VIN Plates Removed - Can Car Go Back on Road?

[jap-car]

I'm thinking of buying a car which was allegedly stolen and then recovered (I'm not sure if it was insured at the time or not). The VIN plates etc have been removed. Obviously, I'd have to be pretty careful here but if the above story is true, can the car be legally put back on the road or is it good only for spares?

Thanks,

Robert.

[jap-car]

I think all ID has been removed!

[jap-car]

Hi,

It's a private sale currently on ebay. It's a strange situation in that the seller claims he bought the car as a project, needing a new engine. (I'm sure this is true as as I saw the car in autotrader about a month ago). The owner then removed the engine but he says that at this point the car was stolen and recovered but that all ID was removed. This sounds rather odd as how /why would you steal a car with no engine? (it's not particularly rare or valuable). I don't expect the car was insured at the time it was stolen.

Anyway, I thought I might pick up a bargain here but it's only of use if there is some cheap / practical way of replacing the ID on the vehicle hence I haven't asked the seller any more details as yet, but if I were to consider the car any further, I would be asking lots of questions obviously.

Oh and I'm not in the trade.

Thanks for your help.

Robert

[jap-car]

Muncher said:

WALK AWAY

That was my first reaction but I could get a really good bargain.

If the story is true, how would I go about reassigning identity? Is there any official guidance?

[jap-car]

Thanks everyone. If I do take this further then I'll let you all know what exactly is required.

Cheers,

Robert