A British man named Ewan Valentine experienced an unexpected twist when he unknowingly purchased his own stolen car. Living in Solihull, England, Valentine discovered his 2016 Honda Civic Type-R had been stolen. In an attempt to replace it, he found a nearly identical car for sale, paying over $26,000 for the replacement.
Initially, Valentine didn’t suspect the car was his stolen vehicle, as it had different license plates and VIN. However, upon bringing the car home, he noticed several familiar items and peculiarities, such as a tent peg, Christmas tree pines, and a sandwich bag containing the locking wheel nut, which mirrored items from his original vehicle. This led him to investigate further using the car’s GPS, which revealed locations it had previously visited that were significant to him.
Realizing he might have bought back his stolen car, Valentine took it to a Honda dealership. Technicians confirmed the VIN was fake, and the vehicle was indeed his stolen car. The dealership noted it was one of the best cloning jobs they had encountered, making it difficult to detect as stolen without the personal artifacts.
The police are now investigating the car for forensic evidence and will work with Valentine’s insurance company to resolve the issue, either by making the car road legal and insurable again or compensating for it. Valentine does not blame the garage that sold him the car, believing they were unaware of its true origin.