As it happens, the customer was a friend of the Urban Animals, a skate gang that played hockey in the streets of Houston at night. Maybe they still do. Anyway, they spotted the car while they were out skating, and gave chase, cornering the thief, who ran off, and getting the car back to the owner.

So there’s another possible method, but it requires groundwork.

That all made sense to me, but what I found really shocking was the strippers also preferred him as a drive because he was willing to break laws and had a very powerful, tricked out vehicle that could outrun most factory makes… …and why was this important?  Apparently it’s the patron’s following the strippers home that’s actually the biggest concern and taking cabs is too obvious, cabbies refuse to adopt aggressive driving to lose a ‘tail’ and their cars just don’t have the get-up and go to get the job done.

Sorta sounds like a realistic version of Statham’s Transporter films doesn’t it?

After getting nowhere for about 15 minutes, I used the excuse of needing the police report for my insurance company to get the guy to write the basic info down (not any info about the thief, just the car).

Over a year later, I get a phone call from a suburban police station telling me they have my car.  I ask multiple questions about what I need to do to get my car back, and take careful notes.  Show up with a friend, so I can drive the car back home.  Spend about 30 minutes getting everything sorted out, checking multiple times to make sure everything is right.  As soon as all the paperwork was signed, I was informed that I had to take the car at that point or else pay $35/day for it to stay in their lot (this was nearly 20 years ago, so that was a lot of money, especially to me at the time, which I’m sure they realized)….and THEN they inform me that if I don’t have proof of car insurance for that car, they will arrest me as soon as I drive it off the lot.  I point out that I have State Farm insurance, which automatically covers such things as driving a new car or a rental car, so all they have to do is call them to verify.  They refuse, saying I have to have an actual insurance card with proof that the car stolen over a year ago was still covered on that date.

Oooooh, but….there’s a guy in the office who needed a car, and would be willing to pay cash for it right now to take it off my hands.  Trouble is, he only had $90 cash on him.  What did I want to do?

No, I am not kidding.  And no, I’m not stupid enough to make a fuss about bad cops.  So there it is.

Reminds me of the Monty Python skit “How To Do It” (anyone? no?).

None of this is practical in the slightest.  Just call the cops and your insurance company. And start looking for a new car.

But yeah, that is useless advice for where I live.

Never got the truck back, or the poster, or the sweet Gil Hibben throwers which were also in there, but they eventually nailed someone for selling stolen parts from my engine.

They also said that if you find your car after reporting it stolen, don’t just drive it away yourself, call the police and have them do the paperwork, so you don’t end up getting caught driving your stolen car.

No, actually that might be dumb.