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: Althouse

"I'm Jewish, and I don't even know how to drive a stick shift!"

Said Amanda Pogany, whose 1996 Honda Accord was stolen and, 3 years later, returned "with a brand-new V-8 engine, tinted windows, oversized tires with special hubcaps - and custom valve stem caps shaped like bullet casings... manual transmission... leather interior... and a Dominican flag and a giant wooden cross [hanging] from the rearview mirror."

When the car disappeared from her block in 2006, Pogany said cops laughed when she asked about tracking it down....

... Pogany had basically forgotten about the car, simply using the car-sharing service Zipcar instead....

An officer told Pogany that cops found her Honda while busting a Queens chop shop and were able to trace it back to her even though the VIN number had been filed off.

"I was like, 'Shut up!'" said Pogany, who teaches Judaic Studies and Hebrew language at the Solomon Schechter School of Manhattan.

Turns out, a major car enthusiast bought the Honda from the thieves and then put a ton of work into it, police told her. He was in the middle of paying to put in the brand-new transmission when the raid occurred.

What should Pogany do now?
	Sell the car to the "enthusiast" for a price equal to what she lost in the theft.
	Put the car up on eBay and get the best price for it.
	Learn to drive a stick shift and have fun.
pollcode.com free polls

Full post as published by Althouse on April 25, 2010 (boomark / email).