Urgent advise needed! please

[paul65]

Hi,

I am just about to buy a 300D estate 7 str, M reg 1995, 106,000 miles privately. I have veiwed/test drove the car it seems ok, and have put a deposit down. The seller is going to put a yrs mot and 6mths tax on car before i pick it up monday night for £2,300. Decided to hpi check car tonight just to make sure all is well, it came up the car was cat D insurance loss in 2000! Rang seller to ask, he says he has had car 5 years and has no knowledge of this loss. Seller is selling from his own home and lives in big very expensive house has 3 other merc's on driveway(1 is a brand new clk) is obviously not short of cash so can see no reason for him to be selling dodgey cheap cars.

I have no expereince in such things, i realy like the car and of course the price.

What would you do, continue with the purchase or back out? Is the car worth the money with this logged against it?

What is a cat D insurance loss and will this affect me?, i intend to keep the car for a long time so resale value is of no concern to me.

Any advise would be gratefully recieved.

Thankyou in advance,

Nicky
(pauls wife)

 

[davidsl500]

Category A - May not be resold. Must be crushed. Total burnout or flood damage (salt or foul water). Severely damaged with no serviceable parts, or already stripped out shell. DVLA require "Notification of Destruction".

Category B - May not be resold. Damaged beyond economical repair, usually with severe structural damage. DVLA require "Notification of Destruction". Parts can be removed and sold.

Category C - Repairable salvage. Usually applies to vehicles with significant (structural) damage, where cost of repairs exceeds book value. Can be sold for repair but must now have VIC inspection before returning to the road. Recorded as "Category C" at DVLA. Category C vehicles' V5 documents are returned to DVLA. You re-apply for registration on the original identity once the VIC inspection has done. VIC inspection and re-registration removes the Category C classification, but evidence it was at one time Category C remains on the vehicle's record at DVLA (and HPI and AA and the others).

VIC inspection - Straight from VOSA's web site "[The VIC] will involve comparing the vehicle presented against information held by DVLA, such as the vehicle identification number, make, model, colour and engine number. The VIC will also compare the record of previous accident damage with evidence of damage repair as well as checking other components to confirm the age and identity of the vehicle."

Officially, the VIC does not check roadworthiness. If any significant defects are present, they can prevent it being used, but it is not a check of vehicle condition or roadworthiness. VIC tets centres in major towns, list on VOSA's site. It costs £35 (early 2005).

Category D - Repairable salvage. Minimal damage, probably not structural, but insurer does not want to repair, even though it might be economic to do so. Often stolen and recovered after claim has been paid. Or for unusual models or grey imports where the difficulty of obtaining new parts hinders a quick repair. Does not need VIC inspection to return to road. Recorded with HPI, AA, and the like.

Category X - Insurance-speak for 'Not Recorded', but subject to some claim and sold on by them as repairable salvage. Not recorded on registers at HPI, AA, .. or known at DVLA. Very light damage, or vehicle is fairly new. Requires minimal repair work.


and the worst of all :-


"not recorded" - Not an official category, this is what you may see in a private advert. Usually means the owner only had third party insurance and they stuffed it themselves, so can't claim for it. Naturally, they aren't telling their insurance company - and they haven't told DVLA. Might be a total wreck, might be fixable. But - since DVLA don't know about it - there is no requirement for any inspection. Buying something like this, you are on your own, and you'd better know what you are doing mechanically!!!!



Cat D's are the most common and the sale price should reflect that it may have been repaired - you need to check how well it is repaired so have a good look at gaps between panels to ensure they are even. It may not have been damaged at all of course - if it was a stolen / recovered - it would have been sold off by the insurance company if they had already paid out the claim to the owner.

Does the log book show the seller as being the owner for the last 5 years ie., is the name and address correct ? Have you checked the VIN and engine number against the Log Book?

Is there any service history, repair receipts, old MOT's for the last 5 years?

If the cat d was 5 years ago and it has been running ever since then, in this case, i wouldnt be too worried about it - especialy since you say you are going to keep it along time anyway.

Dont forget that many "traders" that work from home do sell cat D stuff, because it can look a bargain and there is good money to be made. They often have very nice houses and big expensive cars - and omit to tell people that the car they are selling you was a "write off" for some reason or other....

 

[Terminator]

I find it hard to believe that the seller did not know it was a Cat D when he bought it. The fact it is a Cat D is not necessarily a problem providing it was repaired properly, but my main issue would be with the seller's economy with the truth. For peace of mind you should stall the purchasing process and obtain an independent inspection of the vehicle. The AA and RAC provide such services for about £150. Use the results of the inspection and the fact it has dubious provenance to secure a discount off the asking price.

 

[ash-h]

just remeber you may need to sell it on, how will you explain it to the next owner?

good luck

 

[k langdon]

I agree with everyone else about more checks needed. For info, I would say the price is very cheap anyway for a multi-valve diesel estate, especially with that mileage.

If it's in good nick with no problems and history as well, the going rate for these cars is more £4-4500 privately and over £5k from a dealer. They are very sought after and hard to come by in good order.

So, the question you need to ask yourself is it cheap for a reason (ie insurance Cat D) or is there something else.

I would have it inspected and if nothing major shows up then go ahead because these cars can go on forever.

Cheers,

Kevin

 

[paul65]

I must agree, i have been looking for a diesel w124 estate for a few months and have not come across one with sutch low miles and in this price range. Car has service history to 2000 and all mots from 2000 to present date, confirms mileage is correct. Present owner bought the car in middle 2000(confirmed by regestration docs) and car was catD in jan 2000 so is possible he wasnt aware of its status.

Anyway car seemed ok on test drive, not fun like the 3tr petrol but ok for a auto diesel. Inside needs a good valet but is in avarage condition. The exterier of the car is: bonnet and frount wings have been replaced at some point and paint match isnt quite there. Car is fairly basic mod, no alloys,no a/c, no comfort pack. Paint works is below par and is white!!

I have bought the car and will be having it checked hopefully tommorow xxxx
Thanks for your help an surport,xxxx

Nicky
xxxxx

 

[paul65]

Another question i would like to know is is it possible to add spec after market ie: air con or is it just impossible both on a install and cost?

I know with my other merc i enquired about having electric drivers seat fitted and was told it was not possible or if could be done would be messy and very expensive!

Thankyou all for your advise it made me think more about what i was letting myself in for.

Nicky

 

[Terminator]

It is very difficult, labour intensive and expensive to retro fit air con to a Right Hand Drive 124 series. You would be better off paying more to find one with it already fitted, but not many 124 diesels have it fitted as standard in the UK. If you can put up with left hand drive, go to Germany where you will find a much greater choice, many with air con as standard and of course the proper Turbo Diesel engine which they couldn't fit to the RHD models. Just bear in mind that the LHD 124 diesel is the taxi of choice so will probably have stratospheric mileage!

 

[paul65]

sorry for the long delay in posting ...

Had car checked by my local garage and findings are :

car likely to have been involved in very light front- drivers side impact. bonnet,wing and front valence not exact colour match. Brackets at frount for valence slightly bent. Headlight(drivers side) unit has plastic brackets missing(snapped off) which prevents front grill attaching properly, been told could do with new headlamp unit but for cosmetic reasons only. everything else checks out ok, no other damage noted. Quality of work carried out to rectify impact damage was said to be done cheaply ie headlamp unit not replaced. So all in all not a bad car and HEY have only been to petrol station once a week for diesel compared to at least twice a week for the petrol estate lol xx
Although must admit nearly killed myself in first week whilst overtakeing ......the 3ltr diesels not got the power i had been used to with the 3ltr petrol counterpart! But a small price to pay considering the miles i cover.

Nicky