Damage

[simsith]

I may have found a car id like to buy, its a gt sport 410, but had cat N damage which is apparently new front and rear bumpers were fitted after a light accident.

In terms of purchase would this put you off, what would you want to know and how would you expect this to be reflected on the price?

[Matty_]

Someone on TLF bought a Sport 410 with CatN damage recently - rear quarter, front and rear bumper damage. It was probably a £50k car privately (very low mileage) 2018 car I think, with 5k miles on it. It sold privately for about under £42k. Someone advised it had been advertised a few times previously and failed to sell, but unsure of previous price listings.

Due to tub damage, people are usually pretty shy of Cat N on Lotus cars. As long as it been properly inspected, and has evidence just superficial damage and repairs with proper parts at a reputable place, then usual 20-25% price reduction usually applies.

Personally? It'd have to be very cheap for me, if nothing else the hassle of selling it would put me off. Realistically, you're not "saving" anything - You either pay £50k for a straight one on and sell it for £48k later, or buy a fixed one for £42k and sell it for £40k later. The deprication curve (and TCO) will likely be the same...you'll just have a harder time selling the car with a marker.

[simsith]

Hi matty, ok good advice, it sounds like the same car to me as your description matches it perfectly, which is a worry if it only sold recently, although I know people sometimes don't keep this kind of car long.

I completely understand tour logic though in tco, maybe peace of mind of ownership too adds in.

Thanks for the reply

[Matty_]

Interesting - wonder why he's selling so soon?

I can send you the video of the rebuild of you want to see it, the previous seller sent me the link to the garage that did it, as I initially enquired about it as it was down the road from me. To be fair it looks like it was done to a high standard, but I was only willing to offer £40k and the seller was firm on the price.

[Matty_]

Ah. I've seen his posts saying he can't get comfy in the seats, suspect this may be the issue...quite common and why many people prefer the comfort seats.

Well worth checking yourself if you're looking at that one (or others with those).

[simsith]

Thanks Matty, i will do i am fairly slim so didn't think the seats would be an issue, he has it up at 44k, before reading your posit in my head I was at 40, that seemed right if I worked on 53k without cat n then applied around 30%, he is unlikely to want to make a 2k loss if he paid 42k though

[simsith]

I had emailed asking for the details and didn't hear back, so if you could ping over the video that would be great

[Matty_]

Sure, not sure if I can link it, but if not, search for "Freedco" on Instagram, it's one of his stories:

https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE4MTg2OD...

And offering what he paid for it seems fair to me. I'd be happy if I bought a car, used it for a few months and sold it for what I paid? Free motoring!