Main dealers selling damaged repaired cars - would you buy?
Discussion
I have been messaging some dealers upon discovering some of their cars on Auto Trader are listed as written off, purely to make them aware in case somehow it's slipped under the radar. Most are grateful for making them aware and to save reputation have removed them from sale, however I have received the first response to shock me - a Category N vehicle if written off again could potentially leave the driver being paid out less, as such the unwritten rule in the trade is to sell it 25-30% below that of an HPI Clear car, the dealer however knows it is written off, is happy to warranty the car and is offering finance - and asking the full price of a clear car.
I'll let the pictures do the talking.
ETA: I know thousands of cars have probably had worse damage than this was written off for and been repaired, that is not my point, as they would still be HPI Clear/Unrecorded. This is not.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203043...
I'll let the pictures do the talking.
ETA: I know thousands of cars have probably had worse damage than this was written off for and been repaired, that is not my point, as they would still be HPI Clear/Unrecorded. This is not.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203043...
I think for environmental reasons people should. Cars, new electric ones more than ever, simply must reach old age and high milage if they are to pay off the substantial environmental damage caused by building them.
It's not just cars though. Western society only values shiny new stuff. Massive, unashamed consumerism. Throw the tarnished away and buy a new one. It's unsustainable full-stop. With big complex machines like cars though, it's simply not good enough to dispose of them just because it got a bit dinged.
In conclusion, if it's safe, it's a good quality repair and society can get it through its collective skull that the value is linked to remaining life in the vehicle rather than the image of shiny newness, then yes, people should be damage repaired cars from main dealers.
It's not just cars though. Western society only values shiny new stuff. Massive, unashamed consumerism. Throw the tarnished away and buy a new one. It's unsustainable full-stop. With big complex machines like cars though, it's simply not good enough to dispose of them just because it got a bit dinged.
In conclusion, if it's safe, it's a good quality repair and society can get it through its collective skull that the value is linked to remaining life in the vehicle rather than the image of shiny newness, then yes, people should be damage repaired cars from main dealers.
jamieduff1981 said:
I think for environmental reasons people should. Cars, new electric ones more than ever, simply must reach old age and high milage if they are to pay off the substantial environmental damage caused by building them.
It's not just cars though. Western society only values shiny new stuff. Massive, unashamed consumerism. Throw the tarnished away and buy a new one. It's unsustainable full-stop. With big complex machines like cars though, it's simply not good enough to dispose of them just because it got a bit dinged.
In conclusion, if it's safe, it's a good quality repair and society can get it through its collective skull that the value is linked to remaining life in the vehicle rather than the image of shiny newness, then yes, people should be damage repaired cars from main dealers.
So you think it's okay for them to sell at full retail price, when if written off (and the car is on finance) the buyer could be left many thousands of pounds upside down?It's not just cars though. Western society only values shiny new stuff. Massive, unashamed consumerism. Throw the tarnished away and buy a new one. It's unsustainable full-stop. With big complex machines like cars though, it's simply not good enough to dispose of them just because it got a bit dinged.
In conclusion, if it's safe, it's a good quality repair and society can get it through its collective skull that the value is linked to remaining life in the vehicle rather than the image of shiny newness, then yes, people should be damage repaired cars from main dealers.
BenS94 said:
So you think it's okay for them to sell at full retail price, when if written off (and the car is on finance) the buyer could be left many thousands of pounds upside down?
Let's try an analogous example. Commercial aircraft are traded often. Far more safety critical investments than cars, most would agree. By mid life, many commercial aircraft have some sort of accident history even if that's just the baggage manglers crashing ground support vehicles into the fuselage and puncturing the pressure-containing skin. Of course it's possible to write off a commercial aircraft, but they're considered as assets by the owners so they are repaired - properly - by skilled people and with the manufacturer's approval. When it comes time to sell, there's a lot of due diligence done by prospective buyers' engineering and quality teams. They'll check all the paperwork and survey the aircraft. They expect to find repairs and the paperwork explaining what happened. The value of the aircraft is set by remaining flying hours it has, not whether someone bashed a trolley into it 5 years previously.It's obvious that I'll be in a minority having the view that a car repaired to factory standard has as much use left in it as one which didn't need repair but is otherwise equal. Most here will be stuck in 1960s-1990s mindset of bashed cars with twisted bodyshells and chassis rails hammered back vaguely straight - i.e. accident damaged cars being actually still damaged after a shonky repair. Therefore anything that's been in any sort of bump must still be broken now and to be avoided.
jamieduff1981 said:
BenS94 said:
So you think it's okay for them to sell at full retail price, when if written off (and the car is on finance) the buyer could be left many thousands of pounds upside down?
Let's try an analogous example. Commercial aircraft are traded often. Far more safety critical investments than cars, most would agree. By mid life, many commercial aircraft have some sort of accident history even if that's just the baggage manglers crashing ground support vehicles into the fuselage and puncturing the pressure-containing skin. Of course it's possible to write off a commercial aircraft, but they're considered as assets by the owners so they are repaired - properly - by skilled people and with the manufacturer's approval. When it comes time to sell, there's a lot of due diligence done by prospective buyers' engineering and quality teams. They'll check all the paperwork and survey the aircraft. They expect to find repairs and the paperwork explaining what happened. The value of the aircraft is set by remaining flying hours it has, not whether someone bashed a trolley into it 5 years previously.It's obvious that I'll be in a minority having the view that a car repaired to factory standard has as much use left in it as one which didn't need repair but is otherwise equal. Most here will be stuck in 1960s-1990s mindset of bashed cars with twisted bodyshells and chassis rails hammered back vaguely straight - i.e. accident damaged cars being actually still damaged after a shonky repair. Therefore anything that's been in any sort of bump must still be broken now and to be avoided.
jamieduff1981 said:
Let's try an analogous example. Commercial aircraft are traded often. Far more safety critical investments than cars, most would agree. By mid life, many commercial aircraft have some sort of accident history even if that's just the baggage manglers crashing ground support vehicles into the fuselage and puncturing the pressure-containing skin. Of course it's possible to write off a commercial aircraft, but they're considered as assets by the owners so they are repaired - properly - by skilled people and with the manufacturer's approval. When it comes time to sell, there's a lot of due diligence done by prospective buyers' engineering and quality teams. They'll check all the paperwork and survey the aircraft. They expect to find repairs and the paperwork explaining what happened. The value of the aircraft is set by remaining flying hours it has, not whether someone bashed a trolley into it 5 years previously.
It's obvious that I'll be in a minority having the view that a car repaired to factory standard has as much use left in it as one which didn't need repair but is otherwise equal. Most here will be stuck in 1960s-1990s mindset of bashed cars with twisted bodyshells and chassis rails hammered back vaguely straight - i.e. accident damaged cars being actually still damaged after a shonky repair. Therefore anything that's been in any sort of bump must still be broken now and to be avoided.
To be fair that example is a bit like Rowan Atkinson's McLaren F1. The car had a couple of well published accidents, the second pretty serious. The car was repaired by McLaren and accordingly not many would have any issues with the car. It probably sold for market value.It's obvious that I'll be in a minority having the view that a car repaired to factory standard has as much use left in it as one which didn't need repair but is otherwise equal. Most here will be stuck in 1960s-1990s mindset of bashed cars with twisted bodyshells and chassis rails hammered back vaguely straight - i.e. accident damaged cars being actually still damaged after a shonky repair. Therefore anything that's been in any sort of bump must still be broken now and to be avoided.
That is quite different from a repair made by who knows who and to who knows to what quality? Few wood screws here, maybe a bent but serviceable radiator there.
If dealers clearly tell the purchaser and explain what it means then fair enough. If it's in the small print and not mentioned I would not be happy. Seems to me the beginning of an unacceptable practice designed to prey upon the new breed of internet purchasers who never see the car until it's delivered.
samoht said:
To be clear, we're talking about cars listed on AT, where the 'Cat N' status is shown clearly at the bottom of the ad, right?
In that case nothing's being hidden, the customer has all the information and it's up to them to decide if they want it and at what price.
In that case nothing's being hidden, the customer has all the information and it's up to them to decide if they want it and at what price.
Auto Trader is the only one to display this. Their description says all cars HPI Clear - and how about Joe Bloggs walking in off the street - they won't be informed, will they?
Dan W. said:
Car has been declared on the advert and any potential buyer will be made aware,
They can ask whatever price they like for it, Does not mean they will get it, Up to a customer to decide if they want to pay that amount.
Read the above comment, unless they've changed the advert. It was stating HPI Clear in the description They can ask whatever price they like for it, Does not mean they will get it, Up to a customer to decide if they want to pay that amount.
k that! The dealer has priced the car up at what they think it’s worth. Do I think it’s worth that? No, I reckon it’s worth about £15k, tops, but someone else might be willing to pay more.
Are they hiding anything? No, it’s declared as a Cat N.
If you want to see some real bad behaviour, look at the dodgy cars facebook page.
Are they hiding anything? No, it’s declared as a Cat N.
If you want to see some real bad behaviour, look at the dodgy cars facebook page.
georgeyboy12345 said:
The dealer has priced the car up at what they think it’s worth. Do I think it’s worth that? No, I reckon it’s worth about £15k, tops, but someone else might be willing to pay more.
Are they hiding anything? No, it’s declared as a Cat N.
If you want to see some real bad behaviour, look at the dodgy cars facebook page.
Once again, they have not declared it as CAT N, only Auto Trader displays this, not by their choice. Are they hiding anything? No, it’s declared as a Cat N.
If you want to see some real bad behaviour, look at the dodgy cars facebook page.
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