Car "stolen"

JustLen

posting on behalf of a family member and don't want to go into any specific details about people involved.

Basically this family member has swapped cars with another relative, the agreement was that she could swap for the weekend to see if she liked it and if so keep it, it was made clear that she could take her own car back if she wasn't happy.

Against my advice she goes ahead and does it, as well as stupidly handing over the logbook and to cut a long story short I took the car to my mechanic who found that as well as being crashed, it is also wrecked (needs new clutch, various electrics and sensors as well as engine management light)

Now surprise surprise the relative refuses to return her own car.

What if any way does she have of getting her car back from this relative? I have told her to just return his keys and logbook and if he still refuses go to the Gardai and tell them he has possesion of her car and will not return it

I already know how stupid she has been and have already told her that but obviously this doesn't change anything

Atlantic Dawn

Go straight to the Gardai and explain it to them, whovers name is on the logbook should be able to claim ownership, having said that handing it over was idiotic and should never be done even with a legitimate sale. It's always the current owners responsibility to send the ownership form to Shannon.

JustLen

I completely agree with you, I have explained to her how stupid it was.

Do you think the Gardai will handle this and get the car back? or will they say its a civil matter or something as she handed over the logbook?

Thanks for the reply

IrishZeus

Does she have a spare key? Just go and "steal" it back.

JustLen

would she be able to obtain a new key from main Toyota dealer without the logbook? she bought the car from a main dealer (not toyota) so could she get proof from him she bought it there or something?

If she could get a spare key I would just take it back and drop his key and logbook through the letterbox

MarkR

If she didn't sign away her ownership, then you could try to contact the gardai, but I think they may call it a civil matter. No theft was involved.

If it can't be resolved through the family amicably, then i'd contact a solicitor.

Or Judge Judy. She'd kick ass.

seamus

It's a civil matter. You could theoretically be charged with theft for going around and reclaiming the vehicle which isn't yours any longer.

Think of it this way;

You buy a car from a private seller on done deal. You hand over the money, he gives you the keys and the VLC. You ask him if you can call him in a couple of days and if you're not happy, you'll give him the car back and he'll return your money. He agrees.

You ring him in two days, ask for the money back and he tells you to go jump.

It doesn't sound like there was any "swap" really here, like it was a loan or a tester. It would appear that a permanent transfer of vehicles took place, with a verbal private agreement that the transfer could be reversed if one party wasn't happy.

All that can be done at this stage is take the other person to court for failing to stick to their side of the agreement. They haven't stolen any property, it was freely given, they've just refused to hand over their property as they are required to by the agreement.

It's worth noting that the VLC doesn't necessarily confer ownership of the vehicle. When you sell a car, the vehicle doesn't remain "yours" until the new owner changes the VLC. The vehicle becomes theirs as soon as you hand over the keys.

The main problem here is that she handed over the VLC. That implies that she intended for this to be a permanent transfer of ownership. If she had held onto it, she would have a stronger argument to say that this was just a temporary swap.

Aside, nice relatives you've got. What kind of scumbag pulls something like this on their own family?

JustLen

This is what I feared.

I know it may be technically illegal to take it back but I have a strong felling this wan**er wont call the gardai.


Does anybody know whats involved in getting a new key from toyota?

seamus

If it was a traditional key that you stick in the door, then afaik they have to either replace the locks or have another key there to copy.

If the car was keyless, they need the VIN.

I could be wrong though, the process seems to vary from car to car. I know some places can replace the key with just VIN.

Vanbis

You need to to the Garda straight away and explain the situation and see what they say first, civil or not you will have a better understanding after speaking to them and were you stand. The longer you leave this the more difficult it will be to get it back.

YouTookMyName

What type of cars?

JustLen

like i said I don't want to go into specifics, it would have been a fair deal had the other car been straight.
The purpose of doing it over the weekend was so that she could get it checked out, just goes to show you what your dealing with when it comes to used cars in ireland

JustLen

Also lads thanks for the usefull replies. Im going to get on to her now about visiting the Gardai and let ye know how we get on

thirtythirty

Emm... did she/they both have insurance for driving the different cars at the weekend? That'd be my first question if I was mr Garda.

thebullkf

if you don't get it back, burn it. charming relatives btw.

JustLen

spottyelephant wrote: »

Emm... did she/they both have insurance for driving the different cars at the weekend? That'd be my first question if I was mr Garda.

he wasnt driving it so he says, doesnt bother me hopefully he didnt. and yes she did have insurance btw the woman has never broken the law in her life, she was terrified driving a few days without tax even

thirtythirty

JustLen wrote: »

he wasnt driving it. and yes she did have insurance btw the woman has never broken the law in her life, she was terrified driving a few days without tax even

Just making sure you weren't getting yourself into more trouble. Good luck - burn the fckr.

johnos1984

First things first.

Don't sign the VLC of the 'new' car and send it away otherwise you have accepted ownership of the car and the deal will of been accepted.

Secondly, I'd call Shannon and get a new VLC sent out to you and explain that your VLC was taken and no ownership transfer is to be allowed.

Thirdly, call around to your scumbag cousin and get the car back (I'm not advocating violence)

Otherwise this is going to go the legal route and end up expensive and messy.

Also consider if there is a respected family member who could mediate on your behalf

Big Nasty

JustLen wrote: »

like i said I don't want to go into specifics, it would have been a fair deal had the other car been straight.
The purpose of doing it over the weekend was so that she could get it checked out, just goes to show you what your dealing with when it comes to relatives

FYP;)