Should You Buy a DAMAGE REPAIRED Car?

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Today we're discussing buying an accident damaged car: should you buy one?

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[mikewa]

Flood Damage - best to avoid as most cars will have suffer damage to electronics and that can be difficult to remedy. Cars are designed to resist rainwater but flood damage can be tricky to tell what has been affected.

[phillipclaridge]

Interesting piece. I have purchased 4 cat N cars and have never had problems insuring any of them on fully comp. In all 4 cases, the cars were damaged when I got them and they have all gone on to give good service. I have a Hyundai IX20 which I repaired and has been in my 'fleet' for 3 years and is an absolute gem. One thing that is an anomaly (in my view) is if I were to have a newish car that I damaged, there is a good chance that the insurer will have it repaired and it will not be categorised thus when it comes to resale, leaving those who are not in the know with a car which does have a past! The thing that does really annoy me is the requirement for insurers to fit all new parts following damage. My partners Astra was recently written off as cat N because they decided that to replace the tailgate would cost £5, 500. We bought the car back and found a replacement tailgate in colour which was fitted for £350 - crazy!

[charlesmorgan]

Crikey, some of those examples are astounding. I have bought older cars, like MB W124s that were Cat D, but the notional value was so low that even a new headlight and fitting from MB would write it off, whereas I would have bought a secondhand unit from Ebay. However, that Ferrari, jeepers...

[johndeehan]

Some years ago, my sister and her husband bought a Vauxhall that turned out to be two cars welded together. A history check would definitely have been wise. Three years ago, I bought a motorbike from a dealer that had been written off with cosmetic damage. I bought it at a great price, he even knocked a further £500 off without any prompting from me. A great dealership.

[asdreww]

I've had a cat D car before... it had been keyed all down one side. estimate was probably to repaint the entire car from a high end bodyshop so it was an easy right off. The paint was perfect and I knew it was basically no worse than any car that had had some random scratch//stonechip repair so was a no brainer really.

[GeordsYouTube]

At the right price and managing the expectations of resale value (if it’s not a forever car) you can get a right deal, using a decent vehicle history checker is key.

[mikeholden]

Great video as always Matt - always worth mentioning that uninsured cars (including high-end ones) are crashed and repaired all the time and won’t appear on ANY car history ‘checking’ website…..my advice, if you are spending more than say £8-£10k is to get the car professionally inspected….if the private seller or dealer resists this, walk away

[The_journeyy]

*Buying a car that's been written off can be a perfect way to get the car of your dreams for a far more reasonable price. These days insurance companies will write off a car for the smallest things like a wing but for them its major because they've to buy the parts from the dealer were a normal person doesn't have to and can shop around for those parts write offs just have a bad stigma*

[morayfirth]

My low mileage MG TF was written off when I swerved into a ditch to avoid an idiot approaching on my side of the road. The insurance company gave me a fair price - £2000 - then after talking to their engineer I bought it back for £430 (delivered to my local garage) who charged a further £400 to repair it (new anti roll bar and minor scrapes and paint). The insurance company would not repair it as new parts are not available. As soon as it was repaired and passed a new MoT with no advisories, it was back on fully comp insurance. A very good insurance company - Direct Line.

[BaldyFella]

I've been completely shafted recently. My Ford Focus was written off after hitting a deer on a country road back in March. I was under pressure to get a replacement so I did my due diligence and did the VCheck thing and paid £6K cash for a Ford C-Max. I noticed that the cam-belt hadn't been done (75K and 10 years) so got the Dealer to do that (we agreed 50/50 split on costs) before I would drive it away.

Within a fortnight of picking it up and with the brief advent of warmer weather, I noticed the aircon didn't work. The Dealer booked it into a local garage. Warranty wouldn't cover it and Dealer wouldn't pay out even though it wasn't fit for purpose (needed new condenser plus re-gas) further £260.00 shelled out by your's truly. About 3 weeks ago I was hoovering the car out prior to what was going to be a few days down in Devon and on lifting the driver's mat noticed it was completely sodden underneath. I booked it into my garage this time for a check over. Transpired the heating management system had been completely bodged with jubilee clips etc and coolant was seeping into the car. Again warranty wouldn't cover it and Dealer refused to pay. Tried to get hold of Trading Standards but you have to go through Citizens Advice. They said I might have a case but it would take a long time to sort out.

In the end I traded in the C-Max for a Peugeot 2008 (2018 plate) from my trusted local garage. It would have cost me near enough £1k to repair the C-Max. I have lost about £3K in this deal. My garage have given me 6 months warranty but told me quite honestly that I have been treated appallingly by the other local dealer. They said anything goes wrong and we'll just sort it whether the warranty covers it or not because our reputation matters. This is why some people have good experiences and others don't and I don't know what I could have done other than been without a car for months while I went through a legal process to recoup the costs. The C-Max I traded in they will put to auction because they just wouldn't sell it to one of their customers. Has left a pretty sour taste in my mouth, especially as I opted to use a local dealer rather than one of the larger more impersonal car warehouses.

Interested to know your take on my sad and sorry saga Matt....should I have got the Ford Focus repaired first and then traded it or would I have been better to have gone more upmarket and taken a loan in the first place to negate the bad experience with the C-Max?

[mishalchotai]

Just bought a Mini Cooper on a 64 plate with 37k miles for £3900. Non Cat D is 9 to 10k with the same miles. (As of today). Well happy. It's been looked after full mini service history.

Keeping it for 2y then just auction it. Or scrap. Thanks Matt. Your advice is gold as always.

[stuartkennedy]

Take a paint thickness gauge it will give you a good idea if it’s been painted and if it’s also had filler. Saved me a few times.

[tonypacke]

Nice video Matt. It would be a laugh to send the crash damage picture to the eBay seller and offer him half of what he was asking for it.

[nekite]

Always depends upon who you buy it from - I watch a channel called salvage rebuilds uk, and I would not hesitate to buy a damage repaired car from them.

[miamimo]

It's a strangely satisfying process, you get the satisfaction of fixing a good car. You search for 2nd hand panels get them sprayed and away you go. Don't go near a car that's been structurely hit unless you know your way around a jig. Plenty of back street garages that fix bent chassis legs without going anywhere near a jig. I used to fix cat C cars just for a hobby years ago. Recently bought a Merc C class wagon C250 cgi amg spec, 43k miles, light front corner panel damage for 2 grand, cost me a grand in parts and paint. Drives lovely for a fraction of the price!

[waduhek]

Quick answer: If you are savvy with cars in general, go for it with careful inspection.
If not, it is a pure gamble.

[bouncycastles]

I crashed a brand new at the time VW Polo into the towbar on the back of a Freelander. Due to the age of the car it was fully repaired. Needed a lot of front end repairs including a radiator, intercooler, horn, bumper and maybe some engine work. Ran its reg and its still being used by a new owner.

I recently bought a cat S. E92 335d. Poorly repaired and quite neglected. But i have been restoring it to its former glory and will keep forever.

[ericshrive]

Have bought 3 cars with N or S cat for myself and family over the past 4 years. No issues insuring them...no noticeable hike in premiums over the norm.

[protestagain]

I remember, one day, maybe in 1987. First snow in Oslo, I was driving a 123 series 300D. A woman crashed into my car. I was able to drive slowly to the repair shop. It was a Friday, very late, and they let me in. The car was really damaged, but it was drivably. Two hours later, it had a new wing, new lights, and it could go for the weekend duties.

[timhancock]

I run a Cat D car. I saw photos of it after its accident. The repairer showed me his shop and the certifications of his body work team. It had 13, 000 miles on it and its now done 67, 000 miles after five years and is maintained as if it were a new car. Have there been any glitches that I could put down to the bash it had and the repair. The honest answer is one or two for definite, but nothing insurmountable or super critical. As a car it's been great. Has it washed it's face financially ? Well I think The longer I run it the closer the residual becomes to an unwritten off car, so if I keep it eight years the relative values won't be that different. It had a new sill, a new B pillar and front and rear doors. Critically the roof was undamaged so the shell integrity was good enough to repair. Did I have misgivings..yes. Has it been a good car..yes.