looking for a new car for work, what would be the pros and cons with this ?

ebay

Pros:
If it goes well it's a high status car for the money.

Cons:
Cat D will come up on HPI so selling it may be difficult.

I seem to remember Mark Allanson suggesting cars that the insurance companies have written off and are then repaired get a very low valuation if they get written off/damaged again.

A new carpet from Mercedes it likely to be insanely expensive (I assume it needs one).

It's obviously been underwater for some period of time - will that accelerate corrosion - future electrical problems?

Do you get the balance of the manufacturer warranty?

just offered the guy £14000, just to see what happends

it will prob smell of p*** for the next 2 years
adam

quote:

---

Originally posted by oadamo
it will prob smell of p*** for the next 2 years
adam

---

make sure it was freshwater. I wouldn't touch it at any price if it was seawater.

There's something a bit iffy about this.

No V5?

No tax and he's using it ?

If it's been written off by the insurance company, doesn't it belong to them ?

As all above really. its a bit risky for my liking

There will be lot of flood damaged cars coming up for sale soon as the insurance is clearing up on them now so a breakers auction might be a option for a genuine bargain.

most insurance companys spend around 50% of the cars value to fix it .say its worth 20k did the insurance beleve there 10k of damage

Working for a bodyshop, I feel compelled to reply...

Cat D is not recorded, if it were, then you'd only need to apply for a vehicle inspection to remove it from HPI. As for this 50% myth, it's just not true.

The insurance company will look at the whole loss 'package', covering the damage to the car, hire car costs, and any fees involved. Typically, hire companies ramp up the costs of hire cars to insurance companies because they know they pay up without question - we charge £60 a day for our company courtessy Corsa with our livery down the side!

Add in the fact that only genuine parts are used, even a minor bit of damage coupled with other costs is enough to write it off.

Personally, I'd look it over with a fine tooth comb - if it's being used daily it's not 100% unknown, but flood damage can be a bastard to fix!

Is that a car scent thingy (technical name!) sticking out of the air blower?

Just wondering if that means it smells really badly!

The car is practially new. Most insurance companies replace new for old on cars under 12 months old. The car MAY have had minimal damage, say soggy seats and carpets, but the owner claimed anyway and the insurance company was obliged to replace the car rather than repair it. Or maybe not, who can tell.

Externally, driving through a rain storm on a motorway or through a river ford is not much different to a flash flood. I'd have thought that cars were waterproof outside the cabin. Interiors may be different though. Perhaps interior metal isn't rust proofed as much.

smells a bit fishy

I have read somewhere that the only cars that you cannot have inspected to remove them from the register are flood damaged vehicles. Also I think that most flood damaged vehcles are written off, although I may be wrong on this one.

I do know that they can be tricky to repair if water has got into the control boxes etc.

Steve

the 50% rule is true. i work with various freelance assessors most days of the week as i work in car and bike recovery. depending on which company they assess for they do a quick add up of the cost of recovery and storage and all of the parts needed then labour and paint and if it makes between 40-60% of the cars value in the CAP black book then off to salvage it goes, or sometimes to the bodyshop as they dont/cant charge for storage until salvage can remove the car although smart51 is right as in new for old ...well it was in my case for a bike that got nicked 1 month old

[Edited on 29/8/07 by afj]

Be careful I think - I get Car Mechanics each month and there is an article in the September issue which warns against flood damaged cars. It would be worth a read if you can find a copy. In summary it says that any thoughts of minor overhauling is hardly ever the case... and .. .most cars that have been partially or totally submerged will be hiding all manner of difficult/expensive problems....

I wouldn't worry too much about no logbook, I bought a written off bike a few years ago from a breaker and it also had no logbook.
I was told at the time that the dealers don't normally get the logbooks for the vehicles so you always have to apply to the DVLA for them.