Bought Car with Unregistered Cat S Damage

[Implus1]

The initial message was deleted from this topic on 10 January 2022 at 18:00

[davek_964]

Implus1 said:

Hello,

Bought a car that was HPI clear from an indepedent dealer 2 weeks ago. Saw the car on Youtube suffer damage 2 years ago such that it rendered the car undriveable. Known through Youtube that the car was repaired by the manufacturer and not the insurer and therefore does not show up on any HPI database / was HPI clear, but I have records of other vehicles which have suffered the same fault / damage being categorised as Cat S.

Do I have any comeback on the dealer to get a full refund under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 or anything else?

Cheers

So in summary - it's not CAT S. It's just that you've viewed a Youtube video showing sufficient damage that you think it should have been CAT S.

The dealer hasn't sold you a CAT S car - and it's unreasonable to expect him to know of said video. I'd be amazed if you have any come back against the dealer at all.

On the other hand - don't you have 30 days in which you can reject a used car anyway?

[Implus1]

davek_964 said:

So in summary - it's not CAT S. It's just that you've viewed a Youtube video showing sufficient damage that you think it should have been CAT S.

The dealer hasn't sold you a CAT S car - and it's unreasonable to expect him to know of said video. I'd be amazed if you have any come back against the dealer at all.

Without giving too many details away...

The video on Youtube is my car, but recorded by the previous owner. The damage/fault is one known to the brand/model such that it renders the car undriveable / it is a structural damage. I've found listings and entries in the UK salvage database site of the EXACT damage/fault on the same model / other cars and they have been declared as CAT S.

Happy to also PM you with more specific details.

davek_964 said:

On the other hand - don't you have 30 days in which you can reject a used car anyway?

I thought that only applies if it was bought unseen / online which is then covered by long distance selling regs?

[t400ble]

Wasnt subject to a claim, so not recorded.

[MrBen1]

Did you have concerns around the repairs due to issues seen on the car, or purely due to the video - i.e. if you hadn't seen the video would you have been any the wiser?

Presuming it's just due to the video, I'm not sure what basis you would have to return the car to the dealer who sold it - they will have done their due diligence by HPI checking it and checking the vehicle over. If there's nothing wrong with it, I can't see they've done anything wrong in selling it to you?

[davek_964]

All of that may be true - but legally, the dealer sold you a car which is not CAT S. Even if he knew of the previous damage - and you could prove that - I'd be surprised if you had any legal comeback. But IANAL.

The 30 day rejection is not for distance selling - but applies if there is / are significant faults when you buy the car.
I guess that 'it had a severe accident 2 years ago' probably won't qualify for that.

[davek_964]

Your description is slightly odd - you're saying the 'damage/fault' is known to this brand /model.

So it wasn't an accident? It's some manufacturing defect / fault?

And if was repaired 'by the manufacturer' - you mean, like a manufacturer warranty claim?

[randlemarcus]

And once again, we fall back on "what is it?" to be able to judge the whole situation. The collecting cars GT3 thread demonstrates nicely that a pranged car is demonstrably worth less. That the repairs were a bad effort contributes to that.

I would expect manufacturer repairs to be up to factory standard, unsurprisingly, so you don't have that argument to fall back on. A hidden past may have some traction, but not so much for a 3 year old Suzuki Ignis...

[Torquey]

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't a car only categorised an insurance wrie off if an insurance claim is made?

If the owner decides to repair the car out of their own pocket - maybe to save increased premiums or resale value, then it won't be categorised as a cat S.

Edited by Torquey on Tuesday 6th April 16:38

[Hammer67]

Porsche with a failed front strut tower?

[Implus1]

Hammer67 said:

Porsche with a failed front strut tower?

Correct...

[NMNeil]

Implus1 said:

Hello,

Bought a car that was HPI clear from an indepedent dealer 2 weeks ago. Saw the car on Youtube suffer damage 2 years ago such that it rendered the car undriveable. Known through Youtube that the car was repaired by the manufacturer and not the insurer and therefore does not show up on any HPI database / was HPI clear, but I have records of other vehicles which have suffered the same fault / damage being categorised as Cat S.

Do I have any comeback on the dealer to get a full refund under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 or anything else?

Cheers

I may be wrong, but manufacturers only make cars, they don't repair damaged ones.

[davek_964]

Implus1 said:

Hammer67 said:

Porsche with a failed front strut tower?

Correct...

So you bought a used car with a well publicised common problem, discovered that 2 years ago it did suffer from that problem and was repaired by the manufacturer - but hope that you have some come back against the dealer because of that?

[J1990]

Unless it's that infamous purple lambo that ate a mouth full of an embankment or the Mclaren F1 that ate a wall then I'm not sure how you think it should be obvious that to the dealer that the car previously had damage.

Then again, even if it was one of the above, if it was unregistered damage, with the dealer never having been told about it or it showing up on a HPI check then why would the dealer be liable? If you're within the timeframes for rejecting the car then go ahead if it bothers you.

[Lee540]

If it wasn't repaired by insurance company then it won't be categorised.

One of my cars had extensive front end damage but repaired out of previous owners pocket, it surely would have been written off if claimed through insurance.

[ZX10R NIN]

Implus1 said:

Hammer67 said:

Porsche with a failed front strut tower?

Correct...

In that case your car was repaired by the Manufacturer & in no way is a Cat S, the dealer has done nothing wrong & probably did all the checks you'd expect a dealer to.

Now you can go & speak to the dealer, which might lead to an amicable solution but accusing them of knowingly selling you an unregistered (in your opinion) Cat S, show them what you've found & go from there.

I hope you come to a suitable solution for both parties.

[shiversaint]

Lee540 said:

If it wasn't repaired by insurance company then it won't be categorised.

This is the only fact that matters in this conversation.

Literally nothing you can do because there is nothing to be done - no one did anything wrong here.

[mickyh7]

NMNeil said:

Implus1 said:

Hello,

Bought a car that was HPI clear from an indepedent dealer 2 weeks ago. Saw the car on Youtube suffer damage 2 years ago such that it rendered the car undriveable. Known through Youtube that the car was repaired by the manufacturer and not the insurer and therefore does not show up on any HPI database / was HPI clear, but I have records of other vehicles which have suffered the same fault / damage being categorised as Cat S.

Do I have any comeback on the dealer to get a full refund under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 or anything else?

Cheers

I may be wrong, but manufacturers only make cars, they don't repair damaged ones.

Yep! Your wrong.
You would not believe what goes on inside of car Factory's. Cars get damaged all of the time, sometimes badly.
The repairs however, at least the ones I have seen, are to an excellent standard, ultra safe, and you wouldn't even know.