Buying CAT N car from dealer with few issues

[GR2023]

I'm interested in an old used car. (2007 Mercedes)
it's CAT N (non structural) but has been repaired.(it was bonnet damage) looks clean now.
it's from a dealer and they are saying since they've bought it in an auction,there's no log book.so they will come with me to the post office,pay the £25 fee and apply for the new log book and I can tax it at the same time.

does it sound reasonable? or should I walk away?
the price is right and it's an otherwise clean car.
they're also offering 3 months warranty.

another issue is that they state someone tried to play with car's millage in 2014,but it was rectified at the next MOT.I have bought vehicle check and this is the millage history:

[Nickp82]

The majority of Cat N/S cars don’t have V5s when sold by salvage auctions and the method of taxing the car and obtaining one in your name is normally the best way to do it so there’s nothing to worry about there.

The mileage possibly wants some further research but input errors by MOT testers are not unheard of.

[Bemmer]

Oh...So you don't now have a problem with the last Log Book issue you posted...? And there's now no DSG gearbox issue you've posted... we've not got a potential issue on a Cat N purchase... TROLL....

[GR2023]

Nickp82 said:

The majority of Cat N/S cars don’t have V5s when sold by salvage auctions and the method of taxing the car and obtaining one in your name is normally the best way to do it so there’s nothing to worry about there.

The mileage possibly wants some further research but input errors by MOT testers are not unheard of.

regarding the millage the dealer themselves said someone tried to play with it in 2014,(before I check the history) so it's not the case of MOT error.
but it seems to be corrected at next MOT.
is there any other way to find more details about it?
is it something to worry about, since it was nearly 10 years ago appears to be corrected after that.

[GR2023]

Bemmer said:

Oh...So you don't now have a problem with the last Log Book issue you posted...? And there's now no DSG gearbox issue you've posted... we've not got a potential issue on a Cat N purchase... TROLL....

those posts were all legit cases of cars I was interested in.
the only troll here seems to be you.

Edited by GR2023 on Thursday 9th March 20:13

[bennno]

GR2023 said:

I'm interested in an old used car. (2007 Mercedes)
it's CAT N (non structural) but has been repaired.(it was bonnet damage) looks clean now.
it's from a dealer and they are saying since they've bought it in an auction,there's no log book.so they will come with me to the post office,pay the £25 fee and apply for the new log book and I can tax it at the same time.

does it sound reasonable? or should I walk away?
the price is right and it's an otherwise clean car.
they're also offering 3 months warranty.

another issue is that they state someone tried to play with car's millage in 2014,but it was rectified at the next MOT.I have bought vehicle check and this is the millage history:

Is this a wind up? If the dealer bought it from auction and without any paperwork how exactly do they know the grounds on which it was written off 5 years earlier, or the circumstances of its mileage irregularity 10 years ago?

I's assume the milage irregularity was either an incorrect input, or that it was well used that year - it wouldn't have been corrected, to what etc

Assume the write off was more significant than a bonnet and the car will be very difficult to sell on / worth at least 35% less than a non written off car.

[GR2023]

bennno said:

Is this a wind up? If the dealer bought it from auction and without any paperwork how exactly do they know the grounds on which it was written off 5 years earlier, or the circumstances of its mileage irregularity 10 years ago?

I's assume the milage irregularity was either an incorrect input, or that it was well used that year - it wouldn't have been corrected, to what etc

Assume the write off was more significant than a bonnet and the car will be very difficult to sell on / worth at least 35% less than a non written off car.

I payed for a full report and got the details/pictures of the write off damage myself..the dealer didn't mention anything other than it's CAT N.
and it was the bonnet and front grill..which now appears replaced and like "new".
re millage irregularity I think they just guessed..could be anything..again they mentioned it without me asking and before I even check the full report.
still I don't know much about clocking ,whether it can be corrected later if tampered or not

the car is cheap (around 2.5k) and same car with clean hpi goes for maybe £3
it's the right trim/colour/model and i'm after a cheap daily for a few years thats why I'm interested in this one..

[bennno]

GR2023 said:

I payed for a full report and got the details/pictures of the write off damage myself..the dealer didn't mention anything other than it's CAT N.
and it was the bonnet and front grill..which now appears replaced and like "new".
re millage irregularity I think they just guessed..could be anything..again they mentioned it without me asking and before I even check the full report.
still I don't know much about clocking ,whether it can be corrected later if tampered or not

the car is cheap (around 2.5k) and same car with clean hpi goes for maybe £3
it's the right trim/colour/model and i'm after a cheap daily for a few years thats why I'm interested in this one..

So just assume it was clocked, so has done circa 20k more miles than it shows and was written off

If its 2.5k then thats as much as you can lose.

[MuscleSedan]

Not entirely unusual to see what looks like an obviously erroneous mileage entry. Either side of it the mileage was recorded at 42,676 - 06 / 2013 and 49,148 - 05 / 2014. How's it been clocked ?

[Nickp82]

GR2023 said:

regarding the millage the dealer themselves said someone tried to play with it in 2014,(before I check the history) so it's not the case of MOT error.
but it seems to be corrected at next MOT.
is there any other way to find more details about it?
is it something to worry about, since it was nearly 10 years ago appears to be corrected after that.

How does the dealer know what happened with the car nine years ago?

[bennno]

MuscleSedan said:

Not entirely unusual to see what looks like an obviously erroneous mileage entry. Either side of it the mileage was recorded at 42,676 - 06 / 2013 and 49,148 - 05 / 2014. How's it been clocked ?

Even if you give the benefit of the doubt and assume its not had a haircut then its still odd that it effectively did half its annual milage in the two years involved - compared to the mileage covered on the adjacent years.

[GR2023]

Nickp82 said:

How does the dealer know what happened with the car nine years ago?

most likely they don't.they just saw millage irregularity on it's history check report and decided to let me know before I check myself..

[GR2023]

worth mentioning it's a coupe so some owners might have used it as second car so less millage ..on the other hand it's a C Class so for some it's a daily driver

Edited by GR2023 on Thursday 9th March 20:10

[lord trumpton]

There's plenty of other options for 2.5k for a daily other than a stty old mercedes with a book full of stories.

Walk away

[GR2023]

lord trumpton said:

There's plenty of other options for 2.5k for a daily other than a stty old mercedes with a book full of stories.

Walk away

are there though? petrol automatic? up to £3.5k? been searching for weeks now.
nothing but cheap ugly tiny ones with rubbish semi-auto boxes..these W203 Mercedes are very reliable engines..not much to go wrong..they can do 300K..and they still look nice imo..my only other options are VW Golf,Audi A3,BMW 1/3 Series..and neither are as reliable..and some go for over £4k for same age (Golf / Audi)..

Edited by GR2023 on Thursday 9th March 20:58

[ZX10R NIN]

CLC 200 Sport:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302274...

CLC180 Sport:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302174...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303044...

CLC220cdi Sport:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301283...

All of the above are around 3.5k

[Collectingbrass]

If you can get a Merc specific code reader you will probably find that several of the on board control units have a mileage record, not just the dash. That said I wouldn't buy a £2.5k cat N car with an iffy mileage history unless I could afford to loose the £2.5k, and I definitely wouldn't buy it from a trader from Luton. Your mind is either made up or you don't know what you're letting yourself in for.

[GR2023]

ZX10R NIN said:

CLC 200 Sport:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302274...

CLC180 Sport:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302174...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303044...

CLC220cdi Sport:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301283...

All of the above are around 3.5k

I was interested in CLC / SLK at first but they cost much more to insure which is not worth it for such old cars..hence why I went for C Class / 3 Series / A3 / Golf

[ZX10R NIN]

GR2023 said:

I was interested in CLC / SLK at first but they cost much more to insure which is not worth it for such old cars..hence why I went for C Class / 3 Series / A3 / Golf

C Coupe 180:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302254...


https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302274...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302104...

[GR2023]

Collectingbrass said:

If you can get a Merc specific code reader you will probably find that several of the on board control units have a mileage record, not just the dash. That said I wouldn't buy a £2.5k cat N car with an iffy mileage history unless I could afford to loose the £2.5k, and I definitely wouldn't buy it from a trader from Luton. Your mind is either made up or you don't know what you're letting yourself in for.

How did you know it's in Luton?
and what's wrong with Luton dealers? (honestly I have no idea).
I won't buy privately,so my only options are these dealers,I don't mind £3.5k.that's my budget,not trying to save £1k here.,but I know some buyers just don't go for cat N cars otherwise they'd put £3.5k price on it..so even bigger risk.
I still haven't made my mind (about this one) yet hence why posted here..