AB Rally

[tdoran]

A broker that can't do his research buys a stolen car and gets a free pass but I'm called on the carpet for trying to get the car back. I'm sure there's other brokers seeing this forum, can't wait to see their thoughts on this subject.

[Cargirl]

Originally Posted by tdoran

A broker that can't do his research buys a stolen car and gets a free pass but I'm called on the carpet for trying to get the car back. I'm sure there's other brokers seeing this forum, can't wait to see their thoughts on this subject.

Well I would be one of those brokers as I deal with many Arnolt-Bristols. All brokers are presented with suspected stolen or fake cars at some point in their careers. Our job is to do our research and keep them out of the hands of our unsuspecting clients. It is never any fun having to go back to the seller and explain to them that their car has an unsavory past. But again it is part of the job.

I have asked this question before. At the time of purchase how exactly was this current owner to know the history of the car? The Indy Star article only came out last summer. Well after the purchase of the car. How exactly was he to know the history of this particular Arnolt-Bristol?

[tdoran]

I answered this in another post. The broker in question told me he was aware of the history on 3038 but dismissed it as just a story. There are plenty of Arnolt-Bristol enthusiasts that have known our story for many years. Lee Raskin, Mike DiCola, Kenneth Andren, John Schefflin, I'm sure there's more.
For that matter, according to past registries the car was in Wesport and at Chinetti motors. Very close to where it is now. The names in the registry would've been a good place to start his research.

[Geoff Kingston]

Unless the purchaser knew the people you refer to there is little chance they would have picked up on this matter, the Indy Star report is recent, do an internet search for stolen Arnolt Bristol and this forum and the Indy Star report is all that comes up.
This is not a high profile 'Stolen Car' , in the UK a registration document does not prove ownership , is it different in the US and if so in all States. There must be countless people all over the world who hold old registration documents or title documents for cars long gone, sold or scrapped, that does not give them the right to claim ownership of a vehicle still in existence. What also weakens your argument in my view is the recently obtained title document referred to in the Indy Star feature, this should in my view never have been issued as the car was not in your possession or at the time owned by either you or your father.
Nobody in their right mind is going to hand you this vehicle back without a hell of a legal fight no matter how hard you use this and other forums and social media sites to state your case and I doubt very much if you would be making such a fuss about this if it was a $100 Ford.
Your father lost $3000 as a result of a deal gone bad , you need to focus on that and the protection given to buyers who purchase a vehicle in good faith, the time elapsed since the original sale, the number of times the car has changed hands and where it has been since your father sold it.
The only conclusion I draw from the Indy Star article is that if this matter does eventually go to court the only winners will be the Lawyers.

[tdoran]

Full disclosure of the situation was made when we updated the title. I was actually advised by local law enforcement to do so. You are correct, there will be a hell of a fight but I do intend to see this through. And yes I would still pursue this regardless the value of the car. Money means nothing really to me.

[Geoff Kingston]

Consider this then and it might be a very bitter pill to swallow, If the car is with a dealer and for sale would it not be better to purchase it back rather than spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on a legal fight you might not win.
If you loose you could end up paying the other sides legal costs and the whole lot could easily exceed the value of the car even at today's high values.
Money might mean nothing to you but that won't feel so good if you get landed with huge legal bills and still don't get the car back.
We were in a very similar situation many years ago although the car in question was nowhere near as rare as an Arnolt , we took legal advice, there was no way we were going to get the car back and no way we were going to get any more money out of the purchaser.
I must say that your law enforcement people were right in suggesting full disclosure of the situation but advising you to renew the title on a car which was not in your possession!
And the licensing department likewise for issuing you new documents, over here that would cut no Ice as they would contact the current registered keeper if they were in the UK and in most cases inspect the vehicle in question, but then we have a national rather than a state system for vehicle registration.

[tdoran]

The bitter pill would be not seeing this through. I do appreciate your view on this based on the knowledge you have on this. I wish I could share more details and I will when the time is right.