Stolen Vehicle Claim

[Speedvision1]

Hi everyone.

I have a rather odd situation. I find alot of information in forums like these as people have alot of knowledge. Here goes my story, a sad one.

I had a girlfriend living with me trying to get on her feet. She was doing well up till this point. Around the forth I woke up to my car peeling out of the driveway and her driving. She is not allowed to drive my car, and so I tried to get ahold of her nothing. Hours went by so I called the police and filed a claim for a stolen vehicle (hard to do to a girl that you have feelings for). I had no choice. She could of hit a kid, or another car etc.

Around 24 hours later I got a call saying the car was parked somewhere in the city about an hour form my home. It was out of gas. I went and picked up my car. It started to overheat but not bad. I stopped and checked coolant etc. On the way home it would go up and down, so I figured there was air in the cooling system, as my car is reverse flow so it is very finicky. Got home and and had a mechanic for a ford delaership take a look at it. I also called and told the police that I had my car back. I explained to them that the car had over heated but appeared to be ok. The mechanic said most likely water pump or fan. I am ok with that and can live with it. I would gladly pay to have these fixed and never talk to this girl again.

But, he said what if you have damage to the engine etc. A blown seal on the motor etc. What if I need a new motor (although he said not likely as it runs ok). So he said to call the insurance company and let them know whats going on. So I did and am waiting to hear from them.

I guess my question is, should I retract my stolen vehicle report from the police? Does it make a difference. I do not want to put this girl in jail necessarily, but if I have extensive damage done, I do not want to pay out of pocket. She would probably willingly admit to stealing the vehicle.

From what I know she drove it about an hour away from my house. Once there she let the vehicle idle for almost 20 hours before it ran out of gas. I am guessing from letting the vehicle idle for so long was really bad for the vehicle.

What should I do? I guess what I am really getting at is do I need to retract the statement claiming the vehicle is back? Again, I do not want to press charges unless there is alot of damage. Then I will have to worry about myself and not her. It is really a hard situation.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[FullAuto]

Your insurance company will require a stolen car report for any claim you make for damage while the vehicle was stolen. Even then, there is a good possibility they will deny the claim.

 

[saieddie]

The insurance company is going to want to know why you have a driver in the household that is not listed on the policy. Its a fishy story. I'd just pay to fix the vehicle and not involve the insurance company.

 

[djs]

It is unlikely you have a claim with insurance. You can file it if appropriate, but they will likely deny it based on the car wasn't technically stolen (ask the police about this). She lived in your house, she was your girlfriend, at the time.

In addition, there is no coverage usually for people who live in the home but aren't listed on the policy, so because she lived in your house, even if she technically stole the car, the claim would likely be denied because she lived in your house (many reasons for this rule).

Then there is the question of whether the theft caused the problem or if the problem was incidental to the theft, which it likely was. Leaving your car running isn't a problem, normally. Running it into something is.

Hopefully, there is no significant damage.

Dan

 

[Speedvision1]

The insurance company is going to want to know why you have a driver in the household that is not listed on the policy. Its a fishy story. I'd just pay to fix the vehicle and not involve the insurance company.

I hope there is no damage also. Technically she was living in Union, she would stay alot of the times at my house. Her mailing address, and information were always sent to Union. But she stayed there alot, and so that is an issue. Now, she never actually had a valid drivers liscence (taken away for not paying tickets) so I didnt see a reason to add her to the policy. Along with the fact I wouldnt want her driving the car anyways. But it is a fishy story. You are right. I would rather not involve the insutance agency. I am hoping that it dosent come to that when I take the vehicle in.

I did call and file a claim, and an adjuster is supposed to call me with in 24 hours. That should be today sometime. I thought the same thing, the theft, and leaving the car on wouldnt cause significant damage. Here is what the dealership told me.

Having the car running in 100 degree weather, idling is different than driving the car. The fans clutch will make the fan run its hardest while stopped or parked. When driving the fans will slow down. The fans were running full blast for so many hours and likely the fans are out. When the fans went out the radiator temp would then rise. At this point the car would start to overheat.

Now, I figured they may deny the claim, but the honest truth is the car was stolen, she drove to the city to buy drugs, which she knew I wouldnt be ok with, and that is why she never called or said anything. She "apparently left the car running" because she wanted to come back home. I don't understand the logic or her anymore at this point. I guess I wanted to protect myself. I am willing to press charges against her, given that there is significant damage. If there is and she is unwilling to TRY or attempt to help pay for the damage, then I will go after her legally reguardless. I would rahter her go to jail and take responsibility for the problems she caused.

Yes, what a mess of a situation.