He got his stolen vehicle back, but even after repairs, it won't sell

It's another headache for drivers who have a vehicle stolen, what to do if they want to sell after their stolen vehicle was damaged and then recovered.

For one Ottawa man, that was the dilemma after his 2022 RAV4 hybrid was stolen right out of his driveway in October.

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"It was three in the morning, we were all asleep," said Joe Karam, who lives in the Ottawa suburb of Barrhaven. "We woke up the next morning, came down, opened the door and sure enough, the car was gone instantly."

Karam was in the process of making an insurance claim and getting a replacement vehicle.

"We got the phone call that the Quebec police had actually recovered the vehicle in Quebec, about half an hour outside of Montreal," he said.

That's where things got complicated. Karam says the vehicle was badly damaged and needed thousands of dollars in repairs. He decided to sell it after the work was done and replace it with a new car.

"I actually went out and bought a new car because we didn't know what to do. And so I figured once we got the car back, I would put it up for sale because it's a hot item saleswise and will go instantly, and that's where we had the problems with it," he said.

Karam says the vehicle wouldn't sell to dealerships because of the damage history. He was hoping to get nearly $40,000 for it.

"They put on auction at street values between $40,000 and $43,000 because it's a hybrid. Top line, top of the line auction came back $18,800," he said.

So the stolen, repaired vehicle sits in his driveway unsold. He doesn't want it, but also doesn't want to take a huge hit on the value of the car, another cost of the stolen vehicle epidemic.

"Don't buy anything that's on the top ten list of stolen vehicles because if you plan on keeping it, if it's recovered, perfect, but if you want to sell it, good luck. Just keep that in mind," he said.

Karam says it's a consumer warning for anyone looking to get rid of a vehicle that was severely damaged after being stolen.