Not my car and a long story....
When my younger brother moved to Florida and needed a car, my father found a nice used, 1984 Cutlass for him. Purchased for ~$2k. The idea was to drop in a rebuilt engine and trans, do the brakes, etc. then drive it from CA to FL and drop it off.
After a few months in FL, it was stolen. The only thing left in it's parking spot at my brother's apartment complex was broken window glass.
Around 6-8 months go by, my brother and his wife are in her car, stopped at an intersection. He looks over at the Circle-K and in the parking lot is a Cutlass that looked like his. He pulls in to take a closer look; dented rear view mirror on the driver's door, vent window in the rear door has a rusted frame, obviously replaced, same new tires (another long story).....
He tells his wife to call the police and he goes inside. "Who owns the Cutlass parked outside?" The woman behind the counter says it's hers.
A sheriff shows up, my brother explains to him his suspicions. The cop asks is him anyone can make the same claims, but is there concrete proof that this is your car? My brother tells him that when he had the registration changed to his name, that same rainy day he was at his insurance company and had put the insurance papers under the trunk mat (yeah, I don't know why he'd do that either). They open trunk open and under the mat are the papers with my brother's name and address.
A detective shows up, takes a pencil and with the eraser flicks the VIN plate off the dash. Prints are lifted, etc. Turns out some of the prints belong to a known car thief and the car was traced back to a body shop near my brother's residence. Huge break in a stolen car theft ring; multiple arrests.
My brother got the car back, the poor woman was out whatever she paid for the car, my brother received restitution for the loss of items that were in the trunk (tools, and other misc. stuff). Every year, it became a PITA to renew the registration because of the tampered VIN.
