Just Got a Call From a Detective

Go to autocheck.com, pay for the title search, and then pay again for the title insurance. Quickly.

You'll thank me later.

 

it is very scary times out there. it pays to be triple careful these days because people are hurting for cash.

 

+1

Take all the security precautions you can. LoJack maybe?

 

LOL! LoJack is so 1980's!

LoJack's replacement is just $100: http://store.accutracking.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1

 

Who is this "detective" representing?

Don't smog stations use a bar code scanner to enter the VIN? How could they enter the wrong VIN?

This sounds like a VERY scary scenario. I don't ordinarily recommend running to a lawyer, but in this case I think it would be prudent. You could lose the car and never recover the cost of it.

 

One thought would be to get a new set of alarm fobs programmed to the cars alarm ECU this would at least render any old fobs useless... In the UK a set of 3 new fobs would be £300 you don't need to change the alarm ECU...

Dean

 

Jesus Tom, and I thought I had bad luck!!! Be glad you were not the "other guy" who was ripped-off by this cretin. Follows ND's advice, it's very sound.

 

Yeah, it may be that the VIN doesn't match the bar code...which would often be the case if someone unscrupulous was modifying the VIN to hide a stolen or wrecked vehicle prior to a sale. Scan the VIN tag, get one number...read the VIN with your eyes...see a very different number.

He'll need to look at the VIN stickers very carefully on that 355 to insure that they all agree, all show no signs of tampering, and all match his title. Even a single digit discrepancy would be very alarming at this point.

Autocheck should hint at some sign of impropriety if that's the case, too...such as a "duplicate title" request in the title report. Duplicate titles are obtained from non-stolen, non-wrecked cars...then used on the stolen or wrecked vehicle to help sell it. The trick is to then match the VIN on the stolen vehicle to the VIN on the duplicate title.

This is called "cloning" which is an age-old exotic car scam.

No fewer than 50% of the Ferrari 348's that I looked at for sale back when I was buying in 2005 had duplicate title, salvage title, rebuilt title, or other title issues. Lots of shenanigans take place with these cars...too much money and dreams all wrapped up into a pretty package that pushes people over the line into criminalhood.

 

Exactly! That's why I got my new GLOCK

 

Go to Red-Headed.com, click on the Testarossa to get in, then click on Articles at the top left, then scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page; click on Decoding the VIN, then scroll almost all of the way down to the part where it says Enter Ferrari VIN (just above the explanation of the 10th Digit). Enter your VIN in there - it doesn't have to be a Testarossa, it just has to be a US-spec VIN. After you enter the full, 17-digit VIN, hit enter or click the Check VIN button. If the VIN is correct, a pop-up will tell you that the value of the check digit is correct; if it's not, the same pop-up will tell you that the value of the check digit is incorrect, and what the correct check digit should be.

 

Worth doing, but that check won't tell you that someone has cloned your car (or used a correct VIN from an innocent car on your vehicle)...just that they've changed your VIN.

 

Dude...
http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/aug/03/identity_theft_cars49614/

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2007/04/18/78797.htm
http://www.insidercarsecrets.com/car-thieves.html

 

Before you start alerting 3rd parties, take Miltonian's advice above to secure an attorney. There are *two* possibilities here:

#1: that your car is innocent, simply a *victim* of having its title cloned to be used by someone to sell a different, stolen vehicle...or

#2: that your car was stolen and resold using the VIN of an innocent car.


If #2 is you, then you'll lose the car when law enforcement finds out. You may or may not get your cash back from the seller.

Seek legal help at this point. And next time, do this research *before* buying a car with a duplicate title and an altered/corrected title!

No offense. Just no easy way to state the above. I do feel for you.

 

The corrected/altered title could have seperated the cloned VINs to one that is "valid" as far as check digit is concerned, yet never issued by the factory.

 

Yes, but before you go digging, secure professional counsel. You'll want Ferrari to verify F1 or 6 speed, color, U.S./Euro, and interior for your VIN, too.

 

I used to have a 348 that had two different VIN numbers. I posted on here about it and all I got was grief that I should have checked all of it out ahead of time, blah blah blah. As it turns out, Ferrari stuck the wrong sticker on the inside of the door. They mailed me a "correct" VIN to stick over it.

Maybe there is a logical explanation in all of this. When you're dealing with Ferrari, anything, and I mean ANYTHING, is possible.

 

Do the simple thing and ask for the case report number and get a copy of the Detective's investigation report. You may not be able to get a copy until the investigation is over.

Leroy

 

Truer words have never been spoken.

Do you have a link to your double VIN thread...? I'd like to give it a read.