Writeoffs, ABI Classifications and Thatcham Examination

The message from "Hiro" contains these words:

How much "a bit"?

I was wondering that too...

Is the seller a vehicle salvage company, and do they have photos of the accident damage? A Thatcham Examination is independent and should confirm the condition of the vehicle (it says 'ere, IANAL and so forth).

Hiro (daryah snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

No.

HPI is a paperwork check.

There's four classes of "write-off".

Class D - Basically a third-party write off. The repair costs do not exceed the value of the car. Fix it and drive it. If it's a "fender-bender", then it'll have been Class D. If it was recorded.

Class C - Economic write-off. The repair costs exceed the value of the car. No V5. Fix it, but it needs a Vehicle Identity Check before it can go back on the road. That's NOT a repair-quality check,

Class B - It's obliterated. It can be broken for bits.

Class A - Don't even think about it. It's straight in the crusher.

Well, have been told that it is a Class D and that they are a salvage company. Have asked for pictures and he said he will dig some up though there was a bit of difference in opinion as to seeing that.. should be able to view the car tomorrow...

The thing is that the car is valued at =A312K-=A315K without any issues and is now selling at =A38495... so the repair costs may be less then the value of the car but thats a huge margin to be playing around with.....

Is an AA/RAC inspection the equivalent of a Thatcham approved examination.... I cannot seem to find any providers of such an examination..is this inspection only available to salvage companies?

and is now selling at £8495... so the repair costs may be less then the value of the car but thats a huge margin to be playing around with.....

Is that the pre or post repair price? Also bear in mind that its resale value will be much lower than a non-write off. What make and model, out of interest?

examination.... I cannot seem to find any providers of such an examination..is this inspection only available to salvage companies?

Autolign

The value is reduced because many people (like yourself) are terrified at the thought of a car being an insurance write off. If the truthe be told, if they are repaired properly they are no less safe or perfect than a "straight" car. I have owned several which I have repaired myself while I was in the motor trade. However they have had very bad press with cowboys doing cut and shuts and identity changes which has led to them being categorised. Many if not most class D wright offs are really the sort of prang that if they had been insured 3rd party, the owner would have had repaired by an independent garage using non-OEM panels for half the price that the stealerships quote the insurance company and would never have been recorded. class D is in essence farcical as it in no way distinguishes the car from one that has had any body work done to it. Statistically fewer cars get written off twice than get written off once by definition, so to buy a write off means the chances of you writing it off are significantly reduced. But statistics tell very silly stories when you phrase them right. However should you write it off a second time or it be stolen and you make a claim on your insurance against it, they will pick up on the cars hisory and the payout will reflect this. But if that is reflected in the purchase price, this is not a major issue.

a.n.other ( snipped-for-privacy@nother.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

That's class C. Class D is one that ISN'T an economic right-off, just one that's been chosen not to be repaired.

it was a honda accord new shape exec sedan with leather, sat nav and

didn't get a chance to look at it and the initial reluctance of the seller to show me the pictures also put me off... imagine he may have felt that it could be used by me to haggle the price down....

anyway, finally decided to just go with a family friends previous model accord since it was half the price of the salvage and lower miles.... however, not as nice a spec...

sounds like its a lot to go through for a layman purchaser like me.... was told that the best type of person to buy a salvage job is a half-mechanic in case problems do occur.... been meaning to do a car mechanics course .... in addition to all other things that I have been meaning to do... wonder if there is an online elearning car mechanics course...

thanks everyone for your advice..