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STOLEN - Blue 1987 Mini City E731 CPD - Southall **Now found**


Angrydicky

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Small update, the Mini is in a police pound in Northants, and when it was stopped it was on false plates. Sadly this copper didn't know any more than that, having not seen the car. He did say the insurance company would have to collect it - so she is going to call them tomorrow and let them know where it is - and also venture the question about buying it back subject to price and condition.

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On one of those cop shows the police spotted some tit in a golf weaving in and out of traffic at speed on a ring road late at night so they pulled him over, nervous, smelled of cannabis so they asked him to open the boot which he was reluctant to do

 

Thousands of pounds worth of it in there

 

Smart criminals have better things to do I guess.

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Oh, and the driver was wanted for a string of offences, including aggravated burglary. When he was stopped he gave a false name, he was then found out and arrested, and officers found the car was stolen when they carried out checks on it

Don't know if he was one of the two who nicked it yet - but it doesn't sound like it's been sold on to a poor unsuspecting Mini enthusiast!

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  • 4 weeks later...

Has anyone here been in this situation before with a car now in the hands of the insurance company, and what to offer them to buy it back?

So far they've refused to let us see it, and Saturday the owner received a letter from the insurance, asking her to enclose her offer for the car in writing. The only additional information we have is that 'the door lock is broken' Helpful*

From looking around online it seems that the usual figure is between 10-20% of the settlement amount.

The owner is going to phone the insurance co today and ask again for the engineer's report and photos which so far have failed to materialise, or the opportunity to go and have a look at it. We don't even know where in the country it's being kept now, which could have a bearing on how much it costs to get it recovered home.

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I’ve not been in exactly the same position but years ago, when someone keyed my light metallic blue 205 1.6GTI I was offered £1350 and bought back at the salvage value of £135, so 10%.

 

I’d reckon that 10% of your friend’s payout should crack it.

 

Edit: wish I could buy a 1.6GTI for £1350 now!

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Never been in this position, but could you not go back to the Insurance company and advise that you will be wanting to see the car first, and the claim payout will take into account that you have the car back.

ie that way the car is still on their books and storage etc, until you cash the cheque from them. (with you keeping the car)

 

Aware that's not worded very well, but in a rush.. Hopefully you get the jist

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If they have paid out for the car, then the vehicle should be able to be bought back for scrap value. Once it's paid out, the vehicle is written off and that's that. I've never heard of an insurance company paying out for a vehicle and then trying to sell the remains on the open market (IE for more than scrap).

 

Given the value of steel at the moment, £100 should cover it.

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Insurance companies aren't daft these days. They'll be fully aware of the value of the vehicle, given the payout price... if it's still good, salvageable and easily repaired, they will be looking to recoup as much as possible within reason. The estimates being mentioned here are for total loss... salvage cars (breakers in my mind). My last total loss the insurance company asked for more than I was prepared to pay... Regarding the mini. The insurance company will have a price in mind. Request a viewing, or at least find out where it is. That way you can speak with someone regarding its present condition. A total shagged mini as a breaker is worth a few hundred... so if it's any way solid, salvageable, I'd be prepared to pay a few hundred... if I wanted it back.

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If you can get it for three or four hundred, you can flick it on again for multiples of that. So if you decide you don’t want it anymore you will have no bother at all shifting it.

 

For once you want to find similar aged ones which are in poor condition with low prices so you can “justify” your low figure to the insurers!

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Has anyone here been in this situation before with a car now in the hands of the insurance company, and what to offer them to buy it back?

So far they've refused to let us see it, and Saturday the owner received a letter from the insurance, asking her to enclose her offer for the car in writing.

 

We don't even know where in the country it's being kept now, which could have a bearing on how much it costs to get it recovered home.

 

In my experience they will do everything to stop you getting back. 

 

The Insurance and the Salvage Industry work off each other have it all sown-up. 

 

You won't see it again

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Maybe not, but so far the chap she's been dealing with at the insurance co has been very helpful, so we'll see.

 

After another call, the engineer's report and photographs have finally materialised. 

 

It doesn't look that bad, all things considered.

 

It's still Lipari Blue and still on its steel wheels.

The original hubcaps have gone, and it's got wheeltrims from a later Mini on the front.

The parking permits and rear window sticker have been removed in a (very poor) attempt to disguise it.

The rusty bits have got worse, and the paint is very flat.

The drivers door lock is still mangled from the theft.

The ignition barrel has been replaced with a secondhand one from an earlier Mini, complete with the BL key.

The front seats have been replaced with grey velour headrest type ones. Not sure about the back seat.

The mileage is, we think, less than 500 miles more than when it was stolen.

 

It's in a Copart yard and the insurance co is going to ask them how much they will offer, and compare the price to our offer. Apparently.

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The problem with it being in a Copart yard is that the insurance company will want to cover the cost of recovery and storage, at least. So on paper Copart could say you owe us £800 and we'll pay £800 for it, the insurance company will just be glad to have avoivded paying out any more.

Chances are you might be able to buy it from Copart for less than the insurance company will want . When my Chrysler 300 was written off they offered the salvage to me for £1400, which coincidentally was what my mate was charging them for recovery and secure storage( which we split anyway). I didn't bother because in addition to having a big Merc A Class shaped hole in the backend, the gearbox was on the way out.

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What a very odd theft.  I'm not sure if they were daft or clever to change what they did and barely use it (assuming they didn't disconnect the speedo, of course).  It's good to see that it's recovered but frustrating that the owner can't just have their car back and instead has to wait on other people sorting out who is owed what before it's released.  Ideal ending is the owner getting the car back and putting it back to how it was without too much grief (on the assumption that's what they want to do).  It's so odd to see it sat there looking no worse than a little scruffy and mismatched, I'd really expected to see this all bashed up and visually badly treated, aside from missing wheel trims, naturally.

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What a very odd theft.  I'm not sure if they were daft or clever to change what they did and barely use it (assuming they didn't disconnect the speedo, of course).  It's good to see that it's recovered but frustrating that the owner can't just have their car back and instead has to wait on other people sorting out who is owed what before it's released.  Ideal ending is the owner getting the car back and putting it back to how it was without too much grief (on the assumption that's what they want to do).  It's so odd to see it sat there looking no worse than a little scruffy and mismatched, I'd really expected to see this all bashed up and visually badly treated, aside from missing wheel trims, naturally.

Whilst it would be upsetting and frustrating to be in this situation, you have to remember that the "owner" already has their car back, ie. the insurance company. Presumably a full payout was made by the insurance company, which means the previous owner has no legal claim to their former pride and joy and any offers to sell it back is just an act of courtesy by the insurance company( oh, and to try and get something back !)

As far as the insurance co. is concerned , this turning up is a pain in the arse they could well do without. Police recovery and storage costs, Copart recovery and storage costs, admin costs, possibly sending someone to a trial etc- all this on top of what they've paid out.

I must be getting old, never thought I'd be sticking up for The Man!!!

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Well it’s a Mini, they are worth silly money in almost any condition and if there are any flattened sills, well it probably needs new ones by now anyway. And you know you have the skillz to pay the sparkly stick billz.

 

If it were me I would make an offer to try and keep it with a view to selling on for additional profit if my heart wasn’t in it. I think I would be tempted to go to something like £500-£800 for it, knowing i could get twice or thrice that on the bay all day long.

 

They have feelings too. This car needs you Dicky! And if your GF was attached to it, it’s a mercy mission on her behalf (many many brownie points up for grabs)

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Great news the ProperMini™ has been recovered, seemingly in pretty good nick still.

As others have said, I’d imagine the payout reflected the solid market value of ProperMinis, so the car now turning up is a further bonus. What you offer all depends on how much you want it back, I guess. If someone stole my MR2, I’d be genuinely gutted that my plaything of three years had gone, and that I’d probably never see it again.

Having said that, if it then turned up 12 months later with someone else’s sweaty arse marks on the driver’s seat, I reckon I’d be in two minds whether it would ever feel like my car again.

Actually, after brief further reflection, I’d still have it back, even with pillage marks on it.

If you like your old car, dig deep into that healthy payout, and make an offer which can’t be refused.

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Unfortunately the payout went long ago! We have made an offer and are waiting to see if it's accepted. Money is tight for both of us at the moment so I'm going to be selling some tools and garage equipment I rarely use which will hopefully cover the cost. 

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Great news the ProperMini™ has been recovered, seemingly in pretty good nick still.

As others have said, I’d imagine the payout reflected the solid market value of ProperMinis, so the car now turning up is a further bonus. What you offer all depends on how much you want it back, I guess. If someone stole my MR2, I’d be genuinely gutted that my plaything of three years had gone, and that I’d probably never see it again.

Having said that, if it then turned up 12 months later with someone else’s sweaty arse marks on the driver’s seat, I reckon I’d be in two minds whether it would ever feel like my car again.

Actually, after brief further reflection, I’d still have it back, even with pillage marks on it.

If you like your old car, dig deep into that healthy payout, and make an offer which can’t be refused.

I had this with an Opel Manta I had stolen

Got it all sorted with the insurance but then it turned up at a metal recycling plant 12mths later

I actually went down posing as a buyer for the interior,checked it was my old motor then popped to the local nick to inform them

They seized it,stuck into storage but the insurance company didn't want anything to do with it

I arranged to buy it back at the cost of all the storage/recovery,about £250 after a few days

Once i got it back it got stuck in my unit and left for a bit

Ended up selling it as my heart just wasn't in it anymore,mainly due to the damage she'd picked up from forklifting it around...

post-8026-0-00496700-1529433611_thumb.jpg

post-8026-0-13201300-1529433619_thumb.jpg

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Unfortunately the payout went long ago! We have made an offer and are waiting to see if it's accepted. Money is tight for both of us at the moment so I'm going to be selling some tools and garage equipment I rarely use which will hopefully cover the cost.

Without meaning to sound to vulturous, what garage equipment might you be parting with? Drop me a pm if you'd prefer.

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