An impound yard wants over $500 to release my stolen VW bug.

[denbot]

My WV was stolen from a nearby metro rail station. My wife got word it was recovered earlier this week just south of downtown L.A.

She went to the yard today to hopefully take it home. No engine, transmission, seats, the engine bonnet (hood), carpets, the crap in the glovebox, battery, and everything else not welded down, gone!

The yard won't let her remove the car because I'm the registered owner, and I can't be home till Monday. Her only option to not pay is to sign the pink over to the impound yard, but they won't even let her do that because, I'm not there.

So it wasn't good enough to be ripped off by car thieves, now the police impound yard wants a cut.

My bug, my niece, and myself in happier times..

[IMG][/IMG]

[Tuesday Afternoon]

1. well, That Sucks!

sorry that happened to you, denbot. ugh.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. That is horrible, my dear denbot!

Since the car has been stripped, do you really want it back? Seems to me that it's not worth it.....but maybe I'm missing something.

I'm really sorry you're dealing with this.

[denbot]

3. Every day it's there, they are charging me fees.

If I sign it over to them before Monday, they will wave all fees. As of Monday I'll owe about $600 or so, accruing every day until this is resolved.

So yeah, it would be better if we let them keep it, but they will make more money by finding ways to not accept it until we pay them.

[HipChick]

4. wow..this sounds like a scam

[In_The_Wind]

8. Indeed!

[Downwinder]

5. Is it insured?

[denbot]

9. Just liability.

It was my beach bucket. The paint was oxidized, rust spots, a broken cassette player, really not something I thought a thief would look twice at.

[Downwinder]

13. Does your homeowners cover theft out of your vehicle,

like engine, trans axle, etc.? 36 or 40 horse?

[denbot]

16. Hmmmm.. I'm going to have to ask my wife..

We have State Farm for both home and auto, I think.. My wife handles the adult details of the household, so I'll have to ask her to find out.

It is in the police report that it was stolen from the Green Line Station roughly a quarter mile away, so even if we were covered, it might only be if the bug was stolen from home.

[No Vested Interest]

6. Is there a chance the impound lot has the engine, transmission, etc.?

Will you have to pay to have it towed or transported someplace else?
What do you have besides the body of a VW bug?

[denbot]

10. If they do they are keeping it to themselves.

We are trying to find the report the officers who found the bug filed. If it notes that the engine was there we are going to slap a lawsuit on the impound yard.

[KG]

11. bummer, dude...

[davidpdx]

12. Can you fax a power of attorney?

I have no idea of it will work, but it's just a thought. Damn it's bad enough you got ripped off, but now you are getting screwed by the impound lot.

[denbot]

14. Nope, they told Alley I have to be there in person with I.D.

They seemed to be geared to slow-walking the process.

[nolabear]

15. We had that happen once.

Our son had parked his car down the block from our place while he was away. We got a notice that it had been towed because it was parked across a crosswalk, which it had certainly not been. Turned out it had been stolen, acc to the police probably used in a drug transaction, and dumped, intact but for his really cool gear shift knob. But it cost us a couple hundred dollars for the tow anyway and there wasn't a damn thing we could do about it.

No sympathy anywhere. I feel your pain.