mistakenly forgot to invoice it and thought it was stolen, or whatever)

[@braddl9442]

He didn't follow all the rules if he didn't honor the warranty of title though.

[@russellhltn1396]

I'd like to know what really happened. Perhaps someone dropped the ball on the paperwork, or perhaps the dealer sold the car in a way they knew it would be going out of state and then committed insurance fraud by reporting it stolen. It's a choice between incompetent government workers and a shady dealer. Take your pick.

[@bearsden28]

I appreciate the thorough explanation of title and good transfer. Thank you. You always make me think about things from different angles.

[@BilboBegginz]

Recently, my son’s girlfriend was talking to her brother and he was almost arrested because of a car dealership in Miami. They sold him a car which had been used in a drive by shooting and left the previous owner’s name on the paperwork; somehow leading the police to him! He had to provide an alibi, etc. even though he doesn’t even fit the description of the real perp!

[@MikinessAnalog]

What a clusterfrick Sounds like some kind of bureaucratic / clerical failure

[@kevinmach730]

Bingo.

[@01cthompson]

This happened in Connecticut a few years ago. The state let the buyer title and register a stolen car. Then they decided it was stolen.

[@johnpublic6582]

Do you know how hard it is to go to the DMV and do correct paperwork day after day? 🤣

[@braddl9442]

What?

[@TheRealScooterGuy]

As one of the thousands who submitted this, I say thanks for covering it.

[@jeffjones6951]

Does the Ohio dealership where the car was stolen in 2020 not have a duty to register the car as stolen? If they'd made some clerical error in reporting the VIN, how do they escape partial reponsibity for the ensuing wake of damages to other parties?

[@ImpossiblyBlack]

Apart from being sold a stolen car, I would say the planets definitely aligned for this young man. 🙂Any misalignment could have turned this bad dream into a nightmare.

[@jackieheidorn5875]

The TV station picking up the story probably helped as they named the dealership, which got them some flak regarding the manager's attitude as the representative of the dealership on camera.

[@3xceIIent]

It doesn't seem like it. The dealership didn't pay the money back until ordered to do so by the court. Maybe it helped with the finance company, but the dealership didn't bow even with public reporting.

[@davidzimmerman3778]

The body cam footage is available on KZbin, the police were really nice to the young man and his mother. A news channel helped him recover the money he lost. The bank refunded him, the dealer refused to compensate him.

[@Murph9000]

I saw pretty much the same thing in the UK many years ago. Stolen car sold at auction to a dealer, but the checks done by the auction and dealer against the national registry came back clean. It also passed the same checks done by the finance company. Six months later, the police seized it from the dealer's customer. The dealer, auction, finance company, and several insurance companies had to work together to straighten it out. A week or two later, the dealer bought it from the insurance company that had originally paid out on the theft and returned it to the customer. It was a mess getting it fixed due to the number of entities involved and the police investigation, but the customer was made whole as quickly as possible and had a loaner car from the dealer while the formalities were sorted out. The ridiculous thing in the case reported in this video is the dealer initially trying to wash their hands of it.

[@nojuanatall3281]

The whole it's your problem is so scummy. Not to mention suspicious.

[@samuelplyler1511]

I do feel somewhat sorry for the dealer who sold this car as they appear to be a victim as well but ignorance is typically not a valid excuse in court.

[@robertbryant6998]

That type of stuff is typically covered by insurance. If they don’t have insurance, that’s a whole can of monkeys in itself.

[@aquageist]

The dealer can probably go after whoever they bought it from, since they now have provable damages and the same UCC law should apply. And if that person didn't steal it, then they can chain it on to whoever they got it from. Eventually someone won't be able to legally explain where they got the car from and they'll get the brunt of it.

[@Kurgosh1]

Unless you're a cop. Then ignorance (or pretended ignorance) is a perfect excuse.

[@johnbriggs3916]

They were wilfully ignorant. They had only one job, to ensure that they could legally sell what they were selling.

[@adseelinger]

@@aquageist not that the dealer would not have some recourse against the person who sold them the stolen vehicle, but UCC 2.312 will only benefit the dealer if the person who sold them the vehicle was also a merchant in regards to goods of that specific kind. An individual who is not a merchant is not governed by the UCC but by common law or other state laws relevant to that transaction.

[@stevef68]

I saw the original video. I am confused how the buyer got title and tags from the state DMV? The cop said "it's not kicking as stolen in the system, but it IS stolen". How would the cop know that if it's not in the system? He did sue the dealer and got $4500 from them, but what about DMV?

[@Nickle314]

QI

[@ThatDamnPandaKai]

It might have not registered with the state as stolen at the time of purchase. After it did, chances are a tag camera passively picked it up as a stolen vehicle.

[@jon9103]

@@ThatDamnPandaKai except the tags are from registering the vehicle.

[@UncleKennysPlace]

The DMV can only know it's stolen if the other state put it into the system. It appears not to be in the system, and the DMV perhaps sees what looks to be a legit title. BTW, in Ohio, we are doing away with paper titles. I don't have one for my car (I can optionally get one, but I won't.)

[@jsivco3sivco785]

BUT... Did he get his lawyer fees reimbursed from the dealer, or merely his down payment on the car?

[@stevent5571]

I just watched the actual video and if you listen to the managers voice, they are shady as hell.

[@ericc461]

Still enjoying your channel, Steve, and your clarity. No such troubles at present, but I feel wiser.

[@tiredoldmechanic1791]

I know a man who purchased a used vehicle. When he took it to a shop to have some work done on it, they ordered parts by VIN number and got the wrong parts. The shop found a VIN on the frame that was different than the tag on the dash and the door. The owner notified the police who confiscated the vehicle because the frame number came back as stolen. It took him a year to get the money back from the seller who went to jail.

[@neftron]

The dealership is buying/selling stolen goods. They are "lucky" the police didn't investigate further into their bussiness. I wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't the first time they did this. Most people wouldn't know what to do or how to fight it. Sadly, most people can't afford to fight it and just take the loss

[@neftron]

@@KameraShy then you would be surprised how many scammers will double down on the lies. Look at trump, he knows he is lying but he just leans into the lie and pretends whatever he is doing is the truth.

[@davidaras1086]

Your teaching experience really shows through in your videos.

[@davidhoward4715]

Good point!

[@HeyIFoundACamera]

This guy has to have a case against the dealership. Whether they realized it or not, they sold him stolen property. At least some of the responsibility is theirs. At the very least, he should get his money back.

[@benjaminfinlay829]

He _did_ get his money back. He had to fight them to do so, though, and I agree that he shouldn't have had to.

[@nojuanatall3281]

I hope he was awarded damages for this whole ordeal.

[@LoneTiger]

_"I guess you should get a lawyer."_ Famous last words, instead of being out the amount of just the car, now dealership will be out amount of car + legal fees + other compensatory fees?

[@sarowie]

+ legal fees for their own lawyer + increase in their insurance premiums I would be much smarter to say something like "we make a few phone calls to figure it out" and then payout the money withing days.

[@kevinmach730]

When you buy a home, a title company (should you hire one) does a check to see if there are other claims, liens, or other incumbrances on the deed to your home- and once they deem it clear, if there is something that pops up later- they are financially responsible for clearing that incumbrance. You'd think insurance companies would offer something like this for cars, but I have not heard of such a thing.

[@earlwheelock7844]

I do beleive its called " title insurance " dont know who writes that type of ins. but I guarantee Loyds of London does!!!!!😣😣

[@boomer150]

Cars are far more complicated that houses and cars often sell person to person for cash. For much less money too.

[@karlrovey]

I was pretty sure you were going to mention "warranty of good title" on this one. Glad to see you covering this one.

[@claytonandrews251]

Something similar happened to Tom Bailey but he didn’t get his truck back . Tow truck company sold it as unclaimed without notifying him they had it .

[@markiusgalfordii9248]

Georgia has been having issues with registrations on registrations on vehicles saying the vehicles are stolen when they're not matching the vehicool that they are. Especially from outer staters plus they add an extra two hundred and fifty dollars to every fine if you are from a different state

[@trs-80fanclub12]

I live almost 6 miles from this dealer. It closes in the winter, stays abandoned for most of the year, and then fires up again. I wouldn't trust this place at all IMO

[@knoester7714]

Good information Steve, thank you.

[@xenuburger7924]

I remember a private seller fraudulently selling a car with a lien, also rolling back the odometer. The car was repossessed within a few days and the seller disappeared. The new owner successfully sued the original finance company to recover their money, about $43k.

[@HDReMaster]

oh they sued for much more and the lawyers took a cut

[@Eric.Swartz]

I don't understand. How did the cop know this was a stolen car if it wasn't marked stolen in his system? Why did he identify this car as stolen? It must have had a different license plate from Ohio to Georgia. Never sounds like he even checked the VIN.

[@KeoniPhoenix]

So the database of stolen cars uses VIN numbers and those VIN numbers are part of the title and part of the vehicle. So when it gets reported stolen, the database is quite open for any of the law enforcement agencies and even private companies who need to know this can see it. Just because the Georgia DMV registered the car and didn't catch that it was, doesn't hide the fact it was stolen. The Georgia registration database likely used the same VIN number which after a short time was seen by somebody searching the stolen vehicle database for it as the two are linked. The State is not at fault for their system allowing the car to be registered, its irrelevant as the stolen car was already in the stolen car database and the dealership does have the means to know that through commercial services to provide a report on the car and they didn't do it. Also car insurance agencies require a VIN number to insure the car and they maintain a separate database of their own and its also very likely that when the car was registered then insured that the car was discovered as stolen. There's more than one way for this to have come to the attention of law enforcement.

[@scottchamberlain5594]

Hey, Steve; funny, I had one of these today. In CT I suspect the outcome would be different. CT is a 'title state'; and the case law says essentially that you are entitled to rely on public records as far as who owns something. So, good luck getting your stolen car back if our state has retitled it. The other thing is that if the theft was that long ago, the chances are ut was insured, the loss was paid, and the 'owner' is in fact the insurance company that paid the loss. . My second question was the Deputy. Under what authority did he take the car? Now if there was a warrant, then fine. But where was the crime in Georgia? And if there was no crime, that Deputy, is not enforcing a law, he's basically serving as a repo man. Am I off track?

[@shorttimer874]

I used to work for a tow company with a municipal impound contract, towing about 100 vehicles a day, at the order of the police department, selling about 400 a month that did not get redeemed during the approximately month long lien process to be completed and are sold at an abandoned vehicle lien auction ( Note: technically we were not selling the vehicle but selling the lien on the vehicle and the buyer applies for a new title ). About 1 or 2 times a year the vehicle gets seized by law enforcement as stolen. Every vehicle gets checked in NCIC by VIN, a national law enforcement system for tracking such things as stolen vehicles, by the local police, and again by state DMV. Both agencies send us any ownership information from the registration from the state it was last licensed in. We send out multiple notices to those listed. Sometimes stolen cars don't show up in NCIC, I would guess for multiple reasons, but having been involved in this for decades I can tell you that none of the agencies involved will take any responsibilities. I also have no idea why do they show up stolen at a latter date.

[@july8xx]

@Shortimer 57: In the Ohio DMV some worker threw a bunch of papers into a “I’ll get to that later file” someone else finally got to the file and took care of it. Not every one is a goog worker.

[@_PatrickO]

Charging people fees when their vehicle was stolen makes you a scumbag.

[@shorttimer874]

@@_PatrickO If their insurance agent was unable to sell them comprehensive insurance, which covers costs arising from causes other than while driving, including vehicle theft, why is that someone else's problem?

[@shadefangkweep]

@@shorttimer874 You shouldn't have to have insurance for that in the first place. If your car was taken, at no fault of your own, it should be returned to you. If a tow company or the like has costs that need to be covered they should be going after whoever caused it to be towed.

[@shorttimer874]

@@shadefangkweep Then if a window is broken out while parked, it should be the glass company that pays for the replacement.

[@StevenEverett7]

I just saw a news video about this yesterday. I said to myself "self, I'll bet this'll be on Steve's channel soon". 😁😁😁

[@DavidRomigJr]

I saw this news story this morning. The officer was really nice and apologetic. I understand this wasn’t the dealer’s fault and there are procedures for both the buyer and the dealership to be made whole, but the dealership did not handle it well. They could have refunded the money or given a replacement car and said they’ll go after those who sold it to them and probably kept the buyer as a customer, the bank could go after the dealership, and they got bad press that may loose them future potential customers. When the reporter asked the dealership about the buyer’s point of view, they said, “I understand you’re trying to portray it this way”. I mean, wow. I would not shop at a store that publicly said that.

[@Hevach]

Yeah, the dealership fumbled this hard. They complied with the law, true, but that's not an iron shield. If you aren't compliant, you are always liable, but that does not mean that if you ARE compliant, you are never liable, you can be both compliant and still liable.

[@shadefangkweep]

@@Hevach They half complied with the law. They complied with their requirements when it came to purchasing the car, but attempted to shirk their liability, were taken to court over it, and lost.

[@nelskrogh3238]

I assume the original owner got an insurance check for the stolen car. So if the car is returned to them, do they owe the money back to the insurance company?

[@the_synack]

Insurance company gets the car. They usually then sell it to recoup their costs paying the claim.

[@Yumi_Jay]

I thought it was stolen from a dealership in Ohio?

[@SeanBZA]

@@the_synack The unfortunate guy can then go to the insurance auction and buy his car back now.

[@natelorimer8567]

If the cars wasn't ruined. The dealership probably drove it home. ( home as in Ohio dealer)

[@sarowie]

The original owner transferred ownership of the car to the insurance. I do not know when precisely it happens, but between making the insurance claim and cashing the check there will be a moment where the stolen car changes ownership. There is plenty of signed paperwork in the process and the wording "by receiving the money the ownership of the car transfers" will be in there in some way. This is important so that the care can not be stolen from one garage of a mansion just to reappear in the other garage of the mansion.

[@imacer1993]

Wow being an Independent Georgia Car dealer myself. This gentleman should file a case with his local tax office (whom handles registration and dealer licensing) and go after the Dealer’s bond. Most dealers have a $35,000 or higher. This is a perfect situation where the bond would cover the consumer and the the dealer and the bond company will sue each other and the dealer will sue the auction etc.

[@DonOblivious]

Steve mentioned all 50 states have adopted a law similar to UCC 2-312 so I checked my state's statutes. In Minnesota it's 336.2-312 WARRANTY OF TITLE AND AGAINST INFRINGEMENT; BUYER'S OBLIGATION AGAINST INFRINGEMENT.

[@timphan8395]

Thank you for sharing the knowledge

[@jorgeluis517]

Thank for information.. Very educational.. there my bad dealer out there.. know your right

[@jame3shook]

I'm wondering if any of that amount won by the 'victim' includes the ~6.6% title fee.

[@jon9103]

What 6.6% title fee?

[@davidhoward4715]

'Victim' in quotation marks? Please explain.

[@jaybingham3711]

13 minutes in...but finally the core underlying point is provided. Dealers knows this is a risk of their business. It's a well known risk. That said, some might not have done their due diligence before opening the doors. Of course, that doesn't absolve them from this common, well known risk. This dealer in particular stated he's totes all about diligence. So he knew. Or he didn't cuz he's also all about talking a good game. Maybe that's why he was drawn to the car business...and got into it without doing his due diligence. But now he knows.

[@DaddyBeanDaddyBean]

My dad was at an independent used car lot in northern Pennsylvania when some commotion broke out amongst the staff. It seemed another customer had taken a late-model Cadillac out for a test drive, by himself, and never returned; he had left his own late-model Cadillac parked by the building. One thing led to another and they discovered that Cadillac had been taken out for a test drive from a dealership in Florida three days prior, leaving behind another Cadillac taken from a dealer in Texas two days before that, and on and on it went, all over the country. 😂

[@davidhoward4715]

Wow!

[@CharlesBallowe]

What if they received the car from Hertz, then hertz forgot they sold it?

[@hannamariewilson]

What you said the other day, we don't want the law to reward ignorance.

[@richarddoyle3420]

Can't imagine buying a car nowadays. All the paperwork, DMV against you, police jobbing. Can't help ya. F that.

[@chrisforker7487]

I’ve got two cars and fully expect that one of them will outlive me. I’m hoping I never have to buy another vehicle, period!

[@richarddoyle3420]

@@chrisforker7487 Good job!!! The repo biz happens to be booming.

[@sirxanthor]

I was just talking on discord about this case. There is something worse going on with very corrupt police. Actually, you did a similar story a few weeks ago where a car that was stolen twice, was auctioned off because the owner was never notified. This is actually happening a lot it seems. Stolen cars are getting recovered, but the owners are not notified, and cars auctioned/Sold off.

[@Truckerdaddy]

My sister sold a 99 f250 to a mutual friend of ours. It had a title from a dealership in Colorado. He went down had the title swapped over and registered here in Texas without any issues. Almost a year later he got pulled over in Arizona for suspected DUI. They ran the VIN on the truck and it came back stolen out of Colorado. He went to jail for DUI and possession of a stolen vehicle. Come to find out the dealership was no longer in business and somebody still had a copy of the title and reported it stolen even though they weren't the true title holder. He didn't have the money to fight any of it so he spent almost a year in jail and they impounded the truck. Lesson here is don't buy from a Buy Here Pay Here lot. They are typically very shady.

[@jsivco3sivco785]

The scary part is that anybody can falsely report something as being stolen, even if it wasn't. Then YOU have to prove that you legally bought it.

[@Carahan]

This is also why you ask to see the ID of anyone selling a vehicle and if it doesn't match the title stay away.

[@Truckerdaddy]

@Carahan very true.

[@hxhdfjifzirstc894]

Well, it sounds like a big part of the story is that he was driving drunk. That's his fault.

[@mexicanspec]

How did that stick when the records show he transferred the title into him name in Texas?

[@Shauma_llama]

I wonder if the dealership can find the guy they bought it from and hold him liable?

[@AeroGuy07]

This happened to my cousin in 86 or 87. But it took several years for the FBI to catch up. By that time my cousin had driven it to Honduras. He wasn't in any trouble, but he couldn't bring it back to the US. But it was beaten up pretty badly after 6 years of Central American roads.

[@microcolonel]

It's easy to forget that it is even possible to drive to Honduras.

[@muninrob]

@@microcolonel Not if you've ever worked along the "Olliver North Highway"

[@AeroGuy07]

​@@microcolonel "drive" might be too strong of a word for what he did. The secondary roads as he described them were barely passable. He modified the truck, an 84 4Runner, for heavy off road use and by the time he left the frame had numerous welds and all the shock mounts were welded to some degree.

[@texus7079]

Shouldn't the police have a warrant or other document indicating they are legally taking the vehicle? I would think that would be necessary before they just show up and take anything. Sucks for the kid to have to deal with thay mess, I hope they got more than just the money owed, lost time, no transportation all that should play into the "compensation"...

[@johndougan6129]

"It's not my problem..." Well it is now. Better call Saul. 😎

[@wtf1185]

There's a huge plot hole here. It was reported stolen 2 months prior in Ohio but it never flagged as stolen in Georgia. So how did the deputy know it was that car. He had registered it so it had Georgia plates and according to the report the deputy just drove up and said, this car is stolen. Even if he read the VIN *_it doesn't flag as stolen._* So how did he know? I have to know... Oh god, my eye is starting to twitch, getting dizzy, room growing dark, falling, falling, *_AAAGGGhhhh_* hhh

[@Ojref1]

I think the dealership wanted this to go to court so they in turn could make a claim to their operational insurance, namely E/O insurance.

[@musclesmouse]

LOL, this story is right up your alley!

[@jamessimms415]

Ben leaning up against the Petty Dodge/Plymouth truck & between it & the KFAT sticker, Steve’s left side

[@lindaward3156]

if I lived in that area and heard the story about how the dealership handled it, they would never get my - or my family/friends business - ever. trust is a priceless commodity, esp. in the used car business

[@napalmholocaust9093]

I still have my title of a stolen suv my family scrapped in anger when I left it there for a few weeks w/o a key. It ran ok. It wasn't scrap. Then they sold a giant glass and oak aviary I was storing for a friend. The kind of family that says they don't have to earn your respect, they demand it.

[@theupscriber65]

I seem to remember from lawschool that if you buy a stolen item from a company that normally deals in that product, you get legal title to the product, and it can not be repossessed.

[@jagriffin1]

Remember: you can always sue the tortfeasor

[@mike03a3]

I was surprised when Steve was quoting someone who said the buyer produced the (paper) title to show the deputy. Who has an actual title in their possession when a car is financed? In the old days the finance company had the physical paper and gave it to the buyer when the loan was paid off. These days many states have the title held electronically with the lien recorded against it. In Virginia you can choose to get the clean title printed and sent to you when the loan is paid, or you can elect to leave it in the DMV system electronically and not worry about safeguarding a piece of paper. You can have it printed once anytime at no charge. After that you need to pay for a replacement.

[@windmillacres679]

If you finance a car you could still get a title. But it will also come with lien holders name on it along with you. Then when you pay off the car the lienholder signs off on the title saying they no longer have the claim turning it over to you. Then it goes to the state, and another title is issued with just your name on it.

[@n1gak]

It varies from state to state; in some states you get a title "branded" with the lien, in others you get a similar-but-different document and the actual cert of title is held by the finance company.

[@moosed]

I have a feeling the local police need to do an unannounced audit of that dealership and any others the owners have a stake in. It would not be the first time a used car dealer was caught selling stolen vehicles. Who better than an out-of-state dealer to title a stolen car? There's the additional possibility that the reason the VIN did not "kick" out when run through the stolen vehicle database is someone who administers that information intentionally failed to enter it or deleted it. Sometimes conspiracy theories are, in reality, conspiracies.

[@mr.grotto]

I watched the dealership interview. I wouldn't trust that guy to run a concentration camp, and my last name is Braunstein.

[@cmorris9494]

​@John Stuart Mill read a history book

[@mr.grotto]

@John Stuart Mill it's pretty simple, I'm Jewish and somehow his leadership in a camp would be WORSE than us dying. It was supposed to be left to imagination, but I don't mind explaining it to people who need extra help.

[@mattwilliams3456]

I hope the reporter kept needling the manager. “So you received stolen property, and then sold stolen property?”

[@kittty2005]

To the robot lady, can I then put happiness in a little box like a fox since I can't harness it.

[@JamesRichardWiley]

The dealership purchased a stolen car and sold it illegally to a customer. The dealership must return the stolen money to the customer and the finance company needs to recover their loss from the dealership.

[@j.l.m.6862]

Is the dealer being charged criminally for receiving stolen property?

[@Kurgosh1]

I'd be tempted to charge them with attempted murder. Setting a guy up to be killed by the cops by framing him in a felony.

[@hansjansen7047]

As soon as I heard the initial story , I knew where the fault lay. It was in the bureaucracy that posts thefts or the failure to report the theft in a timely manner. But the consumer should not be the one to have to litigate this , and the dealership should be able to get restitution.

[@jameshiggins-thomas9617]

Do have to wonder "if it's not kicking around the system as stolen", how did they show up at his house? 🤔

[@larrymills8527]

Ben up right beside of steve left arm between car front end and side of book case.

[@darkguardian1314]

How does the deputy sheriff know that the car was stolen the first place?

[@arthurhouston3]

Dealership E and O ins should cover this.

[@tony_25or6to4]

First mistake... buying an Audi

[@bomarc]

If a random cop shows up - and says that a (given) car were stolen; I would request a copy of the court order stipulating that the officer (tow-truck driver) can take possession of the vehicle.

[@almostfm]

I had $50 riding on the thought that "You can always sue the tortfeasor" would come up in this video.

[@ElleEmenopy]

Almost this exact scenario happened to my sister. Police pulled her over and ordered her at gunpoint to step out of the vehicle with her hands behind her head and walk backwards then lay down on the asphalt. It was quite the harriwing ordeal. Althoughout theor questioning of her they did not believe her that she did not steal the car. They pretended to get on the phone and ask the dealership that she bought it from and said that they said she was lying. But she wasnt lying. They eventually got it sorted out but she still lost out on the car and all of the money she paid for it down and monthly and is still getting billed for it at this juncture.

[@a2cryss]

If the police said it does not show as stolen in their system, what prompted them to that address?

[@richardbenjamin8535]

Heather, with your positive attitude, I never thought you would end up as a nay sayer🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@mukiex4413]

Maaan, youtube takes way too long to give us that sweet 60fps Lehto goodness.

[@jameshiggins-thomas9617]

Ah, I *thought* I'd seen it in your feed ... Just hadn't gotten to it yet.

[@jimgsewell]

Why would the dealership be so short sighted? In the long run, the bad publicity will cost them far more than refunding the customer with a smile and apology. I would never even think of buying from this dealership.

[@farmdaddy1555]

Love your t-shirt. Were you in Nimrod ? I’ve been there many many times as I’m from that neck of the woods.

[@davidstokes9706]

What about taxes/title-fees/registration-fees, were you able to recover those fees as well? What about attorney fees, cort costs?

[@annelarrybrunelle3570]

Sounds like the dealer may have recourse to whomever sold it to him.

[@kevinmach730]

Aside from the thief, it sounds like the guilty party that dropped the ball is- as always- our friends in the government.

[@NipkowDisk]

Hmmm..."...purchased it in CONyers..." sounds about right for a used car dealership :P