Hi

Last week I was car jacked but was the car is now recovered. There is no damage to the car but does need new locks as the scum have took a set. Now insurance tell me today that the car will be stolen recovered so will show this up on a HPI check. They also say it will not affect the value of the car as there was no damage? Is this true? I know if I was buying a car that had been stolen I would straight away think of haggling money off due to that. Anyone been in a similar situation?

 

Hmmm, well speaking from a purely common sense point of view mate, I'm afriad it probably will afect the re-sale value, certainly to a private buyer. I don't think the damage is recorded on the HPI check, just the status as stolen and recovered. The point is that even an apparently undamaged car may have suffered mechanical wear by being flogged by the scum. IIRC Yours had blackjax, so that wouldn't have been the case. Your best bet, if you can't bear to keep it is to be totally up front with the buyer and say that they shouldn't be put off as the only damage was to the locks and that they didn't get to rag it cause of blackjax etc.... Any resonable person would then be satisfied. I'm afraid the reality is that buyers will use any excuse to get money off! Be firm and insist that price is determined by condition first and foremost and that nothing happened in the incident to seriously compromise the condition of the car.

That said, Personally, I'd feel so sorry for you that I'd give you the same kind of offer as I would for an identical car that wasn't stolen recovered, because I wouldn't feel that is wasn't right to compound your suffering when any discount would not reflect the condition of the car, only the stigma.

 

Will most likely be trading it in. Should I tell the dealer? or keep stum.

 

the dealer will know as he will HPI it