Would you want a stolen car back?

[shed driver]

I was thinking after reading this topic http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
and I wondered if my car was stolen, would I want it back?

Personally, I wouldn't - I don't know how it was treated, driven etc. This may change if I had something very exotic or it had sentimental value, but at present my car is just a lump of replaceable metal.

SD.

[thinfourth2]

I'd like to have a car worth stealing

[LuS1fer]

You could say the same of any second-hand car, you have no idea to what degree it's been abused and not all stolen cars are abused, just used as runabouts or pool cars.

[Big Fat Fatty]

True, but I still wouldn't. A car of mine was broken into and the stereo stuff pinched, I gave it away as I didn't want to drive it again. It was scrapped 18 months later by the new owner.

[HustleRussell]

If it's condition is pretty much as it was when it was taken- the only other option is to run the 'used car' gauntlet and hope it's as good as the one it replaced.
Better the devil you know and all that.

[nottyash]

No
As I put on the other thread.
I really cant see the point in paying for a tracker each month, to assist insurance companies find my car which will be thrashed, damaged etc for them to save money fixing it (and we all know they are never the same) bump up my insurance and loose my NCB for helping them get the thing back in the first place.
Keep the car, give me the money, I will take the hit for insurance that way
Those that say its cheaper insurance with a tracker are not always correct. Shop around, as not all insurance companies insist on it.

Edited by nottyash on Wednesday 5th September 11:18

[tbc]

I would but i'd want the insurance money if it had been crashed

then I could buy it back for buttons and fix it myself

still be quids in

p.s.- i'd obviously have to deep clean and fumigate it of all things chavvy and underclass

[Krikkit]

My current car, yes, because its sentimental value is immense. A daily snotter or something easily replaceable? No thanks.

[StottyZr]

LuS1fer said:

You could say the same of any second-hand car, you have no idea to what degree it's been abused and not all stolen cars are abused, just used as runabouts or pool cars.

I'd say it is a lot more likely that a stolen car will have been driven in a way that you would dislike compared to a usual second hand car.

Personally, I would not want mine back.

[TheTurbonator]

No. I had my motorbike stolen in 2008 and when they found it, I was hoping the damage would be significant enough for them to write it off, which it was.

It would have never felt like it was mine again, after somebody had abused and tainted it like that. At least when a car has previous owners, you know to some degree that they would have cared and looked after it, after spending X amount of pounds buying it.

[dogzilla]

Some of you are far too sentimental.

It comes down to the condition of the car for me. There's a big difference between a boy racer or a car nicked by criminals to use in other crime. In which case if it's been ragged and fked up, I'd be a lot less happy to have it back..

If the car is being stolen to be sold and is in the same condition as before, I'd have no problem taking it back. The idea they could have ragged it doesn't bother me assuming it's still in good working order..but I'm prone to ragging my own cars anyway.

So it just comes down to the condition and circumstance of the car, rather than some silly feeling that the car has been "tainted".

[Face for Radio]

Drive it like you stole it, is often quoted for a reason.

[Captain Muppet]

When my bike was recovered the engine was running rough, lumpy idle and vibrating like mad. Try getting the insurance to pay for the parts and labour on that.

They didn't. So I sold it. No insurance settlement and I lost quite a bit of money as I had to be honest when selling it. It wasn't an economic repair given my level of spannership at the time.

I don't want my stuff back if someone else has had a chance to ruin it.
I just want my money and a chance to remove their larynx with an adz.

[Big Fat Fatty]

Say, hypothetically, your car was stolen and recovered in the same condition you left it in. If you tried to sell it, would you have to declare it had been stolen and recovered and would that affect the price you'd get for it?

[NormalWisdom]

Having had 4 cars stolen over the years with a 50% recovery rate and of the 50% recovered only 50% I wanted back (Mitsi VR4 which was toiletted around a field after having had the ignition loom bastardised).

Therefore, only 25% likely ;-)

[SirSamuelBuca]

for me I would want my Renault 5 gt turbo back as i would use the parts in a new r5 turbo.

If i had a 335d remapped that had been stolen then no i would not want it back

[chris7676]

NormalWisdom said:

Having had 4 cars stolen over the years with a 50% recovery rate and of the 50% recovered only 50% I wanted back (Mitsi VR4 which was toiletted around a field after having had the ignition loom bastardised).
Therefore, only 25% likely ;-)

4 cars stolen ? How many cars have you had?
Or where do you live?

[Carfiend]

Nope as I would be worried about picking up scumittus from the residual scum left on the seat by the scummy scum bag who took it.

Did I mention car thieves are scum?

[Ingolstadt]

It would depend on the car and condition.

If my current daily driver was stolen, then no, I wouldn't want it back.

If one of the Quattro's I'd owned in the past had been stolen, then as long as it hadn't been crashed, then hell yeah I'd want it back. If it had just been used and abused, then I'd pay for a deep clean of the interior and a full going over by a Quattro specialist.

[Doofus]

I stole a Porshce a while back. The police took it off me, but I'd happily have it back, yes.