buying a write off
Discussion
i notice that there is a chimaera 4.0 in the classifieds that is hpi'd showing it to be class 'd' (write off)and its 8k ..if it has been repaired to a set standard and has certificates to show ,what are the downfalls of buying one like this ,and would it be very hard to sell at a later stage if one had to sell,does cat D mean a no no ....
The price should reflect the fact that sometimes it is harder to get finance and insurance on these, most dealers would not touch them as they cannot get them on their stocking plans and credit system etc.
Also they should be at least 30% cheaper than mnormal list, I have had a couple of my customers who have bought them and never had a problem, one Griffith i know of is probably built better than at the factory -truely. But a minefiled and I have bought hundreds of TVR's yet never ventured into this.
Whatever anyone says it is registered for a reason
Also they should be at least 30% cheaper than mnormal list, I have had a couple of my customers who have bought them and never had a problem, one Griffith i know of is probably built better than at the factory -truely. But a minefiled and I have bought hundreds of TVR's yet never ventured into this.
Whatever anyone says it is registered for a reason
You might want to have a look at this thread: www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=27351&f=13&h=0 One of the chaps on the site hasa Cerbera that he has the option to repair via the factory, makes for good reading and might answer your questions...
Expect to pay between 2/3 and 3/4 of the book price, and get a good inspection, if you're not VERY familiar with the ins and outs
A lot of people wouldn't touch a previously written off car, but if you ask them they've probably never owned one
My advise would be to do the sums, you'll pay less but then you'll get less than when you sell it, it'll probably cost you less to run (depreciation) but it will be harder to get rid of at the end. How much are you prepared to pay for an easy life ?
My car was written off, but if the front and rear had been done in separate accidents, it would have probably been repaired on each occasion, which you wouldn't see on a register, and wouldn't make it a better car
All IMHO of course
A lot of people wouldn't touch a previously written off car, but if you ask them they've probably never owned one
My advise would be to do the sums, you'll pay less but then you'll get less than when you sell it, it'll probably cost you less to run (depreciation) but it will be harder to get rid of at the end. How much are you prepared to pay for an easy life ?
My car was written off, but if the front and rear had been done in separate accidents, it would have probably been repaired on each occasion, which you wouldn't see on a register, and wouldn't make it a better car
All IMHO of course
well the cerbie story looked like a happy ending because it was not going to be a write off and the insurance company said that it would not be on the hpi list ,which would surprise me ...in any case Bandits cerbie would end up better even though most on here would not touch it with a barge pole ,though i feel that some on here would like the car to still have its factory wrappings still on to be worth anything (just my opinion from what i have seen),the case for the chimaera is a bit different as it is catD and if you look on the classifieds section you will see that it has not been looked after very well or seems to need a bit of interior work, i was just thinking of buying it and sorting it out ,but if it would be very hard to sell then not at all.....
Has the chassis been replaced? If so and the rest is OK then you might just bag a bargain. I think you can get cars removed from the HPI list in some circumstances anyway (eg. new chassis) so could be worth a look.
Check with HPI what can be done about removing the car from their list first, though.
Check with HPI what can be done about removing the car from their list first, though.
8k is not worth it. For example, a main dealer would offer 7-8k for my Chimaera if I were to try and sell it to them. And mine's a very good car, not written off at all. I guess you could pick up a non-previously-written-off Chimaera for well under 10k at auction.
In my opinion go for a non-crashed car - you'll be able to sell it on more easily and won't have any insurance troubles. Sorry to anyone who has a crash/repaired car - and of course it's different if you already own the car when it gets written off!
Trefor/.
In my opinion go for a non-crashed car - you'll be able to sell it on more easily and won't have any insurance troubles. Sorry to anyone who has a crash/repaired car - and of course it's different if you already own the car when it gets written off!
Trefor/.
To be honest a TVR is probably about the only written off and repaired car that i would buy..
as the chassis get replaced if there is any damage and the bodies are so variable you carnt tell any way!!!
The daft thing is that say take two cerberas, one a year older than the other but otherwise identical.
both could crash and the newer one could have much more serious damage, but because of the age the older lighter damaged one is written off, and recorded but the newer one would be repaired and no record of it being damaged would be registered.... just a thought..
as the chassis get replaced if there is any damage and the bodies are so variable you carnt tell any way!!!
The daft thing is that say take two cerberas, one a year older than the other but otherwise identical.
both could crash and the newer one could have much more serious damage, but because of the age the older lighter damaged one is written off, and recorded but the newer one would be repaired and no record of it being damaged would be registered.... just a thought..
Cat D write off does not always mean that it has been crashed, It just means that whatever happened the insurance company decided not to repair/replace and they paid out. For instance a car could be stolen recovered but the owner was paid out so the insurance company class this as Cat D write off. Cat D is the lowest category which means things like flood damage/stolen recovered/ Light damage - not chassis. I personally would have no problems what so ever in buying a cat d car providing I knew the history behind it and that if it was accident damaged that it was repaired to the correct standard.
cheers
Richard
cheers
Richard
Trefor,
While complete respect is due for expertise in dash removal
I disagree
My Chim was £9k that's a 99T and 11,000 miles (probably cost ~14 completely finished) For the same money (at the time (may/2001)) you could get a car like yours 1995 50,000 miles
If a car's done 50,000 miles you've (virtually) no idea of how it's been driven maintanence etc. You don't know if it's been in an accident, you do with a write off
End of the day, you pay your money and take your choice, and whatever you get it pays to be very carefull. I'm just saying don't discount it
PS Tref, not dissing your car, I just like mine, that's all
While complete respect is due for expertise in dash removal
I disagree My Chim was £9k that's a 99T and 11,000 miles (probably cost ~14 completely finished) For the same money (at the time (may/2001)) you could get a car like yours 1995 50,000 miles
If a car's done 50,000 miles you've (virtually) no idea of how it's been driven maintanence etc. You don't know if it's been in an accident, you do with a write off
End of the day, you pay your money and take your choice, and whatever you get it pays to be very carefull. I'm just saying don't discount it
PS Tref, not dissing your car, I just like mine, that's all
RCA said: Cat D write off does not always mean that it has been crashed, It just means that whatever happened the insurance company decided not to repair/replace and they paid out. For instance a car could be stolen recovered but the owner was paid out so the insurance company class this as Cat D write off. Richard
I have just bought a cat D car, the insurance had paid out on it so they record it as cat D and flogged it off very cheap
thanks v.much !! The car needed new locks and a new rear wheels other wise the car was fine - a full inspection inc. chasis had been done. The cat D doesn't appear on the V5 only on the HPI register. As far as I'm concerned if the car is sound and has been reparied to a high standard e.g. by the factory then i'm happy to pay less for the car to start with and get less for it if I come to sell it. All IMHO of course 
cat A vehicle should be crushed & not on road
cat B bodyshell should be crushed & not on road
cat C vehicle extensive damage insurer decides not to repair
cat D vehicle damaged insurer decides not to repair
cat F vehicle damaged by fire insurer decides not to repair,
a South Yorks member drives a cat D, but he did the work himself. Hope this helps.
cat B bodyshell should be crushed & not on road
cat C vehicle extensive damage insurer decides not to repair
cat D vehicle damaged insurer decides not to repair
cat F vehicle damaged by fire insurer decides not to repair,
a South Yorks member drives a cat D, but he did the work himself. Hope this helps.
MikeyT said: Darren, got any pics/more info on your purchase?
Mike
Mike there might be some confusion here I have bought a Cat D car and can give you more info if required inc the details of a S&R 2000 4.5 Chimaera with 18k on the clock but the car i have just bough is not a TVR. The S&R Chimaera is as below:
Edited to say that the Chimaera is a Cat C
>> Edited by d_drinks on Thursday 30th January 10:13
..one wonders how you do that type of damage to a car.. both wings are fine, so it looks like a stright frontal accident.. ..screen smashed and (agreeing with incorrigable) a serious windscreen surround problem, probably caused by the bonnet trying to come through the screen.
..but how do you break off both the wingmirrors at the same time .. :hmmm:
..but how do you break off both the wingmirrors at the same time .. :hmmm:
I reckon they've "re-assembled" the front a bit, the radiator's missing for a start.
Dunno about the mirrors, could have been kicked off while the car was at the side of the road.....then again....
Could be a lamppost, good thing about that sort of impact, the damage tends to be quite localised
Edited to say: Doesn't explain the complete removal of the screen though, could have been broken from the inside IYKWIM
>> Edited by incorrigible on Friday 31st January 16:44
Dunno about the mirrors, could have been kicked off while the car was at the side of the road.....then again....
Could be a lamppost, good thing about that sort of impact, the damage tends to be quite localised
Edited to say: Doesn't explain the complete removal of the screen though, could have been broken from the inside IYKWIM
>> Edited by incorrigible on Friday 31st January 16:44
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