Advice on owning a stolen car

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loobey1, Oct 17, 8:19pm
We have just found out that my sons car is a stolen vehicle, the police however have handed it back to us as they can't trace it back. So my sons vehicle is now useless, vtnz will not recertify it so we have it to sell as parts or a drift car :(
My question is. has anybody been paid out by their insurance company for this before, the car was perfectly road legal, fully insured, nobody picked up the car was stolen until the police forensics team went through it while in the impound. any help advice would be awesome.

tony9, Oct 17, 8:36pm
Who did he buy it from? They would be accountable for the sale.

- WTNZ won't re-certify
- Police forensics team
- impounded

Clearly another story there.

mrfxit, Oct 17, 8:43pm
Check with a registered vehicle certifier other then vtnz.
Possibly .
The vehicle may need deregistering & then registered as a rebuilt vehicle.
It's possible there is a system set up in place for your situation but I wouldn't be going anywhere near vtnz for info.
Deal direct with NZTA & a local vehicle certifier.

There is 1 nasty catch with a released ex stolen vehicle/ item.
IF . the owner is later found & they want it back, you have to hand it over.

Personally I would probably sell it as parts & recover some cash that way

mrfxit, Oct 17, 8:47pm
Sometimes it's simply too much hassle to track AND convict the thief (murky waters & all that stuff)
Cause of impound has no bearing on the resulting mess
Perhaps the vehicle's original reg has been wiped by insurance.
Insinuation of a Police forensics team, may be a bit of an over statement.as to now much input they had.

Been there done that with a couple of stolen vehicles, each case is different.

coolnzmum, Oct 17, 9:07pm
Reading between the lines with the above plus insurance involvement I take it that the car has been involved in a accident which lead to police impounding it for evidence and cause of accident etc.

Now they want to know if anyone has had insurance paid out in a similar situation i.e for a unknowingly owning a stolen vehicle which was insured and involved in an accident or is their only way to get some money back from vehicle to strip it and sell it for parts.

fordcrzy, Oct 17, 9:17pm
translation: son buys dodgy nissan dorifto car and does skids in it all over town. car is impounded and its discovered its stolen.

supernova2, Oct 17, 9:24pm
Since when have Police just handed back stolen goods? For it to be known to Police as stolen there must be a record of who reported it stolen etc in their system and they should have returned it to the legal owner. No need to "trace it back". Police would only want to "trace it" if they were prosecuting for receiving etc but that is entirely separate to giving the car back to the rightful owner.

Must be lots more to this story.

kazbanz, Oct 17, 10:11pm
loobey There is something or a lot missing from your story I'm sorry.
So at "some point" your sons car was stolen. Gottit
The police have returned it because that issue has been rectified ?
So are you saying the collection of components the car is made of has never been legal in NZ? IE several stolen components or stolen chasis.
Are you saying that the insurance company have actually deregistered the car and the plates are still on it?
On what grounds are VTNZ refusing to recertify the car? Or are they simply refusing to just wright it up and require a full inspection?
Why was the car in impound?

loobey1, Oct 17, 11:38pm
Wow people, story is as stated.
Son bought a car months ago. is fully insured has current wof and rego, yes car was impounded when son was caught skidding. I'm not asking for sympathy or hiding anything here, I'm just asking if anyone has any experience with this sort of thing, as clearly we havnt.
While car was impounded, the police forensics team went through car, as apparantely they do every four weeks focusing on boy racer cars.
Police cannot trace back past when plates were changed in 2009. Therefore no prosecution, no court, car has been handed back to son. end of story.
I'm not sure why vtnz refuses to re certify said vehicle, we have just been told that they won't, so car is either good to sell for parts or sell as drift car.
I was purely asking for the fact that as it's been I suppose 'written off' and is fully insured, would insurance pay out or help out.
That's all there is to story! Fact the car was impounded adds nothing.

loobey1, Oct 17, 11:40pm
As someone has else explained, there's actually no evidence it's a stolen car, yes numbers have been changed, no way to identify this vehicle now, hence it being handed back

tgray, Oct 17, 11:52pm
What is it and what plate had been on it all these years?

loobey1, Oct 17, 11:59pm
Skyline. Not mentioning number plates, on car jam it's still all legit

intrade, Oct 18, 12:03am
so whats the issue the vin dont maches the plates or what exactly

kazbanz, Oct 18, 12:07am
Sorry Loobey-YOU aren't being given all the facts
Sorry if that seems harsh but it is that simple.
VTNZ etc don't just refuse to recomply a car.
Theres always a reason.
They most likely haven't refused -more likely theres so much wrong with the car its uneconomical to sort it out.
There may well be a solution to your problem.
The only way we can offer you advice is with that information.
I get roughly 15-30 cars a month complied.
On thought is that the chasis number on the firewall has never been complied in NZ or is entered on the register as stolen. Then the question is--What is the CORRECT chasis number and can it be reinstated?

gwimweeper, Oct 18, 12:09am
Perhaps the owner should go back and ask VTNZ why they won't re-certify the car ?

VTNZ must have a reason and it seems unreasonable for them to not tell the owner.

loobey1, Oct 18, 12:25am
Yes gwimweeper, we will be doing just that, asking why it can't be re certified or whatever they do. Car must be up to standard as I've said it has current wof.
In my head I was just thinking if the car has been "written off" as such, would insurance pay out something

brapbrap8, Oct 18, 1:00am
Highly unlikely, since it was technically "written off" when you purchased it.

vtecintegra, Oct 18, 1:38am
That isn't how things work.

tgray, Oct 18, 1:51am
The VIN number must be entered into the system to get a WOF, so that hasn't been scratched off then.
That's a good start.

vivac, Oct 18, 1:56am
Sounds like its been rebirthed and you have been left with the baby.
To think your son would have likely owned it and then sold it on with no issue if he didn't get it impounded.

loobey1, Oct 18, 2:14am
Yup vicac, and that is exactly what he was going to do. Thanks for the helpful comments people

2get1, Oct 18, 2:58am
doubt an insurance company will pay out. "written off" as you mention is written off the roads, out of the books. The "written off" insurance companies pay out on is when the car is involved in an accident and the cost of repairs exceeds the set percentage of the value of the vehicle, they then "write if off" as being a total loss and uneconomical to repair. You are talking two totally different types of "written off" and the insurance company wont pay out lol if they did every punk with an insured car that gets a pink sticker and ordered off the road would want to claim insurance lol

loobey1, Oct 18, 5:08am
we had this happen to us some years back. Car was purchased by visitors to NZ - we purchase from them, they were going to Oz. then police took it as it was from a stolen car ring in Chch. It was dark blue should have been light blue. car dealers involved in Chch. was in papers at time insurance paid us and took car from police. Funny some months later we go a speeding ticket on Anzac Day in Chch - we live Auckland - police had used plate in an undercover sting and it was them got ticket, plate was on a white van - we got off it, just as well

^^^^^^ this from another thread, so here's hoping we are this lucky too.
2get1 I think it's sad that you find someone else's misfortune so funny, wonder whether you would still find it funny if it happened to you.

gunhand, Oct 18, 5:40am
Who did your son buy this car off?
Was it to cheap to be real?
Why was he about to sell it again so soon?
Why was he doing skids?
Had he not been doing that no one would be the wiser it seems?
Actions have consequences for all of us, fortunate or unfortunate.
Will insurance pay out? Don't know myself but if the whole deal was done, all checks made and car was at the stage of purchase legit well you never know.
Did it have a current WOF, If so it's in some system being correct and at least at that time it was safe.
Must say, interesting situation you have here. I'm sure all will be interested in outcome.

daryl14, Oct 18, 6:43am
The cynic in me is saying that this poor young son who races around in a stolen skyline and gets his car impounded is not exactly being straight up with dear old dad, and dear old dad is too blind to question angelic young son's actions or get all the facts out of him.