This important question is begged - was the owner of this F40 at time of theft paid by the insurance company?
the car was not insured at the time of theft it was left with a shipper near Frosinone (italy) to be shipped in the usa because my friend is italian-american (he has been a ferrari mechanic for 40 years in america his name is joe and it was him who put an ad to sell the car at the time) the shipper never shipped the car and at the time declared that it had been stolen from his premises my friend started a court case at the time and at the end (after many years) the shipper was found guilty of theft and Condemned to pay the damage to the owner the shipper had no money or property to sell to pay so my friend could not recover anything so this is the sad story of his f40 he is quite old now and i really would like an happy ending of this nightmare for him thanks again to anybody that could help thanks to you marcel because you already have been very helpful all i need now is somebody possibly in japan to figure who owns the car today
Excuse me for sounding a bit naive. After the wall fell in Germany, many cars were stolen and found their way to Poland. Poland was still in its infancy. Now I'm a bit surprised that Japan with its long standing agreements with the west would allow a stolen car without a title to be registered in Japan. Perhaps someone can help me understand. Thanks Dom
So what did the shipper do with the car? He sold it? I know it's late, but how can you not insure an F40, especially when thinking of shipping it??
A normal car insurance will very often not cover damage aboard an international port of on a ship in international waters/port. There will have be a marine insurance taken to be covered for any damage or loss taking place in the port or on the ship. Then benefit of hindsight is a beautiful thing, and also what they say about assumption. Will be interesting to see what happens further in this case....
Just did some reflecting, in 1999 I shipped a 911E from my house in the Chicago area to me here in the UK. I had the car delivered to a local Porsche expert, who drained the car of fuel. The car was then containerized and moved onto Canada. Before any of this could happen, I had to submit a copy of the car's registration and my ownership of it. All the paperwork was processed, an export letter was submitted et el. When the car came to the UK, I submitted the title (proof of ownership) to the DVLA who then issued my "UK log book" showing I am the owner. And to reship the car back to the US, I have to provide the letter of export. I'm surprised the car was not containerized before hand.
Nothing to do with the German wall or Poland. Between 1983 and 1996 more than 400 Ferraris were stolen in Europe alone. Several groups of criminals were very active in those years, especially in Italy, France, Spain and also Geneva (Switzerland). Stolen cars were immediately brought via Spain to Dubai, then further on with Cathay Pacific to Osaka in Japan. One of these stolen Ferraris was a 288 GTO owned by a Swiss collector. It was stolen 14 September 1995 from the parking of Hotel Laurin in Bolzano (northern Italy). In March 1995 an F40 was stolen in Budrio (Italy). Just 7 months later another F40 was stolen in Bolzano and then in May 1996 another F40 in Jesolo (Venice). Then in June 1996 an 512 TR in Avelengo, then a week later a 456 GT in Bolzano (again). One month later an F355 near Milan. No fewer than four Ferraris were stolen in Pratolino (near Mugello/Florence), a 512 TR, a 355, a 456 and a 355 GTS, all on the SAME weekend (25/26 October 1996). That same weekend was also a Mercedes 600 stolen in Mugello. In June 1998 a group of 17 (mostly Italian) men were accused by Italian State Attorneys in Lucca (Tuscany), after about 80 big-engined cars (Ferraris, Porsche, BMW and Mercedes) had been stolen within a short time. The majority of these were quickly airfreighted to Japan. I currently know of about 35 stolen F40's, about 105 stolen F355's (all variants), about 75 stolen 512 Boxers, at least 14 stolen 365 GT4 BB's, about 35 stolen 512 TR's, 30 stolen Daytonas, 23 stolen 275 GTB's (all variants), about 47 stolen 456's, and on and on. One of the six stolen 288 GTO's has never re-appeared anywhere. Another 288 GTO has definitely been re-stamped and uses now another identity. This is why it is so super important to always do the homework first (before buying an expensive sports car) and to check out every number and make sure that the car has a continuing and uninterrupted history from day one to today. It's called due diligence. Marcel Massini
Wow great read! How did this reduce? Were there some more arrests? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have the 60-page indictment of the Lucca State Attorney which details every single theft (of the approx 80 cars stolen by a 17-member gang), including owners names and all his personal details, plus all car details (type, S/N, plates, colors, etc.), plus the names of the individual who was accused of the individual crime, etc. A lot of reading, all in Italian. I do not know who went to jail and for how long and what the overall outcome was. I don't really care, as for me it is the car that interests me and I want to know where such a (once stolen) car is today. Remember: that was basically the pre-computer and especially pre-internet and pre-email/fb/twitter and pre-cell phone etc time. Theft notices were still sent by fax (see also post #9), besides telex and telephone at the time the fastest way to communicate details (carrier pigeons?). That was 20 to 30 years ago. Marcel Massini
Very interesting though! Thank u for sharing. Sad to Read that this person may never get his f40back. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
hi marcel can i contact you privately? my email is [email protected] or if you prefer i can send you my phone number thank you very much guido
As said before Post number... Japan is a big place (According to a globe). Some of you are comedy on here.
my 512bbi was stolen to order (we know this for multiple reasons) from my mechanic's garage in Geneva in 2009 after returning from the Targa Florio. it was immediately driven to france, and the driver left the main road onto an unpaved road to hide the car in a barn, but the right rear got a puncture and he could go no further (the car was at the mechanics in order to replace those worn tires!). the driver had no idea about the car, and could not figure out how to open the trunk to access the spare, and in his frustration, bent the hood, and a few other pieces. he also ruined the clutch. anyway, i was advised of the theft by the geneva police and told that they were leaving the car in situ for a a few days under observation in hopes of catching the thief returning to collect the car. but nobody came and the car was retrieved, and then i proceeded with arguments among all the different insurance companies involved for a few months. once that was done, then it went for rehab and i got it back 6 months later in perfect condition....which was nice. Geneva is a hotspot for car theft of all types. firstly there are plenty of rare and valuable cars, and also home to perfect getaway cars like the big audis, and secondly, it is basically surrounded by france, so the thief can immediately be in a different country and the swiss police cannot pursue, and the french police......are not greatly incentivized.... Marcel's story made me remember that once when i was staying at the Aldrovandi in Rome, Berger and Alessi were staying there at the same time and their ferraris were stolen from the hotel parking.
Yes, can confirm both points, about Geneva being a hotspot (there's tons of money there) and because being right next to the "French" (Lyon!!), and also the two Ferraris of Berger and Alesi stolen. Marcel Massini
FWIW , It looks like the lower front control arm campaign was performed in 2004/2005 timeframe so it may have been at a Dealer I may be able to get more details if needed offline. S
This reminds me of an encounter with a used car salesman back in 1998, that offered me a handful of pristine 456's for a deep discount. Turns out they were all stolen from Geneva, and somehow got imported/titled in Saudi; presumably through Dubai. Although I passed, I heard it didn't take long for them to sell. The seller was forthcoming about their provenance & cautioned that the cars once purchased could never be exported for use/sale out of SA, or be serviced at any certified center; they were on the Interpol list by then. In the 90's, it was common to read in Arabic newspapers stories of Arab tourists that bought exotics from their respective Countries, who would ship their cars to Europe for summer holiday use, only to find out their cars were reported stolen & subsequently impounded by local authorities w/ no recourse. Again this was before the wide use of the internet, email, cell phones, etc...
A real eye opener Marcel, and thanks for posting. I knew of a guy who had a 355 (I think) stolen from the Monza race track during the F1 race. Not sure if the year was 1995, 1996, or 1997. Thanks for posting. I knew of a 355 (I think) stolen in 1996, 1997 or 1998 from the F1 race at Monza. Couldn't believe it could happen, but it did. The gangs must have been pretty well connected to get away with it.
Around 2007, the F40 of Alain Prost was up for sale here in the UK for GBP 250,000 at a non-authorized dealer. His signature was covered in plastic on the roof. I wish I had bought it but who knows if the car was real or one of these.
the car was very likely real. even stolen cars are real. the issue is how to protect yourself against buying stolen goods. my guess is that the rules and regs in the uk (having imported and exported a number of cars in/out of the uk), are pretty tight. unlike, evidently, the rules and regs in japan.