There aren't that many places to sell used MINI parts, only a handful of forums and such, so i would also recommend keeping your eye on them

 

That really sucks. I'm so sorry this happened. In the event it was taken for parts, try to keep an eye out on eBay. If you find a place selling certain things that can be identified, ask them for the vehicle's vin. If they ask why, just say you want to check compatibility.

I'll keep an eye out also...I'm always on eBay.

 

I'm sorry to hear the bad news. If any car I own is ever stolen the last thing I want is to have it returned. The majority of stolen cars that are recovered and returned to their owners prove to be long term problems with different minor, but costly, problems needing to be taken care of.

 

Well now that it has been gone for a few days, I am starting to lose hope that they are going to find the car I feel like I lost a close friend

Maybe it's for the best. Who knows what they could have done to it by now.

 

Keep an eye on the CT Craigslist subdomains (not just your local, probably newlondon.craigslist.org) for parts and wheels. Chances are it didn't go out of state.

 

Only the second stolen thread I've ever seen on this forum

 

updates? its been 3 days.

 

Ive been curious to hear if anything new has developed also! If its still not found yet chances are getting very slim to find it at all..

 

Am curious as well. In the OP's first post, he mentioned making payments. Tells me he has comprehensive insurance. Would be interesting to hear about the experience. Here in Phx, when a car is boosted, it's usually in Mexico before the owner knows it's gone.. though typically not a mini..

 

Im also curious what are the chances of recovering a car that has been stolen? Im guessing chances are very slim? I actually bought a stolen car. But didn't know it when I bought it! lol Its was a old mustang I bought off of a farmer..

 

DAMN...... My heart skipped a beat when I saw Rocky Hill, I'll keep my eyes open as I'm in the Hartford area. What's your plate?

 

Wow that sucks. I didn't think these cars could be stolen really. Sorry to hear about it. Hopefully you end up with an even better one through insurance. Good luck.

 

Update: The car has still not been found. I'm still in shock over this whole thing. I have comprehensive insurance so now I have been cooperating with the insurance investigations and providing them all the info I have on the car and the parts etc. Only time will tell how it all plays out as far as payout and/or vehicle recovery goes.


But for now....I'm driving a rental. It's a Buick

 

Dante's 1st circle of hell that is what that is!

 

Yeah, the idea of "comparable car" that rental agencies have can be really wacky.

"Well, this one has more space inside it so it's even better than what you had."
"But it has no power, gets lousy gas mileage, and corners on its door handles. Plus the controls take for ever to respond!"
"What does any of that matter? It's bigger! You're lucky we upgraded you to this for free!"

 

God I had a buick lesabre, loved that pos. handled like a wet sponge.

 

As difficult as this might be to deal with at this point I have to say that I think that car is GONE.

Our cars are very difficult to steal, pretty much only 2 ways; with a key or a tow truck.

So whoever took that car either needed one to flip (put there VIN on), needed most of the parts (crashed one like yours) or its leaving the country in two pieces(that way it can be shipped out as parts).

So Its most likely time to start looking for a new (or at least new to you) MINI.

Former Brother-in-Law had this happen to his truck, a year later the police called and said "we found your truck" do you want it back. Well what they found was the dash with the VIN on it. He was like what am I going to do with that?

So lets hope that you get enough back from insurance to cover the amount you need to get yourself out of the BUICK.

 

**UPDATE**

In a strange and frustrating yet happy turn of events, my car is now back in my possession. The story goes:

-The car was towed from private property (my complex) the night it went missing. The reason was because my registration was expired (or so they thought, completely different story...) and the towing company has a contract with my apartment complex that gives them the right to scan the parking lots and tow at will (great feeling :/ ).

-The tow company never contacted the Police Department to notify them of the tow, or maybe they did and it was a clerical error at the PD.

-The tow company did not contact me for 13 days, and only did so by certified mail that was dated 13 days after the tow. They also never told the property owners they towed a vehicle off the lot.

So basically my car was sitting in a tow lot the past 2 weeks, reported as a stolen vehicle, and the tow company did not follow the procedures that are required when towing a vehicle. They must report the tow to the PD within 2 hours, and notify the owner within 48 hours.

To say I am unhappy about this would be an understatement. I got my car back free of charge (damn right) and I'm ready to put this situation behind me.

 

Wow, glad to see a great ending here! Sorry you had to be put through that pain and frustration. Hope those a****** lose their contract with your condo complex. I'd be furious too.

 

Wow, what a story, glad you got it back. Inspect the car up and down and make sure they did not damage anything on the undercarriage, when they towed it.

 

Well, technically it was stolen, can you press charges?

 

They had the authorization to tow on the property, and according to DMV records at the time, my registration was expired. Regardless of whether they followed procedures and notified the Police/Me, it would probably not be worth my time and effort to pursue this further (I have spoken with an attorney). Police had nothing to charge them with and they told me the only thing I could do would be file a complaint with the DMV.

On a side note, the CT DMV has screwed me over (fact, not opinion) to the point of it being comical to the DMV worker that was helping me But that's a whole different story...

Edit: plates cancelled, not expired.

 

Might be a good time to petition your complex to find a new tow service! Are you out rental car money? I'd be looking to get that back too. What a bunch of BS.

But in any case glad you got it back safe and sound.

 

Insurance has been really helpful throughout the process, and they are still going to cover my rental car because they know I'm not at fault.

 

Glad you got your car back and it wasn't on blocks in a back ally somewhere. I'd be furious too . . . but it's a new day. Enjoy your car again!!