My little brother is looking for a new car, he has found a MG ZR 1.4 (cannot go for the quicker ones due to insurance)

Its a very good price for a 05 plate, so he went with my parents to look at it as i was away.

It turns out that the car was invloved in a accident and needed a couple of new panels to repair it, this happened just before MG rover went tits up. Apparently as there was a bit of a scare that the parts would be hard to get hold of the insurance company wrote it off. The bloke who now has it bought a few from the insurance company to fix them up, this is the last one he has done.

He said it was Cat C or D damage (he cant remember), but he fixed it up, then had the inspection, it passed ok, but he doesnt have the log book, he has the inspection pass for or whatever you get and has used this to tax the car, but just hasnt sent off for the new log book yet.

Does this sound pretty legit? I dont really no about the processes invovled in registering a written off car again, so dont want to tell him to buy it if its going to be crooked.

Also will the writing off show up on any future HPI etc checks. Just wondering if it will be a problem when he comes to sell it. Or does the new log book erase the history?

Any advice would be great and please dont give me a list of alternative cars, it wouldnt be my first choice, but he really likes them.

No V5 no deal.
It is tempting but you may end up regretting it.

As said before, no V5 or the new owner part at least, then no deal.
The crash history will show up on a HPI check and I'd want to know a proper reason for why the car was written off if it only needed a couple of panels!

When an insurance company writes off a vehicle, the V5C is returned to DVLA. Once the vehicle has been repaired it should then have a Vehicle Identity Check carried out to ensure there were no stolen parts used to repair it. The V5C is then returned to the owner with details of the accident and the consequent repair (This remains on the V5C forever). Sounds legitimate enough to me but I'd wait for the V5C and get the repair work checked out by a professional before buying it.

Phil

Insuring it could also be a total pain in the arse and expensive!!!

I was hoping you would reply Mark, as i remember you repairing a Rover 400, not sure if it was a write off though. Hopefully Mark Allanson will also give his views because as you said he is in the insurance business.

If he will get the V5 for it, and i let the insurance company know exactly what has happened it should be ok then?

The only other thing is when he comes to sell it, surely the history of it being written off will detract potential buyers.

out of curiosity, how's he taxed it without a v5 or the renewal notice? i thought you had to apply for the v5 to get a tax disc.

I've reroaded 4 and never had to do anything except apply for a log book. It was a cheap way of getting a newish vehicle for just a little work. When you put them back on the road expect a visit from the local constabulary checking that you know the vehicles previous history and also that the vin and engine number match.

Regards the V5.Almost any salvage car you buy from the insurance or a salvage dealer/auction is without it's V5.The cat B stuff for definate.This is registerd breakers only.The C cars need VIC regardless untill you can get a logbook.Think Sva-ing.
The cat D cars you apply using V62(I think if I remember right) along with the fee.If you are lucky and have the new owner slip(I've dropped lucky like this) you can sometimes get away without the fee.I have like alot of other people on here dealt with salvage cars and have never had a problem as long as you use your head.As a note I have never seen a marked V5 with regards to accident history.Numberplate change yes.
Hope this helps.

Thanks for all the info.

Any idea how much the VOSA test to get it removed from HPI records is, and do most VOSA centres do them?

Its sounds like he has had the VIC done, so just needs to apply for the new log book.

Calvin is right in almost everything he has said. I stopped being an assessor in december 2005, but I have never heard of cat X, may be something new.

DVLA/VOSA will not get involved unless they suspect fraud of theft, or you use registered components from another vehicle (like a second hand engine as part of the repair).

Insurance will not be a problem to obtain, afterall they want your money. The rub comes when you try to make a claim, they will SERIOUSLY undervalue your car as they have an objection to paying out a total loss on the same car twice.

Very often the police will pay you a visit (traffic cop) to check out the car, he will take chassis and engine numbers and will try to convince you he knows the difference between a sphincter and a tibia, but as a rule they miss the blatantly obvious and take hours over the totally insignificant.

You will probably be moderately safe with a Rover, the whole industry is trying to write every single one off as parts are very hard to get hold off. As a result, many have been 'bridged', where it is not only uneconomic to repair (length of time in a courtesy car), but not a sensible thing to repair (consider a 75% finished car stalled as newly discovered parts become unavailable).

Unfortunately, the value of Rover has plummeted, there are still new, unregistered ones for sale at 50% of their original retail value, which brings down the S/H values by the same degree. I recently wrote off a '05 Rover 45 for £1500 of damage.

Double check it is worth repairing before you commit (and that the parts are available)