My Car Was Stolen From Auto Repair Shop

[amer]

I didn't know where this post should be so I thought I should post it here..

The story:
My car has no plates, no insurance, not in working condition..
I took it to a repairshop to have it fixed and then have it registered, etc..
I have the title, bill of sale, except no insurance..

The repairshop made a police report once they discovered it was stolen from their lot.. Replairshop claims to have parked the car inside, claims to have the keys, claims that no locks or chains were broken!!

I went to the police today, they took a copy of the title, a copy of my ID and all nessecary information..

I'm not sure what to do.. never been to a police station in my life, never dealt with any situation like this..

Would the repairshop be liable for it? Since they are the one who called the cops, does that mean they confess that the car was on their property?

I have the reciept of the fixes, the police report, and getting a copy from the tow truck guy to prove that the car has only been there for 2 weeks.. (the report says it's been parked for 3 months!!)

What should I do?! Please help

Thanks!

[amer]

By the way..
My question involves the law for the state of: Connecticut

[SChinFChin]

There's two avenues you may approach this. The repair shop certainly owes you for the value of the car, whatever that is.

Here in NY State where I am, the DMV is a good place to file a complaint against a "licensed" repair shop. The other is to go to small claims and sue.

Before doing all of this, write a letter, send it certified, RRR, advising the shop owner how much you want, and what you'll do if they don't respond. Give them 10 days to respond to you.

Usually licensed "repair shops" are bonded, and carry insurance. I owned a repair shop, and after filing a polce report, I would report the theft to my insurance carrier immediately, as I only have 30 days to do so, or I'm on my own. Then, the insurance will wait for a demand from the claimant, i.e. you.

The owner may be out a few dollars because of his insurance deductable. Get started on it, as you'll be paid nothing if you sit on your hands. The insurance carrier, and repair shop is not going to send you an invitation to file a claim.

[Mr. Knowitall]

The repair shop certainly owes you for the value of the car, whatever that is.

The mere fact that the car was on their premises does not make them automatically liable for everything that happens to it.

Repair shop claims to have parked the car inside, claims to have the keys, claims that no locks or chains were broken!

That story doesn't seem credible. Why would somebody break into a repair shop to steal a car in the condition you describe, and how would they have done so?

[SChinFChin]

The mere fact that the car was on their premises does not make them automatically liable for everything that happens to it.

Having owned a repair shop, I'm well aware that someone will bring in a car that got scratched, hope we didn't notice it, and then yelled and scream when picking up the car that we scratched it. On the other hand, if a customer bought us a car, it honestly got stolen from our premises, we are insured for the theft, and will make good on it. If our attitude is "too bad, so sad", word will get out soon enough not to bring cars to our shop as we are not people of honor.

If it was my shop, I will assist the customer with our insurance if it happened the way it was described.

That story doesn't seem credible. Why would somebody break into a repair shop to steal a car in the condition you describe, and how would they have done so?

Up to two years ago, I owned a beaten up "86 Honda Accord", and was surprised to hear from parts dealers that it's still a popular year and model car, people are still trying to get or steal parts for the car, which is why such a crappy car is worth more for the parts than as a car.

So an old crappy car getting stolen doesn't surprise me.

For insurance purposes, if the car was driven away during business hours, which is the most common way it's stolen (while everyone is busy), I will say exactly what these guys are saying, nothing was broken, we got the keys etc. Insurance requirements are that we keep customer's keys in a locked box if we're not working on the car.

A brand new Mercedes was stolen from a local Mercedes dealer near my business during business hours after being dropped off by a customer, parked on the lot, and it was gone by closing time. The customer filed a claim with his insurance, and his insurance company was after the dealer for negligience. We heard about it because we knew the "employee" who handled the transaction was fired by the dealer for negligience, and was accused by the dealer that he was even part of the theft.

That was the reason why I badly wanted to have 24/7 security cameras at my business, which at the time was expensive. I was surprised the Mercedes dealer didn't have security cameras either.

[amer]

Hi again,

First of all, thanks for the responses..

I got a call from the police on Sunday morning informing me that the car was found in long island.. They gave me the number of the towing company that has my car, the repairshop where my car was stolen from called and asked for their number to bring the car, I gave it to them and then they called me today morning asking for (the title and insurance so they could get a new key), notice they said they had the key when I first went to them to get the car.. Something is really fishy here!!!

I'm going tomorrow to get a copy of the reciept (with the date on it) from the earlier shop (to prove that the car was only at the new repairshop for a week and something-in the police report, they said it was parked there for 3 months!!)..

This is definately taking a route to court, and I once I get a copy of the reciept from the first repairshop, I will guarantee that I have proof they lied to the cops!!

I still didn't see the car since I am very busy with school.. But I will gather as much information as I can just like as if I'm preparing to see a judge..

Should I ask them not to call me and instead send me what they want by fax? is fax taken as legal proof in court?

Since I can't afford a lawyer, should I tell them "my lawyer says send me everything by fax?"

Any comments are welcome, your help is greatly appreciated!