Warning to potential buyers

[Bluebottle]

DVLA have just informed me that someone has applied for a new V5C on my old Griff.
This car was seriously damaged back in January and was a total insurance write off.
Anyone looking to buy a 1994 Griff 500 pre serp with Rover box (Colour:Ocean Haze) in the near future may want to send me details, if its mine i can give you further information on it.
see my profile for a taster of what happened to it, IMHO this car should not be back on the road.

[jamiet]

You say total write off but it depends what category. If it was cat A or B then the car should not be back on the road and it would be illegal to do so (although a Cat B can be broken for non-bodyshell spares). However, it may have simply been that is was uneconomical to repair (quite common with TVR's) so it may have been a cat C or D and can legitimately be repaired and put back on the road. Cat C means it can be repaired but has to have an inspection and has to be listed as damage-repaired. Cat D means it can be repaired and doesnt require an inspection but does need to be re-registerd as damaged-repaired. There is no reason why a cat C or D car cant be put back on the road provided it is done properly and legally. In fact some see a cat C as being a good way to get a well sorted car for a fraction of the price. I think its NorthernPaul on these forums who did just that with his Griff.

>> Edited by jamiet on Wednesday 4th May 12:06

[Bluebottle]

Just spoken to the Insurance Co. and apparently it was given a Cat C status.
Jeez how bad does it have to be to get a Cat A/B status?

[Paul V]

The pic on your profile of the damage doesn’t look that bad, suppose it depends if chassis was damaged in the accident but doesn’t look that heavy, hopefully someone will have bought your old beast and returned it to its former glory. Have a look at Incorrigible’s Chimaera on his profile, goes to show what a bit of hard work can do.

[IPAddis]

I agree, I don't think the damage shown in the picture is unrecoverable. If the person resurrecting the car could source a new chassis (if it needs one) and new front 1/4 of the body, they would only need a few bits like radiator and pipes and so on.

Ian A.

[Northern_Paul]

jamiet said:

I think its NorthernPaul on these forums who did just that with his Griff.

Yep, did exactly that. I look at this way, quite alot of the cars on our roads have had some sort of damage and then the history of this disguised in some way.

I would be mighty pi$$ed if I parted with my hard earned and subsequently found out it had been damaged, so buying already damaged - your eyes are wide open and definately no surprises!

I don't think I have saved any money in the long run, but I've spent the same over a number of years when I had the cash and when the whim takes me.

It's become a habit now, if I fancy something else I look for a 'broken' one - another advantage is that I don't necessarily have to trade-up, I can keep both (or more ) cars

[Bluebottle]

I guess you're right, it just depends upon what extent they went to in repairing the vehicle.
The chassis was badly rusted and was due to have a Body off restoration prior to the crash. After the crash the chassis was twisted as well as having the front hubs sheard off the wish bones, tub had distorted cracking the windscreen, and the rear body had split in half from the middle of the boot and down in front of the rear nearside wheel arch. drivers side door was the only panel intact.

[jamiet]

Respect to you Paul. Personally I think its a great idea, provided you do your sums correctly. I dont know as I'd bother if I wasnt going to save anything - afterall, you'll probably take a bit of a hit if you sell it so you need to compensate for that. Although at least you can end up with a totally sorted car with the exact spec you wanted.

[jamiet]

Bluebottle said:

I guess you're right, it just depends upon what extent they went to in repairing the vehicle.

Sounds quite costly, I can see why its a Cat C. The car will have to go through a pretty stringent inspection to make sure the work was done properly.