Andy's right about selling the car on. It will be a big problem, as there are plenty of Scoobs that are not insurance losses.

A decent decent discount on the price is essential for the reason above as well as the potential future problems. HPI told me 20% to 25% for a cat. D listed car and IIRC approx 40% for a cat C. (both discounted from the list price)

Also, the service history will be strange to say the least...

If the owner was up front about it, I would be less concerned, (and give the car a very thorough inspection - not alone - and check EVERYTHING on the car to see what has been replaced/is still bent) however since he appeared to try to hide it, I would look for another car. It's not like they are hard to find these days.

If you are set on this particular car (no reason why you shouldn't be, if it's the right price ) then it may be worth taking a friendly mechanic along or getting an AA or similar inspection.

Also check with your insurance company to see if they are willing to insure a previous loss, and pay out a sensible amount if the worst happens. (Some aren't very happy about it...)

[Edited by dnb - 10/1/2002 9:38:10 PM]

 

The company who examine cars & "IF" they pass remove them from the HPI list is called Aotolign, their numbers are

Tel 01604 859424 (had trouble with this no & had to fax them)
Fax 01604 859428
The cost for an Impreza is 195 + vat.
The centres in the south are Redhill & Northampton

How many cars not on the list are damaged, inspected & repaired ??
Do we ever know what we are buying

Stuart

edited to add, If the seller has nothing to fear make him pay for the test & you buy if it passes


[Edited by Stuart J - 10/2/2002 2:39:39 PM]

 

Also remember that many imports are written off with minor damage due to, for example, the high cost of providing a hire car for the time it takes to source new parts from Japan.

[Edited by Phil_ - 10/2/2002 3:33:53 PM]

 

echo mr WRX, exactly!

Plenty of straight examples out there, yes plenty of badly repaired and not recorded exapmles as well which is why you should HPI check motas and get a RAC or such test done unless you really know your stuff around cars.

Steve
Did the owner know it had been written off?
If so why didn't they tell you, if they did know and did not disclose then walk away at the double, who knows what else they did not tell you. sounds like it might be a con.

If they didn't know then more fool them




[Edited by Paul Habgood - 10/2/2002 5:17:10 PM]

 

Hi,

Have recently had an HPI check done on a prospective purchase which looked and drove very well indeed.

Was informed that it had been written off by insurance as category C - beyond economic repair.

Is there any way of finding out what damage was actually done to the car, or a sure-fire way of insuring that the prospective purchase is roadworthy and reliable?

Am gutted, really liked this motor....

Cheers

 

Ask the seller to provide details of what work was carried out and by whom. You can always then ring the garage and ask them to describe the damage and confirm the details of the repair.

If the seller doesn't have, or won't provide, that information - run away screaming. You don't have to take the risk.

Personally I'd run away anyway - it the sort of information that the seller should have told you without making you find out the expensive way. If it does check out OK, you should still demand a major discount to cover yourself for any potential further work, and for the fact that the car will undoubtedly be hard to sell on.

There's lots of Imprezas out there that don't have this sort of history, just do a search on Auto Trader. Keep looking and you won't regret it.

Andy.

 

I may still be hope if you really want the car but only if its categrie c

It used to be possible (last year) to get repaired vehicles inspected by an HPI approved engineer, it takes several hours & is very stringent. If it passes it will then go on the HPI register as condition inspected rather than the condition alert register. I cant remember who does the tests, HPI should be able to tell you & in the mean time I will try to find the bit of paper I wrote it on

The thing to bear in mind, if its category c it means it was uneconomical to repair & the damage may have not have been severly structural, just expensive to fix. This applies especially if it is an Import
I once bought a categorie c from a breaker when I needed a cheap car, the reason for it being categorie c was the previous owner had driven through a ford to quickly & knackered the engine, turbo etc etc & the car was high mileage for the year. I simply sorced a secondhand lump, took it all to a local garage & got them to fit it.
I then had a 2.5 year old Citroen Xantia turbo diesel, Ok 60,000 on the clock (lot less on the engine) but total cost just under 5000, ive stiil got it 4 years later as the "economical" runner, take things to the tip vehicle etc, thus the STI dosent do all the work.

Also bear in mind, how many people are smugly driving around in cars that were economical to repair & have been botch repaired but do not need any form of inspection, A fairly new car can be very heavily damaged & still be economical to repair.

If you like it find out its history, the previous owner should have nothing to hide. If you cant find out why it was totalled I would be very wary. what ever you find out get it properly inspected by a competent person (not just a mate)& make sure chassis & engine numbers match & havent been tampered with.

If its a good one & the owner is up front with you from now on It may be Ok

 

I would walk away.

Its not as if there are not many impreza's for sale at the moment. Autotrader is full of them! as is the for sale forum on Scoobynet.

What is your budget?

What about when you go to sell it?

 

Buying an Impreza is a buyer's market at the mo, I would also walk away.

 

A friends FTO was written off after a 10 mph shunt.
Needed new bumper, bonnet, front lights and front wings (inner and outer)
Insurance company refused to repair as new lights were £600 each, bonnet was ludicrously expensive, so was bumper and wings. They wouldn't allow 2nd hand parts to be used and the cost including labour and parts was over half their perceived value of the car.
They paid out, he bought the car from them at 10% of the insurance payout and got it back on the road for less than a grand.
Cat C registered, inspected and passed, unless you ran the check you would never know.
Check to see what has happened to the car

 

The other thing to bear in mind, is the seller may not actually know it's a class C car!

 

WALK AWAY!

there are plenty of other cars out there.

 

my westfield was a catC write off. All that means is the car isnt worth the cost of repair to the insurance company, they dont like taking a risk that the rebuild costs may escalate, it easier for them just to pay out the insured sum.

I bought the car back off the insurance company and sold it to a guy who is building it into a new chassis. When it's finished it will be in better condition than when it left the factory new!

Cat C does and should not mean run away, find out the facts and make a decision based on those facts.

 

Like John says,
Find out what was done/what damage to the car and then id get it inspected, if your still not keen on the idea then you can still find a better car out there as there are a few scoobs for sale at the moment, just find what your after though!

Tony

 

My old 93 WRX was written off after a very minor front and rear shunt, it was still perfectly driveable and we bought it off the insurance co for £1.00, later sold it to a mate for £3500 who bolted on a new wing, bumpers, ally bonnet etc and its fine. It was the cost of a hire car while it was repaired and all the extra parts that they had to source that made it "beyond economical repair" i.e.

Ally bonnet
Cibies
spolier
full scoobysport exhaust (old one was "slightly" bent)
labour
etc

So if you ask my mate, who bought a £3500 scoob and fixed it himself for under a grand - these write offs are excellent value.
But make sure its price reflects that, if you get more info and it seems OK then do it !

 

I'd Walk mate,

Just think about when you go to sell it, who's going to want it !

 

How did you manage to buy it back for so little?

 

Phil - Good point, it took 7 weeks to get a smal but significant internal panel for my MY99 UK car! plus a further 2 weeks to finish - £ 1600.00 in car hire alone

 

i had a similar experience my wifes car 1 owner in A1 condition nissan silvia turbo, a trasnit van reversed into it

one headlamp and the bonnet was knackered the isurance accessor came and looked at it and said it was uneconimical to repair we were allowed to keep the car got paid the full amount for it by the insurance company ,a week later with new bonnet and headlamp fitted it was as good as new ,now wheres the sense in that?

 

I personally would'nt be 2 bothered providing it was the right price.

I've just brought a 4 door as a cat c write off. All it needed was 2 front seats, o/s/f wing and both drivers doors.
Done most of the work myself.
Got hold of the last owner who is sending me the service book which has full history.

As said I would'nt be that worried.

Neil