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Jan 21, 2019 12:22:26 GMT
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Hi everyone,
This maybe a bit of an odd question, but here goes 
My uncle has/had a Fiat Strada 105TC parked up in a garage. The garage wasn't his, but an ex girlfriends or his, and it has been there for about 15 years. He never had the money to restore it, so it sat in there untouched. Even though the garage was not his, he put his own padlock on it, and used to go and check up on it periodically.
My uncle passed away last year, and after everything was sorted the question turned to the whereabouts of the Strada. my dad, brother and I were keen to find it to restore it. We did not know exactly which garage the car was in from the block of garages it was at. however most were derelict and accessible with only a few shut up which we couldn't see inside. His ex-girlfriend said she did not know what happened to it or which garage it was in.
What is interesting is two years ago, my uncle told me someone applied for the V5, he wrote back to DVLA saying it was still his, and the V5 transfer was cancelled. We are going on the premise the car has been pinched and this is when they took it. It shows up on DVLA as not taxed or MOTd, but no update since last MOT in the late '90s.
My instinct says to report the car as stolen. We don't expect to see it again, but this would block anyone who has got it from putting it back on the road without cloning it. However, should it turn up in a garage out the blue, can it be unblocked?
My second thoughts, maybe a little cheeky, is we sit and wait. someone somewhere maybe restoring this. If it ever turned up on the road again as the V5 is still within the family can we report it stolen and have it recovered regardless of what they have spent time and money on it?
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dragon
Part of things
Posts: 148 
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Jan 21, 2019 21:10:42 GMT
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People who have reported stolen cars have sometimes got them back. It seems strange that the ex girlfriend does not know which garage it was in? Did she rent or own the garage? I would also suspect that the car vanished not long after the V5 application failure. In fact when was it last physically seen?
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Jan 27, 2019 12:58:23 GMT
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I'd report it stolen asap. If someone is restoring it then you'll get it back when they try and put it back on the road as long as you can prove you/a family member owns the car. A log book isn't proof of ownership tho so get as much to back up your claim to the car sooner rather than later. That way if it does pop up you can make a claim to it without delay. The last thing you want is it popping up and you not being able to claim it because you can't prove that it belongs to you/a family member.
Did your uncle check on the car after someone tried to apply for the log book? That to me would be a big red flag that someone has either taken the car or at the very least was planning to.
Also was your uncle even paying for the garage?
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Last Edit: Jan 27, 2019 13:05:49 GMT by roccoguy
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Jan 27, 2019 14:23:04 GMT
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Find out who owns the garages and ask them about it. if I owned them and someone left a car in there 15 years untouched with no way of contacting them and no rent being paid I would assume it was abandoned and take ownership of it myself.
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andyborris
Posted a lot
Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.
Posts: 2,149
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Jan 27, 2019 15:49:23 GMT
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Did anyone from the DVLA (or other authorities) check or investigate who applied for the V5?
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Last Edit: Jan 27, 2019 15:49:35 GMT by andyborris
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Jan 27, 2019 17:58:16 GMT
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Probably not unless the vehicle was reported as stolen, at the very least. Then it would be the police,  the DVSA wouldn't, they have other things going on like wrestling money out of you for road tax etc. |
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Last Edit: Jan 28, 2019 13:20:45 GMT by colnerov
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djefk
Part of things
Posts: 844
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Jan 28, 2019 12:47:09 GMT
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I think you first need to establish 100% that the car is not in any of the garages - does the ex-girlfriend own the entire block or something? Otherwise I can’t see how she wouldn’t know which one the car was in!
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If someone is restoring it then you'll get it back when they try and put it back on the road as long as you can prove you/a family member owns the car. DVLA are not consistant in my experience (many years ago), when I bought 2 bikes without logbooks. Bike 1 - the police came to visit soon after I applied for the logbook as it had been reported stolen (turned out to be insurance fraud by a silly previous owner) Bike 2 - I applied for and received a logbook in my name no problems, at which point I was confident it was legit so got it mot'd then sold it. My buyer had problems when he applied to tax it due to "he said" / "she said" type accusations between the chap I got it from and the earlier owner. Summary - sometimes DVLA check if stolen when you apply for the V5, sometimes they issue the V5 then check if stolen when you go to tax it  Footnote : maybe they have fixed all the problems with their sytems since I was involved     |
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the DVSA wouldn't, they have other things going on like wrestling money out of you for road tax etc.
