Last month, thanks largely to the power of Facebook, a stolen classic car was recovered in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The 1966 Rambler convertible was reported stolen about two weeks before a man who had bought the car from the thief called police. Friends of the unknowing buyer had called him after seeing a picture of his “new” ride on the Kenosha Police Department’s Facebook page.

It seems that in July, a mechanic claiming to have knowledge of classic cars was handed the keys to the Rambler. The “mechanic” took the car and $900 from the car’s rightful owner. Over the next three months, the two exchanged regular text messages regarding the progress of the Rambler. But then the text messages stopped… and the mechanic went missing.

The owner of the car, who has not been named, reported the car stolen. While he was reporting the car stolen, the thief was busy selling the Rambler. Travis Aylward, also of Kenosha, purchased the car for $2,000 upfront with another $4,300 due when the title for the vehicle was produced. Of course, the title was never produced.

Friends of Alyward spotted the car on Facebook and immediately sent him a message. Then Aylward called police. While he waited for the police to show, a tow truck sent by the con man arrived at Alyward’s house to pick the car up! Needless to say, the car was not released to the tow company.

Kenosha Police recovered the Rambler and reunited it with the rightful owner. The scam artist has yet to be located, but there are some clues that he has since left the state. It’s believed that he may be in Oregon now, where similar scams have cropped up on social media.

As always, do your homework before trusting someone with your classic car. Get referrals from friends, family, and the classic car community. No matter how cheap a deal is, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. And remember, with social media, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, there are more and more tools for our classic car community to expose people that aim to take advantage. Don’t be afraid to use that power!