My brand new dream car was taken away & I can’t get it back – a federal agent came to my house but I did nothing wrong

A COUPLE bought their dream car from a dealership and drove home on cloud nine – then it was taken away by federal agents.

The couple was left shocked and without a vehicle to transport their family .

WOIO

WOIO

WOIO

In February, Nick and Katie Glatzer scraped and saved to buy their dream car – a white Chevrolet Suburban SUV – to drive their family around their neighborhood of Amherst, Ohio.

They were ecstatic to see their hard work finally pay off.

But just five months later, their hard-earned vehicle was suddenly taken from their home by federal agents.

“One of them was wearing a body camera,” Katie told local CBS affiliate WOIO .

“The other had a really large identification badge around his neck. The one guy had a file folder and when he opened it, my husband’s picture was blown up inside of it.”

She said the agents then informed her the Suburban was a stolen vehicle and was being repossessed.

“I am freaking out. I am like, ‘What is going on?’ It seemed surreal,” she said.

“I was just trying to process everything.”

After the shock wore off, the couple recalled the agents being very cordial in explaining the vehicle was stolen four years ago from a Hertz Rental Agency in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

“They were very nice and explained everything,” recalled Nick.

“They showed me documentation. Explained in five minutes the signs that showed it was stolen.”

Moments later, the Glazters watched their new SUV towed away to be returned to Florida.

Without a vehicle, the couple contacted the dealership that sold them the Suburban, Spitzer Chevrolet, who seemed shocked by the news of it being a stolen vehicle.

“My thought is if your business is cars, you are doing 172-point inspection, that is surprising to me,” Nick said.

I tried to explain to them that this is disruptive. For a middle-American family of six people.

Nick Glatzer

The couple continued communications with the dealership, as they were suddenly without any means of transportation for themselves and their four children.

Katie noted her shock at not being offered a rental car from the dealership.

Instead, she was directed to contact her insurance company.

“They told me, the best we can do is tell you to call your insurance company,” she recalled.

“There was no offer of a vehicle at that time. That was the main thing people could not believe, that we did not have transportation provided to us at all.”

Dealership statement to WOIO

When WOIO reached out to the dealership for a statement, General Manager Paul Scherzer wrote:

“Thank you for the opportunity to address the issue of the purchase of a vehicle by Mr. Glatzer, which we understand was confiscated from Mr. Glatzer by the Ohio State Highway Patrol because it is believed to have been stolen.

The car in question was purchased by Spitzer at an auction on November 27, 2023. The auction house, ACV Auctions, provided Spitzer with a good title from the seller, a Chevrolet dealer in Columbus, Georgia. (A copy is provided.) Mr. Glatzer purchased the vehicle from Spitzer on February 2, 2024 and Spitzer transferred the title to him. When vehicles are reported as having been stolen, they are typically listed in the National Criminal Information Center (NCIC) database by the law enforcement agency where the theft occurred and where the theft report was taken.

The listing in the NCIC database is supposed to give notice to law enforcement and motor vehicle registrars that a vehicle is stolen and that title cannot be transferred. At this time, we do not know why the vehicle was apparently not listed in the NCIC database.

We are also investigating the circumstances surrounding the theft and seizure of the vehicle from Mr. Glatzer. In Ohio and many other states, a person who takes a title to a vehicle in good faith, without notice of any defect in the title or prior theft is a “bona fide purchaser” and has good title to the property. We believe that Spitzer was a bona fide purchaser of the vehicle, as was Mr. Glatzer.

Spitzer has never had this situation occur in the past and is working to investigate it.”

Source: CBS affiliate WOIO

It wasn’t until Katie’s social media post about her experience and Nick’s complaint to the Better Business Bureau that they received a text message from the dealership’s general manager claiming to be working on a solution.

“I tried to explain to them that this is disruptive,” Nick said.

“For a middle-American family of six people.”

Four days later, the dealership loaned them a Chevy Tahoe.

WOIO