Disposal of a stolen and found car

Unexpectedly, the police found my stolen car. Then it took them five days to figure out that I need to be contacted via FAX rather than via voice phone call.

Appeal to all designers of forms and office procedures: in every place you ask for an applicant’s phone number, please allow for the possibility that he/she is having a FAX machine rather than regular telephone.

When I received the FAX from the police, it reminded me of situations, like the one depicted in Isaac Bashevis Singer‘s book “Enemies, a Love Story“, in which one lost a wife long time ago, went on with life, remarried and then the lost wife showed up again. The car, which served me for several years, no longer had a place in my life.

The car was found at entrance to a settlement in Samaria. The police had it towed to a lot in Ariel (also in Samaria), which is used to store cars after accidents and after recovery from car thieves. I found that the car grew aerials – apparently to make an impression and discourage policemen from stopping the car and closely inspecting it.Borg-ified Car

Today I disposed of the car for a pittance, after having gotten an offer from a company, which buys cars for disassembly and disposal. If I were to leave the car there for few more days, while trying to round up better offers, I’d have to pay 90NIS a day as storage fee, from which only the first two days are free.

Thankfully, the official bureaucracy involved in selling off a car for disassembly consisted only of one form, filled by the lot’s attendant. If the car were to be returned to regular use, I and the buyer would have had to go to the local police station and arrange for a “car release form” (whatever it is).

A cellphone and people, who relayed for me FAX and SMS messages (first of all, my father), were instrumental in speedy resolution of the above.

Car on its last way before disassembly

Author: Omer Zak

I am deaf since birth. I played with big computers which eat punched cards and spew out printouts since age 12. Ever since they became available, I work and play with desktop size computers which eat keyboard keypresses and spew out display pixels. Among other things, I developed software which helped the deaf in Israel use the telephone network, by means of home computers equipped with modems. Several years later, I developed Hebrew localizations for some cellular phones, which helped the deaf in Israel utilize the cellular phone networks. I am interested in entrepreneurship, Science Fiction and making the world more accessible to people with disabilities.

5 thoughts on “Disposal of a stolen and found car”

  1. Doesn’t seem the police are too bothered what they do with stolen cars and as for breakers yards!!!! I would always try to sell the car to a restoring enthusiast.

  2. Oh, that must be the reason why the license plates were removed from the car when it was left in the lot. The buyer did not get the license plates, unless the lot attendant sneaked them to him behind my back.

    Ira, did you turn over your old car’s license plates when you sold it for disassembly into parts? Maybe if you held onto them, you’d not have the problem you had.

  3. umm… why dispose for parts? was it no longer drivable? it’s usually much less profitable to sell for parts…

    I’m weary of that myself, I once sold a REALLY old car for parts, and the guy ended up fixing it and sold it to a client. I started getting his parking tickets! I had to chase that A-hole down for half a year till he came to make a transfer of ownership. since he was driving it without a “test” and unregistered, we could not even transfer at the post office, had to go to the DMV 🙁

    so make sure they really take it apart…

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