Would you buy an insurance recovered car?

uberwolf

If a car was described as insurance recovered (reasons unknown) would you buy it if it came with a 12 month warranty from a franchise dealer?

I'm presuming insurance recovered means it was economically written off by an insurance company.

_Kaiser_

uberwolf wrote: »

If a car was described as insurance recovered (reasons unknown) would you buy it if it came with a 12 month warranty from a franchise dealer?

I'm presuming insurance recovered means it was economically written off by an insurance company.

I'd get it thoroughly checked over mechanically, but if it comes with a 12 month (full - gearbox and engine wouldn't be enough for me in this case) dealer warranty I don't see why not.

Only concern though would be about selling it on later.

alias no.9

Could be stolen and recovered. The insurance may have paid out before the car was found. If this is the case I'd still get it thoroughly checked out and get all the locks changed.

OldmanMondeo

Might only be insurance recovery because the insurance company paid out the cliam before the car turned up. Could well be fine. As Kaiser2000 says, check the car fully and then decide.

uberwolf

it's actually an independent dealer (on second look). UK Based.

If it were just a stolen car, why would there be a discount on the norm.

If I did buy this, I would expect to be selling in a years time. I'd be honour bound to pass on it's status - presuming damage rather than stolen? Being UK based, would you be satisfied with the thorough RAC / AA check?

zilog_jones

Is there any way of finding out what exactly happened to the car?

uberwolf

zilog_jones wrote: »

Is there any way of finding out what exactly happened to the car?

I'll be on the blower to the dealer tomorrow. If it were a main dealer for the brand I'd be happy with their warranty
"This vehicle is insurance recovered and is covered by our own comprehensive cover"
However as an independent dealer I'm a little more circumspect. It'd hardly be worth their while selling it if it were a complete wreck. I can't afford to be stung searching for the 'deal' though.

This is the exact car, spec, everything that I want. With that in mind, presuming it's a damaged car, rather than stolen, how would you satisfy yourself - or is it even worth looking into.

zilog_jones

Will they even tell you or do they even know what category write-off it was? There are specific categories in the UK:

Category A – Of scrap value only. The car should have been crushed and there are no salvageable spare parts.

Category B – The body should have been crushed, but the rest of the car can be dismantled for spare parts.

Category C – The car has been badly damaged, and the insurance company has decided not to repair the car. The car can be legally repaired, but must pass an inspection before it is allowed back on the road.

Category D – The car is less seriously damaged. It can be repaired and made fit for road use.

Category F – A fire damaged car. It can be repaired and put back on the road.

It's probably a C or D. A 'C' is more likely to have had some sort of structural damage, however as said above they have to go through an inspection. There's a show on Discovery were they did cat. C and D repairs - quite interesting stuff.

Personally I'd have no problem buying such a car if I knew what repair work was done and if the price is right.

Del2005

uberwolf wrote: »

I'll be on the blower to the dealer tomorrow. If it were a main dealer for the brand I'd be happy with their warranty
"This vehicle is insurance recovered and is covered by our own comprehensive cover"
However as an independent dealer I'm a little more circumspect. It'd hardly be worth their while selling it if it were a complete wreck. I can't afford to be stung searching for the 'deal' though.

This is the exact car, spec, everything that I want. With that in mind, presuming it's a damaged car, rather than stolen, how would you satisfy yourself - or is it even worth looking into.

The bits I've bolded mean that the warrenty is of no use to you over here. Are you going to drive over to the UK to get the car fixed?

Unless the car is what you really want I'd walk away, but HPI may be able to tell you what the history is. If that comes up OK get it checked out and get money off for the warrenty.

Eoin

Del2005 wrote: »

The bits I've bolded mean that the warrenty is of no use to you over here. Are you going to drive over to the UK to get the car fixed?

If it was a main dealer, there's a chance that the warranty would be available in Ireland.

Seth Brundle

doesn't the HPI site mention the type of write off it is?
www.hpicheck.com

uberwolf

the warranty is no use to me on a day to day basis.

It is of comfort to me though with respect to any level of repair work that has been done on this machine. If they're willing to put themselves on the hook for 12 months (not bad for a car that is 4 years old), then they must be relatively confident?

I would ask for money off on the basis that I'll not show up to have a light repaired, but I wouldn't waive the warranty altogether as if something goes, I'll want come back.

uberwolf

kbannon wrote: »

doesn't the HPI site mention the type of write off it is?
www.hpicheck.com

I suppose I'll fork out on that to corroborate the story I'm fed by the dealer.

uberwolf

"flood damage"

and further, due to the recent spate of flooding over there apparently the insurance companies just weren't bothered with the work load

Seth Brundle

Isn't any car that gets wet inside from flooding subject to being written off due to leptospirosis?
Anyhow, the car would be full of silt and other crap (maybe even crap!) from the floods.