Hi All,
Just a bit of vehicle crime feedback and some thoughts / questions if I may.
So, we get a call from the Police at 9 this morning saying our (93,
1.4) Belmont had been recovered and was in a local Ontime pound. I asked if it was drivable and she said it had been involved in a RTC. We popped round and had a look at it (couldn't touch it as SOCO were on their way) and apart from some scratches on the roof when one of the bicycles had been put (the thieves turned up on cycles) there wasn't any obvious external damage. It had been recovered from the side of the road, not pulled from a ditch or a shop window. ;-)Later we got a call from a nice SOCO lady who went through the items they found in the car and they were all ours, including the wind up torch and the 20 quid my wife keeps in the glove compartment for emergency fuel money! Nothing taken or added.
We have also had a letter from the insurance Co informing us that the cover was now stopped. I called them and reminded them that I only notified them of the thief and that I wasn't pursuing a claim at that time. They said they would reinstate the cover (I've asked for that in writing). I have also been given their ok to check the vehicle out to see if I want to repair it myself (or my mate to check it out in the garage) therefore no claim, removing the claim strike from the record (I have NCP)) or have it written off if a repair is too complicated / expensive. Alternatively we could claim, let them write it off and then buy it back?
Apparently the ignition switch looks ok mechanically (not been forced) but the lower cowling was smashed off to get the electrical bit of the switch where they presumably hot wired it. Any idea how easy it might be to get replacement parts (breakers?) and what are the chances of damage being done to the steering column as they defeated the steering lock?
Cheers, T i m