How do i move on a car i've found out was crashed

elkido9

Hello. I recently bought a car for fairly substansial money. Late 4 figures. But recently i have discovered it had originally been crashed but clean as a whistle on Cartell. Garage i bought it from is gone and with it my warranty and the owner. Only a mechanic would be able to tell its been tipped ,obviously i couldnt anyway. However if i tried to trade it in could it come back on me later on, and would a agrage take it anyway? Or would i be better off bringing it to an auction and cutting my losses. looks and drives perfect but i just dont trust it. can anyone please advise on the best course of action. Thanks

jor el

Motors forum would be best.

How do you know it was crashed, and was it a serious crash? Is there structural damage to the car? Cartel records if a car was an insurance right-off, I don't know if they can record minor (or non-write off) incidents.

dudara

Moved to Motors

dudara

Henry Ford III

Tell the truth. It'll cost you but hopefully not too badly if it's been well repaired.

p.s. Next time check out your potential purchase fully.

EPM

If you traded it in with a SIMI garage you will sign a form regarding mileage and previous damage. Your name is there in ink. If they find out they have comeback. Plus there's the ethical part of it. I personally would have a big problem. Get an independent inspection done on it so you know exactly what you're dealing with

galwaytt

if it works perfectly, and you couldn't tell, and say it has/passes NCT, why on earth would you bother selling it ?

The least you could do is get some value from your spend on it.......I see no point in selling it at all, tbh.

hi_sir

if it was fixed by a proper pannel beater there should be no proplem with alot of people they have stigma with a car that has been fixed even if had only a got a new wing,ok there are extreme cases where yokes shouldnt be fixed but many cars fixed by proper panel beaters are sound

milltown

The losses that you cut will be substantial. Keep it and get as much value as you can out of it.

What did you find out and how? "Crashed" covers a multitude. Was it on it's roof in a ditch or did someone point out that one of the panels has been painted?

smash

there's a difference between a car being crashed and a car that's been tipped. I'd say a high percentage of cars on the road have been tipped and have had small repairs!

And selling at auction wont cut your losses, you'll lose your ass on the sale!

Dartz

What sort of car is it? What sort of accident?

Repaired crashed cars covers anything from vehicles that have had their whole front end smashed in and replaced, to cosmetic replacements of damaged panels and airbags.

The car's probably sound as a pound. Don't worry about it. Seriously.

pablosd

in all fairness, 90% of cars had some accident history, whether it was a serious damage or a light collision, as long as the car drives tight and safely i wouldn't worry about it, every car i owned, had some history but they all drove straight and always sailed thru nct,

robtri

can you elaborate on what damage was found to be repaired????

enda1

The type of damage is hugely relevent.

If there has been chassis dammage swuch as deformation of bumper reinforcement, front-side members, rediator support, rocker etc. then this has to be declared in the sale by law. If it wasn't and you now have found it and can prove in court that it was there when you bought it you can tell the company you bought it from that you want your money back or else bring them to court. Warranty etc. has nothing to do with it.

Del2005

elkido9 wrote: »

Hello. I recently bought a car for fairly substansial money. Late 4 figures. But recently i have discovered it had originally been crashed but clean as a whistle on Cartell. Garage i bought it from is gone and with it my warranty and the owner. Only a mechanic would be able to tell its been tipped ,obviously i couldnt anyway. However if i tried to trade it in could it come back on me later on, and would a agrage take it anyway? Or would i be better off bringing it to an auction and cutting my losses. looks and drives perfect but i just dont trust it. can anyone please advise on the best course of action. Thanks

enda1 wrote: »

The type of damage is hugely relevent.

If there has been chassis dammage swuch as deformation of bumper reinforcement, front-side members, rediator support, rocker etc. then this has to be declared in the sale by law. If it wasn't and you now have found it and can prove in court that it was there when you bought it you can tell the company you bought it from that you want your money back or else bring them to court. Warranty etc. has nothing to do with it.

There is nowhere to bring it back to that's the OP's problem.

As others have said the type of damage is important. Even brand new cars have had tips and worst, then repaired without the buyer being aware.

elkido9

Thanks for the input guys. I know the car was involved in a head on with another vehicle cos i got in contact with the previous owner after a long chase. There was chassis and engine damage and the airbags went off and some of the front bumpers have been replaced and sprayed. I have since put a couple of hundred into it myself and its almost fully right. If i sell it private do I have to declare i know its been involved in a crash even though it wasnt me and will that depreciate the price a good bit? As I said looks and drives perfect now but anyone coming to view with a half decent mechanic I reckon they'd cop it was in some sort of collision. I take it from replies no one thinks an auction would be a good idea?

Del2005

elkido9 wrote: »

Thanks for the input guys. I know the car was involved in a head on with another vehicle cos i got in contact with the previous owner after a long chase. There was chassis and engine damage and the airbags went off and some of the front bumpers have been replaced and sprayed. I have since put a couple of hundred into it myself and its almost fully right. If i sell it private do I have to declare i know its been involved in a crash even though it wasnt me and will that depreciate the price a good bit? As I said looks and drives perfect now but anyone coming to view with a half decent mechanic I reckon they'd cop it was in some sort of collision. I take it from replies no one thinks an auction would be a good idea?

Now you know about the crash you have to tell when selling it.
If the car was in that bad a crash I'd get an engineers report done on it to satisfy yourself that it's safe, if it isn't screwed hopefully it is.

When a car is repaired insurance companies devalue them by ~10%. When selling it on, if it's safe, you best bet is to tell of the damage and say it's been checked out and it's safe.

Most damaged cars at auction are there for a very good reason and if yours is repaired OK it doesn't deserve that.

Run_to_da_hills

elkido9 wrote: »

Thanks for the input guys. I know the car was involved in a head on with another vehicle cos i got in contact with the previous owner after a long chase. There was chassis and engine damage and the airbags went off and some of the front bumpers have been replaced and sprayed. I have since put a couple of hundred into it myself and its almost fully right. If i sell it private do I have to declare i know its been involved in a crash even though it wasnt me and will that depreciate the price a good bit? As I said looks and drives perfect now but anyone coming to view with a half decent mechanic I reckon they'd cop it was in some sort of collision. I take it from replies no one thinks an auction would be a good idea?

Had you any windscreen replacements or cracked windscreens?

This is usually a good indication of a vehicle that was previously crashed.

Gary ITR

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Had you any windscreen replacements or cracked windscreens?

This is usually a good indication of a vehicle that was previously crashed.

This was once the case but in recent years with with windscreen cover becoming the norm a lot of people are having windscreens replaced when they don't really need to be replaced.

A poster on here had his replaced when the black edge of the glass had become faded and started to go green

elkido9

windscreen seems ok. if i sell private and tell its crashed am i covered. Is there some kind of form i can get to say i told them

Saab Ed

enda1 wrote: »

The type of damage is hugely relevent.

If there has been chassis dammage swuch as deformation of bumper reinforcement, front-side members, rediator support, rocker etc. then this has to be declared in the sale by law. If it wasn't and you now have found it and can prove in court that it was there when you bought it you can tell the company you bought it from that you want your money back or else bring them to court. Warranty etc. has nothing to do with it.

What the f*4k are you talking about. What the jeybus is a rocker etc!!!! and bumper deformation. Man there's giving advice and there's talking out of your ar2e and you sir are not doing the former You'll only end up with th OP being as confused as you and thats no good at all. :eek::D:P

enda1

Del2005 wrote: »

There is nowhere to bring it back to that's the OP's problem.

As others have said the type of damage is important. Even brand new cars have had tips and worst, then repaired without the buyer being aware.

Missed the bit where the garage is gone.

If it was badly crashed, then despite any repairs I would not feel confident driving it unless you have had an engineers report on its crashworthiness. If it is again crashed the performance will not be good unless its bee repaired properly. Be careful and get it checked, then get an official report on its suitability to be driven and sell it on.

Run_to_da_hills

Onkle wrote: »

This was once the case but in recent years with with windscreen cover becoming the norm a lot of people are having windscreens replaced when they don't really need to be replaced.

A poster on here had his replaced when the black edge of the glass had become faded and started to go green

Nevertheless a cracked windscreen is a good indication of a twisted chassis or body that has never been properly sorted out. I had a Citroen Berlingo that went through windscreens and tires for breakfast. The chassis was slightly twisted and was never properly dozed. i learned my lesson never to touch a previously pranged car

Del2005

elkido9 wrote: »

windscreen seems ok. if i sell private and tell its crashed am i covered. Is there some kind of form i can get to say i told them

You can be honest and say crashed in the ad. If you don't say anything in the ad and the buyer doesn't ask then you don't have to tell. All private sales are sold as seen, it's up to the buyer to ask the correct questions.

If selling to a garage you have to tell.

milltown

Selling privately, you only have to tell if you're asked. Same if your selling to a garage, although SIMI member garages will ask you to sign a declaration that it has never been crashed to your knowledge.

enda1

Saab Ed wrote: »

What the f*4k are you talking about. What the jeybus is a rocker etc!!!! and bumper deformation. Man there's giving advice and there's talking out of your ar2e and you sir are not doing the former You'll only end up with th OP being as confused as you and thats no good at all. :eek::D:P

I'm a CAE crash specialist in an automotive OEM. You?

And at least if you are trying to slag me get your words right...

Saab Ed

enda1 wrote: »

I'm a CAE crash specialist in an automotive OEM. You?

Well you're a bad one. Now go make the coffee till you've learned something.

Bitten & Hisses

TBH I think we're losing the run of ourselves a small bit here. OP, get an engineer's report to find out the status of the car now. It may well have been repaired correctly and there may be nothing to be concerned about. Equally, it may have had a botch job done on it. Until you establish which is the case, you're going nowhere.
Then, either keep the car or trade it in, declaring that it was damaged and repaired in a previous life and produce the engineers report as backup. Otherwise you're going to cost yourself unnecessary grief.

DanGerMus

First thing you should do is get an engineers report if you're worried about a bad job being done. You could bring it to a mechanic or better yet crash repair shop and have them look it over.

Trying to sell it on privately knowing it's been crashed and not telling them may not be illegal but it does make you a cnut.

Del2005

DanGerMus wrote: »

Trying to sell it on privately knowing it's been crashed and not telling them may not be illegal but it does make you a cnut.

It's not the sellers job to point out potental issues. It's upto the buyer to be aware of what they are doing and asking the correct questions. Or if they don't know what to do then paying someone to do it for them.

Big Nasty

I would be pretty peeed off if I had paid good money for the Catrell report! Any come back there?

-Chris-

elkido9 wrote: »

If i sell it private do I have to declare i know its been involved in a crash even though it wasnt me?

Yes, yes, a million times yes.
If you're selling your car and someone asks if you're aware of any accident history, you have to answer them truthfully.

Never mind whether you have any legal liability or not, if you knowingly sell someone a dog then you may as well put your hand in their pockets or give their kids matches to play with.

Don't endanger someone else's safety (or their family) just because you didn't do your research properly, or because you were unlucky with who you bought the car from.

Get an assessor, find out what condition the car's really in. Until you know that, you're chasing your tail.

galwaytt

If you get the RAC to do the check in the UK, there report is warranteed - any issue not found by them, and subsequently uncovered - like the OP's issue, is covered under their insurance.

Does Cartell not offer this warranty ?

elkido9

Not to my knowledge no. I've always found cartell good in the past. How much roughly will an engineers report cost me? And if putting up on the web for sale should i mention somewhere in the ad, previously crashed but now perfect ? All input has been appreciated. Thanks people

You were caught, don't be a cnut and do the same to someone else.