1983 H/O w/58k, hardtop maple interior all stock.

VIN: 1G3AK4797DM433680
Plate: V52 4816

Have already been in contact with the owner.
Damen Auto shop screwed the guy and took it to PepBoys and left it outside for two weeks in the middle of Chicago.
Owner specifically stated to never leave the car outside.
Suspected inside job...
Call the Chicago Police or Lyndon at 248-709-021four if you have any information:

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/cto/4973294102.html

00M0M_BLdo29abaM_600x450a.jpg
00M0M_BLdo29abaM_600x450.jpg
stolen83ho.png

 

Damn shame. Thieves are scum. Hope the owner gets it back in good condition.

But, I'm puzzled...
How the heck does a mint/my_baby car like this get left outside a PepBoys for 2 weeks ?!?
I wouldn't leave anything worth more than $1 unattended in a PepBoys lot for an hour let alone overnight..and certainly not days/weeks.

 

Sorry to hear about the loss. I know that neighborhood.

I think you (assuming you are the original owner) have a cause of action against the auto shop, which would make them -- not your insurance company -- fully responsible for the loss of your car.

When it was left at the shop for service, I'd be willing to bet that a condition of "bailment" was established, if you agreed to pay them to take care of your car. The car was lost while it was under their custody and control, and because you agreed to pay them to assume custody and they agreed to assume custody, I think you can prove that a situation of "bailment" existed. If that's the case then you can get them to pay 100% of the lost value of your car.

Another thing to consider is that you were defrauded. They promised to take care of your car in order to elicit money from you. They took the money but did not deliver the care that they had promised.

Further, what they did with your car could be argued to be an "intentional tort." By taking the car that was under their custody and control, and leaving it parked outside unattended, they deliberately subjected you to the risk of loss. I don't know about Illinois, but many states allow treble (triple) damages for intentional torts.

I'd be looking for a good lawyer, and filing a suit against the shop to collect 3x the value of your car. You might be able to get more if you can establish fraud.

This is the kind of situation where you might not want to take a quick settlement from the insurance company. They'll only pay the cash value of the car. You can bet that if they have to pay you 1x the value of the car, the insurance company will file suit against the auto shop for 3x damages.

 

What Bob P said!! I think both shops would be in trouble in a court of law!! Sad deal anyway!

 

You'd think after a day or two Pep Boys would have wondered what was up with this car in their lot that never moved and called the police to have it towed.

 

It's not like that car could go unnoticed in a parking lot. When parked beside today's cars It sticks out. I'm thinking that it never sat there for more than one night. Or that someone with the right set of keys just drove it away right after it was parked there, without creating suspicion. The reason that it wasn't reported for a couple of weeks is probably related to how long Pep Boys keeps their surveillance video. If I were an insider trying to steal that car, I wouldn't report it missing until after I knew the surveillance videos were purged.