Stolen car returned after 3 years!
PROSPECT HEIGHTS (WPIX) - More than three years after a Brooklyn woman's car was stolen, she got it back -- drag-race ready.
Amanda Pogany, an eighth grade Hebrew teacher, had her 1996 Honda Accord stolen off her block in Prospect Heights back in 2006. Naturally, cops had very little confidence they would be able to track it down.
"It was a used car that I bought for them," said Peter Pogany, Amanda's father. "When the car got stolen we were all upset about it. I thought it was long gone."
But an unexpected call from the NYPD ultimately led her to the Red Hook impound.
"It was totally unbelievable. [The officer] proceeded to tell me it wasn't just my car, but it was a new version of my car, a really fancy version of my car."
Pogany found her Honda, souped up and ready to race. The previous "owner" had installed a brand new V-TEC engine, tinted windows, oversized tires with special hubcaps and, best of all, custom valve stem caps shaped like bullet casings.
Strangely enough, a Dominican flag and a crucifix hung from the rear view mirror: "I was like, 'I'm Jewish. I don't need a cross hanging from my window,'" she said, laughing. "The whole thing was crazy."
The vehicle had also been switched over to a manual transmission and sported a new leather interior. Pogany, who said she has never learned to drive stick shift, had always assumed the car had been stripped for its parts. She never would have guessed she'd find it, let alone with such flashy "improvements."
"I think it's several thousand dollars more than it was," she added. "When they opened the hood it was just so fancy. I literally didn't even recognize it."
Cops found the car while busting a Queens chop shop, and were able to trace it back to Pogany even though the VIN number had been filed off.
As it turns out, a car enthusiast bought the Honda from the thieves, and went right to work refurbishing it, police said. He had paid to have a spanking new transmission put in when the raid occurred.
Meanwhile, Pogany is still waiting to get behind the wheel of her new ride. She's filed for a new VIN number and registration.
"I almost feel bad that I don't even recognize the level of which this car is capable of, but my husband is very excited," she said.
And, of course, plenty of offers to buy the car have already started rolling in. Even her mailman has expressed interest.
