Buyer Beware

Jakey

I was browsing for S2000's in the Uk and I came across a CAT C repaired one for £7995, While comparing that price to an Irish car I see what appears to be the exact same car for €24950 in Galway with no mention of it being a CAT C write off in the UK VRT is €6703 so there's an increase of €5000 approx depending on currency.

It's well worth paying for a HPI if your purchasing anything imported from the UK.
The two ad's are attached

Owen

Maybe it's my lack of coffee at 10am, but I can't see the proof that they're the same car. Are you speculating?

zod

It doesn't have to be mentioned in an advertisement AFAIK, if the buyer asks it must be revealed then.

barryfitz

How about the grill and the mesh and the professional debadging then?
Its not proof but still. The milage adds up as well.

Owen

barryfitz wrote:

How about the grill and the mesh and the professional debadging then?
Its not proof but still. The milage adds up as well.

So the OP is speculating, and ruining the chances of someone potentially honestly selling their car on carzone ...

Most MINI owners I know change their grills to the alternative one, the same probably goes for S2000 owners. Profession debadging amounts to using dental floss to remove the badges, and tar remover to lift any adhesive residue.

barryfitz

barryfitz wrote:

Its not proof but still.

You must have missed this point. And how is he ruining someones chances. He's just letting us know that we should definetly ask the question if considering this car. fair play op

Jakey

ned78 wrote:

So the OP is speculating, and ruining the chances of someone potentially honestly selling their car on carzone ...

Most MINI owners I know change their grills to the alternative one, the same probably goes for S2000 owners. Profession debadging amounts to using dental floss to remove the badges, and tar remover to lift any adhesive residue.

Ok I was pretty sure it was the same car but to be fair I rang the guy in the UK and it IS the same car I cross checked the plates with him. Im not trying to ruin anyones sale im just suggesting its prudent to check HPI before buying a UK Car,

I've been looking to upgrade my car and I have wasted time and money viewing cars previously crashed which the current owner knew nothing about

C_Breeze

Ned78 , even if jakey didnt do all the reg plate cross refferencing , its quite clearly the same car , come on now - Wire mesh grill , no reg surrounds and chrome alloys and exact same mileage .

Good spot OP

Somebody should call the Carzone guy and sting him good

Owen

Jakey wrote:

Ok I was pretty sure it was the same car but to be fair I rang the guy in the UK and it IS the same car I cross checked the plates with him. Im not trying to ruin anyones sale im just suggesting its prudent to check HPI before buying a UK Car

Then my bad, and I'm sorry, but just from the first post it wasn't that apparent. There's a monumental amount of this going on at the moment by the way, I've heard of three people do checks on UK cars in the last month that went pear shaped. Always HPI check vehicles, where possible ask a local garage if they can investigate the service history, and see if that corresponds with what the owner is telling you.

GoalsGoneWild

It's a good spot alright. Fair play to the OP.

One thing I would say though is that there are a huge amount of S2000's out there that have a colourful history. I bought one about 4 months back but spent about another 4 months looking into cars that looked kosher - only to find that they were Cat C or whatever.

Jakey, I'm a member of the UK-based Owners Club for S2000s. There are a few Irish lads on there as well. Not sure if you've come across it already but it's full of great information on what to look out for when buying one. There's also a section where members sell their cars. Not a guarantee that it will be perfect - but a lot of these lads do tend to take a lot of care of their cars. PM me if you need any more info.

http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showforum=25

Best of luck...

Jakey

Thanks for above its not that particular car that bothers me as said its the huge amount of this that is going on. I was selling an unusual sporty car a few months ago and it took a very long time to sell, When the guy came to pick it up he told me he had checked out 3 others of the same model and they were all previously wrote off in the uk, Mine was a UK car but straight. I couldnt believe the volume that this is going on.

This sickens me for two reasons

1. People overpaying for previously damaged cars.
2. If/when I buy something straight im getting lashed with depreciation because there's so many cheaper cars ( a percentage of which are wrote off in the UK!) for sale which pull the prices down across the board

DonJose

C_Breeze wrote:

Ned78 , even if jakey didnt do all the reg plate cross refferencing , its quite clearly the same car , come on now - Wire mesh grill , no reg surrounds and chrome alloys and exact same mileage.

Its a good thing Ned78 doesn't work in the car business!!!

JohnCleary

Maybe the OP should ring the Carzone ad and see if the seller admit's it's a Cat C car. If he does, I don't see a problem here

OP: You make a valid but very damn obvious point. You'd be a fool to buy a UK car without doing a HPI

Owen

DonJose wrote:

Its a good thing Ned78 doesn't work in the car business!!!

Oh here we go again ... :rolleyes:

My points were completely valid based on the little information in the first post.

unkel

DonJose wrote:

Its a good thing Ned78 doesn't work in the car business!!!

I've seen this type of trolling from you before. Consider yourself warned.