Stolen & recovered car - safe to drive?
Discussion
Anyone know the procedure for establishing if a stolen & recovered car is safe to drive?
My elderly mothers Fiesta was stolen when her house was burgled recently. It was recovered by the police a few days later and the insurance company are paying for its repairs. My mother went to view it today at the repair centre and theres quite a lot of body damage. Im concerned that it might not be safe to drive as theres no real way of knowing if things like suspension might be damaged.
Ive suggested she part ex's it against a another car just to be safe, and it will surely be classed as a stolen recovered by the insurance company, hiking up next years premium?
My elderly mothers Fiesta was stolen when her house was burgled recently. It was recovered by the police a few days later and the insurance company are paying for its repairs. My mother went to view it today at the repair centre and theres quite a lot of body damage. Im concerned that it might not be safe to drive as theres no real way of knowing if things like suspension might be damaged.
Ive suggested she part ex's it against a another car just to be safe, and it will surely be classed as a stolen recovered by the insurance company, hiking up next years premium?
LeadFarmer said:
...the insurance company are paying for its repairs. My mother went to view it today at the repair centre and theres quite a lot of body damage. Im concerned that it might not be safe to drive as theres no real way of knowing if things like suspension might be damaged.
Do you not think that the insurer's repairer might just check that?I'm guessing it must be a fairly new Fiesta, otherwise that much body damage would surely tip it into write-off territory.
Come on, use some common sense
1. Take it on a slow-speed run out for her. Plan a route with a bit of compression and you would notice if there was any significant damage to the essentials. Of course look it over visually and inspect for the essentials tyre and alloy damage etc before you go out because any suspension damage would be accompanies by one if not both.
2. Put it through an MOT if you like and red_slr said flag the previous use. Its peanuts but check anything which is flagged
3. Encourage her to get on with it and consider how you act or she'll worry herself unnecessarily perhaps.
Worth also thinking about how many modern cars are ragged and survive. They're not as fragile as you think. Don't let the b
ds win etc.
1. Take it on a slow-speed run out for her. Plan a route with a bit of compression and you would notice if there was any significant damage to the essentials. Of course look it over visually and inspect for the essentials tyre and alloy damage etc before you go out because any suspension damage would be accompanies by one if not both.
2. Put it through an MOT if you like and red_slr said flag the previous use. Its peanuts but check anything which is flagged
3. Encourage her to get on with it and consider how you act or she'll worry herself unnecessarily perhaps.
Worth also thinking about how many modern cars are ragged and survive. They're not as fragile as you think. Don't let the b
ds win etc.How much is an 'engineers report' these days? I remember needing one for the modified XR2 I bought as a first car in 1992 as requested by the insurance company at the time....and it ended up uncovering that it was about 3 smashed up cars pieced together 
(sigh) . I recall it being very thorough.
(sigh) . I recall it being very thorough.I would have thought checking the suspension,steering etc for damage would be part of the insurance repair job. If its not contact the insurance company and demand it. Lets face it its the insurance company and/or the garages responsibility to ensure that the car is roadworthy. The other thing to consider is unseen and unknown damage. I bet the engine has been thrashed,clutch burned,gears crashed, all that sort of stuff.
After saying all this I bet your mum will feel uncomfortable having that car back,knowing some smelly toe rag has been up to all sorts in her pride and joy.
I think she will be a lot more happy in a nice new car.
After saying all this I bet your mum will feel uncomfortable having that car back,knowing some smelly toe rag has been up to all sorts in her pride and joy.
I think she will be a lot more happy in a nice new car.
LeadFarmer said:
It is a fairly new car. I have no idea how thorough the checks will be, but an insurance company will surely spend the minimum amount possible of repairing it.
The repairer will tell the insurance company of absolutely everything that needs doing to the car, that's the business that they are in. The insurance company will control costs by having an agreed labour rate and parts discount with the suppliers. It's then up to the insurance company to decide whether it's worth spending the money or to write the car off.As long as you are satisfied that the bodyshop is reputable and accept that sometimes on a big job some rework may be necessary, even from the best companies.
Old Merc said:
I would have thought checking the suspension,steering etc for damage would be part of the insurance repair job. If its not contact the insurance company and demand it. Lets face it its the insurance company and/or the garages responsibility to ensure that the car is roadworthy. The other thing to consider is unseen and unknown damage. I bet the engine has been thrashed,clutch burned,gears crashed, all that sort of stuff.
This. The repairs will include everything necessary to bring the car back to roadworthy condition, not just the visible stuff. Bodyshops do far more than visible dents and paint, and can perform accurate geometry checks and correction. If it's a reputable insurer and body shop, the car will be perfectly safe to drive.
Any decision to move it on will be more emotionally driven (completely understandably) than logical.
I understand your concerns, I really do. I have always said if I had a car stolen, I'd want it to disappear permanently, or be found written off (preferably with the remains of the thief inside 
) but from a purely logical point of view, something which is easy to take when you're outside of the situation, unless it was driven with the intention of deliberately damaging it (held on the limiter for minutes at a time, downshifted to 2nd at 100 mph etc), the mechanical stuff is almost certainly going to be fine. The clutch may have suffered if there were lots of hard launches involved, but that is likely to be it. It's a gently tuned engine with a comprehensive management system that will protect it from over-revving or being driven beyond design parameters.
You asked if the car was safe to drive. Assuming we are talking about a reputable insurer using a reputable repair centre, it will be. But I take your point, I wouldn't want the car back either.
) but from a purely logical point of view, something which is easy to take when you're outside of the situation, unless it was driven with the intention of deliberately damaging it (held on the limiter for minutes at a time, downshifted to 2nd at 100 mph etc), the mechanical stuff is almost certainly going to be fine. The clutch may have suffered if there were lots of hard launches involved, but that is likely to be it. It's a gently tuned engine with a comprehensive management system that will protect it from over-revving or being driven beyond design parameters.You asked if the car was safe to drive. Assuming we are talking about a reputable insurer using a reputable repair centre, it will be. But I take your point, I wouldn't want the car back either.
LeadFarmer said:
Its probably been driven to an inch of its life, with possible undetectable issues
The clue is in that penultimate word.LeadFarmer said:
but Im guessing once she accepts the car then any future mechanical failures/problems caused by how it was driven when stolen can never be proven, and my mum will be liable for the costs.
Well, yes. If she can't show they were caused by the theft - and she can't, because they simply aren't detectible now - then they're her problem.The only other alternative is simply to scrap every car that's ever stolen.
Not stolen - but my old dear's fiesta was t boned by a drunk driver at three years old - I was convinced - nay hopeful it would be written off as the entire sill was bent inwards by a couple of inches and there was visible deformation of the roof - but no - was taken to an insurance approved repairer - and a month later was delivered back absolutely pristine - with panel gaps way better than ford ever managed....
I was all for getting shot but the old dear kept hold of it - 6 years later she still has it and it'd been perfect (for a fiesta)....
So to echo other's comments the insurer's / repairers are obliged to carry out all necessary repairs to restore road worthiness - and you may be luck and find out it's better than it was!!
... having said all that , and a long time ago my Nova GTE came back from a insurance approved repair like a dogs dinner - with missing parts and a couple of thousand extra miles...... was the early nineties then!!!
I was all for getting shot but the old dear kept hold of it - 6 years later she still has it and it'd been perfect (for a fiesta)....
So to echo other's comments the insurer's / repairers are obliged to carry out all necessary repairs to restore road worthiness - and you may be luck and find out it's better than it was!!
... having said all that , and a long time ago my Nova GTE came back from a insurance approved repair like a dogs dinner - with missing parts and a couple of thousand extra miles...... was the early nineties then!!!
My car was stolen then found week later with £8k worth of damage after a bank robbery job.
Nothing on the hpi report to say its been stolen.
My car came back from the repairers better than it once was except the back window does not go up and down as smoothly.
I have driven the car 12000 miles since it was stolen and nothing mechanical has failed.
However i now have disabled the obd port, fit a steering lock, park my wifes car every time possible in front of my car and bought a dog.
Nothing on the hpi report to say its been stolen.
My car came back from the repairers better than it once was except the back window does not go up and down as smoothly.
I have driven the car 12000 miles since it was stolen and nothing mechanical has failed.
However i now have disabled the obd port, fit a steering lock, park my wifes car every time possible in front of my car and bought a dog.
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