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Finding A Stolen Car?


Rich OB
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Just wondering if someone can shed some light on what happens if you find a stolen car?

I heard somewhere (i think) that if you go through the correct channels you can claim such a car.

The car in question has been parked up for several months now, tyres flat parked in an awkward position but legally with tax, i've done some checking on the plate and it is coming back as the same make but a different model and colour.

I wouldn't bother if this was only worth £500 say but it is a prestige motor worth at least 15k!

The tax runs out 06/08 so then the council will just pick it up and do whatever with it.

Hope someone can give some info can't find much online.

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Just wondering if someone can shed some light on what happens if you find a stolen car?

I heard somewhere (i think) that if you go through the correct channels you can claim such a car.

The car in question has been parked up for several months now, tyres flat parked in an awkward position but legally with tax, i've done some checking on the plate and it is coming back as the same make but a different model and colour.

I wouldn't bother if this was only worth £500 say but it is a prestige motor worth at least 15k!

The tax runs out 06/08 so then the council will just pick it up and do whatever with it.

Hope someone can give some info can't find much online.

Not sure at all but i would speak to the local bobby ? But most likly it will fall in the hand of the Council and them the cops eventually end up in the crusher or some police appointed scrappers :crybaby:

but leaglay you are not the owner and if the real owner can not be found then i guess it belongs to the state, best to speak to a solicitor? :whistling: :winky: to see if there is a way to claime it..

Good luck and keep us posted please, it would be interested to see what is the options..?

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Wouldnt you have to report it to your local police station first to inform them that its there? As i would of thought if it was stolen or on false reg plates and been recorded it will still be on the stolen vehicle register? and if the insurance was paid out on it then it would become the property of the insurance company if found as they have now paid out on the vehicle making them the rightfull owners? not sure though but worth looking into? :unsure:

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I'm guessing it would be nice for the owner(s) to know what happened to it. If he/she has already been paid out by the insurance company, then I still believe they should have first dibs at buying it back. I don't think it should be a case of finders keepers, that could be someones pride and joy.

If there not interested then you can go from there...

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Thanks for the replies guys.

I agree the owner should know if thier car has been dumped, i know how that feels i once had my brand new ST stolen from outside my house!

Anyway i've been to the police and as its legally taxed and parked even if it is awkwardly there is nothing they can do, they can't give me details of the

owner and it is not reported as stolen. They suggested i ring DVLA who can release that information and then it is up to me to contact them and go from

there. I also spoke to the owner whose house its parked outside as if someone along that road owned it it would be in a drive where most are big enough for

5 cars! She said she has also been onto the police who told her the same thing and the council can't do nothing until the tax runs out, once it has they'll afix

an aware sticker to it take it in a week if the owner doesn't come forward then car heaven it is!! She also said she is sick of people knocking on her door

asking if she or knows of the owner! Lol! 2 guys once knocked at midnight! I guess with such a car i'm not the only one to notice it.

The police also said the only way you can claim such a car is by going through the last registered keeper.

Also the inside is a complete mess, looks like its been raided and someone has been somking da reefa!!

Anyway i'll keep you posted thanks again, thought maybe they'd be some law dude on here.

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LOL @ da reefa - puff puff pass :P It's not reported as stolen and it's been there for several months, that weed must be some good sh*t! LMAO

What car is it?!

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Lol @ purvesh81 !!

Its an 04 plate BMW 320Ci droptop, grey, xenons, blue hood, very nice motor which is what i don't understand!

If it is stolen why isn't it reported? If it is someones why have they left it like so? Hmmm!

It was taxed in Jan locally to where it is.

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Could be the details held at Swansea are incorrect ( not unheard of ) and maybe the owner was been taken ill or something ...

Can't you write to Swansea and pay £5 or £10 and ask for registered owners details, I thought you could do this if you had a legitimate reason ;)

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If you want to do your own research:

Give the chassis number to any dealer, I think they can find out where it was supplied and you can go from there.

Was thinking of this too but the number in the windscreen has been covered by a tissue or something.

Tried to call DVLA today and after about 20 option menus and stupid music for half hour i had to give up!

Just bugging me that such a nice car sitting there awaiting its fate...

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Years ago I "found" an abandond VW Beetle (1973 1300cc) i garages in the flats where my grandad lived. The previous tenant of the garage had long since gone. I liased with the local Housing Authority whos garage it was and agreed to buy it off them for a nominal sum (£100?).

I then just regeistered it with the DVLA saying it had be bought without a log book. Job done!

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Was thinking of this too but the number in the windscreen has been covered by a tissue or something.

Yeah by big a s s RIZLAS..... :yahoo: :zee:

Years ago I "found" an abandond VW Beetle (1973 1300cc) i garages in the flats where my grandad lived. The previous tenant of the garage had long since gone. I liased with the local Housing Authority whos garage it was and agreed to buy it off them for a nominal sum (£100?).

I then just regeistered it with the DVLA saying it had be bought without a log book. Job done!

Way to go with stopping the story half way! :P What did you do with it in the end? :lookaround:

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Years ago I "found" an abandond VW Beetle (1973 1300cc) i garages in the flats where my grandad lived. The previous tenant of the garage had long since gone. I liased with the local Housing Authority whos garage it was and agreed to buy it off them for a nominal sum (£100?).

I then just regeistered it with the DVLA saying it had be bought without a log book. Job done!

Nice thought! But i'm sure nowadays they would check up on this sort of thing...but yeah maybe a way to go. 4 weeks to see what happens!?!

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Ok you can apply for a V5 via a V62 form then the DVLA will try to contact the previous owner, if no contact within 14-30 days they'll issue you a new log book.

Other advice is that you can remove the car as long as you inform the police and DVLA of this, it must be off road while the process takes place and an address given to local police. If the car tax runs out the council will serve a 7 day notice on it then simply dispose of it.

So another trip to the police station is in order tomorrow!

All very confusing.

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Was thinking of this too but the number in the windscreen has been covered by a tissue or something.

Yeah by big a s s RIZLAS..... :yahoo: :zee:

Years ago I "found" an abandond VW Beetle (1973 1300cc) i garages in the flats where my grandad lived. The previous tenant of the garage had long since gone. I liased with the local Housing Authority whos garage it was and agreed to buy it off them for a nominal sum (£100?).

I then just regeistered it with the DVLA saying it had be bought without a log book. Job done!

Way to go with stopping the story half way! :P What did you do with it in the end? :lookaround:

I had it towed from Stockport to Gateshead, where I lived at the time. Tax and insured it although the engine was actually in my back yard. I was going to restire it but after about six months I "sold" it to my girlfriends, sisters bloke, who was a mechanic. But got no cash for it.

I then split with my girlfriend. Was ugly row over money for a while, until the DVLA wrote to check if I still owned the Beetle as it had been sold and someone was trying to reregister it. So I used that as ammunition to the ex saying that unless she and her sister pi$$ed off once and for all and accepted the car as full and final settlement I would inform the police the car had been stolen and press charges. Funny I never heard from them ever again! :winky:

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Was thinking of this too but the number in the windscreen has been covered by a tissue or something.

Yeah by big a s s RIZLAS..... :yahoo: :zee:

Years ago I "found" an abandond VW Beetle (1973 1300cc) i garages in the flats where my grandad lived. The previous tenant of the garage had long since gone. I liased with the local Housing Authority whos garage it was and agreed to buy it off them for a nominal sum (£100?).

I then just regeistered it with the DVLA saying it had be bought without a log book. Job done!

Way to go with stopping the story half way! :P What did you do with it in the end? :lookaround:

I had it towed from Stockport to Gateshead, where I lived at the time. Tax and insured it although the engine was actually in my back yard. I was going to restire it but after about six months I "sold" it to my girlfriends, sisters bloke, who was a mechanic. But got no cash for it.

I then split with my girlfriend. Was ugly row over money for a while, until the DVLA wrote to check if I still owned the Beetle as it had been sold and someone was trying to reregister it. So I used that as ammunition to the ex saying that unless she and her sister pi$$ed off once and for all and accepted the car as full and final settlement I would inform the police the car had been stolen and press charges. Funny I never heard from them ever again! :winky:

Wow... a story with a twist at the end!

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  • 6 months later...

Well the conclusion was simple!

After i reported it to the police and they advised me as most said, that once its reported they try to contact the owner.

They did so and contacted me to tell me they couldn't get in contact with the owner by any means, but as the car was so valuble they couldn't just give anyone permission to just take it. Anyway they advised that it would have to be towed by either the police or council once the tax expired, then i would have to keep track on its progress and if it hadn't been claimed within 6 months it goes to auction to cover the storage costs. It would sell for silly money compared to its value.

Off record they also said that if the car went missing from where it is and noone did report it stolen, i could apply for a new V5 from DVLA in my name after DVLA has written to the registered keeper with no reply. The car would then be mine but then if the owner did ever report it stolen they could take it back anytime. Stupid system if you ask me but the police also said this never happens with 15k BM's normally £5 MG's so its really un-heard of.

Anyway not to ramble on anymore i kept a check on it and the day the tax expired the car was gone!!! Strange enough months later i was driving in my work car along a 40mph road, and what came up behind me at an alarming speed! Yep, that BMW, i got some evils from the 2 youths in baseball caps as they flew past on the wrong side of the road as if i was in the wrong. So in the end i was glad i didn't do anything about it otherwise it could've been evils with a baseball bat! Unless they weren't the original owners either!??

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  • 2 weeks later...

when i was in the police we had a similar thing,turned out the owner was in prison as son as the tax ran out it was towed dont no what happened to it after that.

also got a mate who is still in the police who recently took a car of a chav for no insurance, if its not claimed he's going to buy it before it goes to the crusher.

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Well the conclusion was simple!

After i reported it to the police and they advised me as most said, that once its reported they try to contact the owner.

They did so and contacted me to tell me they couldn't get in contact with the owner by any means, but as the car was so valuble they couldn't just give anyone permission to just take it. Anyway they advised that it would have to be towed by either the police or council once the tax expired, then i would have to keep track on its progress and if it hadn't been claimed within 6 months it goes to auction to cover the storage costs. It would sell for silly money compared to its value.

Off record they also said that if the car went missing from where it is and noone did report it stolen, i could apply for a new V5 from DVLA in my name after DVLA has written to the registered keeper with no reply. The car would then be mine but then if the owner did ever report it stolen they could take it back anytime. Stupid system if you ask me but the police also said this never happens with 15k BM's normally £5 MG's so its really un-heard of.

Anyway not to ramble on anymore i kept a check on it and the day the tax expired the car was gone!!! Strange enough months later i was driving in my work car along a 40mph road, and what came up behind me at an alarming speed! Yep, that BMW, i got some evils from the 2 youths in baseball caps as they flew past on the wrong side of the road as if i was in the wrong. So in the end i was glad i didn't do anything about it otherwise it could've been evils with a baseball bat! Unless they weren't the original owners either!??

Very intresting stuff, like you say though. If you had got the car you don't know it's past, if lets say some undesireable owned it before you don't know who may mistake you for them an give you a sorting out. :shutit: But still strange that they waited till the last minute also.

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