Stolen/recovered

[Pez]

Hey folks

I'm looking at buying an S3 and saw one on Ebay that looked good for the price (I know, bit of a warning sign)...

The ad said stolen/recovered. Is there any way of finding out details? If it was stolen with keys then as long as eveything is legit now I can't really see a problem? If it was stolen and there was damage there might be issues.

I know that resale value would be lower because this is on the car's history, but providing I get a decent price in the first place I'm ok with that.

This is the ad.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264306927898?ul_noapp=true

Thoughts?

 

[mikep99]

Hi,

First thing I'd do is see what its been recorded as, it'll be either CAT N (was D) or CAT S (was C).
Have a look here - https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/know-how/what-is-an-insurance-write-off/

Then take things from there...

HTH

Mike

 

[Bristle Hound]

Hey folks

I'm looking at buying an S3 and saw one on Ebay that looked good for the price (I know, bit of a warning sign)...

The ad said stolen/recovered. Is there any way of finding out details? If it was stolen with keys then as long as eveything is legit now I can't really see a problem? If it was stolen and there was damage there might be issues.

I know that resale value would be lower because this is on the car's history, but providing I get a decent price in the first place I'm ok with that.

This is the ad.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264306927898?ul_noapp=true

Thoughts?

@Pez - Looking at the other 2 cars he has for sale on ebay, it looks like's he deals in stolen recovered, cat C, D etc
Problem is with these types of cars is the standard of work that has been carried out to get them back on the road
Are they proper OCD or are they Captain Bodger? Too hit & miss for me
To keep your vehicle insurance 'right' you have to declare if its a Cat, C, D etc any car you insure, which leads to higher premiums
To much of a minefield for me TBH
Majority of stolen/recovered's have been ragged from elbow to **** hole, which eventually will lead to probs
Then you've got to remember at some point you will want to sell

Not for me but if you do make sure you go into it with your eyes wide open

I wonder who's house he keeps taking the pic's in front of ...

 

[Pez]

Thanks. I've had a look but can't find any mention of theft on there? Other sites suggest category X?
Anyway, I've asked the dealer so will see what they come back with...

 

[Pez]

Cheers Bristle Hound, my problem is I'm too easily enticed by low prices! I agree though, my sensible head says to stay clear so I'll have to go with that

 

[Neil Woodburn]

Car was originally registered in Yorkshire ( YV, YW, YX, YY Yorkshire Beverley ) so will have been bought from JCT600 in York or Hull. Car has now ended up in West Midlands with new number plates ( JCT600 logo not on plates ) - quite a few S3/S4/S6 models were stolen from the area a few months ago ( posted somewhere on ASN ) so maybe not Accident damaged as keys were stolen after a house break ins - stolen to order.

So unless the keys have been changed plus locks the code will be still be known to the Group that stole it - so something else to think about before purchasing.

Must have been a good reason original owner didn't want his car back if recovered Stolen / Recovered - see your above comment now - I would pass on deal too.

 

[MuPPeT_ON_TouR]

Meh. Don't let scare mongers put you off.

https://www.salvagehistory.co.uk/vehicle/YX66UNG/

It has salvage auction history so you can probably find out lots about it. If stolen to order with keys then was probably treated very well and might have had zero damage but the insurance paid out so when the car was recovered they go straight to auction.

It has no more or less chance of being restolen than any other car but at least be smarter than the last owner and get some extra security for your car.

Steering lock/big dog in house/OBD port protection electronic or at the very least physical and be aware that an RS is a targeted car!

Salvage records are from this post and a must if you are looking in that direction.

https://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/hpi-clear-cars-which-were-written-off.384113/

Good luck.

 

[kcpism]

Maybe get an insurance quote first to see what difference a stolen/recovered vehicle commands?

May help with the overall decision...

 

[Pez]

Ok, thanks for all the advice - very helpful!

I did a check for £4 on that site and it came back as saying Cat S with the reason being 'vandalism - all over'.

Think I'll give it a miss!

 

[Pez]

So I'm still in the market and came across another interesting looking car.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classi...f-doors=5&year-from=2016&page=1#vehicle-check

As advised above (even though there's no mention of salvage) I checked the history and the report says that it was sold at salvage auction in March but it doesn't say that it was an insurance write off. Whats the difference there?

The report included some photos and to my untrained eye the damage doesn't look too bad. However it also mentioned there being slight play in the 'Front Anti-roll bar ball joint' and 'Nearside Front Suspension arm ball joint'. Is this a major issue?

Here is the link to the report
https://www.vcheck.uk/report/KV16NMM-OP39ZU6

Am I daft for considering this?

 

[Seanchadwick2k3]

Just too add to this I bought a car from a salvage auction about 7 years ago and it has no record on that site. Car was purchased from motor hog.

In reality you take a risk buying any used car. My car has nothing recorded in terms of being written off or auction however on polishing it a couple of days ago can see that the front and rear bumper have both been resprayed and they've done a crappy job too. I have no idea what the actual level of damage was, how it was driven for its life or anything.

 

[Pez]

Yeah I guess there is always a risk. My last car had been in an accident before I bought it and never gave me any trouble.

With this car (2 posts up) that seems like a decent price with the salvage history right?

 

[Arnie]

Just too add to this I bought a car from a salvage auction about 7 years ago and it has no record on that site. Car was purchased from motor hog.

The reason would be data collection started only in 2015 so vcheck would not have any salvage records from 2012

 

[Arnie]

Ok, thanks for all the advice - very helpful!

I did a check for £4 on that site and it came back as saying Cat S with the reason being 'vandalism - all over'.

Think I'll give it a miss!

It is Cat S on HPi as you saw in the report. Tbh it had some airbags deployed, I would say it was a bit more than just stolen