Buying a Stolen Car

[Hirsch]

Not me, my cousin.

My cousin is one of those guys thats too smart for his own good. Skipped a grade in high school, went to a good college. He majored in philosophy, which qualified him to pour coffee. After he graduated from college he joined the Peace Corp and went to South America for a couple years.

While in SA he got some diving certifications and after his stint in the Peace Corp he got a job in Honduras scrapping barnacles off of ships in the harbor.

In the time off he flew back to Cincy and bought an 84 4 Runner which he promptly built up for serious off roading. Then he drove to Honduras. He drove it back and forth at least once.

After about 4 years later the phone rings at my uncles house in Highland County, OH.

Uncle George: hello?

Guy on Phone: hello can I speak to George XXXXX?

Uncle: This is him.

GoP: Ahh, Mr XXXXX are you the owner of a red and white 1984 Toyota 4Runner?

Uncle: No, thats my son, George, XXXX Jr.

GoP: I see, where is your son and how can we reach him?

Uncle: Well, he's in Honduras working and it's not easy to get a hold of him. Can I help you?

GoP: Well sir, where is the 4Runner?

Uncle: In Honduras with my son.

GoP: I see, well this Agent Smith with the FBI and that car was stolen in 1986. We discovered it's VIN when we broke up a stolen car ring. We know your son isn't involved, but please have him contact us as soon as he can and inform him that under no circumstances is he to try to bring the vehicle back to the USA.

I remember this car well, he brought it to our farm in Indiana to install the winch. We took it places that our 42 Willys wouldn't go!

[Shazam]

Well... what happened to the car?

[Hirsch]

Sold it before he left Honduras to go to work for Chiquita in Guam.

He said it was beaten to death, the frame had broken and been welded at least once.

[Wasaabi]

The point of your thread?
He did what he was supposed to do, leave the thing back in Honduras. I don't understand/know how he got back in several times, without trouble.
It is a practice in some SA countries to buy a stolen "parts car" and have it stored away with all the VINs removed/erased. Sometimes you can just buy a NG "parts car" and just do the swap, in most cases you can "legalize" the conversion by purchasing receipts from real stores (you pay them to issue the paper) of the "new parts". This happens quite ofter near the border, where many times the cars are driven by the legal owner across the border, then sold and they go back and claim the insurance money in the Country of origin.

[Hirsch]

The point of your thread?
He did what he was supposed to do, leave the thing back in Honduras. I don't understand/know how he got back in several times, without trouble.
It is a practice in some SA countries to buy a stolen "parts car" and have it stored away with all the VINs removed/erased. Sometimes you can just buy a NG "parts car" and just do the swap, in most cases you can "legalize" the conversion by purchasing receipts from real stores (you pay them to issue the paper) of the "new parts". This happens quite ofter near the border, where many times the cars are driven by the legal owner across the border, then sold and they go back and claim the insurance money in the Country of origin.

He legally bought the car, he had no idea that the car was stolen until the FBI contacted his dad, the dealership he got it from bought it stolen. When he registered it in Honduras it was legal.

The reason he was able to cross back into the US at least once that I know of was because it took 4 years for it to come full circle.

The point of the thread? I don't know man, it's just kind of a cool story.

[Wasaabi]

I didn't mean it in a "what's the point of this" kind-a way (see the smiley face at the end).
Soooo, he bought the car in Cincy, but registered it in Honduras? and it is a cool story...

[tunnanxwd]

One is not "in Guam", one is "on Guam". Hafa Adai and see you Chamorro

[Hirsch]

I didn't mean it in a "what's the point of this" kind-a way (see the smiley face at the end).
Soooo, he bought the car in Cincy, but registered it in Honduras? and it is a cool story...

OK, cool, sorry about the attitude.

Yeah, he bought it used from a reputable dealer in Cincy, it was registered in Ohio before he took for Honduras. I don't think he could have driven down there on temp tags.

[tunnanxwd]

Sometimes they are very good to a point, I had a Mercedes wagon at my mechs. The place that sold it to me but are old line and know Tony very well.

This was at the start of Carfax and my mech calls me out to the car. His bud has just contacted him and said the Carfax said it was a black car and last dealer visit it had 98,000 miles. The car I'm looking at is white and has like 40,000 but the seat is what got me snooping since it is too soft for that mileage.

There are a lot of hidden numbers on the car and it never had been resprayed but they matched so whoever did a fix did a good one. The dealership that sold the car was local and said it was black originally?

[tunnanxwd]

"Guam is Good"

Now, I liked Duva, good surf and sun. But Guam is especially good if you are a Guamanian.

The US, for shelling the place was paying the average Guam household for destroyed coconut trees to take the place from the Japanese. It came out to a tree per square foot.

Ask your brother to look around. Virtually no taxes are paid on any building. Have him take a look around Haganata (Agana), on the coast road. All of the buildings have a weird few timbers or cinder blocks sticking up. Because on Guam, you pay no taxes on a building that isn't finished so many are designed with another story that gets only a token start.

Really, I love the place and tell him to make it to Merizo (WWII Jap mini-sub), and the best is the Spanish Steps ... no steps and a steep drop but a hell of a beach. Umatic Island and ..

I'm getting homesick .. really it was a home away from home.

Now when you said Chiquita, there was no ... "0" commercial agriculture on the island in the 1970's so I was a little shocked. With the pineapple gone from Hawaii (totally), the labor force must be Philippians however. A few local plantain farms was about it and lots of water buffalo.