|   Stolen Bike recovered in interesting way. Please help me... | TrailBurner
Dec 16, 2002 7:24 AM | | Please help me out here.
I saw a bike on ebay for a good price.
Not an outrageously good deal, but a good deal none the less.
Nobody won the auction so I contacted the seller
at the end of the auction.
After exchanging a few emails and a phone call, I bought the bike.
Now I have the bike in my possession and while I'm cleaning it,
the paint underneath the bottom bracket starts coming off on the rag.
I flip the bike over and notice that the bottom of the BB shell
is painted perfectly, but there are two seams in the paint running the
length of the bb shell (from right side of shell to left side of shell).
I will post a pic as soon as I get one.
So, I got suspicious and took a razor and scraped off the paint from the
bb shell and discovered that the entire bottom of the bb shell
has been ground down slightly with a dremel or something similar.
Now I believe that I've got a stolen bike in my possession and I don't know
how to get it back to its owner.
I'm in Michigan and I bought the bike from a young fellow in college in Bozeman Montana.
I don't even know where to start.
Do I contact local authorities?
Do I contact Montana authorities?
What happens to the money I spent on the bike?
I don't even know if the guy I bought it from is the thief.
It could be that he got it from a "friend" and never knew what he was riding.
I'm still trying to contact the seller, but he's in the middle of finals week and is hard
to get in touch with.
I need all of the advice I can get.
Also, if you know someone that had a 2001 Schwinn Moab stolen from them
in Montana, please tell them to get in touch with me.
Thanks for your time and advice. |
| Just go out and enjoy it.... | Cook
Dec 16, 2002 7:49 AM | | It was a completely innocent deal from your perspective. Next time you'll know to ask if the serial number is still on the shell. It's a good lesson to us all, because I don't think I would have asked that either.
Like you said, you don't know if the seller is the thief, or the dude before him, so there's not much point is harassing him or giving him a bad review on E-bay. (though maybe you can keep an eye on his 'items for sale' list and see if he tends to sell a lot of 'used' bikes)
I wouldn't even try tracking down the original owner. With the serial number gone, how are you ever going to know for sure? Ya might end up giving it to some guy who turns around and sells it again on ebay.
I know it sucks, but live and learn. For a second there when I saw Schwinn Moab, I almost fell out of my seat. I had a '99 stolen from me....a painful experience, but one deductible and a few extra out of pocket bucks later and I had a better ride anyway. The same is probably true for the dude who lost the bike in the first place.
Cheers |
| find the owner; above post is bizarre | Wasatch Walt
Dec 16, 2002 7:55 AM | | You are a saint. Almost certainly the bike is stolen. You're instant decision to try to find the owner shows you are a credit to the world.
I don't know how to do it, but continue with your efforts. If it results in justice, that is wonderful.
I'm in a state of shock over the above post that says; let thieves be thieves. How bizarre. |
| find the owner; above post is bizarre | Cook
Dec 16, 2002 8:08 AM | | "let thieves be thieves"
I'm having a hard time finding where I said that in my post. My point was, he made an innocent mistake....and he'd be going on a wild goose chase trying to find the original owner and might even end up giving it to the wrong person.
But hey, if he wants to spend the time and effort and sacrifice the money he spent to give the bike back to someone who has no possible way of proving they originally owned by the bike, then power to him. |
| Actually it's not so bizarre... | TrailBurner
Dec 16, 2002 8:22 AM | | Actually, I had many of the same thoughts that you wrote in your first post.
I know that it's a wild goose chase.
How could I possibly track down "someone in Montana"?
I don't even know if I'm looking in the right state.
If the bike was stolen from campus (and I don't even know what campus
I'm refering to), who says that the original owner even attends the school anymore?
Furthermore, if the original owner would even attempt to compensate me for my troubles,
the bike itself isn't worth the reward. He could be 3/4 on the way
to purchasing a new one for the same amount.
If I call the cops, will they just take it and let it sit in a warehouse until the next police auction?
It's almost impossible to figure out what to do.
Even if I get in touch with the seller, and he is in fact a thief, he'll never admit it to me.
He'll tell me he bought it at some store and I have no way of knowing anything.
Plus, since there's no serial number, there's no way for any store to track down the bike.
But, dang it, I wish I could get this bike back to it's rightful owner and know the real story.
Please keep the advice coming.
I need everyone's input on this matter.
Thanks for your time and response. |
| One more point.... | Cook
Dec 16, 2002 8:34 AM | | ...and first, ya, you're right about the cops. If you report you have a stolen bike, it'll get taken and put up for auction. I'm not sure what they do about the missing serial number though. Maybe they put some sort of police stamp on it.
But if you did find the original owner, there's a good chance he has already made an insurance claim. If that is the case, he doesn't own that Moab anymore, the insurance company does and do you think you'll get any compensation from his insurance company??
I think you have about a 1 in 10,000 shot of finding someone who can say "yes, it's my moab and I can prove it because there is a 2mm nick on the left chainstay from when I endoed last spring and no, I didn't have it insured so I'd like to have it back and here's $100 for your trouble"
If you're still feeling guilty, make a pledge to some charitable MTB'g cause to help save some trail in your area or something.
Cheers. |
| I agree with you cook... | upNdown
Dec 16, 2002 8:29 AM | | I certainly don't condone bike theft, but we've got to be practical here. It would be impossible to find the owner IF it is in fact stolen. Who knows, it could be a warranty frame that was reported destroyed (which is also a kind of theft, but i won't get into that). So the only other option would be to try to go after the seller. But once again, you don't know that the seller knows the bike may heve been stolen.
I say let it go. |
| re: Stolen Bike recovered in interesting way. Please help me... | Pavlov's Dog
Dec 16, 2002 9:06 AM | | Have you considered trying to track down the original buyer through Schwinn's records? |
| Thanks for your input, but... | TrailBurner
Dec 16, 2002 9:10 AM | | But Schwinn is now defunct. I doubt Pacific will even know where to begin.
Plus the fact that the serial number has been ground off so there's nothing to track down.
Thanks anyway. |
| You found my bike!!!!!! | laffeaux
Dec 16, 2002 12:40 PM | | That's my long lost bike! I'll send you my address, and you can send me the bike. I've moved from Bozeman, so it's not a Montana address anymore. Hope that's okay. ;) |
| Good Luck, dont lose any sleep over it... | cleenjeep
Dec 16, 2002 3:01 PM | | I posted to your message on the MMBA site too, but I second the police auction note. Like I said, you are the one who will lose here. It is unfortunate, but if you havent had much experience with this stuff, you will soon learn it is futile. Cops will take a report, take the bike, and you can just save the time and burn your money next time.
But, if the serials are gone, they might not even be willing to take it. They might tell you exactly what you are reading in this thread, if they are nice. If not, they will take it off your hands, and profit from you. Thanks for the free bike, have a nice day, protecting criminals and serving our politicians is what we do best!
If it makes you feel any better, then give it away. Won't matter if you give it to a charitable foundation or some kid on the street. It will get ridden. |
| Wouldn't the police return it to you? | Mikey
Dec 16, 2002 3:20 PM | | OK, I remember this from a Brady Bunch episode once, and it makes sense. If you give it to the police because you SUSPECT that it's stolen, wouldn't they have to give it back to you if they don't find the confirmed owner? I don't see how, if it's not proven to be stolen, they can "confiscate" it and sell off what is YOUR property right now. After a certain amount of time I'd think they'd have to give it back to you. |
| Nope.... | Cook
Dec 16, 2002 6:52 PM | | At least not here in Ontario, Canada. They will keep it for 60days and if the original owner doesn't step forward to claim it, it goes up for auction.
There was a local case here in London a couple months back about a 10 year old that found a high-end Norco in the middle of a farmers field. His Mummy tried to teach her kid a lesson and suggested that the right thing to do was turn it over to the police. They figured if the original owner claimed it, justice was done and if not, the bike would get returned to them. Not! Since it was NEVER the kids bike to begin with, it went for auction. The kid was granted the priviledge of bidding on the bike he found but was outbid by some jack@ss that turned it for a profit.
But funny thing is, not only was this kid screwed over once by losing the nice Norco, but he was screwed a second time when a kind-hearted citizen stepped forward and bought him a POS duelly from WalMart. I hope the kid didn't kill himself on it..... |
| Now that is bizarre | Nobody Here
Dec 17, 2002 10:18 AM | | So, in order to not get "screwed", the kid should have just taken it and kept his mouth shut? What kind of lessons did your Mummy teach you? |
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