Man discovers he bought back his own car that had been previously stolen
In a twist straight out of a movie, a man who set out to replace his stolen car ended up unknowingly buying back his own vehicle.
Ewan Valentine, 36, from Solihull, was devastated when he woke up on 28 Feb to find his black Honda Civic Type-R missing from his driveway.
After reporting the theft to the police and his insurers, he immediately started searching for a replacement. His hunt led him to an identical model that was selling for £20,000 (S$35,000) about 70 miles away.
Source: BBC News
“It was sort of a mid-life crisis car, and you don’t get many of those, so I was pretty determined to get it replaced before one day I have to get a sort of family car,” he told the BBC.
Finds his parents’ addresses in system
However, after buying the car and bringing it home, Mr Valentine noticed odd details inside the car — familiar items like a tent peg, Christmas tree pines, and Mars bar wrappers were still inside.
His suspicions grew when he found his and his parents’ addresses saved in the car’s sat-nav history.
“I nearly crashed, to be honest, because I was in shock. My hands were shaking; my heart was pounding,” he said.
Police confirm it is his original stolen car
Mr Valentine later took the vehicle to a Honda garage, where police confirmed it was his original stolen car.
Investigators believe the car had been expertly cloned with a new number plate and tampered VIN numbers.
Source: BBC News
He believes the dealership he bought it from had also been deceived and is now seeking a refund.
“The police and the Honda garage all said this was one of the best clone jobs they’d ever seen, so if it wasn’t for these little artefacts, no one would have ever known,” he said.
Also read: Man gets his car stolen from Suria KLCC, tracks and finds car on his own using Apple AirTag
Man gets his car stolen from Suria KLCC, tracks and finds car on his own using Apple AirTag
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Featured image adapted from Ladbible and BBC News.
