MK5 GTI stolen last night

[jsklair]

Any update on what the police have done?

I hardly ever hear of them solving car thefts.

They seem to love hanging around with laser guns though...

[jonnym]

Any update on what the police have done?

I hardly ever hear of them solving car thefts.

They seem to love hanging around with laser guns though...

The recovery rate for stolen cars is actually fairly high so not all hope is lost. Two of my friends had their audi and landy nicked and had them back within days. Your profile says your from Slough which is a completely different story! haha, sorry! :p

[vickster]

No news from the police, alert was out.  But as I assume it was lifted on a truck and will now be sporting different plates or be in bits, I am not surprised it hasn't shown up.  It doesn't appear to have been an opportunist theft after all!

I am probably going to get a runaround for now, and then look at GTIs in the future.  I am going to get murdered on insurance no doubt despite having a protected full NCB

[mrbubba]

Get details of vehicles with the same spec from auto trader (get around 3 to 5). Give them to the insurance company as proof that you need a better offer to buy a car like for like, they'll just be trying it on hoping you don't know any different.
As for the comment about finding stolen cars, they do get found quite regularly. I recovered a stolen Audi last week in less than 24 hrs from when it was stolen, it was on false plates with 3 other fresh plates in the boot to swap. However it had already done two burglaries and was chased by us at 130 down the motorway, it was now sporting some minor damage. I certainly wouldn't want it back as it had been ragged and trashed inside. I work on a team that spend almost every hour of my shift looking for stolen cars, I haven't handled a laser in years.

Good luck with the insurance company and don't let them fob you off :)

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[vickster]

I have sent eBay links to the insurance company as suggested, but they have refused to take them into account.  The guy says they have looked at the price guides and feel that their offer is reflective of the prices given. 

They don't seem to understand that the guides don't necessarily actually reflect what the cars are for sale at in the SE in April 2013! 

They also don't seem to have looked at the sheath of receipts I sent, claiming that they have done me a favour not taking the advisories on the MOT into account - especially the rear brake discs.  Discs and pads have been replaced this year at a cost of £183, next time I speak to them, I am actually going to walk them through the receipts!

Also, does anyone know what the situation regarding tax is - the car had two full months of tax left at the time of theft?  I realise it's not a fortune to get back, but every little helps at the mo!

[Markyed30]

I had a transit connect st stollen exactly like yours just vanished, The insurance gave me the full price I paid for it 9months previously first offer no quibbles just stick at them !

[vickster]

Cheers

I am but it's not very easy to negotiate with them.

There are possible replacements but not necessarily in the same colour (not that I want another given what happened) and certainly not within a sensible distance of here.  I can travel to get a car if needed, but I cannot be doing with the aggro of taking it back if something goes wrong or needs fixing in the warranty time - been there in the past and it's a pain even if somewhere in London! 

The guy on the phone said it's not down to them to source a car, and that's that...no more money on offer

They aren't going to give me the purchase price from July 2010, when I paid nearly £11k (nor would I expect them to)

[nigw]

Who is your insurer? Sounds like one to avoid!

I'm not sure what happens if you just refuse their offer?! Stalemate?

[garrardrj]

Any update on what the police have done?

I hardly ever hear of them solving car thefts.

They seem to love hanging around with laser guns though...

Perhaps you could make some suggestions then ?

The only people to solve crimes are the public coming forward with information , rarely do the Police catch criminals without the publics help , probably not 1% of detected crime i would suggest .

[vickster]

Sheilaswheels, so Esure

Frankly, I am sure they are all as crap as each other - they are there to pay out as little as they can get away with it - their definition of market value is different to mine and dealers it seems.  To be honest if they offer me another £200-300 I'd be ok with it

They are giving me the current offer as an interim payment so I can at least buy another car

Next level is Customer Relations and then, if I want to, the ombudsman.  I have indemnity on my side - I am not to be monetarily disadvantaged by this situation.  At the moment, I will be, hence I am sticking to my guns!

[garrardrj]

Who is your insurer? Sounds like one to avoid!

I'm not sure what happens if you just refuse their offer?! Stalemate?

All Insurance companies are the same...............well the 686 i have come across that is 

[neg]

On the road tax - you need to wait 7days (which you have), call the DVLA for a form (you have to request it) then complete with the car details, crime number etc and a couple of weeks later you will get a tax refund.  Mine came through this week.

Link - https://www.gov.uk/what-to-do-if-your-vehicle-has-been-stolen

as for talking to insurance companies about values etc - it is a right pain, I know what you mean - if you mention something to help your case they try and tell you well that could make the value lower blardy bla or well you didn't declare this (an factory option for example) and this could void the claim.. its like they try to scare you into doing what your told.  Just keep at them - if your not happy then sent a complaint letter or email as then log a complaint with the financial ombudsman, from the date of the letter/email they have 8 weeks to come to a settlement or the FO will then look into it - from what I gather this doesn't mean they will support you but you have nothing to loose, they will either support your claim or reject saying the figure you have been offered is reasonable.

On another note - my insurance hasn't gone up...yet...

[vickster]

I spoke with customer relations on Friday and am getting another £300 from them which is fine - on the basis of a car that was for sale (but 100 miles away)
 
I have just put a deposit down on a well specced 06 black 5 door, the cost of which will be covered by the payout (including a full year gold warranty and 6 months tax).  The car's not perfect but then for under £7k it won't be, but it is pretty local - finding one was proving a nightmare and rather stressful tbh.  Red was my first choice of colour but as someone pointed out, not exactly subtle on the drive, which given what happened did start to worry me - and I couldn't find one in the right spec etc.

Need to sort the insurance on it - will be charged an admin fee, will try to negotiate that and also waiting for payout on the personal possessions that were in the car.  There was a TomTom in the car - the new one has a satnav built in, are these any good?  Do I need to do something with updates?

The DVLA are sending me a form to claim back the remaining tax (2 months so that'll get me a few quid back)

Thanks for all your comments  

[neg]

If its the RNS510 then it's pretty good once updated with new maps - which is easy.

Well done and glad it's getting sorted. I only had upto 100quid for personal possessions which is not a lot - with mine being quite new I didn't really have anything in the car except my gym bag - but then working out the cost to replace its over 100 quid.

[vickster]

OK, I'll need to see what type of sat nav

I have £200 cover - but when there was a TomTom, prescription sunglasses and about 13 CDs it doesn't go far