I thought it could never happen to me....

[Egg Chaser]

Good to know that you got your money back. It goes to show there are still some good people out there, many people wouldn't have done the same. As mentioned, you should give the bloke a reward, I think he deserves it.

[RZ1]

Very lucky

Interesting to find out what will happen to the car now

[Beyond Rational]

Ozzie Osmond said:

Lets Torque said:

Hats off to the guy though for handing the money back as soon as it was confirmed it was a 'ringer' and then driving your family back to your house.

Or maybe he wasn't really surprised at all and simply didn't want any trouble from the police?

After all, who's he going to sell it to now.....

Taking it to the body shop to have it confirmed doesn't seem to be the actions of someone who already knew it was dodgy.

[Diabolik]

I wouldn't be surprised at yourself for not spotting it, I'm sure some of these jobs are very well done.

And about the guy being a top bloke for refunding you - I'm sure that's the least he should do, being a decent guy after all. I think if it was the other way round and he was refusing a refund, people would be explaining how it is shocking that he wouldn't refund you...

[Ozzie Osmond]

Beyond Rational said:

Taking it to the body shop to have it confirmed doesn't seem to be the actions of someone who already knew it was dodgy.

Maybe. Either way he faces a number of problems,

• Once he confirms - what next?
• You can't generally "buy" stolen goods. Ownership remains with whoever's car was nicked.
• If it's not nicked but simply a re-construction of several crashed cars the car is unsaleable.

[Jasandjules]

Wow, you were seriously lucky.

1. You hose off the cover
2. You bought a car from a seriously honest and decent bloke

[k-ink]

A proper vin check is the first thing I do before I buy!

[buggalugs]

The cynic in me thinks it's probably already back on eBay! I mean the guy is hardly going to go 'ah bugger, hoped you wouldn't notice mate' is he...

[LukeBird]

k-ink said:

A proper vin check is the first thing I do before I buy!

Well in fairness to the OP, that's exactly what he thought he had done.

I echo the comments over the trader though, certainly seems like a decent bloke to refund your money no quibble.

[northandy]

buggalugs said:

The cynic in me thinks it's probably already back on eBay! I mean the guy is hardly going to go 'ah bugger, hoped you wouldn't notice mate' is he...

Your not the only one that's cynical.

[robsco]

Have you checked the money he gave you back isn't counterfeit?

[sjmoore]

The Crack Fox said:

Sounds like the guy you bought from is a gent, you could have been stuck with the damn thing.

Don't wish to be cynical but perhaps seller and previous owner were working together and wonder whether car will resurface for sale. I only say that because I bought my first car (cheap Nissan Sunny) from a local garage. Had no idea what I was doing. But after purchase I took it to a proper Nissan garage for an inspection. They said it had been in a big accident and badly repaired and probably unsafe to drive (the only thing I can say in my defence is that I only had £1500 to spend and everything I looked at was s***/knackered but at least a Sunny had a reputation for being reliable). Armed with evidence I went back to the dealer who apologised profusely "I would have never sold the car had I known, blah, blah, blah". Gave me my money back on the spot. However, a few weeks later (after having bought something else) I drove past the garage...and saw that "my" Sunny was back on sale for £100 less!!

[Deva Link]

va1o said:

Could have been a lot worse! Odd that the real VIN didn't show as stolen.

Isn't it a bit weird that neither VIN showed anything untowards? What could have happened to the vehicle that the replacement VIN came from?

[buzzer]

Deva Link said:

va1o said:

Could have been a lot worse! Odd that the real VIN didn't show as stolen.

Isn't it a bit weird that neither VIN showed anything untowards? What could have happened to the vehicle that the replacement VIN came from?

Yes, I was wondering that... been thinking about how it could have happened, I cant think of any rational explanation...

As for the seller and the previous owner knowing about it... I really don't think so. the reaction of the guy that had had it for 10 years was utter shock, you could see it in his face. he had replaced it with a Z4.

I will be keeping an eye out for it on Ebay and AutoTrader...

[gareth.e]

poing said:

Got to be worth sending a nice bottle of wine or something to the guy you bought it from for being honest enough to return your money. Sounds like he's just a victim as well and he was a true gent in the way he dealt with it all.

+1

[buzzer]

gareth.e said:

poing said:

Got to be worth sending a nice bottle of wine or something to the guy you bought it from for being honest enough to return your money. Sounds like he's just a victim as well and he was a true gent in the way he dealt with it all.

+1

Yes, I will be doing this... I am over that way in a weeks time, I will drop a bottle of something nice in to him

Will also drive past the other guys house to see if the car is still there!

[TRUENOSAM]

Nice to hear that there is still some honest folk out there.

Why would both VIN's be clean though?

[james_gt3rs]

robsco said:

Have you checked the money he gave you back isn't counterfeit?

[bigandclever]

james_gt3rs said:

robsco said:

Have you checked the money he gave you back isn't counterfeit?

Good job he doesn't know you have few grand at home on a bank holiday weekend, and where you live

[buzzer]

bigandclever said:

james_gt3rs said:

robsco said:

Have you checked the money he gave you back isn't counterfeit?

Good job he doesn't know you have few grand at home on a bank holiday weekend, and where you live

well If he comes for it I hope he brings some good cutting gear... its in a whacking big safe that has 4 massive rawl bolts into a solid concrete floor!