British Man Buys Car For Rs 20 Lakh, Turned Out To Be His Stolen Honda Civic

A 36-year-old software engineer from Solihull, West Midlands, has had a shocking experience after his stolen car was recovered in an unexpected way, according to BBC. Ewan Valentine's black Honda Civic was stolen from his driveway in February in a quick theft. Despite reporting the incident to the police, he was told the chances of recovering his car were low.

After his insurance company agreed to a payout, Valentine used the funds to purchase a replacement vehicle. He found another black Honda Civic and bought it for 20,000 pounds (Rs 22 lakh). However, upon closer inspection, he realised that the new car was actually his stolen vehicle.

Valentine had unknowingly bought back his own car, which had been stolen a month earlier. The surprising twist has left him astonished, to say the least.

He told the BBC he was "gutted" when his car was stolen, and he was determined to replace it with the same model.

"It was sort of a mid-life crisis car, and you don't get many of those, so I was pretty determined to get it replaced before one day I have to get a sort of family car," he said.

"I spotted one that was identical, same colour, same year, same slightly obnoxious exhaust system on it as well," he explained. "It fit the bill precisely."

"I started noticing things in the car were a little bit odd, like a single tent peg and some Christmas tree pines and some, like, Mars bar wrappers and things that they hadn't cleaned out," he said.

"All very similar to what you could have found in my stolen car."

Despite the car having a new number plate and a lower mileage, Mr Valentine's suspicions were confirmed when he later discovered his and his parents addresses in the history of the built-in navigation system.

"I nearly crashed, to be honest, because I was in shock... My hands were shaking; my heart was pounding," he said.

"A part of me felt sort of triumphant for a moment until I realised, actually, no, this isn't some heroic moment; you didn't go and get your car back; you've actually done something a bit stupid."