Stolen '74 Super Beetle Convertible -- COLD CASE

[jtlewis99]

My '74 VW Super Beetle convertible was stolen back in 1998 near Ann Arbor, MI, and I've not seen or heard anything about it since. I lost the VIN# for most of that time, and have just recently rediscovered my 1997 Michigan registration.

The VIN# on my 1997 registration reads 1542012385. However, after looking at VIN#s on this website, it might actually be 1142012385.

The car is phoenix red (dark orange) with a black top and 8-slot wheels. It has a semi-automatic transmission. It has a tiny ripple above the left rear fender where it sustained damage from a wheel falling off. The left rear fender is a replacement, and as you can tell from the photo it has a matte finish compared to the rest of the car.

The online VIN search tools don't go back very far OR cover VINs with less than 17 digits, so I'm not sure where to turn next. Where do I start? How do I reach out to DMVs and computer systems that might have some record of it?

This car was originally my mother's car before I had it restored in the early '90s. I was 1 1/2 years old when it was brand new. It came to be the symbol of my childhood and all the great memories of my early life. Losing it was like losing a family member. I know that most, if not all of you can relate.

I know that finding it will be a crazy longshot, but VW owners are the greatest people on the damn planet, so I know that if anyone can help me, YOU can.

Please do not hesitate to call me at (703)967-7713 or email me at [email protected] at any time for any reason. Thank you SO much in advance for any help you can provide.

Regards,
James Lewis

[Floating VW]

I'll keep an eye out for it. You never know. Do I get extra points if I steal it back?

Good luck, man.
_________________
"It's time you started treating people as individuals, rather than mathematically predictable members of an aggregate set, regardless of how well that works."

[David_nc_72std]

[cbeck]

I was hit and run a couple years ago. Called my friend beth the bounty hunter. I did get a plate #. Less than a hour I had a copy of his drivers license. Sitting in front of his house the next evening after work I called the police. Bounty hunters/bail bonds have access to a lot of info you and I do not.

[Glenn]

[jtlewis99]

David -- thank you for the info about the VIN. This confirms that the VIN on my '97 registration is correct. I didn't see the other VIN lists for different Beetles model types on the site -- just the 114 list.


CBeck -- I'm pretty naive when it comes to how the law works. How would I go about the bail bonds route? Just start emailing bail bonds offices in MI?


Glenn -- I've done a bit of digging around online, and all of the VIN check sites I've come across don't recognize my VIN because it isn't 17 digits. Do you know a specific website where I can start? I don't mind spending the cash.

[ricaroo]

http://www.inerd.it/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21&Itemid=32

Rick
_________________
1971 Standard Beetle 2 dr Sedan 1600dp

[Cusser]

Didn't the Olsen Twins guarantee to "solve any crime, by dinner time" ???

Vintage detectives for a vintage VW !
_________________
1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[sb001]

[Q-Dog]

Quite easy to go to your local police department and tell them your story. They can advise you what to do next and can run the VIN to see if anything comes up.
_________________
Brian

'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle

[jtlewis99]

To give a little bit more background on this story -- the police report was filed with Pittsfield Township. It's a fairly small jurisdiction just outside of Ann Arbor, while technically still part of AA. At the time, it was clear to me that PT police were overwhelmed for the amount of theft in the area. I didn't expect a whole lot from them. Four or five years after my car was stolen, after not hearing anything, I went back to the PT police dept. and asked if any updates had been made to my case file. After some time, they told me that they had lost the file entirely.

Yesterday I made inquiries with both the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) and the Michigan Association of Vehicle Theft Investigators (MAVTI) into my VIN. Both of them were able to locate the original theft report from 1998, but did not see any additional entries.

So this leads me to three possible scenarios following the theft:
A) The thief failed to find a buyer, and the car ended up in a junkyard
B) The thief found a buyer in MI, and the car was given a new VIN
C) The thief found a buyer outside of MI, and no system from that state ever picked up the car's theft from MI

Still looking for ideas/links -- please send them my way. Thanks for the great discussion on this! I am incredibly grateful.

[Starbucket]

A convert brings a lot of money and I'm thinking they pulled the body off and stuck it on a different pan that has new numbers. You should have had Hagerty insurance. They pay a guaranteed loss amount (collector value), unlimited flat bed towing, and full coverage ins. for around $200.00 a year. They just require pictures of the car. It's the best. I hope this hasn't happened to your car but it's the safest way to turn a stolen car.

[[email protected]]

[Mudpump]

[jtlewis99]

I believe that the intention of the thief was to sell the car for parts. However, anyone who knows anything about cars would have noticed pretty quickly that there wouldn't have been a lot of decent parts to pull. The car looked great from a distance, but in reality it needed a ton of work. The floorboards had completely rusted out in the early '80s due to nearly a decade of all weather driving. When I had the floorboards replaced in '93, you could have dribbled a basketball through them. But the floorboards only solved part of the problem. Rust was creeping up the quarter panels and had nearly eaten the suspension at the time of the theft. The car was basically holding together with string and chewing gum. All that with only 30k original miles.

So I'm guessing that no chop shop would have bothered with it -- not worth the effort. Basically either someone poured a LOT of money into it and kept it going, or it's in a junkyard somewhere.

[Mudpump]

A friend of mine had his bug vert stolen years ago. I think it was a 78. It was found the next day minus seats,top (inc frame)and steering wheel. He was both pissed and ecstatic, simultaneously.

.

[Mojo07470]

If that car was insured for theft and the insurance company paid off on it then they own the car.