Stolen Corvette "Story of the Day"
#1
01-27-2013, 04:47 AM
Stolen Corvette "Story of the Day"
Stolen 1989 Corvette Sells For Original Sticker Price 
The car has been kept in perfect storage since it was stolen from a dealer in 1989
Posted: ToDay by a space alien 
+ By: Sharon Silke Carty | AOL Autos
You can see the price tag still in this Corvette's window on the left. (Corky Rice)
Corky Rice, a used car wholesaler from Glendale, Calif., says he's bought and sold about 25,000 to 30,000 cars in his life. But he just sold what's probably the biggest unicorn of his career: A practically brand-new 1989 Corvette.
The story goes like this: In 1989, an Irish immigrant who was mixed up with the wrong crowd got talked into stealing the car off a dealer's lot. He promptly drove the car straight to a storage facility in San Diego, where he parked it and walked away. But he kept paying the bills for the storage unit, pressured by annual calls from his crime associates to keep the car stored. So it sat there, untouched and totally protected in the perfect San Diego climate, for 23 years.
But after doling out nearly $70,000 in storage fees, the Irish guy (now back in Ireland) decided he'd had enough. He called an attorney to talk about his options, and turned himself in. Except there wasn't anything to turn in. The statute of limitations covering the crime had long expired, so police couldn't charge him with anything. They picked up the car and sold it to a wholesaler. Who then called up Rice, and asked him if he wanted to buy it.
"I didn't even rush – I took two or three days to get down there – because I didn't want to sound overly excited," Rice told AOL Autos. "But when I got there, I was blown away."
The red Corvette with black leather interior was in immaculate condition. Rice opened the door, and the new car smell hit him in the nose. The sticker price was still in the window, showing the car was being sold for $39,410. There was still a paper insert over the parking brake, with directions on proper use of the brake.
Most importantly: The car had just 67 miles on the odometer, making it incredibly valuable since vintage cars are more valuable when they have a low number of miles on the odometer.
Rice bought the car and began hyping it. He posted it on eBay with a ton of photos, calling it a "Once In A Lifetime Opportunity To Buy A Brand New 1989 Corvette." Pretty soon The Los Angeles Times wrote a feature on the car, and interest started gathering.
Mike Robertson, an advertising executive from Newport Beach, Calif., was reading The L.A. Times on Dec. 21, a couple of days before Christmas, when he came across the story and his interest was piqued. He told AOL Autos that he'd long fantasized about buying a brand-new car and then just putting that car in storage, only to take it out 20 years from now and drive it around as if it were brand new.
"Like time capsuling a car for myself ... it was just a fantasy," Robertson said. "But I thought I'd take a shot at seeing if I could get it."
He drove up to Glendale and checked out the Corvette. Rice said Robertson announced he was going to win the eBay auction, but Rice just shrugged it off. There was another guy, up in Canada, who had already said he was going to be the winner and was pricing out shipping options to Canada.
But Robertson also had a price in mind. He hoped he could get the car for the original sticker price: $39,410.
He was off by just $300.
Roberston was schedule to pick up the car Friday afternoon from a dealer who flushed out all of the fluids and replaced them with new ones, and replaced the tires which, while still holding air, had become shaped like the letter D from where they'd rested on the ground for 23 years.
He's not sure what he's going to do with the car. Robertson says he doesn't entirely feel like he's the Corvette's rightful owner, so he might try to sell it again in a little while. There might be a Chevy dealer who could envision themselves with this car, and it's sticker price still in place, on their dealership floor.
Or maybe he'll just keep it.
"I'll drive it when I feel like it," he said, just a couple of hours before he was scheduled to pick it up from the dealer. "And I feel like driving it today, I'll tell you that."
The car has been kept in perfect storage since it was stolen from a dealer in 1989
Posted: ToDay by a space alien + By: Sharon Silke Carty | AOL AutosYou can see the price tag still in this Corvette's window on the left. (Corky Rice)
Corky Rice, a used car wholesaler from Glendale, Calif., says he's bought and sold about 25,000 to 30,000 cars in his life. But he just sold what's probably the biggest unicorn of his career: A practically brand-new 1989 Corvette.
The story goes like this: In 1989, an Irish immigrant who was mixed up with the wrong crowd got talked into stealing the car off a dealer's lot. He promptly drove the car straight to a storage facility in San Diego, where he parked it and walked away. But he kept paying the bills for the storage unit, pressured by annual calls from his crime associates to keep the car stored. So it sat there, untouched and totally protected in the perfect San Diego climate, for 23 years.
But after doling out nearly $70,000 in storage fees, the Irish guy (now back in Ireland) decided he'd had enough. He called an attorney to talk about his options, and turned himself in. Except there wasn't anything to turn in. The statute of limitations covering the crime had long expired, so police couldn't charge him with anything. They picked up the car and sold it to a wholesaler. Who then called up Rice, and asked him if he wanted to buy it.
"I didn't even rush – I took two or three days to get down there – because I didn't want to sound overly excited," Rice told AOL Autos. "But when I got there, I was blown away."
The red Corvette with black leather interior was in immaculate condition. Rice opened the door, and the new car smell hit him in the nose. The sticker price was still in the window, showing the car was being sold for $39,410. There was still a paper insert over the parking brake, with directions on proper use of the brake.
Most importantly: The car had just 67 miles on the odometer, making it incredibly valuable since vintage cars are more valuable when they have a low number of miles on the odometer.
Rice bought the car and began hyping it. He posted it on eBay with a ton of photos, calling it a "Once In A Lifetime Opportunity To Buy A Brand New 1989 Corvette." Pretty soon The Los Angeles Times wrote a feature on the car, and interest started gathering.
Mike Robertson, an advertising executive from Newport Beach, Calif., was reading The L.A. Times on Dec. 21, a couple of days before Christmas, when he came across the story and his interest was piqued. He told AOL Autos that he'd long fantasized about buying a brand-new car and then just putting that car in storage, only to take it out 20 years from now and drive it around as if it were brand new.
"Like time capsuling a car for myself ... it was just a fantasy," Robertson said. "But I thought I'd take a shot at seeing if I could get it."
He drove up to Glendale and checked out the Corvette. Rice said Robertson announced he was going to win the eBay auction, but Rice just shrugged it off. There was another guy, up in Canada, who had already said he was going to be the winner and was pricing out shipping options to Canada.
But Robertson also had a price in mind. He hoped he could get the car for the original sticker price: $39,410.
He was off by just $300.
Roberston was schedule to pick up the car Friday afternoon from a dealer who flushed out all of the fluids and replaced them with new ones, and replaced the tires which, while still holding air, had become shaped like the letter D from where they'd rested on the ground for 23 years.
He's not sure what he's going to do with the car. Robertson says he doesn't entirely feel like he's the Corvette's rightful owner, so he might try to sell it again in a little while. There might be a Chevy dealer who could envision themselves with this car, and it's sticker price still in place, on their dealership floor.
Or maybe he'll just keep it.
"I'll drive it when I feel like it," he said, just a couple of hours before he was scheduled to pick it up from the dealer. "And I feel like driving it today, I'll tell you that."
#2
01-27-2013, 05:05 AM
<header style='font: 14px/21px Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; color: rgb(48, 48, 48); text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: 0px; display: block; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;'>Hot wheels: Stolen, mint-condition '80s Corvette sells for original price on eBay
<time pubdate=""></time>
</header>
Screenshot via eBay
A mint-condition Corvette stolen from a San Diego car dealership 23 years ago has sold on eBay for the original sticker price.
The L.A. Times says the cherry-red 1989 convertible, with 67 miles on the odometer, was won Sunday on eBay by Mike Robertson, a Newport Beach advertising executive. It's to be delivered Monday.
Police recovered the Corvette in September in a San Diego self-storage unit after the suspected thief stopped paying the monthly fee. He'd paid out about $70,000 over the years. Authorities say he was cooperative and didn't charge him.
The car was sold by the insurer and a wholesaler posted it on eBay.
The final price, with delivery fee, was $39,471. That's the manufacturer's suggested retail price posted on the original windshield sticker.
[VIDEO] Stolen 1989 Corvette Stored for 23 Years Sold on eBay
Click above link 4 `Vid
<time pubdate=""></time>
</header>
A mint-condition Corvette stolen from a San Diego car dealership 23 years ago has sold on eBay for the original sticker price.
The L.A. Times says the cherry-red 1989 convertible, with 67 miles on the odometer, was won Sunday on eBay by Mike Robertson, a Newport Beach advertising executive. It's to be delivered Monday.
Police recovered the Corvette in September in a San Diego self-storage unit after the suspected thief stopped paying the monthly fee. He'd paid out about $70,000 over the years. Authorities say he was cooperative and didn't charge him.
The car was sold by the insurer and a wholesaler posted it on eBay.
The final price, with delivery fee, was $39,471. That's the manufacturer's suggested retail price posted on the original windshield sticker.
[VIDEO] Stolen 1989 Corvette Stored for 23 Years Sold on eBay
Click above link 4 `Vid
#4
01-27-2013, 12:30 PM
This is one.heck of a story. Maybe the only time that you can say, Crime actually does pay. LOL. That is crazy.
#6
01-27-2013, 01:27 PM
Hi Marquest,
I don't think that crime paid for this thief & I don't think he was to smart to steal this `Vette & store it & pay over $70,000 in storage fee's
It's a great `Vette, but I sure don't think I would pay $40K for it when I can buy a new one for $50K
or less on a 2012
^ Or a new 2014 for $53K...^
After this owner drives it & put's miles on it & won't be worth half of what he paid for it...(It's not a ZR1 or special edition) It's nice, but it's just a Corvette Convertible that sat for a long time..., but to each their own & we all have different needs, wants & desires..What does a weird space kid know anyhow ?
, but I'm try'in 2 learn from U humans ~> Thanks everyone for your post & keeping our MCF active with different topic's and threads...Peace/Out
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