cryptwalk

Over the past week, i've been woried to death about this stolen import business and after reading the watchdog website, it seem's to me to of been hyped a bit.

Following taken off website:

WHICH JAPANESE GREYS ARE LIKELY TO HAVE BEEN STOLEN?

The list below represents the cars that are most likely to have been stolen:
Toyota Land Cruiser (especially VX, diesel, seven-seaters and long wheel base versions)
Toyota Prado
Nissan Skyline GTR
Honda NSX
Honda Prelude (small numbers involved)
Mitsubishi Evolution V and VI
Mitsubishi Pajero (often badged as Shogun)
Mitsubishi 3000 GTO
Toyota Harrier (often badged at Lexus RX300)
Toyota Aristo (often badged as Lexus GS300)
Toyota Celsior (often badged as Lexus LS400)
Toyota Supra (small numbers involved)
Subaru WRX (small numbers involved) *NOTE*

WILL THE POLICE SEIZE MY CAR?

Because there are 43 different police forces in the UK, as yet there is no definitive and consistent strategy on stolen grey import seizures.

Hampshire Constabulary and the Metropolitan Police have already seized approximately 1,000 cars and some have been auctioned off and the money sent back to the original owners.

But given the large numbers of cars involved, the police may not decide to seize and impound stolen greys at all, but issue instead a PACE Notice (Police And Criminal Evidence Act 1984), which allows the police to inspect your vehicle, after which it will be returned to you with a written statement that there may be issues over its true identity and that you may not have legal title.

The police are unlikely to seize your car and put it through an auction unless they've been able to clearly establish its real identity and trace the original owner or insurance company in Japan.

Can Anybody Else Seize My Car?

The only other person who may want to seize your car is a loss adjuster working for a Japanese insurance company. The major Japanese insurance companies now have agents based in the UK contracted to seize and sell cars for which they can prove legal title.

However you should only surrender your car to a loss adjuster when you are absolutely sure they are bona fide. Do not allow any loss adjuster to take possession of your car without talking to your solicitor first, even though the loss adjuster provides appropriate documentation. Only your solicitor will be able to establish if the loss adjuster has a legal right to seize your car.

Age Related Registration Marks

All stolen Japanese greys which have had their VIN numbers and identities tampered with will, after police inspection and investigation, have to be allocated with a replacement VIN and registration number by the DVLA. Many stolen greys have had their years of manufacture altered to look newer than they are, so they will be given the correct age-related marks reflecting their true year of manufacture.

All seem's a little to me, and only hope it really is a small amount of WRX's involved from a personal point of view.