HPI'd status

[w00dy]

I currently drive a 306 rallye and am in the market for an S1 elise. I've just HPI'd the car i put a deposit on at the weekend, its from a private seller looking for £10k. The car is a 98 R with 11000 miles, looks very clean exept for some bad scuffs on the inner door sill area and an alloy with a chunk out of it. The HPI from carwatchuk came up as stolen/recovered, possible total loss. I'm puzzled to this, as i've never seen such a vague description before - it either is or it isnt a total loss. Any idea how i would find out? Whats the gut instinct on this?

Any help appreciated, Thanks.

[mister kevlar]

to me-amateur! sounds very cheap for a car with such mileage! i would run a mile!...

>> Edited by mister kevlar on Monday 26th July 21:20

[mustard]

Sounds like to me this car has been stolen, the insurance company have paid out on the car, then its subsqently been recovered.

How long has the seller had it? Where did they buy it? Are they aware of this information? How many previous owner has the car had? Does it have a service history?

All the above many give a clue to this cars history

[foxbat]

There's something wrong with it and the owner knows it otherwise he wouldn't be asking such a low price.

Run a mile... if you haven't already.

[dragstar]

Hold your cock...atoos lads!

My experience of HPI companies suggests not all are legit themselves.

My "mate" had access to a database and typed my beema into it to see what it said. Apparently it was Cat B damaged then repaired despite the fact that i picked it up brand new from the dealer.

Still a bit worried, i checked with theAA and RAC and all was clear. go figure

As an aside, my free nappies from www.huggiesforfree.com came today. Any suggestions for what i should do with them? If anybody suggests i should wear them, they'll get a virtual slap.

>> Edited by dragstar on Tuesday 27th July 10:13

[rfoster]

Not necessarily, as Mustard says it's likely it's been stolen, the insurance company have paid out as a total loss and then it's subsequently been found; it doens't mean that it has necessarily been damaged at all. Sounds to me like the owner is aware of its status and has priced it accordingly. But I'd certainly ensure that before you proceed with a purchase that you have the vehicle fully AA inspected or take a friendly Lotus engineer alogn to check the car. Remember, any car on HPI (stolen/recovered, CAT C or CAT D which have been repaired) should be significantly cheaper to buy than a comparable car which has not been recorded. But when you come to sell it on eventually, you will need to take this factor into account when pricing.

[S Works]

Get it FULLY checked over by a Lotus specialist (look out for fergusd on here - IIRC he runs Lotus Ecosse and may be able to give you guidance) before buying.

Best to get the whole thing checked over for a few hundred quid than buy a howler and lose thousands.

[w00dy]

Cheers for the replies.

The seller has owned it for 2 months after gratuating, but needs to go abroad to find a job now. I spoke to them earlier and asked if they'd had it HPI'd, and the answer was#, after a pause, 'oh yes, everythings fine, my brother checked it he's a mechanic, you'll have no problems etc...' The car has history, but not much due to the miles, was bought from a friend of a friend and has 4 owners. You can decide for yourselves there then.

So, i then went to a friend who's in the motor trade for another HPI and it turns out the car was a Cat D write off, but, with gen miles. Gut instinct and advice from my friend says run a mile.

>> Edited by w00dy on Tuesday 27th July 18:07

[DanH]

yep I wouldn't touch that. The fact that he's trying to deny it means he's not taking into account the depreciation such a status means. It will be a shag to sell as he's been finding.

Wonder when it was stacked and whether he was a mug himself.

>> Edited by DanH on Tuesday 27th July 20:15

[nick_houghton]

i'm with dan on this - move right along....plenty out there.