What happens to people who buy stolen cars?
Discussion
Someone sees a car on the internet, pays cash, lets say 10k.
They do some checks on a text checking app or hpi or any number of vin car checksites etc and all comes back in order.
10k cash paid, drives away, all fine.
Through any number of possible situations, it is identified by Police as stolen, on false plates with altered vin numbers. A semi-professional clone job.
Vehicle is taken by Police because it's stolen and returned to rightful owner, insurers etc.
What does the 10k cash buyer do? Just take a hit? Or are they covered by anything with regards the checking apps etc?
They do some checks on a text checking app or hpi or any number of vin car checksites etc and all comes back in order.
10k cash paid, drives away, all fine.
Through any number of possible situations, it is identified by Police as stolen, on false plates with altered vin numbers. A semi-professional clone job.
Vehicle is taken by Police because it's stolen and returned to rightful owner, insurers etc.
What does the 10k cash buyer do? Just take a hit? Or are they covered by anything with regards the checking apps etc?
Too many variables
There are certain protections for a genuine purchaser
In some circs the police will issue an inter pleader and leave the disputed property in the hands of the innocent purchaser
In other cases there are civil remedies to recovery money spent if the seller is genuine and /or there is an insurance in place to protect the purchaser
But, in some cases the buyer loses all
There are certain protections for a genuine purchaser
In some circs the police will issue an inter pleader and leave the disputed property in the hands of the innocent purchaser
In other cases there are civil remedies to recovery money spent if the seller is genuine and /or there is an insurance in place to protect the purchaser
But, in some cases the buyer loses all
About 12 years ago a friend of mine bought a mk4 Golf GTi Anniversary Edition privately from a chap in Keighley.
He had wanted one since they came out and had been saving up to buy one.
It was about £18k I seem to remember, and pretty much all the money he had.
The car was great condition, came with keys, service books, V5 etc
He paid cash for it and drove home.
Got an unexpected visit off the Police about 5 weeks later who explained that it was a stolen car on false plates and simply took it off him to return to the insurance company who had paid out for it when it was originally stolen.
He never got a penny back.
He had wanted one since they came out and had been saving up to buy one.
It was about £18k I seem to remember, and pretty much all the money he had.
The car was great condition, came with keys, service books, V5 etc
He paid cash for it and drove home.
Got an unexpected visit off the Police about 5 weeks later who explained that it was a stolen car on false plates and simply took it off him to return to the insurance company who had paid out for it when it was originally stolen.
He never got a penny back.
Back in the 90's, i bought a Sierra for what i considered to be a 'reasonable' amount of money at the time.
Long story short, i found the engine number had been ground off and further investigation revealed it had a different vin plate welded over the original.
Clearly a ringer, so mitigated my loss by breaking it for spares and scrapping what was left of it.
Long story short, i found the engine number had been ground off and further investigation revealed it had a different vin plate welded over the original.
Clearly a ringer, so mitigated my loss by breaking it for spares and scrapping what was left of it.
A friend of mine bought a Nissan Navara for about £15k in 2012, it was a couple of months old but was missing the running boards and one key hence it being so cheap, some lad was selling it from his mum and dad’s house as he couldn’t afford the loan on it so just needed it gone.
My mate went round, viewed it then went back a couple of nights later to pay, guy counter the cash in the Navara and off my mate drove.
Month later the police pulled him over, explained it was a hire car some travellers had rented and had sold to my mate (after taking the running boards off for good measure and hence why it only had one key).
The house it was sold from was actually vacant and my mate in hindsight remembered him never actually going through the front door just ‘emerging’ from the side of the house.
He didn’t get a penny back either, very naive and an expensive lesson for him.
My mate went round, viewed it then went back a couple of nights later to pay, guy counter the cash in the Navara and off my mate drove.
Month later the police pulled him over, explained it was a hire car some travellers had rented and had sold to my mate (after taking the running boards off for good measure and hence why it only had one key).
The house it was sold from was actually vacant and my mate in hindsight remembered him never actually going through the front door just ‘emerging’ from the side of the house.
He didn’t get a penny back either, very naive and an expensive lesson for him.
littlebasher said:
Back in the 90's, i bought a Sierra for what i considered to be a 'reasonable' amount of money at the time.
Long story short, i found the engine number had been ground off and further investigation revealed it had a different vin plate welded over the original.
Clearly a ringer, so mitigated my loss by breaking it for spares and scrapping what was left of it.
Or dishonestly handling stolen goods, in other words.Long story short, i found the engine number had been ground off and further investigation revealed it had a different vin plate welded over the original.
Clearly a ringer, so mitigated my loss by breaking it for spares and scrapping what was left of it.
Having dealt with a fair number of these, there are a few possible outcomes.
Sometimes, the buyer has purchased it without a V5 from what appears to be a longs tanding reputable trader or dealer, who claims that the manufacturer needs to hold on to the V5 for 6 or 12 months. After thatperiod, the dealer gets the V5 in their name, and then transfers it on to the unsuspecting end user. These ar often leased vehicles with an option to purchase at the end of the lease.
If the vehicle is purchased at the end of the lease by the dealer, then all ends well.
If the vehicle isn't purchased for whatever reason, or the dealer falls out with the lease supplier, problems arise. Big problems. And it is not a nice call to make -telling somebody that the Transit they paid £16k for 3 months ago doesn't belong to them - and lease vehicles wont always sho up on HPI depending on how the finance is structured.
There's also forged or stolen blank V5s in circulation. False documents are used quite frequently, and I've had a few cases this year where one of my fleet was hired out and sold to unsuspecting members of the public. The V5 shows the correct vehicle details, but a false keeper name and address.
There's very few ways that the end user comes out of this without any loss though - Section 27 of the Hire Purchase Act can give the buyer some hope, but only if the vehicle was on a finance agreement prior to them buying it, but it is complex - https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=10d...
Sometimes, the buyer has purchased it without a V5 from what appears to be a longs tanding reputable trader or dealer, who claims that the manufacturer needs to hold on to the V5 for 6 or 12 months. After thatperiod, the dealer gets the V5 in their name, and then transfers it on to the unsuspecting end user. These ar often leased vehicles with an option to purchase at the end of the lease.
If the vehicle is purchased at the end of the lease by the dealer, then all ends well.
If the vehicle isn't purchased for whatever reason, or the dealer falls out with the lease supplier, problems arise. Big problems. And it is not a nice call to make -telling somebody that the Transit they paid £16k for 3 months ago doesn't belong to them - and lease vehicles wont always sho up on HPI depending on how the finance is structured.
There's also forged or stolen blank V5s in circulation. False documents are used quite frequently, and I've had a few cases this year where one of my fleet was hired out and sold to unsuspecting members of the public. The V5 shows the correct vehicle details, but a false keeper name and address.
There's very few ways that the end user comes out of this without any loss though - Section 27 of the Hire Purchase Act can give the buyer some hope, but only if the vehicle was on a finance agreement prior to them buying it, but it is complex - https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=10d...
XCP said:
littlebasher said:
Back in the 90's, i bought a Sierra for what i considered to be a 'reasonable' amount of money at the time.
Long story short, i found the engine number had been ground off and further investigation revealed it had a different vin plate welded over the original.
Clearly a ringer, so mitigated my loss by breaking it for spares and scrapping what was left of it.
Or dishonestly handling stolen goods, in other words.Long story short, i found the engine number had been ground off and further investigation revealed it had a different vin plate welded over the original.
Clearly a ringer, so mitigated my loss by breaking it for spares and scrapping what was left of it.
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