VAL113R

I am buying an mr2 turbo write off on Sunday. I think its a Cat C

The damage isnt bad, it needs a door and a rear wing bit.

Anyway what am I looking at to get this back on the road ?

What procedures do I need to go through to get it back on the road ?

cheers

mightyyid

PITA - needs to be repaired by an approved repairer, and then you need to get it assessed by a proper person from the DVLC I think to get it put back onto the car regitser. But the car will always show up as a Cat c loss so any HPI will show this. Be warned that when you come to sell it, there is a very good chance you will not be able to. Part ex will always show it up, and no dealer will part-ex a car that is a CAT c as they will not take the risk. Selling privately then is your only option so obviously it will be way cheaper than a standard car of the same age, so few people are willing to take the risk. You may get lucky, but you have to think why you are doing this now, and thus why others would want to do it in the future.

Yep, it saves money but....

VAL113R

whats the stature if I turn it into a kit car ?

I have seen a nice F355 kit for it ?

thanks

PHILYB

If the car is cat c then it will need to go to the local dvla test centre for a vosa inspection. all cat c vehicles need this test. they inspect the damage that has been repaired and make sure it is uptoa good standard and the car is what it says it is on the logbook, vin no model etc.

if you were to put a ferrari kit onto it you would have to check with the dvla before you did anything.

What eva you do to the car it will always show up on hpi as a total loss. U can neva get rid of that info.

regards phil.

VAL113R

Cheers for the help

I am not bothered about it always showing as a write off

a DVLA test centre, is this just an MOT station or do they have special test centres for this sort of thing ?

would it be easier to get the car fixed back to standard first, tested and then put the kit on do you think ?

would I need to get the damage painted or would just fitting a new door and rear quarter panel be enough ?

cheers for the help !

PHILYB

they are special test centres, it is where you take lorries for hgv tests usually are regional centres.
would be easier to get the car back to standard and fully resprayed.
the car has to be original and all in colour

regards phil

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

there is nothing wrong with buying a write off. the next car i buy will probably be a jap one you can get it taken off the critical HPI list by geeting a proper inspection of the car done, costs about £200 and its a full vehicle check and test, which mean if you ever get it stolen or wrote off again the insurance co will pay full market value, make sure you dont get the car repaired by any old idiot though, as the use of filler is frowned upon on these tests and it will have to be in showroom condition or it will fail

GC8

You havent been able to remove vehicles from HPIs 'Condition Alert' list since the end of 1994; after an Autolign appraisal its put on the 'Condition Inspected' list; where it will continue to be flagged in HPI searches.

Id advise against buying it; the fact that you have to ask indicates to me that you dont have the necessary knowledge/experience.


Regards

Simon

KGB

If you see the damage as being a realistic/cost effective repair then why not buy it?

Having spoken to someone who recently bought a cat c car the process goes as follows:

Apply to your local VOSA office for VIC test application then fill in details and return, they'll contact you with a test date, you take the car along, they carry out their checks, if ok they then sort out the paperwork and your V5 arrives in due course. The test cost him £35 and took approx 20 mins. Easy, apparently!!


Hpi 'recorded' cars scare people off, fair enough, but i am told on good authority that all insurance claims are recorded against cars but only 'written off' cars show on hpi register. That leaves how many cars on the road with hidden secrets? A £20,000 car can have repairs costing £12,000 carried out yet not show up on an hpi check because repair costs don't exceed 60% of its value, allows fairly major damage to be repaired and left 'hidden' to the next owner.

All just IMO!!

Regards

KGB.

GC8

I aggree; HPI are a shocking company. I did a retail HPI check on a car a few years ago for a bodyshop who were repairing a car for me. The woman said: "Oooh; its recorded and showing that its been destroyed in an accident" (and more but I cant remember the rest of the nonsense that she said) I said: "Are you sure? Because Im standing next to it and it has a broken headlamp and a dented bonnet...".

Simon

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

most people seem to think a write off is two cars welded together or some serious bend pile of metal that is totally unfit to be on the road where as a properly repaired car is as good as any other car if not better as to sell a cat C car there has to be something outstanding on it to make it sell due to peoples perception of a write off, selling a write off will always be cheaper than an unrecorded car, but all you will lose is wear and tear on the write off the same as a straight car but only smaller as the car will be cheaper

MattN

bit of a contradiction though. You say the damage isn't bad, but it's a cat c. If the damage wasn't too bad but not economical to repair it would be a cat d.

Cat c is referred to as 'extensive damage'.

My mate just bought a cat c car off an Audi garage that took it as part ex, so dealers will take 'em. Although I suspect at rock bottom prices. He payed 2250 for a car that would probably cost 3500 not recorded.

VAL113R

I have bought the car and it is not too bad

the car is a 1991 Mr2 turbo with 68,000 km on the clock

the car is in mint condition apart from the damage

the leather interior looks like it has just rolled out of the factory

I paid £1300 for the car and to fix it, it needs a wing, door and a rear quarter panel.

perky555

iTrader: (1)

Send off for the log book a.s.a.p mate, i bought a CAT C punto for my mrs brothers 1st car (only wanted a bonnet and headlamp). contacted the vosa test centre to arrange a test and the bloke there said "its not showing as needing a VIC test(which being CAT C it should of) he then said the insurance companies can sometimes be slow with paperwork notifing the dvla" his advice was send off for the logbook a.s.a.p and you wont have to have it tested!!! and thats from a vosa official!!
A CAT C is suposed to also be recorded on the logbook when you get it back, in my case it wasnt!

mightyyid

Steve
Sorry but have to disagree. To say a properly repaired car is as good if not better is like asking how long is a piece of string. I agree that ina few cases a written off car could be made better, but am sure that in the vast majority it will not be. Firstly you are relying on the repairer being excellent - and lets be honest, there are few people in the this world who are excellent (very good maybe, good etc, but excellent?). Then there are all the hidden bits you don't see - if the chassis is slightly misaligned, which often happens in crashes that are that bad to be cat c, then the car will never be as good as it was intended to be - whether you or I can tell that, who knows, but it;s a valid point.

Finally, the main point about selling a write off is that your market is massively smaller than if it was a normal car. Likewise, you go to a dealer to p/ex it, he checks on HPI, (which will show it has been written off but has been repaired to an acceptable standard) and he'll likely refuse to have anything to do with it - simply because it's not worth the risk to him when there are thousands of cars out there anyway. Hence, if you can sell it, you'll lose the same amount in wear and tear, granted, but I would say selling it is far far harder than a normal car and thus means the whole process is one to be very wary of...

Andy

Tak

Nothing wrong with Write Offs- a mate of mine nearly bought a 22B for 13k the plonker!

anyway- VIC test at a VOSA testing station required for CAT C's (some do get thru the net)- if it needs a VIC then this will show up on the log book! a VIC test is just a check to see if there are no stolen parts on the car- u dont have to paint it- has to have an MOT (hence road worthy)- VOSA will only keep the car if it has:
1. Stolen parts
2. Very poor repair rendering it dangerous to drive.

they are not there to check quality of repairs unless its really bad! Finally i wouldnt put any Ferrari badges on the car mate- imagine getting blown by another normal jap beast- you will have to hide in ur own town!

a proper conversion btw costs around £12- £14k and teh car gets registered as a kit car- low insurance for a fast Ferarri look alike!

VAL113R

I also have a highly modified import WRX which I am keeping, the tubby is gonna be my 'sunday car' !

the log book came with the car

the car was written off in July. The guy I bought it from bought the car from a salvage yard 3 weeks ago and got the log book with the car. (He had even changed it into his name as he was gonna keep it but lost his job so couldnt fix it)

I completed the log book when I was at his house and he has posted it off, so I am expecting the V5 through soon.

Do you think I will still need the test ?

cheers

perky555

iTrader: (1)

The logbook on CAT C cars is supose to be destroyed by the insurance companies (meening to get a new logbook you have to have the car VIC checked 1st), if the car was a CAT C then the guy you got it off must either of sent off for the logbook straight away (and beat the system) or took the car for a VIC test himself (but you say it is still damaged so that couldnt be the case!) if you have the logbook then chances are you dont have to have a VIC test, just take it for an M.O.T. test. (dont mention to the M.O.T. tester its been bumped as they sometimes get abit to keen with the failiure sheet!)

VAL113R

cool

so how will I know if it needs a test ?

will I need to phone the dvla ?

cheers

kart_man

There's nothing wrong with write off's, as long as you KNOW the repairs have been done properly.
I had one and used a main dealer for all the major mechanical repairs, then used a mate to do the cosmetic stuff (he's an ex-subaru mechanic so knows the cars inside out and does an excellent job). By using second hand parts, you can save a fortune and get the car back on the road safely for a good saving (for example, I had to replace the tailgate on a wagon - Full subaru price was into the thousands, second hand price was £100 - painted !!). If you plan on keeping the car for a while then it's a great way to go. If you're wanting to make a quick buck, forget it unless you know someone who doesn't mind the car being recorded. Unfortunately there are still coyboys out there who throw the car back together who give the whole written-off car market a bad name.
Bare in mind however, that when you buy a jap import car - it could very easily have been a major write off before you owned it, but because it wasn't damaged in the UK, it won't be on the HPI register.
Also bare in mind that not every damaged car goes through the insurance company system, so every car you look at to buy may be a previous write-off.

It's a jungle out there !!

HTH

Dave

RayC

I have bought two Cat C write of cars from a slavage company, i'm fixing one and have been on the road with the other for over a year

Here is how i did it!

1) buy car, keep all reciepts for car and spare you buy
2) Fix car, does not need to be apporved repairer, you can do it your self
3) MOT car, normal mot station, normal way
4) Arrange VIC, This is to check you have not bought a write off and put the VIN on a stolen car, you can get a list of VOSA stations on the DVLA website, you ring the VOSA sation directly and organise the time
5)Drop of car and all recipts
If it passes they give you a form, which you can take to an approved DVLA tax station and get the tax disc, they send the VIC certificate off and your new V5 comes in the post, mine says the vehcile has had to have an identity check on the bottom in special notes
6) Drive the car liek normal

In my case i bought a Escort which had the rear door and wing bashed, its that light even the window still winds down and the door works OK, my understanding of Cat C is that it is not economicaly viable to repair, in the case of rear wings that weld to the roof etc its usually to pricy, CAT D is stolen recovered, but insurance has already paid out.
The repair on my escort consisted of 1 hammer, 1 hangover, 1 pot of P38 and 1 tin of halfords Ford Ontario blue, the job is shocking but there are not sharp edges or any risk of danger so its ok, the VIC only checks the identity, not the state of the repair, they will only condem a car which is obvoiusly not safe

In your case your car appears to not have the damage registered and the point on the VIC is to get the V5 so i dont think you need it.

Anyone one want a Ford Escort 1.3 in blue 1 careful owner??!!?!?!

perky555

iTrader: (1)

As far as i can tell you wont need a VIC test, as the point of the test is so you can prove the car is intitled to the logbook you wish to apply for. In your case you recieved the logbook with the car, as you've sent off for it in your name you should get it back soon. If you dont you'll get a letter saying it needs a vic test.
Think you'll just have to wait and see.