Woman’s stolen ’96 Honda found years later, pimped out

It was over three years ago that Amanda Pogony’s 1996 Honda Accord disappeared without a trace.

Pogony says she reported the theft to police, and when she asked about finding it, they laughed at her. She and her husband assumed the car had been stripped for parts, and the Brooklyn couple used Zipcar to get from place to place from then on. So they were quite surprised to receive a call from the NYPD that the car had been located in a Queens chop shop and was being returned to Pogony.

But the unexpected discovery so long after the fact wasn’t the most interesting thing. Pogony says the car was returned with serious pimptastic updates, including “a brand-new V-8 engine, tinted windows, oversized tires with special hubcaps – and custom valve stem caps shaped like bullet casings.” The man who purchased the car after its theft also added a leather interior and manual transmission.

Until Pogony gets a new VIN number for the car and an updated registration (and learns to drive stick), it’s parked at her parents’ home in New Jersey. But she said it’s been a bit of a curiousity for neighbors:

“The mailman rang the bell the other day and asked about it,” she said. “Everyone wants to buy the car now.”

[NYDN]