Depressing number of “write offs” on sale
Discussion
To answer your specific question. There are a sufficient number of brainless idiots out there who don't bother to look at the implications of buying cat S or N vehicles. For a start, the whole of the insurance industry is fully aware that ANY cat S or N vehicle is precisely that - and as a consquence will jack up the premium to insure it.
Secondly, when the time comes to sell it on, you will find all sorts of difficulty. Not ALL of Joe Public is as dumb as the seller thinks, and it takes a very long time to sell any vehicle with a "nasty smell" attached to it. And you can NEVER get rid of the vehicles dubious insurance history.
As a general rule - any cat S or N car is worth around half it's "clean" value. So that an £8000 car on a dealers forecourt makes the cat S or N vehicle of the same age/colour/spec/mileage/year worth around £4000 - or less.....
Advice:- NEVER have anything to do with these vehicles. They will be bad news till the end of their days.
datum77 said:
Advice:- NEVER have anything to do with these vehicles. They will be bad news till the end of their days.
Mmm, really? So if you're going to run a Cat N into the ground, it's not worth saving half the purchase price? Insurance never seems to be a big problem - I'm not sure it changes at all to be honest.
It's simply a question of economics. Just go into it with your eyes open.
Wasn’t there an article recently (maybe autoexpress) about the huge disparity between the dvla database of written of cars and the MIB database.
Most of these vehicle checking services use the MIB database so there are probably a fair % of cars that are cat s going up for sale after being written off with no marker against them to indicate they have been in a smash resulting in the insurance company writing them off.
I believe there are currently investigations underway to see how to rectify the disparity they have found.
Most of these vehicle checking services use the MIB database so there are probably a fair % of cars that are cat s going up for sale after being written off with no marker against them to indicate they have been in a smash resulting in the insurance company writing them off.
I believe there are currently investigations underway to see how to rectify the disparity they have found.
I knew a guy who used to repair accident damaged vehicles (shoddily at that) and sell them on. There was a story that he replaced the roof on one car, didn't bother welding in the strengthening braces, simply glued them in.
So knowing this, would you still touch an unknown accident damaged vehicle?
So knowing this, would you still touch an unknown accident damaged vehicle?
MB140 said:
Wasn’t there an article recently (maybe autoexpress) about the huge disparity between the dvla database of written of cars and the MIB database.
Most of these vehicle checking services use the MIB database so there are probably a fair % of cars that are cat s going up for sale after being written off with no marker against them to indicate they have been in a smash resulting in the insurance company writing them off.
I believe there are currently investigations underway to see how to rectify the disparity they have found.
True.Most of these vehicle checking services use the MIB database so there are probably a fair % of cars that are cat s going up for sale after being written off with no marker against them to indicate they have been in a smash resulting in the insurance company writing them off.
I believe there are currently investigations underway to see how to rectify the disparity they have found.
Some of the more ‘repair friendly’ written of / complete loss are not added to the register, or just delayed.
This allows the insurance company to get more for them at auction.
The salvage yards mark them up as ‘No Marker’ so the dodgy trade element will pay more for them.
Everyone’s a winner, alert from the public, thinking that HPI checks mean diddly squat!
datum77 said:
To answer your specific question. There are a sufficient number of brainless idiots out there who don't bother to look at the implications of buying cat S or N vehicles. For a start, the whole of the insurance industry is fully aware that ANY cat S or N vehicle is precisely that - and as a consquence will jack up the premium to insure it.
Secondly, when the time comes to sell it on, you will find all sorts of difficulty. Not ALL of Joe Public is as dumb as the seller thinks, and it takes a very long time to sell any vehicle with a "nasty smell" attached to it. And you can NEVER get rid of the vehicles dubious insurance history.
As a general rule - any cat S or N car is worth around half it's "clean" value. So that an £8000 car on a dealers forecourt makes the cat S or N vehicle of the same age/colour/spec/mileage/year worth around £4000 - or less.....
Advice:- NEVER have anything to do with these vehicles. They will be bad news till the end of their days.
It's been quite some time since I read this amount of bSecondly, when the time comes to sell it on, you will find all sorts of difficulty. Not ALL of Joe Public is as dumb as the seller thinks, and it takes a very long time to sell any vehicle with a "nasty smell" attached to it. And you can NEVER get rid of the vehicles dubious insurance history.
As a general rule - any cat S or N car is worth around half it's "clean" value. So that an £8000 car on a dealers forecourt makes the cat S or N vehicle of the same age/colour/spec/mileage/year worth around £4000 - or less.....
Advice:- NEVER have anything to do with these vehicles. They will be bad news till the end of their days.
ks being spouted by one person in one post. fiju said:
I knew a guy who used to repair accident damaged vehicles (shoddily at that) and sell them on. There was a story that he replaced the roof on one car, didn't bother welding in the strengthening braces, simply glued them in.
So knowing this, would you still touch an unknown accident damaged vehicle?
I bought one many moons ago, had it professionally inspected by I think Autoline. They gave it a clean bill of health and showed as condition inspected on HPi. All for a fraction of the cost of a similar car. Plus had.no ssues selling it on either.So knowing this, would you still touch an unknown accident damaged vehicle?
datum77 said:
To answer your specific question. There are a sufficient number of brainless idiots out there who don't bother to look at the implications of buying cat S or N vehicles. For a start, the whole of the insurance industry is fully aware that ANY cat S or N vehicle is precisely that - and as a consquence will jack up the premium to insure it.
Secondly, when the time comes to sell it on, you will find all sorts of difficulty. Not ALL of Joe Public is as dumb as the seller thinks, and it takes a very long time to sell any vehicle with a "nasty smell" attached to it. And you can NEVER get rid of the vehicles dubious insurance history.
As a general rule - any cat S or N car is worth around half it's "clean" value. So that an £8000 car on a dealers forecourt makes the cat S or N vehicle of the same age/colour/spec/mileage/year worth around £4000 - or less.....
Advice:- NEVER have anything to do with these vehicles. They will be bad news till the end of their days.
Approximately 95% of that post is absolute bSecondly, when the time comes to sell it on, you will find all sorts of difficulty. Not ALL of Joe Public is as dumb as the seller thinks, and it takes a very long time to sell any vehicle with a "nasty smell" attached to it. And you can NEVER get rid of the vehicles dubious insurance history.
As a general rule - any cat S or N car is worth around half it's "clean" value. So that an £8000 car on a dealers forecourt makes the cat S or N vehicle of the same age/colour/spec/mileage/year worth around £4000 - or less.....
Advice:- NEVER have anything to do with these vehicles. They will be bad news till the end of their days.
ks.Quite an achievement there.
In previous years I didn't mind a write off car, now I've got a partner and child there is not a chance I'd risk it.
The amount of times years ago I would view a car and be told its clean then hpi it and it was cat c or d was ridiculous.
Its always 'just' a dented door or front bumper scuff. They don't write off fairly new cars do, maybe on a 15 year old car.
The amount of times years ago I would view a car and be told its clean then hpi it and it was cat c or d was ridiculous.
Its always 'just' a dented door or front bumper scuff. They don't write off fairly new cars do, maybe on a 15 year old car.
datum77 said:
To answer your specific question. There are a sufficient number of brainless idiots out there who don't bother to look at the implications of buying cat S or N vehicles. For a start, the whole of the insurance industry is fully aware that ANY cat S or N vehicle is precisely that - and as a consquence will jack up the premium to insure it.
Secondly, when the time comes to sell it on, you will find all sorts of difficulty. Not ALL of Joe Public is as dumb as the seller thinks, and it takes a very long time to sell any vehicle with a "nasty smell" attached to it. And you can NEVER get rid of the vehicles dubious insurance history.
As a general rule - any cat S or N car is worth around half it's "clean" value. So that an £8000 car on a dealers forecourt makes the cat S or N vehicle of the same age/colour/spec/mileage/year worth around £4000 - or less.....
Advice:- NEVER have anything to do with these vehicles. They will be bad news till the end of their days.
I am surprised at how passionate you are in your feelings against accident damaged vehicles. Before branding all accident damage vehicles as being "dubious" it is worth investigating what makes a car "written off". For example, a Ferrari can have a very serious crash and it will be put back on the road. More extreme is this oneSecondly, when the time comes to sell it on, you will find all sorts of difficulty. Not ALL of Joe Public is as dumb as the seller thinks, and it takes a very long time to sell any vehicle with a "nasty smell" attached to it. And you can NEVER get rid of the vehicles dubious insurance history.
As a general rule - any cat S or N car is worth around half it's "clean" value. So that an £8000 car on a dealers forecourt makes the cat S or N vehicle of the same age/colour/spec/mileage/year worth around £4000 - or less.....
Advice:- NEVER have anything to do with these vehicles. They will be bad news till the end of their days.
That had to be pieced back together. But, due to its value it was put back on the road. At the other end of the spectrum, a very minor impact on a 10k car can have it written off due to the associated costs of the repair, such as rental car. I also think those costs have increased leading to the decision to write a car off being a lower bar.
But, we should also consider,
CRA1G said:
At least autotrader automatically flags them up at the beginning of the adverts now...
And that is another reason why we see so many more today in the classifieds. You cant hide.https://www.facebook.com/vcheck.uk
This garage have 50% cat N S cars, no mention in the add https://www.autotrader.co.uk/dealers/borough-of-ea...
This garage have 50% cat N S cars, no mention in the add https://www.autotrader.co.uk/dealers/borough-of-ea...
I would've thought it was an awful lot easier to write a car off these days compared to the pig iron days of yore. If you whack a few sensors in the bumper and smash some fancy headlights that might be enough to do it.
I wouldn't bother with one unless it was a significant discount and had a documented repair though.
I wouldn't bother with one unless it was a significant discount and had a documented repair though.
Loads of back street places making a nice living on damaged repairables, have seen some horrific cars put back on the road. Used to be one next door to a Celica specialist in Nottingham and they were stitching cars together at times to make them look reasonable. Amazing what a blow over will cover plus new trim bits and bumpers.
evoivboy said:
https://www.facebook.com/vcheck.uk
This garage have 50% cat N S cars, no mention in the add https://www.autotrader.co.uk/dealers/borough-of-ea...
Thanks for the tip. This info is shocking. I would have wrongly assumed that a written-off car will be flagged by a HPI check. How can dealers get away with buying a write-off at an auction, and then passing it off as clean? It's a crazy industryThis garage have 50% cat N S cars, no mention in the add https://www.autotrader.co.uk/dealers/borough-of-ea...
Many years ago I used to do damage repairables. However, I used to just pick out the ones with very minor damage, maybe bumper/wing/ headlamps ect. It was all bolt on stuff.
With labour charges so high Inc hire car costs it doesn't take much for an ins Co to write a car off.
Theres nothing wrong with doing a cat s or n car to keep for yourself but as mentioned can be very difficult to sell on and the reason I eventually gave up on them.
If a half decent car came to us as a trade in with a marker we wouldn't turn it away but would price it accordingly and resell with full declaration..
With labour charges so high Inc hire car costs it doesn't take much for an ins Co to write a car off.
Theres nothing wrong with doing a cat s or n car to keep for yourself but as mentioned can be very difficult to sell on and the reason I eventually gave up on them.
If a half decent car came to us as a trade in with a marker we wouldn't turn it away but would price it accordingly and resell with full declaration..
Edited by A1VDY on Monday 29th June 22:43
evoivboy said:
https://www.facebook.com/vcheck.uk
This garage have 50% cat N S cars, no mention in the add https://www.autotrader.co.uk/dealers/borough-of-ea...
Well I’ve done my bit to report a couple of the ads. Maybe if enough people do it they’ll get banned. Not sure if auto trader ever pass the info over to DVSA though. This garage have 50% cat N S cars, no mention in the add https://www.autotrader.co.uk/dealers/borough-of-ea...
riskyj said:
evoivboy said:
https://www.facebook.com/vcheck.uk
This garage have 50% cat N S cars, no mention in the add https://www.autotrader.co.uk/dealers/borough-of-ea...
Well I’ve done my bit to report a couple of the ads. Maybe if enough people do it they’ll get banned. Not sure if auto trader ever pass the info over to DVSA though. This garage have 50% cat N S cars, no mention in the add https://www.autotrader.co.uk/dealers/borough-of-ea...
What do you think they're doing wrong?
h0b0 said:
......At the other end of the spectrum, a very minor impact on a 10k car can have it written off due to the associated costs of the repair, such as rental car. I also think those costs have increased leading to the decision to write a car off being a lower bar.
Early this year my wife's several-year-old Zafira B was crashed into while parked, causing considerable damage to bonnet, wings, lights, grille, bumper although no structural nor engine damage.We dealt directly with the other person's insurer and didn't need a hire car for the fortnight it was away, which is what I suspect saved it from being written off.
It recently passed its MoT with no advisories.
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