Stolen Mercedes

[saar]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...t-sell-6m.html

[Paulus_Gun]

Good for them that they got it back, but sad at the same time that they are selling it straight away. Just shows that they only want the money.

[Biber]

Well, that is their prerogative. The bright side is that it's now on the market and there's at least a chance it may end up in a public venue for all to admire and appreciate.

[bmsmear]

How?

I'd like to know how the 'soldier' legitimately shipped it back to the USA!
It's not exactly a small item.

[Alan Smith]

Yes, I too would be interested in learning the name, rank, service history, etc. of the soldier who "liberated" the vehicle and shipped it back to the U.S. One would assume that such soldier was an officer holding significant rank, in order to be able to accomplish such a feat.

I also would be interested in whether the auction is court-ordered, or simply the Prym families' decision?

One also wonders whether, as part of the judgment finding the Prym family to be the lawful owners, they were ordered to pay the loosing party anything for the value of the improvements that have been sunk into the vehicle over the decades (and that were obviously reflected in the price the loosing party paid when he acquired it). Just curious as to whether the court's ruling was an "all or nothing" with Prym taking everything, or whether there might have been some equitable relief for the benefit of the loosing party (who, as far as we can tell, was an "innocent purchaser" without knowledge of the decades old theft).

[james m]

There is a group that works under the auspices of the Smithsonian who are charged with the responsibly of returning looted art work to their rightful owners. This work is generally confined to areas such as paintings, jewelry etc. I discussed this automobile with a member of that group while attending an appraisers convention and she was unaware of it and said this is NOT something they would be involved with. However; she did say that they are still turning up finds but many never make the news.
Jim

[praubal]

Good for them that they got it back, but sad at the same time that they are selling it straight away. Just shows that they only want the money.

they are as old as the car.....almost..

Edda should seek return of her fathers Blue Goose....and his staff...that too went Stateside...same rules apply

[juoneen]

I recall hearing about a vet who was selling AH silverware back in the 60s and was sued by the German govt , first unsuccessfully , then second go round successfully claiming it was personal property or belonged to the state. Not sure what all the details were since it was long ago, but had to do with personal property . Sometimes things brought home can be considered stolen property.
There are still Jewish families who had art stolen from them that still are having trouble recovering property to this day, so I suspect the man who purchased the car from the vet lost his purchase price , possibly more .

[james m]

From what I know:
You can pass on no better title to an item then what you receive. Hence the last owner of this Mercedes would have been out the purchase price of the car. I suspect he could go after the seller but since this was an international sale one wonders just how effective that would be.
Jim

[cossack1648]

6 million pounds? There is one more for sale on ebay for $2 million. Beautiful car.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercedes-Ben...m=371706164601

Jack

[juoneen]

From what I know:
You can pass on no better title to an item then what you receive. Hence the last owner of this Mercedes would have been out the purchase price of the car. I suspect he could go after the seller but since this was an international sale one wonders just how effective that would be.
Jim

Jim, you can get a bonded title for almost any car...I did it with a half track with no title, in fact did it in Phx , so a European car would not be much different. We are saying the same thing the NEW buyer would have been out the sale price not the vet that finally sold it after 70'years that brought it home. If the guy would have sold it in the USA to a resident, I doubt the family would have found it . How was it sold , does anyone know, public auto auction like Barrett Jackson , or private sale?
A friend of mine brought home one of Hitlers limousines and kept it in a barn till he finally decided to turn it, but Adolph had lots of cars, and if I recall correctly Jackson even bought McAurthers staff car, and Eva brauns roadster .
There even was a German guy who drove a tiger tank home and kept it in his barn till he finally decided to sell it...sometimes you have to be careful on things considered personal property, as today lots of folks buy and sell Hitlers silverware and such and no longer do the government there consider it their property.
Too bad for the guy who lost it , but if you have any car that's stolen and it ever turns up, it's still your car , even if they restored it and had a lot of money into fixing it up...stolen is stolen...kind of like murder, there is no statute of limitations same for ownership on stolen vehicles.
Nice the family got the ride back , a nice chunk of change to weather the hard times, even if they don't keep it. The old man is likely rolling over in his grave .

[james m]

Juoneen:

I believe the Mercedes was sold for the last time here in the States by Bonham's. My understanding is the family was just biding it's time waiting for it to return to Europe where getting a seizure order would be fairly simple. I have no idea what sort of title Bonham's supplied with the car at sale.
Subsequent information since the seizure has been sparse until the recent announcement of the families decision to re-market the car. If any lawsuits were filed by the European purchaser against Bonham's or any of the previous owners I'm unaware of them.
As an additional point as memory serves me: I believe the German government at one time indicated it had no desire to pursue collectors and the seizure of NAZI high level personnel's private property even though ownership in some cases would rest with the state.
In other words if you have a genuine set of Eva Brawn's undies purchased with COA from Charlie Snyder the German government won't be coming after you!
Jim