Keeping your eyes peeled for these kinds of deals could pay off big…
While used car prices are ridiculously high lately, there are ways to get a good deal, like buying from a state auction. And while many of the vehicles auctioned by state governments aren’t anything exciting, someone was able to pick up a stolen 2015 C7 Corvette Stingray for a mere $32,300 over the weekend. If you ask us, that person got a tremendous deal since the American sports car has just over 31,000 miles on the clock and looks to be in good condition.
Learn more about vehicle rebirthing here.
That’s significantly under market value, especially right now. Even if the person doesn’t plan on keeping the C7 Corvette, they could make a tidy profit on it and probably have little to no trouble selling it right away.
And while that’s nice, the story behind why the state of New York was auctioning off the car is an interesting one and a lesson in being careful when you’re shopping for a vehicle. The story started with the American sports car being stolen from a dealership in another state. We see a lot of car dealer heists these days and many times they’re done so people can turn a profit.
Instead of chopping up the Stingray, the thieves decided to rebirth it. In other words, they took a VIN from another vehicle and installed the plates on the Corvette. It’s a practice that’s old but has come back with a vengeance lately. The person buying the car didn’t realize anything was wrong until they tried registering it and the DMV realized there was a problem.
Requesting an in-person review, the DMV quickly ascertained the VIN had been altered on the car. That meant the new owner lost the vehicle, because that’s what happens when you buy stolen property, even though you technically did nothing wrong. However, the dealership had already covered the financial loss, so they couldn’t take the car back and that’s how the state ended up with it.
Does that seem fair? Everyone will have a different take on it, but it’s what happened. The big takeaway here is to examine the VIN plates on the car and look for signs of tampering and try to match them with the VIN stamp on the engine or frame. Also, run a vehicle history report yourself, which can quickly uncover tampering.
Source: Democrat & Chronicle
