Vehicles seized by police for lack of documentation often sold to unlicensed buyers

by Thomas Hines for Whittier Daily News , view original article

August 17, 2010

While police seize vehicles at checkpoints because the driver is unlicensed or the car's registration has expired, that doesn't stop tow companies from selling those same cars back to unlicensed drivers at public auctions.

At an auction Wednesday, one man took out his Mexican driver's license while counting out cash for the car he bought in an auction at Industry-based Haddick's Auto Body and Tow.

"A lot of the guys say they buy them and take them to Mexico," said Newell Ruggles, the manager at Haddick's. "So I don't know if the people buying the cars have licenses here."

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