An unrecorded finance purchase question.

[jconnor98]

Evening all,

Just a quick post up here to settle a debate I've been having with myself in regards to another possible purchase! I have seen these unrecorded salvage vehicles on ebay from a company called TNS autosalvage, the reviews are good and the company seems in order. The cars looks like they have sustained light non structural damage, most with just a dent or two, hardly seem like they should be written off, and obviously they are claimed to be HPI clear as they are unrecorded salvage. However like salvage they are priced thousands below market value. Take the Audi S1 in the link down below, its has a small ding in the front wing and it's around 5k under market, what am I missing here folks? Wheres the catch?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...

Thanks.

[Nickp82]

That’s more than a small ding though, it’s (probably) a new wing, repair to side skirt and door and a new wheel and tyre.
The car has likely been stolen and recovered.

[jconnor98]

Either way I wouldn't have thought the cost of repair would make the car cost anywhere near market and when all is repaired its still HPI clear? So almost like its never been crashed or stolen? Seems to good to be true

[Butter Face]

I’m amazed that they’re unrecorded. I wonder how they get them like that.

[Countdown]

From past experience the photos that salvage firms post don’t always show the full extent of the damage. I’d suggest visiting in person before deciding if it’s a bargain.

When i used to buy Cat D cars we’d normally be aiming for 50% of the value of a “straight” car, aim to spend 20% on getting it repaired, and then usually run it into the ground. Bear in mind this was cars priced at around the £2k-£3k salvage value.

[jas xjr]

There can only be one answer,the cars achieve higher prices because they are not recorded.
I know nothing about the industry

[Nickp82]

Yes you are probably right, a quick scan of AT suggests the car would retail at £16-17k so if it cost £1500 to put right it would make for decent value. Too good to be true? Probably not but could be a cheapish car if you are prepared to take the risk of possible engine or suspension damage as a result of being stolen, I know the seller says no suspension damage but it looks like it’s taken a fair old whack to the OSF wheel.

[Trevor555]

So I guess this company buys cars from an insurance company that chooses not to put their damaged/recovered cars onto the Hpi/Experian registers?

Anyone clarify?

I seem to remember reading about this some time ago in Auto Express.

[jconnor98]

I'm glad I'm not the only confused party here. I agree with the above comment that their could be possible suspension or engine damage, however with it being unrecorded I dont see any reason why I couldnt get an audi used warranty or a different comprehensive warranty that covers everything including suspension?

[kiethton]

Also watch out - some salvage cars take a good few months to show up on the register...

[Trevor555]

kiethton said:

Also watch out - some salvage cars take a good few months to show up on the register...

So would the company just claim "it wasn't recorded at the time of sale"

I'd be interested to know the legal side of that.

[jconnor98]

Trevor555 said:

kiethton said:

Also watch out - some salvage cars take a good few months to show up on the register...

So would the company just claim "it wasn't recorded at the time of sale"

I'd be interested to know the legal side of that.

I too would be interested to know the legal side of that

[Nickp82]

jconnor98 said:

I'm glad I'm not the only confused party here. I agree with the above comment that their could be possible suspension or engine damage, however with it being unrecorded I dont see any reason why I couldnt get an audi used warranty or a different comprehensive warranty that covers everything including suspension?

You would need to have the car inspected prior to the warranty being instigated so if there is underlying damage it would be picked up and you would not be able to claim for it (unless you can evidence having had it repaired prior, I imagine).

[Trevor555]

Nickp82 said:

jconnor98 said:

I'm glad I'm not the only confused party here. I agree with the above comment that their could be possible suspension or engine damage, however with it being unrecorded I dont see any reason why I couldnt get an audi used warranty or a different comprehensive warranty that covers everything including suspension?

You would need to have the car inspected prior to the warranty being instigated so if there is underlying damage it would be picked up and you would not be able to claim for it (unless you can evidence having had it repaired prior, I imagine).

Any warranty wouldn't cover external damage.

Ie, if it was clear any under car components had been damaged the warranty wouldn't cover it.

So yes, you'd have to get it fully repaired before trying to claim.

[Auto810graphy]

Non recorded cars are everywhere, most rental companies do not record any damaged cars so they end up for sale once repaired as unrecorded.

As for these, not every insurer puts cars on the HPI register, others can be finance repos that are only discovered when they are damaged but not repaired as they are sent straight to auction.

It’s also worth noting that it’s not unknown for salvage dealers to repair or tidy up damage to make cars look an easy repair.

[jconnor98]

Trevor555 said:

Nickp82 said:

jconnor98 said:

I'm glad I'm not the only confused party here. I agree with the above comment that their could be possible suspension or engine damage, however with it being unrecorded I dont see any reason why I couldnt get an audi used warranty or a different comprehensive warranty that covers everything including suspension?

You would need to have the car inspected prior to the warranty being instigated so if there is underlying damage it would be picked up and you would not be able to claim for it (unless you can evidence having had it repaired prior, I imagine).

Any warranty wouldn't cover external damage.

Ie, if it was clear any under car components had been damaged the warranty wouldn't cover it.

So yes, you'd have to get it fully repaired before trying to claim.

Yes fully repair the car, then get something like an RAC platinum plus warranty that does cover suspension components, providing there is no damage remaining that can been seen and the car is not on the HPI register I cant see why it wouldn't be covered?

[jconnor98]

Auto810graphy said:

Non recorded cars are everywhere, most rental companies do not record any damaged cars so they end up for sale once repaired as unrecorded.

As for these, not every insurer puts cars on the HPI register, others can be finance repos that are only discovered when they are damaged but not repaired as they are sent straight to auction.

It’s also worth noting that it’s not unknown for salvage dealers to repair or tidy up damage to make cars look an easy repair.

That's good to know it's not too uncommon, I had never stumbled across these types of salvage before, cat d and s cars scare me off due to the difficulty to sell/insure and so on. These unrecorded items dont seem to have a catch to them really then? Other than obviously buying with my eyes open to any hidden damage

[kiethton]

jconnor98 said:

Trevor555 said:

kiethton said:

Also watch out - some salvage cars take a good few months to show up on the register...

So would the company just claim "it wasn't recorded at the time of sale"

I'd be interested to know the legal side of that.

I too would be interested to know the legal side of that

It’s an interesting one and it’d take a lot of legal and £££ to find out. If the garage can produce a HPI from the day of sale with a clear title that would count for a lot...I don’t k is the answer, a hire car of more likely but I was looking at this historically and I couldn’t take the risk personally

[anonymous-user]

jconnor98 said:

Either way I wouldn't have thought the cost of repair would make the car cost anywhere near market and when all is repaired its still HPI clear? So almost like its never been crashed or stolen? Seems to good to be true

Do you really want a stolen car? The way it's been driven?

You buy it and drive it around for 6 months and then it needs a new gearbox because the theiving bds decided they wanted to slam it in gear without the clutch down.

All that potential hassle for a car that is 2-5k chesper than a straight one? No thanks.

[Jamescrs]

As said above its not. Uncommon for car salvage places to do some "repaira" to a badly damaged car to make it look not as damaged. There's a number of YouTube channels where people buy salvage cars and repair them for a living and do an amazing job but they also explain the pitfalls of buying salvage cars from dealers/ breakers.

There's an American guy called Samcrac who has a good channel for Christmas Bering this type of thing if your interested.