Would you ever buy a Damaged/Repaired Tuscan?

[Justhe1]

Now I know that the 1st reaction from most will probably be "Not on your life!", but just trying to cover all possibilities..

Basically with my budget I'd be looking at a 2000 W/X "non accident damaged car".

The chance has arisen to purchase a redorded Cat D car, much newer model for the same money, right colour. mileage etc...

I'm really tempted but obviously have reservations and was wondering what the general concensus of buying damaged/repairables is .

I take it there must be certain criteria, ie where its been repaired, photo rebuild file etc.

Was just after others thoughts and particular things to look out for/ask re a Cat D rebiult car..

Any info greatly received

J

>>> Edited by Justhe1 on Saturday 31st January 12:15

[TUS 373]

Always a tricky one to answer this - it 'depends'.

Do you have access to how the car was originally damaged to give an indication on type/severity of the incident? If the car was repaired by TVR/Webbs/TVR Bodyshop to name but a few, it should be OK. Also check what was done, whether any upgrades were done at the time of the repair and is the work guaranteed.

Personally, I would not like to own a repaired car becasue I would always have the nagging doubt that it was not quite OK. Also, the car is likely to be more difficult to sell on when the time comes - and you would have to be open about its history and price it competitively against cars with a clean history. On the other hand, if you are happy that it has been rebuilt competently, don't mind the fact and can purchase at a very good price, then you could have some fun motoring at a financial saving - but that's not for everyone.

[plasticman]

Justin , just because a car is not recorded does not mean it has not been damaged as even some very bad write-offs are not recorded. Also , the amount of damage on a car is not the only factor for writing it off,which repair garage ,how busy they are , and ,if the owner wants the car back ,are major factors in writing a car off.You could save yourself several thousand pounds buying a recorded car that could easily have had the same damage as a "straight" one on a forecourt.If you are considering buying a damaged car find out who repaired it and get some pictures of the repair ,there will almost certainly be some ,David

[tvrinbfg]

Get the car inspect by a decent TVR bodyshop. If it's okay, and the price advantage is good, then buy. If it is Cat D only, you can get it Autoligned in Wolverhampton or Northampton and if it passes, it becomes Condition Inspected. Once this is done, should it be nicked or your crash it, you should receive the same value as a none Cat D similar spec car. I've bought and sold a couple of Cat D cars, with no problems. I wouldn't buy a car that was on Cat D due to water damage however - the electrics will be rusting away on one of those.

[joospeed]

Sensible advice .. cat d is the lowest cat ddamage too, so it'll be very minor repair work, I would have no problem buying a cat d car. no one else need know either until you sell it, to everyone else you've bought a newer tuscan, and bagged a bargain in their eyes!

[tvrinbfg]

Autolign Northampton are on 01604-859424. I think they charge £200 plus VAT, which is probably cheaper than getting the AA to inspect the car.

>> Edited by tvrinbfg on Monday 2nd February 15:06

[V8 ETE]

I had an accident in a 400se once, back and rear end damage. Anyway the repairs were carried out by a well known glassfibre specialist, 3 months later the perfect job turned into nightmare (crazing, bumps and cracks appeared along the repaired panels). I had already p/exed the car (due to the accident) at a main dealer who i had told about the repairs, the new owner must have been very disappointed. For this reason i would not buy a repaired f/glass car, then again i suppose some repair shops are better than others.

[Justhe1]

Cheers guys,

Some interesting info for me to chew over..

The Autolign details are a great help

Will keep you posted..

Right then, anyone wanna buy a Westfield..!!