So about a month back my 4 month old '07 Z got stolen, then turned up 10 days later partially stripped (interior basically). The estimate is $7000 and the body shop is still working on it ("waiting on some parts still"). The car has 4000 miles on it. The engine was apparently untouched, and the body was fine 'cept for the two door handles ripped off.

So I'm sure the car is gonna come back in basically new condition, but some people around work are telling me to sell it as soon as I get it back. Yea, I just read about the '08 being out soon and I guess that made me start thinking about it. If I did choose to sell this one I would wait at least until an '08 is available.

Is there any real financial reason why I should sell this car right away? Is there an angle on this I'm missing? Is it true that my car would be listed as a "salvaged title?" Do I have to, by law, tell someone I was selling it to that it had been stolen? Seeing as how the body and engine are un-effected I didn't feel strongly about this ethically.

I know and have already felt the psychological effect of having a car that has been stolen, driven by scumbag *******s, and salvaged.

So what would you do? Opinions? Thoughts?

Thanks

 

That's a very tough decision indeed.

When the Z comes back, drive it and see how it feels first. News is that the 08 Z will have practically no difference so it's not worth the few thousand dollars difference.

 

Hard to tell. I guess it depends on how the title will come back. Either way you're going to loose money selling it right now because of the neg. equity.

 

every one has always told me that once your car is stolen it is never the same again, its like some one just took your girl. and jdm is right that you would lose money, basically i would have been pissed when i got the call saying that its been found. i think your predicament sucks and i feel bad for you :-(

 

Did the insurance company write off the car as a loss, and reimburse you for the car? Where are you getting this information about a salvage title? From your DMV?

 

Any idea how they stole it? I have an 07 and any help to protect mine and other 2007s would be a great help!

 

The part about it never being the same might be true, but it's a mental perception, not a physical reality. It SHOULD come back good as new. If you sell it someone's going to want an explanation why since it's only got 4k on it. They'll be suspicious and rightly so and you may lose some money on it. Of course trading it in relieves that pressure, but not the loss in value.

Drive it a bunch, see what you think then.

 

$7000 and the only body damage is both door handles were trashed? WTF? Anyway, you will lose a ton of money of you sell it, and the other reply about the psychological "damage" is correct. Unless the car was wrecked, it should be good as new. But I am still more than curious about the damage total and exactly how the car was stolen?

 

Insurance is covering the repair minus my $500 deductable. The idea of a salvage title is just something I heard - I have no idea what's involved with that.


I know the $$ seems high. Here's some photos of the damage I guess a lot has to do with the cost of the interior parts and the labor to assemble that stuff. The body shop is high end, and they basically said that since it's a brand new car, anything with even the slightest scratch will be replaced (think they probably make out well on this). Nice thing is they refurbished the wheels which were obviously scuffed by the thieves, but I had had a bad curb incident so I made out well on that part.

How they stole it? Well, there's a lot of good information on this forum about how to steal Z's. The door handle is apparently a weakness for gaining access to the factory alarm and as a way in. But since they took my passenger side door handle I'm thinking they wanted that part?

The ignition was totally intact - car started right up at the police impound (but it was obviously undrivable). The thing is I did have the valet key stashed in the glove box, so I have also speculated that they broke in by the door handle to take anything of value they could find and then stumbled upon the key and decided to take the car. Don't know. If this ever happens to anyone, believe me, you spend hours imagining what went on.

And this all happened right in front of my house one night. I will be adding a 2-way pager alarm, and I already got something called an autolock (http://www.autolock.com/Unbreakable_Auto_BL.htm). I didn't have the LoJack and frankly, from the total ambivalence I got from LAPD, I don't know if it would have made any difference in the world (I've also spent hours on the internet reading about car theft, and all I can say is LoJack is a lot of money to spend for something that clearly has some strong disadvantages).

The best looking product I have seen is actually this http://www.nohotwire.com/ but I'm not convinced yet.

Thanks for the good responses and info so far. Anyone know about that salvaged title business?

 

OMG! You left a key IN the car? Sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but Jeesh! I am pretty sure that you can stop "speculating" especially as the ignition was undamaged. You can pretty much skip the absolutely obvious and jump straight to the merely obvious. You are extremely lucky that your insurance is covering the damage - many companies, if not most, would be telling you sorry for your luck. And I hope you have your flame suit on, this forum is probably salivating coming up with replies to that little bit of info.

 

Since the car was stolen it will come back with a salvage title therefore decpreciating the value of your car substantially. if you can sell and break even i woudl do so and purchase another car. Later down the road when you are actually ready to sell that salvage title will haunt you.

 

And exactly WHERE is this "new" title going to magically appear from? The OP still has the original title (assuming THAT was not hidden with the key) and nothing has changed about the car other than it was "wrecked". Salvage titles are a result of a car being "totaled" by the insurance company, not being wrecked and repaired. And, how is he going to sell and break even? A car depreciates by 20% the minute you have it titled and drive it off the lot.

 

A car will NOT get a salveage title unless 1) it was declared a total loss by the inusrance company, 2) it was taken by the insurance company and then sold as "salvage", and 3) was then rebuilt and re-titled.

Just becasue it was stolen does NOT make it a salvage vehicle, just like being involved in a minor accident does not make it a salvage vehicle.

bill

 

No, but when you find how big a hit you will take selling an almost new car, you will see there is a big financial reason why you should NOT sell the car right away.

bill

 

Well thanks, I actually had already spent a fair amount of thought and emotion on that move, but you're right it wasn't a smart move.

However, it's still grand theft auto. Locking your doors, or anything else to do with locks has nothing to do with it as far as I know the law. Your property is your property. If you leave your house unlocked, it is still theft for someone to walk in and rob you. I'd be very surprised if that's true about insurance companies not covering you. What doing this required was someone to break into the vehicle by force, ransack through every nook and cranny, lift the "secret compartment floor" of the glovebox, find a key, and then be willing to commite grand theft. This was a crime and I was a victim of crime. Yes, I left myself somewhat vulnerable.

Why I Still speculate? Because the first thing the cop said to me was, "you never know, maybe they had a key." And then I got online and read the many ways that our expensive little "smart" keys can be overcome.

 

Insurance companies often have some fine print that requires you to exercise reasonable caution in securing your property. Every winter in Ohio, there are news stories where someone left their car running, warming it up in the driveway, and someone stole it. I remember at least several where their insurance company denied their claim due to leaving the keys in it. I sure hope that is not your case, but I would keep that little bit of info to yourself just in case.And I agree, it was Grand Theft Auto, and the scum who did it deserve to have something "medeival" happen to them involving a pair of pliers and a blowtorch.

 

The photos make me cringe. Sorry about your frustration, and dealing with getting the car fixed.

 

Your title will be fine and will not be salvaged. The only time the title becomes salvaged is if the car is found after the person owning it has been paid by the insurance company for its loss or the person refuses to have the car fixed (not sure how you do that though).

But yeah you can always list it on auto trader and see what kind of offers you get and if you get one you like sell it if not then just keep it. As for the way it drives it will be fine if you feel any difference it will all be in your head.

 

Your car will be fine.
If it was wrecked, and then repaired,
that's when "it will never be the same"
comes into play. Look at it this way,
if you were going to do a major audio
video install, most of the interior would
have to come out too. It would not even cross
your mind to sell your car?
Now if you have it fixed, and it drives abnormally
I can see your point, but find out first.

 

wow bro gl with that, but about the 2-way pager. i have one myself and it actually saved me once, i got my car hit outside a friends house i got the page and ran out and caught the person before they could leave and i got my money back. it does have some draw backs in that the range isn't very strong even though it says like 1/4 mile range. its a 1/4 mile range if your like in an open field without buildings or anything. if your like at the mall or in a place with a lot of walls and bldgs your most likely not going to get the page. i do however get the page when im in my house, so i guess thats one of the most important things if you park your car outside. i wouldn't trust it working all the time, but i guess its nice to have. but the pager is kinda cool sometimes, you can like unlock your car or lock it from really far away and if you hold down on the button long enough(like 3-5mins), the signal might go through.