Cat C damage - advice please?

[McClure]

All,

A friend has put a deposit down on a car today (£1,200 Ford Ka), and has now found out:

- VRM recorded by an insurance company as a total loss
- Vehicle recorded by the DVLA as having a VIC test (pass)

It was not advertised as a Cat C repaired car.

Do you think she should now reject the car?
Do you think she can get her deposit back?

Thanks

[VolvoT5]

Dealer or a private sale?

[McClure]

Dealer

[poing]

Walk away, loads and loads of other Ford KA's out there. If the dealer kept that a secret then what else are they hiding? She should be able to get the deposit back though since it's not as advertised.

[M4cruiser]

My understanding is that dealers are supposed to declare it.

But some hide it with clever wordings.

[McClure]

M4cruiser said:

My understanding is that dealers are supposed to declare it.

But some hide it with clever wordings.

No clever wording at all. Advertised with "service history". Has a good MOT record from early this year where all advisories were sorted, and is being given a new MOT this week.

[mrmr96]

McClure said:

M4cruiser said:

My understanding is that dealers are supposed to declare it.

But some hide it with clever wordings.

No clever wording at all. Advertised with "service history". Has a good MOT record from early this year where all advisories were sorted, and is being given a new MOT this week.

Agree - private sellers have to say when asked, but dealers have to declare even if not asked. As said, there's fooking thousands of KA's out there, get a different one. (PS - Cat C means the smash was worse than the usual Cat D write off which is commonly repaired and resold.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_check#Vehicle_che...

[VolvoT5]

Perhaps it is an honest oversight... dealer might not have bothered to run a check on it as it is a cheap car?

I think it is reasonable to ask for the deposit back and any reasonable dealer should agree really. Problem is if they did know then they are clearly chancers and may not refund the deposit.

I know in a private sale the seller does not have to disclose a cat-d/c or any other faults unless directly asked (in which case they should reply honestly), but I'm not sure what the situation is for dealers.

[4key]

Did she ask the question or say that she was going to check the vehicles history before she handed over the full amount? I would want the deposit back or to have some serious money off of the asking price if that was the case, just because it has a marker on it doesnt mean that it wont be a good car for the right price.

[4key]

Another point is that for it to be a repaired cat c Ka it would have probably been quite early in its life to make it worth while for someone to repair it.

[McClure]

4key said:

Another point is that for it to be a repaired cat c Ka it would have probably been quite early in its life to make it worth while for someone to repair it.

Yes, it was in 2007 when it was 3 years old. Repairs completed in 2009, and has full MOT records since then.

[McClure]

4key said:

Did she ask the question or say that she was going to check the vehicles history before she handed over the full amount?

No, she didn't.

[poing]

McClure said:

Yes, it was in 2007 when it was 3 years old. Repairs completed in 2009, and has full MOT records since then.

2 years to complete the repairs?

[McClure]

poing said:

2 years to complete the repairs?

I guess it depends on when the repairer bought it from the insurers? It can't have been that bad as otherwise it would have been Cat A or B?

[4key]

That is probably 2 years of its life sitting in some yard getting moved about with damage on it waiting to be rescued. It would have to be a very cheap car for me to gamble on that fact, and I would want to be crawling all over it before I handed cash over.

[McClure]

OK thanks guys. I'm going to speak with her tomorrow to see what she wants to do.

[4key]

Unless he offers it really cheap ask for the deposit back, there is enough choice out there. I cant see him making a fuss and his line will probably be that he didnt realise as he doesnt check cheap px's, he wont want the hassle for something that he just wants to move on.

[Noisy]

I had a interesting chat with a local body shop who said they had been storing a Cat C for a customer for 2 years as the car was fairly new when crashed and parts were still expensive, after a few years more pattern parts become available and the repair becomes much cheaper, this might explain why it sat for a few years.

[johnnnnnnyy]

Don't forget to put yourself in the shoes of when you come to sell it in a few years. With that history it may take a while to move on, or no doubt you'll get hard balled on the price.

[J4CKO]

johnnnnnnyy said:

Don't forget to put yourself in the shoes of when you come to sell it in a few years. With that history it may take a while to move on, or no doubt you'll get hard balled on the price.

£1200 Ford Ka, a few years, lol....