cmn130

well yesterday afternoon i bought my z06. love it to death by the way.

anywho, me and two other friends went cruising downtown. After cruising for a while, (note trafic downtown at night and people walking down the streets) i notice that there is a cop following my every move behind me. My friends behind me call me on my cell phone and tell me there are 6 more cops behind me following me close. All of a sudden a cop pulls in front of me out of no where and a cop of the street runs up to me in the car and points a GUN at me and tells me to get out of the car with my hands uP!!!!!

i got thrown on the ground, handcuffed with about 10 cops standing around pointing there guns at me. i was thrown into a police car.

come to find out, the car was reported stolen 6 months ago and to there records never recoverd. my z06 had two owners, first owner was the one it got stolen from and recoverd the same day. he then sold it to a friend as a private sale. Then he traded it in at a local chevy dealer here. which was sold to me.

SO, the first owner sold it to the second owner, and to the police records it was still considerd stolen, then sold to the dealership, STILL AS A STOLEN CAR TO POLICE RECORDS. then sold to me, still under a stolen vechile.

Now the police obviously are at fault for not clossing the case,
but the dealership should have checked the vin number on the car to see that they were taking a stolen car in as a trade LOL

very dramatic night last night, i was "arrested" in front of a croud of people.


what would you all do about this?

NOSjohn

iTrader: (9)

Wow, that's something you never think about when buying a car...especially from a dealership. That brings new meaning to the word " stealer-ship" when people are talking about a dealership. I'm not sure what would be best - face them with a lawsuit for false arrest and then they tread lightly on stolen car cases...or let it go so they continue to do a good job and track down real theives, criminals and what not. I think this may be what you were referring to and questioning.

You may also want to approach the dealership and tell them to do their research before selling a car. I believe by law, at least here in NYS, they are supposed to tell you if the car has been stolen recovery, damaged in wreck, etc.

cooltc2004

iTrader: (1)

Wow, thats some night! I would want an appology, if they gave it to me, leave it alone. If they refused an appology, well use your imagination.

The cops were obviously just doing their job, but it seems that it was the police's fault for not closing the case, I wouldn't want to sue, because Im not that type of person.

madradvette00

iTrader: (1)

I would sue for false arrest!!!! Then use the winnings from being humiliated in front of a huge crowd on performance mods.
But I am dumb liek that so try not to listent o me.

JMBLOWNWS6

iTrader: (17)

Id rip them a new *** Chris. This sucks to hear bro. And I would also go to the dealer and rip them a ***. You have had enuff car problems in 06! Thats for dam sure!

glennhl

I wouldn't sue, but I would want an apology. Your story reminds me of one I had about 35 years ago. I was in High School and I worked for my Dad on his farm about 6 miles from town, where we lived. I was driving out to work very early in the morning in my 1968 Firebird. The rearview mirror would never stay up, it was a design flaw because the adjusting screw would never stay tight for more than a week. Therefore I never saw the cop behind me. I wasn't speeding, just driving out to work when I heard a siren. I pulled over and got out of the car. The cop came on his loud speaker and said "go to the back of the car and place your hands on the trunk." I almost started to laugh, but I just smiled and did what he told me. He came and patted me down, then he asked where I was going. I told him and then asked him why he pulled me over. He was a young cop and he said, "I don't know, I just thought you were going to run from me." I told him about my mirror and he started laughing and then let me go to work. What a nice young cop.

However, in your case, the real question is, how did they treat you? They suspected you were a car thief, but aren't you innocent until proven guilty? If I were you, I'd be pretty pissed off. However, I still wouldn't sue, I would just ask for an apology and if I didn't get it, I'd call the local news station and let them tell your story over the air. Of course, this probably is also not a good idea, you certainly don't want every cop looking for your Z06. So a better plan is to treat the cops nice and tell them you get 10 get-out-of-jail free cards!

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

Can you blame this on the dealership by any chance? I'd **** them in the *** just like they **** everyone else.

hyde

You certainly dont want to sue the Police department or City...Waiste of time...But however you could sue the dealership and hope they would just give you the car..WHICH THEY MIGHT....If not you may get something like free warranty or something...Just a thought

cmn130

thanks joe,

hyde, i bought the extended warranty. lol

well i belive im going to talk to a lawyer on monday,
my cell phone got broken because i was on the phone with a friend when they yanked me out of my new car, the cell phone went flying in the air.
i got cut when they threw me on the street.

an appology just wont do it for me. the dealership never checked to see they took a stolen car in on trade? i just spent all this money on a car, and the same day i get handcuffed in front of a croud of people at GUN POINT!!!

i belive its both the dealership and the citys faults.

we will see what happens

DocT

Chris, tough situation. I respect officers, and know several of them personally. But heres my opinion. I am a medical doctor. We're held to a pretty high standard, and if something goes wrong (no matter who is at fault) the case gets looked into to determine whether there was negligence involved. If there was outright negligence, someone's gonna get paid (never been sued before...knocking on wood), such as performing the wrong surgery on a patient, or giving an incorrect medication...anyway, putting someone's life at risk, someone who'd put all of their trust in. Similarly Chris, I think you need to at least look into this situation. Was someone blatantly negiligent/or careless when it came to closing the case? If so, they need to be strongly reprimanded. Thats the way life goes from childhood into adulthood, and most importantly, that's what police officers do, they correct and punish. They are not above the law. Here is the solid fact. You were wrongly arrested, and your life was put in danger (happens more frequently than you might think...trigger happy cop accidently discharges weapon during arrest killing the perp)

Bottom line, have someone check it out. Start by at least presenting this scenario to a respected attorney. Find out where the problem initiated. If there was blatant neglect, and carelessness (not just a simple mistake); then rippem hard. Make them pay hard enough that this situation might not happen again. Whatever you choose, don't feel guilty for whatever you do. You were the victim here; not the PD.

Just my $.02

Marcus_3

I have a few questions,

1) How would police know your VIN by following you from a distance.

2) Wasnt the car registed to you, didnt you have plates that were not stolen??

DocT

Keep us informed Chris.

cmn130

marcus_3
1. they did not know my vin from a distance, they ran the plates on the car and it came up stolen.

2.i bought the car that day, the dealership gave me the car with the old plates from the previous owner.

DocT- I will keep you all informed, Im not the one to make a big deal out of nothing, but i think the thing that upset me the most was they pulled me out of my car in the middle of the street in traffic with tourist taking pictures and video of me on the ground in cuffs. It was like something you would see in a movie. Thank you also for you imput.

DocT

Best of luck man! I hate to hear any story like yours, but damn, you just bought your car that day! Hell of a way to start a relationship with your new baby! Little off subject, but tell us about her. Any mods done by previous owner that you know of? plans? etc...

cmn130

it came with a B and B catback, and a nice carbon fiber intake with airbox.
other then that, stock to the bone. hehe

i dont really have much plans for it. its got a 4 yr extended warranty on it now. Headers, HID headlights, put my system in it, viper pager alarm, and some nice I forged or ccw black wheels on it.

maybee one day a long time from now, N20? who knows.

ill post pics of it soon, im waxing it right now

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

In Texas the plates go with the car, not the owner.

JustAnIlluzion

iTrader: (60)

atleast the cop didnt tell you to get up from the ground by your vette then unload a few rounds into your ***

flyinbird

Did you run a carfax yourself when you bought the car, have you even run one to date after this happened? The dealership will not be to blame if it was never reported on any of the carfax reports, that is all the dealers have to go off of, lets be realistic a dealer is not going to call the courthouse and double check if every car they bring in has been stolen in the past and if so if the cases have been shut or call every previouse owner to check, they will just go off of carfax. I believe the laws on buying used cars state "buyer be ware" meaning do your homework too same as if you buy a salvage car and dont run a carfax, once you buy it, its neglect on your part if you did not look it up and you are responsible for it. And again if its not on the carfax's the only person to blame is the city and that will go no where fast. But if it is on the carfax or autocheck you will have a good case and i would check up with a lawyer to see what can be done.

P.S. Dont you carry your proof of purchase paper work in the car till you get the car registered???? Any cop would have arrested you and taken you in without and proof that the car is yours and even the car isnt registered in your name yet either, i know cause i was caught driving my car without the paper work when i first got it, i had forgotten the paper work in the house and the parents had to come down to the police center and show the papers.

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

Then how would the dealership have recieved the title? If it was reported stolen, when the title was transfered to the dealer and reissued by THE STATE, they should have caught this instance and dealt with it at that point. It should have NEVER got to this point, especially from a dealership.

SixPak

that sucks, big time.

the cops that busted you were just doing their job. the fault lies further up the food chain, IMO.

definately time for legal man.

get one with a precious metal name, ie, gold/silver, or any name with a 'stein' on the end of it.

I'd be looking for a brand new Z06 with a clear title, and enough money to take a year or two off of work.

good luck in what ever you pursue.