9 replies to this topic

[beentheunseen]

It's a 1989 mini racing green, with alloy wheels and sportspack arches fitted, a maniflow exhaust, metallic silver dash, chrome grille at the front... Stolen from outside my flat near newington green in north London last night. If anybody has seen it please let me know, the reg ends in VWP.

Here's a couple of pictures -

 15_520055070308_281_n1.jpg   43.68K   52 downloads  day121.jpg   155.77K   24 downloads

The wheels are quite distinctive. The rear light clusters are now the standard ones, not the clear ones shown in the first photo.

Edited by beentheunseen, 31 August 2012 - 08:46 AM.

[jb93]

So sorry to here that, hope you get it back ASAP!

[konyo]

Not another one... Hope you get it back soon.

Maybe post some pictures up so people can look out for it?

Edited by konyo, 31 August 2012 - 08:13 AM.

[kappa]

Sorry to hear that, I will be keeping a look out, if you can get some pics up would be good

Edited by kappa, 31 August 2012 - 08:17 AM.

[beentheunseen]

Hi All,

It's been a week now and no news. What classified sites should I be keeping an eye on for parts? Other than the obvious eBay?

[leroy26]

gum tree
car and classic

even on here to be honest and other mini forums

[Daviewonder]

Sorry to hear about this.

All these thefts make me wonder if it's really worth getting a Mini on the road

Edited by Daviewonder, 07 September 2012 - 01:13 AM.

[Spitfire12]

Very sorry to hear this! I'll try an keep an eye out on the internet for you, I regularly check car sites for Mini's and parts.

[beentheunseen]

I'm still having a hard time understanding how it can be worth stealing middle-of-the-road minis from Britain's streets...

1. Broken into parts for resale.

I'm guessing the people doing it must know that the parts could be spotted on classifieds, and so I would imagine they must hang onto them for a few month before selling them. Sure, the separate parts are probably worth more than the car as a whole, but the labour involved in stripping it down must be immense - Can it really be worth it?

2. Identity changed & resold.

My understanding is that this involves taking the identity of a cat C/D written off car, and transfering it to the stolen car. Surely this must be extremely difficult now that the DVLA have introduced VIC (Vehicle Identity Checks) on all written off cars before a new V5 can be issued?

3. Shipped abroad

A quick google search suggests that this costs around £800-£1000 to a port outside the european union. I can't imagine a tiny and not particularly rare british car with ongoing mechanical/corrossion problems selling to anyone for much more than this... Well, maybe in the USA, but not for much more...



I must be missing something, because it seems to me like the profit margins on this kind of crime must be very low, and nowhere near high enough to make up for the risks involved. Any thoughts anyone?

Edited by beentheunseen, 10 September 2012 - 01:49 PM.

[hunterg30]

it's quite easy to strip a mini in a few hours with a basic tool kit, and as the car as cost them sweet fa,then it wolud be quite lucrative
for the scum bags. all bare shells people buy should come with full id,and as Bungle say's ,people should be more carefull about who and where they buy their spare parts from