My stolen 308GTB is Back!!

*NEWS!* It has been 5 years and 2,5 months since my 308GTB (#33007) was stolen from me in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
14 months later, I found it back. (I checked EVERY car advertising site 3-4 times a week, for 14 months..) It was advertised for sale in Belgium.
The next day me and a friend (I’ll keep his name private for now) drove down to identify the car. After confirming that it was indeed my car, the police confiscated the car, and it was taken into custody.
3,5 years of legal precedings followed, and finally the car was turned over to my insurance company who in turn offered the car back for sale to me.
And that’s where we stand right now...I bought back the car that I owned for almost 13 years before she was stolen from me.
Obviously there’s work to be carried out. Engine needs a thorough inspection and service, and some cosmetic issues need to be dealt with. But I will soon be able to enjoy her again. And I’m VERY happy and proud to be the owner again of #33007, a beautiful black dry sumped euro GTB.

 

That's WONDERFUL news!!!!

So interesting that it turned up and the time afterwards, for the claims to work thru.

Not that it matters, but was the priced frozen once it was settled by insurance, or did you make any/lose money??
A shame about the repairs, but a gate hit my car today.

The girl felt bad and I got a free coffee, but it was still a "loss" for the day!
Just scratch though, in the end I am glad to be IN the car!!!


That's your feeling I am sure!!!

 

That dealer selling the car is the real victim!!
But shame on him, anyway!!!!

 

He never said it was a dealer or private sale....


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The car in the photo looks great! Is that a 2021 or a 2017 picture?

 

I'm guessing the seller didn't know it was stolen. I'm curious, do European countries have titles for cars?

Congrats on getting your car back!

 

It was a dealer in used sports cars.

 

The cars papers had been falsified, and it had been successfully registered on Belgian plates..

 

I will refrain from any opinions or judgments towards the ‘dealer’. I simply don’t know what his role was.

 

Congrats on getting your car BACK !!!!

 

Congratulations! With a vin# of 007 how cool is that! love GTB's

 

Thanks Mark!

 

I am curious about the 3.5 years of legal proceedings. Why so long? Once you could prove that you had proper title to the car and the police seized it, did the dealership dispute your ownership? Did you go to court?

I am currently going through something similar in Italy (someone copied my serial number onto another car) which has taken almost a year so far to clear up. I am hoping not to have to wait another 2.5 years(!)

 

Great to hear you got your car back. I hope the rejuvenation and reunion go smoothly!

 

Well, since my insurance company was technically the owner of the car (they paid me the agreed value 1 month after it was stolen) I was not involved in this legal battle.
The first ruling was that the dealer did not know he had a stolen car, and thus was entitled to keep it (The chassis number was altered). My insurance company appealed, and won. Then the dealer apparently sued and tried to got some of his expenses recovered...unsuccessfully.
In the end, the car was rightfully appointed to the insurance company, and it was on its way back home to Holland. The original chassis number was reinstated, I was made an offer I couldn’t refuse, and that was that.

 

Very happy for you that you found your car and also sorry the bureaucracy takes so much time... hopefully you will enjoy her for many more years - this story making her so special!

 

Amazing to get you car back after so long! I assume you had thought that was the end of it when your insurance paid you... enjoy it!

 

Yes, and so did the insurance company...had I not found it back for them it would have probably just dissappeared. It was cloned, to resemble another black GTB that had been on the market in the Netherlands, and later in Denmark. It had THAT cars’ chassis number (done WELL! ) and the odometer was increased from 33000km to 53000 km to resemble the other car. (My speedometer/odometer will now need work...where can I get a new chrome bezel for it? It looks like they used a tuna can opener to access the odometer digits..)

 

YES ! please explain about that ?

 

One word: Belgium. That’s all I’m going to say about the court case. I wasn’t involved since my insurance company was the legal owner of the car.

 

Wow... seems they put quite some effort into making yours disappear. It's quite worrying that they were able to successfully register it in Belgium with the false paperwork. I guess all that trust in the citizen sometimes isn't the best approach, especially when these type of rats are pulling these maneuvers.

Anyways, wish you enjoy the hell out of your second chance with it!

Cheers

 

Great story. You were made whole then it sounds like? Hopefully you bought her for less now than you got when she was stolen (Which was peak of the market iirc).

 

That was last week..

 

Thank you sir! Apparently the dutch paperwork that was used (the equivalent of a ‘title’) was stolen from a DOT office about 15 years ago. I spoke to an insurance agent who used to be a police detective, and he recognized the serial number of that specific paperwork. Seems that paperwork in that stolen range of number shows up from time to time as stolen cars are retrieved.
Indeed worrisome that the Belgian DOT accepted it’s validity, and didn’t do any type of research when the car was immatriculated (is that even an English word?)

 

From the beginning in 308 forum https://ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/my-308-gtb-33007-stolen-please-share.506773/page-4#post-147742497
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