Any experience of buying a previously stolen car?

[Sosomego]

Over the weekend I've put a deposit on a car that was advertised on Auto trader and is being sold by a private dealership. The car is exactly what I've been looking for and is a good price, although not massively cheaper than similar models I've seen elsewhere. When we got home from the dealer my husband Googled the plate and the car has been posted about on a regional stolen cars Facebook page. This was back in March this year and there appears to be a crime ref number. We then ran an AA car check and it states that the car has not been previously recorded as stolen. We called 101 and the police do not have any alerts on the number plate.

The dealer mentioned he had bought it at auction, we're now thinking it was possibly a police auction after the car was stolen and recovered. Does anyone know if the car was recovered then it would no longer be on record as being a stolen car? My husband is concerned that its history could affect resale value, although the only indication we have that it was stolen at some point is a Facebook post which I have no way of verifying. On paper it looks legitimate but we're a bit concerned that it might cause us problems. I'd be really interested to know if anyone has experience of this kind of car situation. Thanks!

I work in insurance so my advice is based on that.

It doesn't affect resale value at all, but my concerns are:

1. Was it that vehicle that was stolen, or just that plate? Plates change so it might not have been that vehicle at all.
2. If it was that vehicle, were the locks changed? They don't have to be, but bear in mind that someone could still have a key (as is the risk with any purchase really)
3. Does your insurance policy have a provision about theft? I know most policies in the USA don't cover a vehicle if it turns out you purchased a stolen vehicle

You've confirmed this vehicle doesn't have a history of being stolen so I'd be okay with that.

Thanks for your advice. The description in the Facebook post does match the car and we saw it at the dealership so we know it matches the car in the ad.

Good point about the keys, that didn't occur to us. The other concern is that we don't know what happened to the car when it was stolen, it could have been driven recklessly or off roaded which could lead to problems later. We're leaning towards not going through with the purchase now and buying from a franchise dealership instead.