How would I know if my stolen vehicle has been crushed at a salvage yard?

Assuming you filed a stolen vehicle report you can always check with the police. If it was stripped and then towed the towing contractor should have ran the VIN with the police. You could also run a car fax on your car that could show it recovered and even re-sold. Likely it will just show that it was stolen. If however, your car was stripped and picked up by a contractor who was either in a hurry or not "in the business" (not licensed) then your car went into a scrap yard and will be crushed. If it was stripped illegally it might have gone right to a scrap yard that deals in stolen bits of steel and once again it will be crushed. In any event...if the police can't find a recovery record there's nothing you can do except cruse the junk yards looking for your car. Given its condition I can't see why it would matter. Just use your insurance money, add a bit to it and buy a better car. Oh, and this time, buy a club. Worn older cars are seldom if ever stolen if the have a club. To a ...  more