# Help with recovering car stolen from Denmark, found in Spain



## MortenK (May 20, 2013)

Dear expats,

I'm looking for some help / advice. My family has a car that was stolen from Denmark a few years ago. Apparently it was used for drug-running or something similar - The guy who stole it was arrested near Marbella, and Spanish polish held the car for investigation. 

Now we've finally received word that the car should be released by the police, sometime during June most likely. 

To get the car back we have some problems, that I'm hoping some Spain expats might be able to help us get answered.

Most likely the car will not be able to drive. The battery must be dead, and who knows what other failures is on the car. We have two options basically: To go to Marbella and try to get the car fixed and then drive it all the way back to Scandinavia. OR, engage some kind of auto transportation company, that can ship the car back to Denmark.

As non of the family speaks any Spanish whatsoever, it seems it will be a complicated affair to get the car released, find some people to tow it, find a mechanic and get it fixed for driving. 

I'm wondering if there is some kind of expat service company, that could help us with these kinds of things? I.e. going with us to the police, calling tow truck, booking appointment with mechanic in advance etc.

Alternatively, does anybody know a good car shipping company that might be able to handle the transport back to Denmark? And in that case, anybody has any idea of price indications? 

I'm betting the car shipping alternative will be super expensive, so we are leaning towards the "go there and get the car fixed" approach. Still, it would be so much easier to just get it shipped. 

How would you go about solving the situation? Any pitfalls you can think of, that we should be aware of? 

Thanks in advance for any advise!

Best regards,
Morten


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## 111KAB (Aug 3, 2012)

Think I would start off by hoping someone off this forum or local Marbella forum can go and have brief look over the car just to ensure it is worth bringing back to Denmark in the first place - good luck.


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## olivefarmer (Oct 16, 2012)

Good suggestion about hoping for someone to have a look at the vehicle. 

Then if it is worth recovering back to Scandinavia I would use a car transporter company. There was a thread on this on another forum. 

BBC News - David Cameron warns overseas territories on tax

Not cheap maybe 500 to 800 euros. But then if you flew down it would cost you that in flights, fuel, taxis, overnight hotels......

Is this not covered by car insurance in your country? The vehicle was after all stolen.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Hi Morten

What is the situation regarding the insurance? Have you made a claim for the stolen vehicle? Have they paid out? If so, then surely it is the insurance company's problem to either pay you in full for the value of the car or recover it and get it into a serviceable condition and back to you.


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## jonmlb748 (Oct 30, 2011)

what is the value of your car ,if it was stolen 'a few years ago' is it worth the hassle .as stated previously, surely it's the insurance companies problem.


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## MortenK (May 20, 2013)

Hi everyone, 

Thanks for the replies, really appreciate it. 

As for the insurance questions: You'd think that the insurance would cover, but apparently they refused. I'm not 100% into the details, but it wasn't a random car theft. Basically the family member who had the car, loaned it out to a friend, who then disappeared. He was then caught a couple of weeks later in Marbella, where he had been arrested by the police, supposedly with a trunk full of something fancy. As the keys were given willfully to the guy, insurance refused to pay for the recovery. 

As for whether it's worth it or just a "cut your loss" kind of situation: It's not a luxury car by any means. It's a Peugoet something stationcar, I believe 4-5 years old, but should have quite a bit of value left (at least in Denmark with our crazy car tax). 

As for getting someone to look over the car: I'm planning to do this myself actually. The family member who lost the car, can't really do it I think, so I offered to. The prices for flights are very reasonable, think it's 120 EUR return with Ryan, so it's doable. 

Was thinking to go down there, deal with the cops, get the car released and then either get it fixed at a mechanic and drive it home, or better, just get it towed to some shipping company, who could take care of it from there. 

Still, would be nice to have some backup on the ground in terms of a local with decent English. I was hoping there would be some kind of expat service company, where you could hire a local guy/gal for some hours to help with that.

Anybody know of any such company / individual?


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