Bought damaged car from finance company, later reported stolen by previous owner, police recovered! Who owns car??

[litl.dawn]

Hello,

 

Someone brought a damaged car to the garage my boyf owns for fixing. After fixing the car the owner never returned and he was unable to contact the guy on the number given. After about 2 months he HPI the car and found it was still under finance, so he contcted the finance company only to be told that they were interested in the car and they intended to collect. Negotiations took place and my boyf paid the remainding finance, less the cost of work already paid and gave the car to me as a gift.

 

Last weekend we went to the DVLA to put a cherish number plate on the car only to be told this would not be possible due to the car being stolen!

 

We were told to go to the nearest police station to sort it out because all our paperwork was in order. At the station they were unable to take the car off the register but gave us a crime reference number and sent us on our way - with the car! Turns out the previous owner has reported the car stolen 6 months before.

 

Within this 6 months, i have been able to tax the car on line! Have it MOT and drive around in it never been stopped or made aware of the prob. Even the HPI didnt pick up that it was stolen.

 

The next day, the police arrived with a recovery van and took the car, despite saying we were ok to drive it the day before.

 

Not sure where i stand, its been 2 days now and i haven't heard anything despite several calls to local station. What are my chances of getting the car back? Who does it legally belong to?

[Conniff]

After six months the insurers would have paid out on it.

 

Get in touch with the finance company, they sound like your best bet.

 

As he has the V5, he must know who the last owner was. If he has legal cover on his insurance, ask them to investigate this for you.

[wannabedebtfreesoon]

Call me cynical, but I suspect the person who bought the car in to be fixed was the owner. Sounds like he had the car on finance, crashed it then reported it stolen to claim on the insurance. Have you got a date when it was reported stolen compared to when it was bought into the garage???

[beyondhope]

Call me cynical, but I suspect the person who bought the car in to be fixed was the owner. Sounds like he had the car on finance, crashed it then reported it stolen to claim on the insurance. Have you got a date when it was reported stolen compared to when it was bought into the garage???

 

I also thought this along the lines of if the excess was lower than the cost to repair....

[jokie1980]

If the insurance company has paid out and it is 6 months down the line, Doesn't this sort of make it a CAT D write off and the legal ownership of the vehicle lies with the current registered keeper. If the Police have took it, it is purely to " preserve evdience" so that in the instance that something is a miss, then the car cannot go missing again. I think you will probably get it back, might take some time but I think you will.

 

As said in previous replies, Get in touch with you insurance company for the legal assistance that you pay for with your premium and get them to help deal with it. Keep on it though, simply because if you leave it, it will probably be put to the bottom of the pile.