Whats the deal with write offs??

[Rick 0]

Hi,

 

I'm new on the site and hopefully getting a corrado. Spotted several for sale on this site and on auto trader etc.

 

There is quite few around but not many that are close but thought I might have a look at one thats on AT and local. Problem is that it has been a cat D write off at some point. Spoke to the owner and he seemed a really nice guy, he was the one involved in the accident that led to the ins company writing it off. He had the work done to fix it (new susp parts, door and a wheel), said he was quite harshly treated by the ins company.

 

Is it generally accepted that under no circumstances should I consider buying something like this or could it still be a good buy if it seems good when viewing? It has full history, 95k, just a few owners etc.

 

What are you thoughts on this?

 

Cheers,

 

Rick

[dinkus 10]

It's on a motorbike website, but the same rules apply to cars too - http://www.motorcycle.co.uk/insurance_write_off.htm

 

As you'll see, Cat D isn't very serious, so it's probably nothing major. It's worth getting as much information as you can about the repairs though - receipts and any before, after and during repair photos as you can get too.

 

It will affect the resale value a bit, so you can expect to pay a lower price for it, but as long as it's been repaired well then you shouldn't have any problems as a result of it.

[Rick 0]

Thanks for the link, very usefull.

 

Looks like i'll have to dig deep and study the history carefully. Will try and contact the company that did the work if it looks to be a good car worth following up.

 

I guess your saying that if it checks out and the car drives well etc and I get a good price it could be worth a shot?

 

Would you ever consider buying a prev cat D car if all appears to be ok with it?

 

Cheers,

 

Rick

[bristolbaron 10]

id be happy to buy a cat D car. the basic rule to work from is the value is 40-50% less than market value.

It becomes more difficult when you are looking at 10+ year old cars, as values are so varied. Recently there have been seemingly similar VR6's selling on here for between 3-5k, putting the value of the one you're looking at at between £1500 & £2500.

I wouldnt pay more than £2500 for it, unless tempted by extras such as leather recaro's and air con.

 

HTH, and welcome btw!

 

Baz.

[Campaign 0]

What I've found is that it is definitely worth getting an RAC/AA type engineers report on the repairs.

 

If the guy is genuine if you ask him to pay for it up front, then if it turns out okay you refund him the money (or pay correspondingly more). I've found this works quite well really.

 

Then at least you'll be more certain of exactly what you're buying.