The Volkswagen made it Home

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/06/california.stolen.vw/index.html

We might not all remember the Volkswagen van but I think we all know what it is because of Scooby and Shaggy and their Mystery Machine. This is not really relevant but while I was reading on CNN today I came across the title Stolen 1965 Volkswagen Van Recovered after 35 Years, I had to read it. Apparently a 1965 Volkswagen van was stolen years ago from Spokane, Washington. It was found in s shipping container in Los Angeles getting ready to be shipped off too Germany. U.S. customs runs random checks on VIN (Vehicle Identification numbers) before they send off loads of vehicles. When they ran this VW they found it was stolen years ago. I guess they usually don’t find cars like this on a normal basis. They said hat they find a stolen car or two each week but they are usually high end luxury or sports cars. The craziest thing about this van is that it is in perfect condition. It was originally for sale for only hundreds of dollars when it was new and now it appraises for $27,000. The van used to belong to a car dealership but they paid the insurance claim years ago, so the van now belongs to the Allstate Insurance Company. The insurance company usually will sell recovered stolen vehicles at the auction, but they don’t know what they will do with this van because of the history behind it.

I’m glad that they recovered this vehicle. I think that after reading this article I should maybe own a sweet Volkswagen van. The pictures of this beauty are on the web-cite cited above so you should check them out.

The only thing missing from this recovery is putting the criminals behind bars who originally stole this van. I think that would make this story complete. I’m feel out customs and border control guys do a great job and have gotten a great find that they can brag about over the years.

I think that it would be cool if the dealership that the vehicle was stolen from would get the first chance at buying this piece of history if they are still in business..