Their car was stolen. When they got it back, it had Lyft stickers and 11,000 more miles.

Cierra and Josh Barton's brand-new Honda CRV was stolen from their Livermore apartment complex in August. Four months later, police recovered it in Hayward. The vehicle had Lyft stickers on its front and rear windows and a pillow, jacket and stuffed animal in the trunk, Cierra Barton said. less Cierra and Josh Barton's brand-new Honda CRV was stolen from their Livermore apartment complex in August. Four months later, police recovered it in Hayward. The vehicle had Lyft stickers on its front and rear ... more Photo: Courtesy: Cierra Barton Photo: Courtesy: Cierra Barton Image 1 of / 32 Caption Close Their car was stolen. When they got it back, it had Lyft stickers and 11,000 more miles. 1 / 32 Back to Gallery

Cierra and Josh Barton purchased a new Honda HR-V at the beginning of summer. It was stolen while parked in front of their Livermore apartment complex at the end of August. Four months later, Hayward police called the Bartons to say they had recovered the vehicle.

"What condition will it be in? Burned out? Gutted?" Cierra Barton recalled thinking as she and her husband drove to the holding lot last week. "I was imaging the worst when we went to pick it up."

What they found, to their surprise, was a car in relatively good shape — a few dents, a rattling hood. But in the back and front windows were Lyft stickers, Cierra Barton said. The odometer had spiked from 2,000 miles to more than 13,000. And in the back seat, Cierra said she found a pillow, a jacket and a stuffed animal.

"It wasn't burned out, it wasn't gutted, but it appeared to be have been used as a Lyft," she said.

That, Cierra added, was even worse than she imagined.

"Not only did someone steal our car, they made money off it," she said.

Hayward Police spokesperson Tasha DeCosta said the vehicle was found in Hayward. It had been abandoned and sitting on the roadside for about two weeks.

Stolen cars are "rampant, dime-a-dozen" in her jurisdiction, DeCosta said.

When asked what sorts of safeguards Lyft has in place to prevent stolen vehicles from being registered, Lyft gave SFGATE the following statement:

"The safety of the Lyft community is our top priority and we take these allegations seriously. Given the information provided, we are unable to match this vehicle to any Lyft accounts in the area. We have reached out to Ms. Barton and we stand ready to assist law enforcement in any investigation."

According to Lyft's California driver application requirements, required documents include a vehicle inspection form, a California driver's license and personal vehicle insurance, a driver photo and a California license plate.

Barton said the car was so new, it still had paper dealership plates at the time of the theft. To add to the mystery, DeCosta said a metal plate registered to the vehicle was discovered by Pleasanton Police weeks ago.

A 2015 National Insurance Crime Bureau report found the Bay Area had the highest number of car thefts of any U.S. region. Between 2012-2014, about 90,000 vehicles were stolen in San Francisco, Oakland and Hayward.

Michelle Robertson is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @mrobertsonsf.