Unusual vehicle theft - MK1 Mx5 taken from home.

[NorthernSky]

AndrewCrown said:

Northern

What a nightmare for you...

I would just play it straight...if Insurance is now involved...tell them exactly what happened.
If the cops come to see you play it straight.
Similarly if your pal plays it straight with remorse then he might get a ban, a fat fine and some community work...no one’s going to prison ...lawyers will be a waste of money here.

Your friend now owes you big time and I’d spend some time working out what that sum is going to be. I’d say at least double the value of the car plus an annual payment to cover enhanced insurance premiums for the next 5 years. If he was any kind of mate, he’d be offering that now anyway..on his knees...with beer...

Yes, this is how I plan to proceed with the whole thing. My question now, I suppose, is how to secure the value of what I stand to lose. I've got that 8 years NCB on a Z4M, let alone my other two cars and a bike. Calculating this value is going to be difficult, and not to mention all the faff & disruption caused.

To answer the question why I am trying to help him - I don't know, maybe it's in my nature to forgive where possible? Does that seem such an outrageous way to feel? I suppose a lot of that hinges on the guy's willingness to accept the heavy financial hit.

Will see the car today or tomorrow and be able to gauge the damage, with any luck some of the useful parts will still be salvageable. Regards to that, what's a mariner blue MK1 worth to a breaker? As someone already mentioned, it may not even be given a look-over by the insurance people .

[Byker28i]

Mk1 Mx-5, probably expect a quote of £1k from the insurers?

[NorthernSky]

Byker28i said:

Mk1 Mx-5, probably expect a quote of £1k from the insurers?

Agreed value of 1750. Spent easily that again on work done - cosmetic and mechanical, not modified.

[4x4Tyke]

Dark Star said:

I think this should read that your friend took your car without permission while under the influence of either or both drink and drugs.
He smashes the car into other vehicles.
He then tries to claim your car was stolen while already TWOC by him.
I would get him to pay for your car to be repaired and then let him and the police sort out what happened cause if he had not took the car then none of this would have happened.

Oh and then tell him to f**k off as he is not a true friend bringing this to your door.

Agree that he's not a true friend and think the OP is being manipulated.

I think the OP should delay telling the 'friend' to piss-off until the damage has been paid for.

[Sheepshanks]

NorthernSky said:

By that second sentence, I am wondering if they actually CAN identify him - no CCTV exists at the location where the suspected collision took place with the parked 3rd party car, so I curious to know if he might be able to avoid action from the third party insurance company by simply denying knowledge of any incident.

Only asking this to expand my understanding of options going ahead - not saying this is necessarily the *right* thing to do, of course.

The police and the insurers work to different standards of proof. Obviously if he gets done then he's stuffed, but even if the police don't take it forwards the insurance might still accept it's likely to be down to him. If they don't accept that then the 3rd parties are going to have to claim on their own insurance (or pay for their own damage) which isn't likely to go down very well.

[4x4Tyke]

I think the OP is being foolish in giving this friend a free pass on this.

@Qualified lawyers.

Can permission be retrospective?

Could he say he has no objection to the friend borrowing the car, but didn't give him explicit permission beforehand? Which seems to be the case.

Presumable the damage and under the influence actually makes this an aggravated incident.

[Byker28i]

NorthernSky said:

Byker28i said:

Mk1 Mx-5, probably expect a quote of £1k from the insurers?

Agreed value of 1750. Spent easily that again on work done - cosmetic and mechanical, not modified.

Ok reasonable amount but not excessive for your friend to buy a replacement should it be a write off.
For what it's worth I think our light mk1 was better than our heavy Mk3

[Gavia]

4x4Tyke said:

I think the OP is being foolish in giving this friend a free pass on this.

@Qualified lawyers.

Can permission be retrospective?

Could he say he has no objection to the friend borrowing the car, but didn't give him explicit permission beforehand? Which seems to be the case.

Presumable the damage and under the influence actually makes this an aggravated incident.

Why would you give a friend that is t insured on your car permission to drive it? If you’re going to say DOC then that’s a flawed argument, as he clearly doesn’t have that, otherwise he’d be insured.

[Sheepshanks]

Gavia said:

If you’re going to say DOC then that’s a flawed argument, as he clearly doesn’t have that, otherwise he’d be insured.

That's where he'd need the owners permission.

[Toltec]

NorthernSky said:

Yes, this is how I plan to proceed with the whole thing. My question now, I suppose, is how to secure the value of what I stand to lose. I've got that 8 years NCB on a Z4M, let alone my other two cars and a bike. Calculating this value is going to be difficult, and not to mention all the faff & disruption caused.

To answer the question why I am trying to help him - I don't know, maybe it's in my nature to forgive where possible? Does that seem such an outrageous way to feel? I suppose a lot of that hinges on the guy's willingness to accept the heavy financial hit.

Will see the car today or tomorrow and be able to gauge the damage, with any luck some of the useful parts will still be salvageable. Regards to that, what's a mariner blue MK1 worth to a breaker? As someone already mentioned, it may not even be given a look-over by the insurance people .

The NCB for other vehicles is separate, you only lose the NCB on the MX-5, do you have protected NCB? Might affect the premiums on renewals, however I had an £8k theft claim and it has not affected mine too much.

Good luck and respect for being calm and undramatic about this.

[Gavia]

Sheepshanks said:

Gavia said:

If you’re going to say DOC then that’s a flawed argument, as he clearly doesn’t have that, otherwise he’d be insured.

That's where he'd need the owners permission.

Nah, I’m not convinced that the policewould pursue the uninsured angle purely over the lack of permission, of there was DOC in place. They’ve already got him for drink driving, there’s little value in causing misery for the other innocent parked drivers over that technicality

[Escapegoat]

What a mess. Write the whole story to your ins co and let them take it up with your friend.

You live with this friend, I presume? Otherwise he wouldn't have access to the car keys.

Chances that it was stolen after he TWOCed it are slim.

Aside from whatever you do with the ins/police/losses, you need a heart-to-heart. If he can't/won't tell you the whole truth, it's time to move on.

[Paul Dishman]

NorthernSky said:

Byker28i said:

Mk1 Mx-5, probably expect a quote of £1k from the insurers?

Agreed value of 1750. Spent easily that again on work done - cosmetic and mechanical, not modified.

Your friend should have given you a cheque for £2k by now, with more to come once you can work out the future implications for your insurance premiums

[Sheepshanks]

Gavia said:

They’ve already got him for drink driving,

Where does it say that? As I read it, he wasn't caught driving.

[Gavia]

Sheepshanks said:

Gavia said:

They’ve already got him for drink driving,

Where does it say that? As I read it, he wasn't caught driving.

The OP’s friend is claiming that he left the car somewhere and then it was stolen, or that he blacked out. The police are clearly interviewing him about it and he’s coming up with all sorts of cock and bull stories. I reckon the police have got him for that, of course I might be wrong, but I really can’t see the police trying to hang onto such a technicality and all the pain it will cause the other innocent car owners. There is a huge assumption that the OP’s friend has some form of insurance on his own car that has DOC and we don’t even know that he’s got a car of his own either, let alone DOC on the insurance for that.

We’re heading off down a rabbit hole here, that has no value to the discussion.

[Sheepshanks]

Gavia said:

We’re heading off down a rabbit hole here, that has no value to the discussion.

I'm not, but you are - you just made up a ton of stuff.

[hurstg01]

Gavia said:

We’re heading off down a rabbit hole here, that has no value to the discussion.

welcome to Pistonheads

[Gavia]

Sheepshanks said:

Gavia said:

We’re heading off down a rabbit hole here, that has no value to the discussion.

I'm not, but you are - you just made up a ton of stuff.

It started when someone else made up that the OP could give some retrospective catch all permission for his friend to drive so that he could use his DOC. There is no mention anywhere that the friend has his own car, or insurance elsewhere, so I responded to that. You then decided that the lack of permission negated the DOC that probably doesn’t exist. I simply tried to point out some realities.

Either way this adds nothing to the discussion, despite your love of pedantry.

[Sheepshanks]

Gavia said:

It started when someone else made up that the OP could give some retrospective catch all permission for his friend to drive so that he could use his DOC. There is no mention anywhere that the friend has his own car, or insurance elsewhere, so I responded to that. You then decided that the lack of permission negated the DOC that probably doesn’t exist. I simply tried to point out some realities.

Errr….

Gavia said:

They’ve already got him for drink driving,

[Toltec]

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