Fiat 500 - bought a stolen and recovered car without knowing

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Thu 25 Feb 2021 09:20
Fiat 500 - bought a stolen and recovered car without knowing - Areum Lee

Hello guys,

i bought a 2012 fiat 500 in October 2019 from a dealer in London.

now i am looking to sell the car and found out that the car was recorded as stolen and recovered with a minor damage (now repaired, the info is from Vcheck) in August 2019 that is just before i purchased.

and the dealer is insisting that he had no idea as the HPI provided by AutoTrader is clear (i dont know why) and AutoTrader is now blocking me to write any reviews.

but he had sent me this service note that is dated in July 2019 billed to the dealer which clearly proves his ownership - so i assume he should not have known unless he faked the service note.

He has agreed to buy this car back from me for £4500, (i bought it for £6300) but he seems that he decided not to as he is not answering my email since yesterday.

i will wait for him until end of this week, but if he doesn't get back to me, what can i do from here?

i am thinking of reporting to the police, finance ombudsman, and trading standards. anything else?

also do i have to let my insurance company?

please advise. many thanks.

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Thu 25 Feb 2021 11:11
Fiat 500 - bought a stolen and recovered car without knowing - Bromptonaut

Is stolen/recovered a 'thing' that will automatically show either as Cat X at DVLA (like written off but repairable vehicles are) or via HPI type checks? Is it still clear on HPI now?

If it's minor damage as an owner might have done how far does that reduce the car's value (if at all). Is there any evidence of other damage, eg due the thief abusing engine/steering/brakes etc?

How has the car been? Has anything occurred in the 16 or so months of ownership that might be a consequence of the theft/recovery?

Can you quantify your actual loss?

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Thu 25 Feb 2021 11:34
Fiat 500 - bought a stolen and recovered car without knowing - Rerepo

If the dealer misrepresented the car when selling (e.g. by stating 'HPI clear') then I think you could have a case. But if he made no statements about the status of the car then I don't think you have a case. There is no law against selling a damaged or stolen/recovered car, or failing to state its listed on HPI/VCAR. Its up to the buyer to make checks.

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Thu 25 Feb 2021 16:45
Fiat 500 - bought a stolen and recovered car without knowing - skidpan

I had a car stolen which was subsequently recovered and repaired by my insurers. I ran it for a further 2 years with no issues, in truth after the repairs it tracked straighter than it had done in the previous 5 1/2 years.

When I PX'd it I was asked the usual question i.e. had the car been an insurance total loss to which the answer was of course no. They never asked about other accidents and repairs carried out, as long as its not been a Cat whatever it means nothing to them. But in reality they should have known, they carried out the repairs in their workshop.

So however many owners the car had after me I doubt any knew it had been stolen. Last time I saw it the car was just short of its 27th birthday.

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