Another case for Beyond CSI - Stolen Porsche

[dirtsniffer]

true enough. but i'll argue insurance companies never lose..

[soloracer]

My understanding is they delayed getting paid out on the car with the hopes it would be found and now they have the car back. I don't know what kind of settlement, if any, was reached with their insurance company. They are determined to fix the car, possibly with upgrades, and continue enjoying as they see fit.

[mr2mike]

I'm shocked that the storage locker company doesn't check high ticket items if they're stolen before an auction.

I'd be going after the storage locker/auction company.

[revelations]

^ the AB registry is notorious for failing to detect stolen VINs in a timely manner. There was a thread about this very problem not too long ago.

[soloracer]

Got permission from the owner to share their story:


They got a call from a CPS vehicle theft unit officer asking if their car was sold or was still missing. When they confirmed to him that was yet to be discovered, he then proceeded to tell them that a 70 year old man just registered it in Crossfield a couple days earlier and that most likely he was an unsuspecting victim. RCMP confiscated the vehicle and it was taken to an auto body shop here in Calgary undergoing damage assessment. Their initial excitement and assumption that it was in great condition being an older gentleman bought it was short lived once they found out the car was involved in a non-reported collision and was no longer roadworthy.

The old man purchased the vehicle at an auction in as-is condition. The stolen key for the car wasn't included in the purchase so perhaps he was just going to use it as a parts car? The thieves drove the car for about 580 kms before crashing it as my friend knew what the odometer read right before it was stolen. They have no idea on the time line of when it was crashed or when the auction company had possession of it.

Currently auto body estimates are coming in and the cost of repairing it is well over 20k already and that's before mechanical inspection even commences at Porsche. Insurance has said to them in so many words that they will most likely write the car off and don't want to proceed with the mechanical inspection. The damage is fairly limited to the right front corner and they believe the car is salvageable. There is minor damage to the interior and of course they don't know yet if the power train is trashed or not. Obviously the car will never be the same as it was but they are not ready to give it up yet.

[soloracer]

Another note from them:

They heard last week where the Boxster mostly likely sat for the past year. This is what they now know via RCMP information. The Crossfield gentleman who 'purchased' and registered the Boxster didn't get it at a car auction. He bought it at a storage company auction. Their B&E occurred the last day of Sept. 2015. According to the RCMP, their car was brought to Crossfield Storage Sept. 2015, which is just north of the town and right beside the QE2. It was dropped off by a female who gave a fake name and paid for one month of storage with cash. Nobody seems to know if the car had already suffered from the damage when it was initially dropped off there or if the thieves came back, drove it some more, crashed it and then abandoned it at the storage facility. They are guessing the latter as 580kms is a lot to put on in one day. Anyways, the car sat there and storage fees weren't being paid. Then they understand the storage company has the right to auction off contents of storage to recoup their losses....no questions asked. The Crossfield guy bought it late August of this year. He apparently was looking for a winter project and their car was it. Only when he registered it did it flag as stolen and the authorities were called.

Using a female to do the dirty work is the usual MO that these criminals used in recent crimes in our area as they are the sacrificial lambs so to speak if they get caught. For example, exactly 6 months after their B&E, they saw from two different windows in their house, a suspicious vehicle driving slowly around the neighborhood. Female driver, male passenger. They called it in with the truck's plate number to the CPS non-emergency number and about 5 mins later they heard the police helicopter. Turns out it was a stolen vehicle and the helicopter tracked the truck down at SouthCentre mall. All they could do is arrest the female driver. Two male occupants were let go and they had tools in the truck that would be used to break into houses. Probably the same punks who broke into my friends house and they were scouting out their next target. While the males weren't arrested, it gave my friends satisfaction that they at least ruined their day.

About 4 months ago a house down the street from them got hit. The lady of the house hopped in her car to go pick something at the store. Came back 20 mins later to find a pickup truck backed into her driveway. She approached the truck and a young woman was in the driver seat. Asked why she was there and the driver failed to engage with her. Then moments later a male was walking out of her house with a suitcase full of her goods. The homeowner literally tried to wrestle the suitcase away from him at which time he then instructed the female driver to shoot her. That's when the flight mechanism kicked in and she ran down the street to get help. They did manage to arrest the two of them and since then, the B&E's have seemed to stop in the area. So this was most likely the same thieves that dinged them. Looks like they probably get these young women hooked on drugs and use them to help in these crimes and take the wrap if they get caught.

[soloracer]

They have since bought the car back from insurance and are in the process of getting it fixed. With regards to the mechanical, they are now considering an engine swap (3.6 or 3.8). Porsche said the engine seems fine but of course they can't take it for a road test in it's current state. So once they get it back on the road they may discover some powertrain issues and might need to swap it out anyways. Even if it is fine, they may still do it and make the car even better than it was.

They are wondering if anyone out there has done this before and may be able to pass on the name of a shop who did it for them and was happy with their work. They prefer to leave the car normally aspirated and 'as stock' as possible, just with a higher displacement engine.

[roopi]

I understand sentimental value but with a 20k+ bill before mechanical inspection it makes no sense trying to rebuild this car. Buy another vehicle and make new memories.

[soloracer]

Originally posted by roopi
I understand sentimental value but with a 20k+ bill before mechanical inspection it makes no sense trying to rebuild this car. Buy another vehicle and make new memories.

They know that and are proceeding with the fix anyways. Logic doesn't always apply.

[JohnnyHockey]

What a fucking sexist thing to assume the women involved were hooked on their drugs lol because all women are angels...

[soloracer]

Originally posted by JohnnyHockey
What a fucking sexist thing to assume the women involved were hooked on their drugs lol because all women are angels...

True enough. That was their contention - not mine. I just paraphrased their comments. I assume that is the feedback they got from CPS - who may have more experience in these matters. Sexist? Maybe, but it doesn't mean that it doesn't happen either.

[klumsy_tumbler]

Originally posted by soloracer
They have since bought the car back from insurance and are in the process of getting it fixed. With regards to the mechanical, they are now considering an engine swap (3.6 or 3.8). Porsche said the engine seems fine but of course they can't take it for a road test in it's current state. So once they get it back on the road they may discover some powertrain issues and might need to swap it out anyways. Even if it is fine, they may still do it and make the car even better than it was.

They are wondering if anyone out there has done this before and may be able to pass on the name of a shop who did it for them and was happy with their work. They prefer to leave the car normally aspirated and 'as stock' as possible, just with a higher displacement engine.

Porsche should be able to run all sorts of engine diagnostics to see how things are running on that front. As far as the higher displacement swap goes, maybe look into something like this?
Team BGB

Not local, but if they're already shelling out that much to restore the car, why not go all out?

[Xtrema]

Well, they are basically buying a story, not a car. I assume they will take this to the grave with them.

Not bad if you can afford it.

[bjstare]

I'm calling it right now, that if they go forward with this rebuild, their story winds up on jalopnik or autoblog or something.

I wouldn't ever be that emotionally attached to a car, but kudos to them for following through with this.

[spikerS]

Originally posted by cjblair
I'm calling it right now, that if they go forward with this rebuild, their story winds up on jalopnik or autoblog or something.

I wouldn't ever be that emotionally attached to a car, but kudos to them for following through with this.

I can understand it.

When my grandfather passed, my grandparents had a 38 foot diesel pusher Class A Motorhome that was the tits at the time, and 1958 (i think, can't remember now) corvette that was pretty sweet.

When he passed, my grandmother mentioned she was going to get rid of them. No one in the family was interested, but I sure as hell was, and I said I wanted both, and would gladly buy them from the estate. Long story short, I never got an answer, and my grandmother sold them BOTH to a dealer for $35k... The pusher was worth close to 100k and I don't want to think what the vette was worth....I was so mad, I haven't spoken to her since.

You can place a lot of value when it comes to emotional attachment to a car.

[Paul]

Remember this story from last year as they live close to me and their Porsche looks similar to mine (didn't want anyone to think I'd stolen it!)

Glad to hear they got it back. As for the engine swap, I've seen a few people in the States able to stuff Audi V8s into there without much trouble. When i inquired with my mechanic (Riegel Tuning) about possibly doing a swap I was quickly talked out of it for the amount of trouble it is and causes, and I was only inquiring about going from the 2.5 to the 3.6

[googe]

This is insane to me...it's just a car, and a pretty mediocre one. No way I'd take that thing back, let alone paying for it twice trying to fix it. Car or not, I still have my memories.

[soloracer]

Originally posted by googe
This is insane to me...it's just a car, and a pretty mediocre one. No way I'd take that thing back, let alone paying for it twice trying to fix it. Car or not, I still have my memories.

I remember my dad bought a Saab 99 GL in the 70's and we went everywhere in that car. I would like to buy one and I know if our old car was available I would pay more for it than another identical one. Logical? No, but there is something to be said for owning a piece of your history. It's the difference between a tribute car and the real thing - even if every nut and bolt was the same.