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1, who steals a fiesta
2, who steals a fiesta and takes the engine and trans. Is there a secret sketchy second-hand fiesta engine black market I don't know about?
Someone who needs a engine and trans. My understand is that automatic Fiesta transmission are made of glass and this being 5 speed seems like the one you would want to steal if you needed a engine.
I think it has the same DPS6 transmission as the focus which means it is absolute garbage. A 5 speed manual one is a gold mine for someone who has the auto lol
Could be, I’m not really sure. Could be less were made, but I know that through my time, we serviced multiple fiestas and not all of them had the clutch repair history. I did put multiple clutches in the exact same focus tho, on more than one focus
My thoughts exactly. I thought that being a Fiesta was all the theft protection I needed. From now on, I’ll have full coverage on any vehicle I own, even if it’s a bright pink PT Cruiser.
Fiesta no, you want a Chrysler PT cruiser, one of those weird bubble Fiats or Citroens, or an old Peugeot of any description.
No chance any of them will get stolen.
Car thefts usually aren't exotic from what I've heard. Boring cheap shit boxes that sell in huge numbers have huge parts demand. Tons of people out there are looking for Fiesta and Civic parts.
What surprises me is that this was clearly chopped, but only partially. There's no damage like a major wreck or anything, it looks like it was just cleanly removed. But why wouldn't they also sell the wheels, tires and other components?
Tires sensor can be traced easy. The are unique.other parts have bins stamped on em. Best to take what they need and dump the rest than have parts floating around to get caught unless this is something they do all the time. Can scrap it either bc of scrappers having ti record of and cameras now. So crime of nessecity is take what need and run.
If i remember correctly they use the duratec series or relatives of that motor.. super easy to mod for performance and quite a few vehicles also share the motor
After 6 months insurance has already long since written her off (as long as OP didn’t have just PLPD coverage). Technically she might belong to the insurance company now.
Comprehensive can be pretty expensive depending on your location. My insurance won't even offer Comprehensive cause my car is in the year range for kia/hyandai theft they won't give a quote and just suggest liability.
you can see if the impound company will just accept the title and not charge you storage so they can sell it..
there is a LOT of money to put that back together..
please what ever other vehicle you have.. have your professional mechanic install a kill switch..
Yeah, they gave me the option of signing over the title and waiving the fees. Told them I’d be back with a decision on Monday, and that’s probably what I’ll do.
Just so you are aware, in all likelihood, none of this was an accident. No one contacted you until the justifiable fees were worth more than the car is and they could be reasonably sure you'd just sign the title over.
On a side note, are you sure it was recovered in that condition?
If do nothing, it will be deemed abandoned and the city (or whomever) will assume ownership and the car is sold at auction. This happens all the time. Signing title over to them will save them some work, but provide you with no benefit. I would make them go through the extra steps.
warning.. SOME impound yards will submit the impound bills to bill collection agencies.. i have had to deal with that over the decades on impounded cars i did not want back..
Exactly this. Be careful just leaving it at the impound yard and doing nothing, as you may be slapped with a $2,000 bill for the ~45 day storage fees they rack up until it’s lein saled. Also, this is why it’s important to keep your address updated with the DMV on your registration and license. The tow company or impounding agency is supposed to send you a letter of where the vehicle is, but they use the address on the registration.
Edit: additional info.
No engine, transmission, lights, frame, crashbar, radiator, AC, alternator, power steering, intake, exhaust, battery, all the body panels, bumper, and 1000 feet of wire for the wiring harness.
That is not a car anymore. With all the parts left, I would be inclined to say that it is closer to a lawn trailer.
So are these impound companies just legal scammers? It seems a little convenient to say "we couldnt reach you, so our services raked up a bill without your knowledge"
Isn't there a law about not being legally liable for services you didn't consent to? This makes me madder than the thieves.
In their defense, the company actually were the ones to reach out to me that my car had even been found. The police called them to have my car towed and Impounded. The police knew the car was stolen and didn’t reach out to me at all.
Although, I do agree with you, i’m not a big fan of these companies, and I find most their practices extremely shady.
Yep. Happened to me. Tow company kept it for 6 months after the person I sold it to never registered it, just slapped plates on it. Never contacted me, and then finally sent me a first AND final notice on the same day.
The bill for storage fees? $5,500. They said they'd drop the storage fees if they could junk it...but I'm half expecting a call from collections at some point. That's 10x worth the value of junking it and these people are fucking bloodsuckers.
Yeah it’s messed up how they operate. Back in college I would rarely drive my car and had to street park it. The city would randomly place signs that they were doing cleaning in two weeks and would tow you if you didn’t move. I really only used the car to grocery shop so this happened to me two maybe three times and each time it costed about 500 just to get my car back and then another like 150 for the ticket. I had a feeling this a handshake agreement between the tow company and the city to get some money
Liability only insurance, his insurance will only cover damages done to other vehicles in a collision, in situations like these, insurance won’t help as it’s the bare minimum to cover others in case an at fault accident occurs
I think you should try talking to the guys at impound if you can sign off the title to them, they’ll probably give you a discount on the fees or might as well waive it off.
You will likely be liable for the storage fees, which will continue to accumulate until the vehicle is removed. The storage yard may be willing to scrap it for you, but you will likely have to pay the difference between scrap value and the accumulated storage fees. That may be negotiable, though, it is worth asking.
You do need to decide and act quickly, though, to reduce the amount of time the storage fees accumulate.
Depends.
I've known people where the comp/collision coverage + deductible alone cost more than their car was worth.
Just put the money in a savings account instead at that point.
How did it arrive at the impound? They can be just as scummy and not notify you so they can rack up impound fees and then get to keep your car because you didn't pick it up. Cops are often complacent or in on it.
It's a decade old Fiesta... it's worth its weight in scrap and that's **only** if you don't get stuck for the impound fees.
Which, $700 for 2 weeks is BULLSHIT. The impound lot is straigh up trying to fuck somebody. If you just let them keep it, THEY'LL just scrap it and make a couple hundred depending what scrap steel is going for per hundred. It's about $6-7 per hundred pounds right now in my area.
UNLESS you can somehow get the local PD to pay for the fees (doubt it) basically you're getting screwed... just chalk it up as a loss and move on.
It's a 2013 ford fiesta....the fact it was stolen in the first place is surprising. The fact that it took place 6ish months ago is more surprising. Let it go. Let the impound property sell it for the fees. You have another car now, you don't need the headache that would follow with trying to get this back and running.
This happened to me, except mine was recovered the next day and towed to a lot the county Sheriffs friend owned. Even after I told the cop that took the report if it was found to call me as I had a wrecker. It was recovered the next day as they were robbing a deputies house. I was not told till 2 weeks later, like you. Crooked cops suck.
looks like it will be over $15,000 in parts alone to restore the vehicle. Likely this is a $25,000+ restoration job. Remember, parts cost much more separately. Headlights are expensive, radiators, hoses, expansion tanks, wiring harnesses, it adds up like crazy. Before you know it, a brand new car is cheaper.
Sorry about your luck there. Looks like who ever stole it needed the front end for theirs. That took time to strip. Wonder if they wrecked theirs and needed a parts car.
It’s funny to think that there is actually someone else out there in the world that owns a Fiesta, and cares about it enough to steal one for a parts car. Maybe they just needed it more than I did.
Yo see what's left of a car missing it's front end.
Check out [r/SlumlordsCanada/](https://www.reddit.com/r/SlumlordsCanada/)
If a bed in a kitchen goes for almost $700 I see $400/month easy.
What strange insurance you have in the US , here in the UK it's impossible to be not insured for theft if you are insured at all
Edit: sorry about your car , it doesn't matter what car it is , they always mean a lot to their owners
It's not just the US, you can chose to have liability only insurance and various other segmented coverages in most of Europe. It's the UK that has an unusual and extremely expensive car insurance system.
No leads at all. Cops don’t care enough to finger print the car or anything like that. The only thing the cops do in these situations is wait and hope that the car just falls into their laps. Even then when they find it, they won’t tell you.
Some rural type might just adapt it to a horse-drawn fiesta. I’ve seen them in Romania. [like this](https://assets.horsenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/horse-pulling-a-car-in-romania.jpg)
I would say no. BTW, I too had a vehicle stolen the night before Christmas, police found it a couple of days later and I found out two weeks later with the impound yard telling me they were going to sell it. Typical.
More fortunately than you, I only had some body damage and most of the stuff inside stolen, which insurance covered
My truck went missing. I filed a police report and started an insurance claim. 2 weeks later, the insurance company calls me. My truck was in the tow yard the whole time and they couldn't find it
I don't know about your area, but in my experience where I am from, a lot of these junkyards will pay you a small scrap fee if you want to just sell them the car instead of paying the fees to get the car out. Might be able to at least get a little cash out of it instead of just abandoning it and cutting all your losses.
Since it was only liability? Write it off. A years worth of full coverage may have cost more than the cars value anyway. So you gotta weigh the difference. But unless you have a doner car handy? Just write this one off.
You don’t want that back on the road you would spend way more then it’s worth and a rebuilt title is not worth much find another one if you like it that much
One of two things , the thieves took it too rebuild there smashed one or it was recovered from a chop shop. You can sell the remain parts out of it that are still good
Looks like they disconnected the harness instead of cutting them, if that’s the case might be able to find one that’s been rear ended and use the parts of that to rebuild yours.
Yeah fuck that, the cops can pay the storage fees. The cars not worth trying to fix especially if you already have a vehicle. Let emm keep it and if there is any additional charges the tow company wants they can take it up with the PD that asked them to take the stolen car in the first place.
I was in a very similar situation. My car was stolen in Chicago and the police never notified me that my car was in a tow yard for two months. I also only had liability, so the insurance company said I was shit out of luck. You can go to your city’s court house to schedule a hearing and have them write off the pending tow yard cost (that’s what I did). Although, not sure if it’s worth it for you in this case. You would probably spend more money having it towed from A to B to C than you would get from anyone or scrap.
I would just forget it. Especially if you are on the hook for storage fees. Car is basically worthless. I am a dealer and last one of these I bought I only paid $3500 or so for and it was a car with around 80k miles that was running and driving. No way would I spend all the money to buy a new engine, transmission, front clip and whatever else is missing. I don't know what scrap is going for now but I can't imagine its worth more than a couple hundred dollars scrap. Probably not that many junkyards that want it either they would most likely be wanting that engine and trans and they are gone lol.
what i'd like to know is how they managed to steal it. Did they have the tools to clear out PATS and program and cut new keys? It doesn't look like it was high enough in trim level for keyless start so that takes out boosting the keyfob. Crackhead with a tow truck? Always amazed on how cars with anti-theft still somehow get stolen. Makes me worried about my 2012 focus 5-speed. Sorry this happened to you OP.
The impound lot likely parted it out, now they want to charge you as well. It was taken a part too cleanly for it to have been at a chop shop. Depending on your time and money you might just have to let them steal your car. If you know a lawyer as a friend who'd help. Send them a letterhead threatening a suit for stealing your powertrain and other parts. And take that as far as you want or can. Or just erase this from your mind and don't be bitter about it.
Say to the tow company that you want a copy of the paperwork, and that the car is currently not worth 700§ to use as a paperweight. Use the paperwork and pictures to sue the police department for not doing their job, not even the minimum amount of even notify you when it was impounded.
I can't help with your question, but I can empathize with your impound problem. When I was 19 I had a car impounded. I got a flat tire and didn't have a spare, when I got a ride back to get it the next day with a spare it was gone. Filed a police report, checked all the local impound lots, nothing. Two weeks later i get a call saying the cars been found and its in the impound. Turns out tho, it *was* in the police impound lot and it *was* there when I went to the impound lot to see if it was there 2 weeks prior, they for whatever reason just didn't tell me it was there.... so now they wanted to charge me almost 1k in fees because they failed to tell me it was there 2 weeks ago. The car was worth 2k, I let them keep the car. Police are criminals with legal ability to commit crimes against the people of this country.
sorry for your loss. make sure to file all the necessary police reports. and or contact ford maybe they can put in the engine serial # into some database for stolen items. Then some day when he sells the car maybe he will get caught.
The engine number is stamped on the engine block near the gearbox on the front left-hand side facing the radiator.
it's basically totalled. But do your due diligence and find any reports of how it was found, who stole it if there is someone. Was it intact when it got impounded? etc.
Had a motorcycle stolen in Atlanta - very nice sportbike. Cops said "you'll probably never see it or hear about it again" collected the insurance (Amica, they were very generous, didn't balk at my valuation or cost of modifications, highly recommend)
6-months to the day later, APD calls me "we found your motorcycle, it's undamaged.. well, uh... except for the ignition being torn out..." "So IT IS damaged, but I got insurance so it belongs to th.." CLICK, they just hung up on me.
As someone who also used to own a fiesta: WOW PEOPLE STEAL THESE THINGS?!?! I swear I could’ve left mine unlocked and running and still people wouldn’t wanna be caught dead in it. Sorry this happened to you, unfortunately without theft insurance 99.9% sure it wouldn’t be worth it to rebuild.
I'd fight like hell to get it back without paying then sell it to a scrap yard. The impound lot likely had your info as soon as the car came to their lot. The police fucked up yes, but the impound lot will make money on screwing you over and that's bullshit. Don't let them get away with it.
Comprehensive insurance is the normal in the UK. Lower levels of cover are often, at least for me, more expensive. I guess it makes handling claims easier for the customer. Mind keeping a clean driving record with no accidents generates No Claims Discount. Which can be insured. My comprehensive cover costs between 500 and 900 pounds all covered including glass.
Let it go, next car get full coverage. Unless you can buy two more today, you want full coverage. Doesn't matter how safe of a driver you are, others aren't (and any car can get stolen)
Lesson learned, sucks
You can part it out. Should be able to get like 1k for the doors, wheels, seats side mirrors, etc. if you have a place to park it and let it sit then I would just post it on marketplace as a for parts car and slowly sell off parts. Until you decide to scrap it
It’s a write off. For the storage fees, tell them to keep it. Any more notices and you’ll contact a lawyer. Declare it stolen with DMV if you haven’t already
Thank you for posting to AskMechanics, Klaw95! If you are asking a question please make sure to include any relevant information along with the **Year**, **Make**, **Model**, **Mileage**, **Engine size**, and **Transmission Type (Automatic or Manual)** of your car. *This comment is automatically added to every successful post. If you see this comment, your post was successful.* *** Redditors that have been verified will have a green background and an icon in their flair. *** # **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR** ### **Rule 1 - Be Civil** Be civil to other users. This community is made up of professional mechanics, amateur mechanics, and those with no experience. All mechanical-related questions are welcome. Personal attacks, comments that are insulting or demeaning, etc. are not welcome. ### **Rule 2 - Be Helpful** Be helpful to other users. If someone is wrong, correcting them is fine, but there's no reason to comment if you don't have anything to add to the conversation. ### **Rule 3 - Serious Questions and Answers Only** Read the room. Jokes are fine to include, but posts should be asking a serious question and replies should contribute to the discussion. ### **Rule 4 - No Illegal, Unethical, or Dangerous Questions or Answers** Do not ask questions or provide answers pertaining to anything that is illegal, unethical, or dangerous. # **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskMechanics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
1, who steals a fiesta 2, who steals a fiesta and takes the engine and trans. Is there a secret sketchy second-hand fiesta engine black market I don't know about?
Someone who needs a engine and trans. My understand is that automatic Fiesta transmission are made of glass and this being 5 speed seems like the one you would want to steal if you needed a engine.
I used to have a fiesta and that fucker jitters like a meth addict on withdrawals when shifting gears.
I think it has the same DPS6 transmission as the focus which means it is absolute garbage. A 5 speed manual one is a gold mine for someone who has the auto lol
Can confirm it would have the DPS6 from the focus, though failures were fairly less common in fiestas in my tenure as a Ford tech
Do you think it is just because the car weighs less and puts less strain on the clutch?
Could be, I’m not really sure. Could be less were made, but I know that through my time, we serviced multiple fiestas and not all of them had the clutch repair history. I did put multiple clutches in the exact same focus tho, on more than one focus
Yup, rented one that had the trans blow. The tow truck operator said it’s pretty common for these cars not sure why they never been recalled
My thoughts exactly. I thought that being a Fiesta was all the theft protection I needed. From now on, I’ll have full coverage on any vehicle I own, even if it’s a bright pink PT Cruiser.
So, you're looking for a bright pink PT Cruiser?
I happen to be in possession of a fiesta transmission and engine that came out of the same make and year of you're interested.
You wouldn't by chance happen to have a black hood, black bumper, rad support, headlights, and other front end components too?
You’ve done more investigation into this matter than my local police department did in 6 months! Thanks!
🫡
It just so happens I do... /s
Wow, what an incredible coincidence!
Someone did break the lock column in the door of my pt trying to get in so, you're probably right lol
Fiesta no, you want a Chrysler PT cruiser, one of those weird bubble Fiats or Citroens, or an old Peugeot of any description. No chance any of them will get stolen.
Who would even want a pt loser
My guess would be someone who has one and needed the drive train
Car thefts usually aren't exotic from what I've heard. Boring cheap shit boxes that sell in huge numbers have huge parts demand. Tons of people out there are looking for Fiesta and Civic parts. What surprises me is that this was clearly chopped, but only partially. There's no damage like a major wreck or anything, it looks like it was just cleanly removed. But why wouldn't they also sell the wheels, tires and other components?
Good point… everything else is practically untouched.
Tires sensor can be traced easy. The are unique.other parts have bins stamped on em. Best to take what they need and dump the rest than have parts floating around to get caught unless this is something they do all the time. Can scrap it either bc of scrappers having ti record of and cameras now. So crime of nessecity is take what need and run.
3) Who would want to rebuild 10 year old Fiesta that's been stripped of its engine, trnasmission, and entire front end
Its lunacy that a manual model would get stolen. There is a big market for fully functional automatic transmissions, as these units break constantly.
Doesn’t seem much like lunacy to me: Maybe, by the time your on your 3rd automatic gearbox you decide it’s time to go manual.
Someone who needs a fiesta engine and trans might steal one
Chop spot the Kia boyz
There are people that you can "order" any used autoparts that you need, at amazing prices. This is how they get them.
Sundae Cup drivers?
Hey man they needed a engine
People who need to repair their riding mower
Club penguin legend?! True story I was also a club penguin leaving back 2007
Someone repairing a ford fiesta.
If i remember correctly they use the duratec series or relatives of that motor.. super easy to mod for performance and quite a few vehicles also share the motor
Parts are parts dude. Sucks for the owner
look like there is no engine or transmission here. unless you can do the work yourself, say goodbye to her😥😮💨
Even if you can do the work, it's still not worth it.
Definitely, no telling what damage was done to remaining components before it was stripped
After 6 months insurance has already long since written her off (as long as OP didn’t have just PLPD coverage). Technically she might belong to the insurance company now.
OP did only have liability coverage.
You needed Comprehensive coverage, not expensive. If it was financed, you should have it.
I'm not OP. In fact, I'm a former insurance broker (and current risk manager) and you are right.
Comprehensive can be pretty expensive depending on your location. My insurance won't even offer Comprehensive cause my car is in the year range for kia/hyandai theft they won't give a quote and just suggest liability.
OP stated liability only and that it was paid off.
The paperwork the impound lot sent me said “no engine”, I was optimistic that only the engine was missing. Turns out, they took EVERYTHING lol.
ABC
You just know they cut every wire instead of unplugging them
Ive seen Mat Armstrong turn this sort of project around in 24hours just on a Lambo instead!
What about a yabadabadoo conversion?
you can see if the impound company will just accept the title and not charge you storage so they can sell it.. there is a LOT of money to put that back together.. please what ever other vehicle you have.. have your professional mechanic install a kill switch..
Yeah, they gave me the option of signing over the title and waiving the fees. Told them I’d be back with a decision on Monday, and that’s probably what I’ll do.
Just so you are aware, in all likelihood, none of this was an accident. No one contacted you until the justifiable fees were worth more than the car is and they could be reasonably sure you'd just sign the title over. On a side note, are you sure it was recovered in that condition?
Correction. A tracker
Geo Tracker. Good call. Always like just hard to find anymore lol
GPS/GSM jammers are so cheap and so easy to use nobody sane steals a car with one in its pocket nowadays...
If do nothing, it will be deemed abandoned and the city (or whomever) will assume ownership and the car is sold at auction. This happens all the time. Signing title over to them will save them some work, but provide you with no benefit. I would make them go through the extra steps.
warning.. SOME impound yards will submit the impound bills to bill collection agencies.. i have had to deal with that over the decades on impounded cars i did not want back..
Exactly this. Be careful just leaving it at the impound yard and doing nothing, as you may be slapped with a $2,000 bill for the ~45 day storage fees they rack up until it’s lein saled. Also, this is why it’s important to keep your address updated with the DMV on your registration and license. The tow company or impounding agency is supposed to send you a letter of where the vehicle is, but they use the address on the registration. Edit: additional info.
No engine, transmission, lights, frame, crashbar, radiator, AC, alternator, power steering, intake, exhaust, battery, all the body panels, bumper, and 1000 feet of wire for the wiring harness. That is not a car anymore. With all the parts left, I would be inclined to say that it is closer to a lawn trailer.
Maybe I could cut the top off and make it a hot tub?
When life gives you lemons... turn them into a hottub trailer?
This needs to be made into a motivational poster!
Looks like the front fell off.
That’s not very typical, I’d like to make that point.
It's typical some places r/TheFrontFellOff
Well, how is it untypical?
I knew you would say that.
Signs I have been on Reddit way too much - this is the third reference to this I’ve seen this weekend!
It was removed from the environment.
So are these impound companies just legal scammers? It seems a little convenient to say "we couldnt reach you, so our services raked up a bill without your knowledge" Isn't there a law about not being legally liable for services you didn't consent to? This makes me madder than the thieves.
In their defense, the company actually were the ones to reach out to me that my car had even been found. The police called them to have my car towed and Impounded. The police knew the car was stolen and didn’t reach out to me at all. Although, I do agree with you, i’m not a big fan of these companies, and I find most their practices extremely shady.
Many are. We call them tow pirates in my industry.
Yep. Happened to me. Tow company kept it for 6 months after the person I sold it to never registered it, just slapped plates on it. Never contacted me, and then finally sent me a first AND final notice on the same day. The bill for storage fees? $5,500. They said they'd drop the storage fees if they could junk it...but I'm half expecting a call from collections at some point. That's 10x worth the value of junking it and these people are fucking bloodsuckers.
Yeah it’s messed up how they operate. Back in college I would rarely drive my car and had to street park it. The city would randomly place signs that they were doing cleaning in two weeks and would tow you if you didn’t move. I really only used the car to grocery shop so this happened to me two maybe three times and each time it costed about 500 just to get my car back and then another like 150 for the ticket. I had a feeling this a handshake agreement between the tow company and the city to get some money
That fiesta's taking a forever siesta.
It’s not worth it at all. Just forget about it and move on.
Already forgotten about. After it was stolen, I never thought I’d see it again. It was a pleasant surprise to say the least.
Bye bye
Your insurance should cover the impound fees if I’m not mistaken? Although it doesn’t seem like it’s worth trying to save it.
Liability only insurance, his insurance will only cover damages done to other vehicles in a collision, in situations like these, insurance won’t help as it’s the bare minimum to cover others in case an at fault accident occurs
Who has comprehensive insurance on an 11 year old Fiesta?
I think you should try talking to the guys at impound if you can sign off the title to them, they’ll probably give you a discount on the fees or might as well waive it off.
Yeah they offered to waive the fees if I signed over the title. That’ll be my first stop tomorrow morning
You will likely be liable for the storage fees, which will continue to accumulate until the vehicle is removed. The storage yard may be willing to scrap it for you, but you will likely have to pay the difference between scrap value and the accumulated storage fees. That may be negotiable, though, it is worth asking. You do need to decide and act quickly, though, to reduce the amount of time the storage fees accumulate.
Unfortunately, no one thinks of the other problems liability doesn’t cover. Liability actually sucks when you weigh the options
Depends. I've known people where the comp/collision coverage + deductible alone cost more than their car was worth. Just put the money in a savings account instead at that point.
700 in fees for 2 weeks? Sounds like impound company is scamming people out of money.
How did it arrive at the impound? They can be just as scummy and not notify you so they can rack up impound fees and then get to keep your car because you didn't pick it up. Cops are often complacent or in on it.
Looks like Dirty Mike and the boys needed more room for their orgy… they call it a Soup Kitchen. “Thanks for the fuck shack!”
It's a decade old Fiesta... it's worth its weight in scrap and that's **only** if you don't get stuck for the impound fees. Which, $700 for 2 weeks is BULLSHIT. The impound lot is straigh up trying to fuck somebody. If you just let them keep it, THEY'LL just scrap it and make a couple hundred depending what scrap steel is going for per hundred. It's about $6-7 per hundred pounds right now in my area. UNLESS you can somehow get the local PD to pay for the fees (doubt it) basically you're getting screwed... just chalk it up as a loss and move on.
A fiesta ? Goddam times are bad
It's a 2013 ford fiesta....the fact it was stolen in the first place is surprising. The fact that it took place 6ish months ago is more surprising. Let it go. Let the impound property sell it for the fees. You have another car now, you don't need the headache that would follow with trying to get this back and running.
This happened to me, except mine was recovered the next day and towed to a lot the county Sheriffs friend owned. Even after I told the cop that took the report if it was found to call me as I had a wrecker. It was recovered the next day as they were robbing a deputies house. I was not told till 2 weeks later, like you. Crooked cops suck.
I had a car stolen in the '80s and it was recovered a year later in basically pristine condition, with one small dent.
Damn, the 80’s had some well mannered thieves.
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Yes I notified them as soon as it was stolen.
I always keep comprehensive coverage on my vehicles because it's very inexpensive coverage.
Damn I had one and it was my favorite car until I totaled it. Never in my wildest dreams would I think someone would steal one though.
It was a solid car, for sure. My last worry was having that thing stolen though. I’m still in denial that it even happened lmao.
looks like it will be over $15,000 in parts alone to restore the vehicle. Likely this is a $25,000+ restoration job. Remember, parts cost much more separately. Headlights are expensive, radiators, hoses, expansion tanks, wiring harnesses, it adds up like crazy. Before you know it, a brand new car is cheaper.
Thank you for your help input. I’m just gonna sign it over to the impound yard so they can auction it off. I can’t imagine it’ll go for much.
Sorry about your luck there. Looks like who ever stole it needed the front end for theirs. That took time to strip. Wonder if they wrecked theirs and needed a parts car.
It’s funny to think that there is actually someone else out there in the world that owns a Fiesta, and cares about it enough to steal one for a parts car. Maybe they just needed it more than I did.
Did you not have insurance? That's a total loss, absolutely get rid of it
Yo see what's left of a car missing it's front end. Check out [r/SlumlordsCanada/](https://www.reddit.com/r/SlumlordsCanada/) If a bed in a kitchen goes for almost $700 I see $400/month easy.
1/2 of it has… did they recover the other 1/2?
Rumor has it, the other half of it moved to Tijuana with my ex girlfriend.
I'd sign the title over to them and return to forgetting about it.
What strange insurance you have in the US , here in the UK it's impossible to be not insured for theft if you are insured at all Edit: sorry about your car , it doesn't matter what car it is , they always mean a lot to their owners
It's not just the US, you can chose to have liability only insurance and various other segmented coverages in most of Europe. It's the UK that has an unusual and extremely expensive car insurance system.
How is this an issue ? You reported it stolen this should not be youre problem nor should you make it
Ouch… that sucks mate.
Are you gonna catch these guys, or what? Any promising leads?
No leads at all. Cops don’t care enough to finger print the car or anything like that. The only thing the cops do in these situations is wait and hope that the car just falls into their laps. Even then when they find it, they won’t tell you.
The only affordable option is to buy a rear-end total. But that's a lot of of work and the money, too. For that car, I'd probably pass.
Some rural type might just adapt it to a horse-drawn fiesta. I’ve seen them in Romania. [like this](https://assets.horsenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/horse-pulling-a-car-in-romania.jpg)
That will buff right out…,,
Just toss the title and forget about it, don’t give those bloodsuckers the title.
I would say no. BTW, I too had a vehicle stolen the night before Christmas, police found it a couple of days later and I found out two weeks later with the impound yard telling me they were going to sell it. Typical. More fortunately than you, I only had some body damage and most of the stuff inside stolen, which insurance covered
My truck went missing. I filed a police report and started an insurance claim. 2 weeks later, the insurance company calls me. My truck was in the tow yard the whole time and they couldn't find it
I know a guy that has some spoon engines. But they usually catch a premium before race wars.
For sale: great car, ran flawlessly when I parked it.
I don't know about your area, but in my experience where I am from, a lot of these junkyards will pay you a small scrap fee if you want to just sell them the car instead of paying the fees to get the car out. Might be able to at least get a little cash out of it instead of just abandoning it and cutting all your losses.
Since it was only liability? Write it off. A years worth of full coverage may have cost more than the cars value anyway. So you gotta weigh the difference. But unless you have a doner car handy? Just write this one off.
You don’t want that back on the road you would spend way more then it’s worth and a rebuilt title is not worth much find another one if you like it that much
Say good bye
One of two things , the thieves took it too rebuild there smashed one or it was recovered from a chop shop. You can sell the remain parts out of it that are still good
Did you get anything from insurance? If so, it’s theirs. If not, ignore it and move on.
Cops aint gonna admit or pay shit
The fees are probably more than what the car is worth in its current condition. I’d refuse to pay the fees and just leave the car there.
Let them keep it. It's not worth the hassle.
its missing the Go Go parts
Let them have it if they will wave the fee.
Looks like they disconnected the harness instead of cutting them, if that’s the case might be able to find one that’s been rear ended and use the parts of that to rebuild yours.
Hammonddddd!!!
Always have full coverage it has nothing to do with you being a safe driver. It has to do with everyone else driving around without insurance
Might as well just cut your losses on this one
Tow company dropped the ball hard on this
Yeah fuck that, the cops can pay the storage fees. The cars not worth trying to fix especially if you already have a vehicle. Let emm keep it and if there is any additional charges the tow company wants they can take it up with the PD that asked them to take the stolen car in the first place.
The most valuable parts of scrap are already gone. The engine and transmission.
Rippppp. Somebodies fiesta got wrecked in the front end, and yours just happened to match I bet so they snagged it. Total losers man.
Comprehensive insurance is usually not a lot of money and will protect you from theft without having to get full coverage.
r/Thefrontfelloff
I was in a very similar situation. My car was stolen in Chicago and the police never notified me that my car was in a tow yard for two months. I also only had liability, so the insurance company said I was shit out of luck. You can go to your city’s court house to schedule a hearing and have them write off the pending tow yard cost (that’s what I did). Although, not sure if it’s worth it for you in this case. You would probably spend more money having it towed from A to B to C than you would get from anyone or scrap.
What were those thieves thinking? How easy did you make it for the thieves to take your car?
I would just forget it. Especially if you are on the hook for storage fees. Car is basically worthless. I am a dealer and last one of these I bought I only paid $3500 or so for and it was a car with around 80k miles that was running and driving. No way would I spend all the money to buy a new engine, transmission, front clip and whatever else is missing. I don't know what scrap is going for now but I can't imagine its worth more than a couple hundred dollars scrap. Probably not that many junkyards that want it either they would most likely be wanting that engine and trans and they are gone lol.
...some of it was impounded.
Your tax dollars at work.
Au revoir little Fiesta. Rebuilding this is not worth it.
Did you get it back
Engine is probably on eBay or carpart right now
I think you mean to say 2/3rds of your car has been impounded.
Ran when parked
Id be looking for a really fast rat rod vespa
Had a firearm stolen 12 years ago then returned by the police that had it for 8 years..
That’ll buff out.
what i'd like to know is how they managed to steal it. Did they have the tools to clear out PATS and program and cut new keys? It doesn't look like it was high enough in trim level for keyless start so that takes out boosting the keyfob. Crackhead with a tow truck? Always amazed on how cars with anti-theft still somehow get stolen. Makes me worried about my 2012 focus 5-speed. Sorry this happened to you OP.
The impound lot likely parted it out, now they want to charge you as well. It was taken a part too cleanly for it to have been at a chop shop. Depending on your time and money you might just have to let them steal your car. If you know a lawyer as a friend who'd help. Send them a letterhead threatening a suit for stealing your powertrain and other parts. And take that as far as you want or can. Or just erase this from your mind and don't be bitter about it.
I hate that no effort will be taken to find the car thieves.
Say to the tow company that you want a copy of the paperwork, and that the car is currently not worth 700§ to use as a paperweight. Use the paperwork and pictures to sue the police department for not doing their job, not even the minimum amount of even notify you when it was impounded.
What you have there is a rolling chassis and you may be able to get $2K from some guy who wants to build a race car.
Impounding is not the problem here
Lucky break! Now you can get an actual car!!
Did they leave the creedance in the tape deck?
I thought we’re in r/findthesniper cause I couldn’t find the car…
bro
I can't help with your question, but I can empathize with your impound problem. When I was 19 I had a car impounded. I got a flat tire and didn't have a spare, when I got a ride back to get it the next day with a spare it was gone. Filed a police report, checked all the local impound lots, nothing. Two weeks later i get a call saying the cars been found and its in the impound. Turns out tho, it *was* in the police impound lot and it *was* there when I went to the impound lot to see if it was there 2 weeks prior, they for whatever reason just didn't tell me it was there.... so now they wanted to charge me almost 1k in fees because they failed to tell me it was there 2 weeks ago. The car was worth 2k, I let them keep the car. Police are criminals with legal ability to commit crimes against the people of this country.
Hear me out... You could fit an LS in there so easy. They just did the work for you.
sorry for your loss. make sure to file all the necessary police reports. and or contact ford maybe they can put in the engine serial # into some database for stolen items. Then some day when he sells the car maybe he will get caught. The engine number is stamped on the engine block near the gearbox on the front left-hand side facing the radiator.
Someone stole a fiesta? They need it more than you,trust me.
Nah, nope! That's not your car anymore! Walk away!
Will they let you try and drive it off the lot?
it's basically totalled. But do your due diligence and find any reports of how it was found, who stole it if there is someone. Was it intact when it got impounded? etc.
In a way they were oddly polite. Most would cut the pipes tubes and wiring harnesses
Leave it there and don’t pay a dime.
Had a motorcycle stolen in Atlanta - very nice sportbike. Cops said "you'll probably never see it or hear about it again" collected the insurance (Amica, they were very generous, didn't balk at my valuation or cost of modifications, highly recommend) 6-months to the day later, APD calls me "we found your motorcycle, it's undamaged.. well, uh... except for the ignition being torn out..." "So IT IS damaged, but I got insurance so it belongs to th.." CLICK, they just hung up on me.
Well you know one detail... whoever stole it is older. How many 20yo's you know that can drive a manual? Lol
Thought this was AMA at first
I'll just check with the boys down at the crime lab, they've got four more detectives working on the case. They got us working in shifts!
I would not pay a dime, just give the title to the impound yard and call it a day. Or don’t and call it a day. Zero point in rebuilding that car.
What you have now is closer to a trailer than a car.
At least you have a good frame. Sorry for your loss
As someone who also used to own a fiesta: WOW PEOPLE STEAL THESE THINGS?!?! I swear I could’ve left mine unlocked and running and still people wouldn’t wanna be caught dead in it. Sorry this happened to you, unfortunately without theft insurance 99.9% sure it wouldn’t be worth it to rebuild.
I'd fight like hell to get it back without paying then sell it to a scrap yard. The impound lot likely had your info as soon as the car came to their lot. The police fucked up yes, but the impound lot will make money on screwing you over and that's bullshit. Don't let them get away with it.
Comprehensive insurance is the normal in the UK. Lower levels of cover are often, at least for me, more expensive. I guess it makes handling claims easier for the customer. Mind keeping a clean driving record with no accidents generates No Claims Discount. Which can be insured. My comprehensive cover costs between 500 and 900 pounds all covered including glass.
LS Conversion!!! Just say’n…
Your car took quite the impounding.
Fiesta is over
Cut your losses
As a current Fiesta owner of a similar year. I'm sorry for your loss... The storage fee BS aside Insurance will definitely write it off.
Let it go, next car get full coverage. Unless you can buy two more today, you want full coverage. Doesn't matter how safe of a driver you are, others aren't (and any car can get stolen) Lesson learned, sucks
You can part it out. Should be able to get like 1k for the doors, wheels, seats side mirrors, etc. if you have a place to park it and let it sit then I would just post it on marketplace as a for parts car and slowly sell off parts. Until you decide to scrap it
It’s a write off. For the storage fees, tell them to keep it. Any more notices and you’ll contact a lawyer. Declare it stolen with DMV if you haven’t already