Man finds car on eBay 42 years after it was stolen He said the vehicle's identification number matched that of his car. He had the original key and car title, but not a copy of the stolen-car report to prove that it was stolen from him. The 1967 Austin-Healey 3000 (AP) Mr Russell contacted Philadelphia police for help and learned that the stolen-car report wasn't showing up at the FBI's national crime index because one vehicle identification number was entered incorrectly. The report was finally found and the file was reactivated, enabling Los Angeles authorities to impound the car. Mr Russell and his wife, Cynthia, drove to Los Angeles and took possession of the car. It's now valued at $23,000. "It still runs, but the brakes don't work well," he said. We're going to put it back the way it was.