Imagine leaving a crazy girlfriend home alone with a 1967 Impala that you're in the middle of restoring only to come home and find it missing. For this original poster, that nightmare became his reality. Fortunately, he got the last laugh.
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Restoring cars is no joke. Those who have a passion for it know how much goes into automobile restoration, but in case you don’t, it’s a lot of time, work, space, and money. It’s an incredible accomplishment to restore an old vehicle, but add a crazy jealous, entitled, devious girlfriend into the mix and a lot can go wrong. Especially for this OP who is still wondering if he is in the wrong in this situation.
OP’s restoration project first started in February 2019. He had 1967 Impala 4 door that he bought in addition to his first house that had a 2.5 car garage. He wasted no time getting to work on his passionate hobby. He moved the car in and started tearing it down for a complete restoration. Parts were scattered as OP had the body in one bay and the chassis in another. A perfect set up that was unfortunately very short-lived.
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“About two months ago my girlfriend came to live with me during this whole crisis and the whole time she has hated that car.” OP recalls, “She wanted to park in the garage but I have 2 acres of land with a lot of nice places to park under shady trees or heck even in the barn if it has to be inside. I told her ‘tough luck, it’s my house.’” Maybe a little harsh, but it’s not like OP can just throw it back together real quick.
Well, one day, OP had to go out of town for a couple of days on a business trip for the small local company he worked for. That left his garage-space-envying girlfriend home alone. When he got back, his girlfriend was all smiles. Suspiciously all smiles.
“She was making my food all the time, doing all the chores, all that. I thought maybe she just was happy to have me home but then I realized that I didn’t see her car in its usual spot.” OP asked her where she parked so he could make sure he’d mow the grass in that area and keep it clean. She said, “not to worry because she parked in the garage.”
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Curious how she could get her car to fit in the garage with his restoration project in process, OP went to go check it out. Turns out that while he was gone she hired some people to come over and move everything related to that car, including the drivetrain, body, and chassis and all parts, and take it to the local dump/scrapyard. OP was absolutely dumbfounded.
“I had spent over $11k on that car including new parts, services, and the car itself!” Flabbergasted, he continued, “I told her that I was going to be taking her to court for that and she brushed me off like I was being dramatic. I told her that it’s done between us and to pack her things and leave.”
OP admitted he was furious and felt harsh at the moment, but he did end up getting a lawyer. OP figured that since he had all the receipts for all that money spent and he had her on his house’s security cam footage letting the guys in and watching them take it all… He was confident he could really win this case. Once his crazy ex-girlfriend realized he was serious, things escalated.
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“Her family and friends were absolutely blowing me up saying ‘it’s just a stupid old piece of junk’ and that ‘she cannot pay back all that money I spent’ and that ‘I should just let it go.’” OP mentions. “But I have been putting all my time, effort, and money into that car for a year and a half now, and gosh darn it if I am going to get justice for what she did!”
So, OP made his way to the police station and filed an official report against her for grand larceny and Grand Theft Auto. He showed the police all the receipts he had for the car and the footage of his ex-girlfriend letting guys come and take the parts as well as the title for the vehicle in his name.
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After investigating all three parties involved (OP, psycho ex, and the junkyard haulers), the cops found the car. Turns out the junkyard guys were in the middle of hiding it when the police came to ask them questions. OP’s precious Impala was on a forklift and they were going to put it on top of a pile of cars that were hidden behind more piles of cars.
“They said it was theirs and they had the title, but obviously didn’t have the title for it and since they matched the VIN on the chassis and body to the VIN on my title, it was obviously mine.” OP comments on the situation. “I know at least one person there has been arrested, I think he was in the camera footage I talked about earlier but I don’t know if it was the boss or whomever or even his specific charge, they also told me they would be looking into this specific junkyard for any other vehicles reported stolen.”
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The cops said they haven’t been able to get in contact with OP’s crazy ex yet, but they’re working on it. Despite it all, OP was questioning whether he was the bad guy in this situation for not giving his ex-girlfriend garage space. Was he asking for something this crazy to happen? Other Reddit users were quick to defend our OP.
“Sue her for the cost plus a few extra thousand for the time and money. Have her prosecuted for theft, destruction of private property, and have the guys that came to get it prosecuted for receiving stolen goods.” DiabolicalDeb commented. “Nail them all to the wall.”
“That’s like your girlfriend selling a dog out from under you while you are on a business trip because she didn’t like it!” states BeMorePacificPls. “The audacity. If she didn’t like it, she could’ve just ignored it. The most toxic part is that she sees no issue. Your property, your house, she throws it away? And if any judge knows the worth of that car they would understand suing her for the costs. LET ALONE THE TIME YOU SPENT ON IT. That’s a hobby, and a darn good one. If she couldn’t support you and your project, that probably would’ve been a red flag for anything you do later on. I think this is all justified.”
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Users were also commenting on advice for both OP’s relationship and legal situation.
“Relationship wise: this was a gross overstep on her part just to get her way on something minor. Ending the relationship immediately was the right thing to do.” One Reddit user pointed out, “Legal wise: Don’t destroy something you can’t afford to replace. Take her down, let her pay it off over the next few years.”
“My husband would literally murder me if I did that, seriously, like with a wrench.” Others tried to make him feel better about his decision to go to the police instead of taking rash action.
OP – you are not in the wrong here. Hope your crazy ex-girlfriend is ready for the storm that’s coming for her. Best of luck to you fixing up and restoring that Impala!
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