Nearly Bought A Stolen (?) Aristo Vortex

[boltz]

CLOSE SHAVE.

I put the deposit down on a 99v aristo vortex through "winkfield autos" in maidenhead, reluctantly hey gave me the VIN number which i had usaveauto.co.uk do a check on.

It came back a never deregistered in japan.

I did some more digging, it was owned by a finance company in the country who bought it from a garage in Hadley who had it imported by a company in southend which were shutdown by HM Customs and Excise for VAT fraud.

The car was imported through Dubai.

Looks like this baby is a hot one, stolen.

Does anyone know a way to do a check with the japanese police?

~Adam

[Rob]

there a lot of cars that come through dubai and dublin that are stolen in japan - the most worrying fact ( for those coming through Dubai) is that on a lot of vehicles the ages of the vehicles are changed - not just the ODO but also the interior trim and even the seat belt labels etc etc so they can make a 1999 car look like a 2002 etc etc as you have already found some dodgy history and the dealer you were buying it from didnt want to give you a VIN then i would say it speaks for itself - STAY AWAY!!!

there was a top gear special about this approx 2 years ago - very worrying.

[Claire G]

Apparently the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (the governing body that covers all manufacturers & traders) do a certificate alongside the SVA test to prove that the car has not previously been stolen or written off.

Supposedly there's been a rise in stolen/damaged cars being imported as it's a big money spinner for the organised crime business

[boltz]

thats BIMTA and i contacted them and they said it was probably 90% stolen or cloned or "suspect"

So, anyone know of a £15k vortex TT for sale somewhere, pref in silver or black?

Adam