Can someone explain how unrecorded damage works?

[aceofspades1]

Seen a few cars for sale online with 'unrecorded damage.' These adverts claim the damage was never claimed through insurance so the damage is unrecorded.

I would not want to pay full price for a car that has been structurally damaged in the past with no record for the owner to find out, is this actually legal?

[aceofspades1]

Example above ^^^^

Would you want that vehicle to be repaired and for someone to buy it for full price with no idea it's been in an accident of that nature?

[Truckosaurus]

aceofspades1 said:

....is this actually legal?

Where would you draw the line at having to report repairs? Getting a minor parking ding fixed by the Chipsaway man, getting the wheels refurbed, etc?

At least these days the history checking apps will show up car that have been sold via Copart as unrecorded.

[Ussrcossack]

Many of these will be fleet cars ( Hire) where the insurance is 3rd party on

They get rid usually through auction
This https://www.swsinternational.co.uk/

[steveo3002]

what are you asking? how does it come about? owner crashes /damages car and decides to take the hit and not bother with an insurance claim , car can then be repaired and sold as a good one

same as if you swiped the whole side of a newish car it would be repaired and not recorded

[Mr Tidy]

It's all a load of bks!

According to Hastings whose dopey customer clouted the back of my 3 Series my car is a Cat N because it needs a new rear bumper.

This us what they class as Cat N.




Cunch of bunts.

[Sheepshanks]

aceofspades1 said:

Example above ^^^^

Would you want that vehicle to be repaired and for someone to buy it for full price with no idea it's been in an accident of that nature?

I’m blown away by how much the seller is asking for that.

I would assume it’s been crashed while uninsured so there’s no one to tell.

[Auto810graphy]

Sheepshanks said:

I’m blown away by how much the seller is asking for that.

I would assume it’s been crashed while uninsured so there’s no one to tell.

In some cases you are not necessarily buying it for the actual car, rather the identity of the car.

[Truckosaurus]

Sheepshanks said:

I’m blown away by how much the seller is asking for that.

I would assume it’s been crashed while uninsured so there’s no one to tell.

I too thought it was overpriced but then I looked at what other 2011 GTIs are going for - in the teens for sub-100k mile ones. So plenty of profit for someone who has the skills and equipment to repair it.

[Lester H]

Dear me! That Golf is one hell of a mess, isn’t it? If unrecorded it was uninsured or acquired by word of mouth at the back of an industrial unit. The alarm bells are ringing! Yes, insurers are writing off cars with largely cosmetic damage as they can’t get the parts from Korea while someone drives about in a Fiat 500 Enterprise courtesy car. The Golf is definitely not ‘ elderly driver hit a bollard at Waitrose, though, is it?

[craigjm]

aceofspades1 said:

I would not want to pay full price for a car that has been structurally damaged in the past with no record for the owner to find out, is this actually legal?

That can happen in even when something is legit insured and has an accident. I had an accident in a Porsche I owned. There was nobody else involved and the car needed £29000 of repairs. They rebuilt it without writing it off and a year later when I sold it the buyer was like “wow it looks like new” and I was thinking “that’s because lots of it it is mate” not a sniff on any register for a buyer to find

[Dingu]

Mr Tidy said:

It's all a load of bks!

According to Hastings whose dopey customer clouted the back of my 3 Series my car is a Cat N because it needs a new rear bumper.

This us what they class as Cat N.




Cunch of bunts.

Totally unrelated to the OP.

Cats are applied based on whether they write the car off or not, as you well know. Talk about a whinge about nothing.

[kambites]

Is "damage" as opposed to "write-off status" ever actually recorded? If so by whom?

[Mr Tidy]

Oh sorry about that!

But insurers do seem to dish out scatter Cat markers about pretty freely these days.

[aceofspades1]

Dingu said:

Mr Tidy said:

It's all a load of bks!

According to Hastings whose dopey customer clouted the back of my 3 Series my car is a Cat N because it needs a new rear bumper.

This us what they class as Cat N.




Cunch of bunts.

Totally unrelated to the OP.

Cats are applied based on whether they write the car off or not, as you well know. Talk about a whinge about nothing.

Mr. Tidy has a point. In a second hand car market, his car will be worth less solely due to that Cat N marker which is stupid because that’s a tiny dent.

Whereas an unrecorded car can be absolutely smashed to pieces and it will fetch the same amount as a straight one once repaired because no one can find out.

I suppose it’s always been the case that insurers could repair a severely damaged car but nonetheless I’d be properly fuming if I paid full price for my Golf and found out it had been in a smash like that!

[Dingu]

aceofspades1 said:

Dingu said:

Mr Tidy said:

It's all a load of bks!

According to Hastings whose dopey customer clouted the back of my 3 Series my car is a Cat N because it needs a new rear bumper.

This us what they class as Cat N.




Cunch of bunts.

Totally unrelated to the OP.

Cats are applied based on whether they write the car off or not, as you well know. Talk about a whinge about nothing.

Mr. Tidy has a point. In a second hand car market, his car will be worth less solely due to that Cat N marker which is stupid because that’s a tiny dent.

Whereas an unrecorded car can be absolutely smashed to pieces and it will fetch the same amount as a straight one once repaired because no one can find out.

I suppose it’s always been the case that insurers could repair a severely damaged car but nonetheless I’d be properly fuming if I paid full price for my Golf and found out it had been in a smash like that!

Hence the Cat N introduction for superficial damage only. He doesn’t really have a point, it’s just a whinge.

[Fady]

Dingu said:

aceofspades1 said:

Dingu said:

Mr Tidy said:

It's all a load of bks!

According to Hastings whose dopey customer clouted the back of my 3 Series my car is a Cat N because it needs a new rear bumper.

This us what they class as Cat N.




Cunch of bunts.

Totally unrelated to the OP.

Cats are applied based on whether they write the car off or not, as you well know. Talk about a whinge about nothing.

Mr. Tidy has a point. In a second hand car market, his car will be worth less solely due to that Cat N marker which is stupid because that’s a tiny dent.

Whereas an unrecorded car can be absolutely smashed to pieces and it will fetch the same amount as a straight one once repaired because no one can find out.

I suppose it’s always been the case that insurers could repair a severely damaged car but nonetheless I’d be properly fuming if I paid full price for my Golf and found out it had been in a smash like that!

Hence the Cat N introduction for superficial damage only. He doesn’t really have a point, it’s just a whinge.

Well I see the point as highlighting the gaping loophole in the system. Unsuspecting buyer can pay top whack for smashed up wreck whereas car with comparative pin prick now forcibly marked down and will have people turning their nose up at it.

[aceofspades1]

Fady said:

Dingu said:

aceofspades1 said:

Dingu said:

Mr Tidy said:

It's all a load of bks!

According to Hastings whose dopey customer clouted the back of my 3 Series my car is a Cat N because it needs a new rear bumper.

This us what they class as Cat N.




Cunch of bunts.

Totally unrelated to the OP.

Cats are applied based on whether they write the car off or not, as you well know. Talk about a whinge about nothing.

Mr. Tidy has a point. In a second hand car market, his car will be worth less solely due to that Cat N marker which is stupid because that’s a tiny dent.

Whereas an unrecorded car can be absolutely smashed to pieces and it will fetch the same amount as a straight one once repaired because no one can find out.

I suppose it’s always been the case that insurers could repair a severely damaged car but nonetheless I’d be properly fuming if I paid full price for my Golf and found out it had been in a smash like that!

Hence the Cat N introduction for superficial damage only. He doesn’t really have a point, it’s just a whinge.

Well I see the point as highlighting the gaping loophole in the system. Unsuspecting buyer can pay top whack for smashed up wreck whereas car with comparative pin prick now forcibly marked down and will have people turning their nose up at it.

Absolutely this

[Truckosaurus]

aceofspades1 said:

Absolutely this

Indeed. It just shows you don't know the true history of any car. There'll be plenty of 'Cat' cars that have only had minor damage but will be shunned by most buyers (good luck trying to part-ex one or sell to WBAC etc).

I suspect there's a few new cars written off purely due to being unable to get parts from stock, due to the Covid backlogs etc, so the costs of supplying rental cars make it uneconomic.

As for the car in the OP, I think we can assume most 12 year old Golf GTis are going to have skeletons in their closets, whether that is undeclared repairs, dubious modifications (perhaps removed before sale), stolen/recovered, etc.

[craigjm]

Truckosaurus said:

stolen/recovered, etc.

Are they not also a category if they are found after payout. I thought they were category X