Stolen Recovered - Would you buy one?

yop

LAds,

Have agreed a price for a CAT D - stolen recovered. I queried about any damage and he claims none, but I will have an RAC check done on it anyway.

But would you buy one yourselves?

Is there any implications here if I import it and try to insure it or try to sell it in a few years time?

Thanks

smash

CAT D - stolen recovered implies that the car was stolen and written off!

HashSlinging

CAT D I would have reservations about it but AA check will bring up everything..

yop

Ran AA Car check there:

"This vehicle is recorded as being a write-off by an insurance company on 22/06/2005.
Status is CAT D VEHICLE DAMAGED."

SO really this is more than a stolen recovered isn't it?

smash

yop wrote: »

Ran AA Car check there:

"This vehicle is recorded as being a write-off by an insurance company on 22/06/2005.
Status is CAT D VEHICLE DAMAGED."

SO really this is more than a stolen recovered isn't it?

yea, written plain and clear!

ikillcopiers

Sorry, but being CAT D does not mean that the car is damaged.

Being "written off" simply means that the insurance company wrote
the car off as unrepairable economically or unobtainable.

A lot of times what happens is when a car is stolen, after a certain
period of time the insurance company will pay out to the owner, they
take ownership of the unrecovered car and have wrote it off.

But then if the car does get recovered, the insurance company is now
the legal owner and will sell it off.

In the days of alarms and immobilisers, cars are often stolen with the
keys, so it is not unusual in the slightest for a CAT D car to have no damage.

The CAT D STOLEN/RECOVERED description is a standard description on
most salvage sites, the damage can range from nill up to windows broken
and half the steering column missing.

The only way to know for sure is to check out the car - in my experience
the bigger salvage crowds are fairly honest, if they say the car has no
damage it usually doesn't.

irisheddie85

I thought it just meant the insurance company had paid out on the claim and taken the car. It could just be an insurance write off with no damage. But the RAC check will show up if there is any damage.

Isn't the point of the different class of right offs in the uk to show different levels of damage. I thought it was
Cat Stolen recovered little or no damage
Cat C: Body damage but repairable
Cat B: Serious damage, would need engineers report to be put back on the road
Cat A: Only fit for scrap

yop

On the AA site

"Category D A damaged vehicle which the insurer has decided not to repair, but which could be repaired and returned to the road. "

ikillcopiers

That's a common misconception, it's not a classifier of damage, it's the
classification that the insurance put it into for the purposes of writing off.

That's why a lot of stolen/recovered are CAT D, because they were written
off by the insurance company, but not because they were damaged, because
at the time they were unrecoverable.

There are cars written off for damage in CAT D aswell, it's just that CAT D
is the lowest band so the stolen cars automatically get lumped in there.

smash

A cat D damaged car can be anything from a broken windscreen to this http://www.motorsalvage.com/action.lasso?-database=cms&-table=cmscars&-response=gendisplay.lasso&-maxrecords=1&id=32070&-search or worse!

cadaliac

steve06 wrote: »

A cat D damaged car can be anything from a broken windscreen to this http://www.motorsalvage.com/action.lasso?-database=cms&-table=cmscars&-response=gendisplay.lasso&-maxrecords=1&id=32070&-search or worse!

Yes that car has damage, but still very repairable. i can't imagine some one saying that the Jag has "no damage" when there clearly is.
If YOP was told there was no damage, there should be no damage. I guess he will have to see the car first.
It is a risk alright, there might not be cosmetic damage but the thing could have been over speed bumps at full chat or driven over kerbs flat out... who knows.

robtri

In the Uk, cat D can reffer to a stolen car returned undamaged,
especially if the car is recovered after the insurance company has already paid out on the claim.

it is nothing to be worried about, do your useual checks with a qualified mechanic ask him to give a little more to engine and gearbox, finance ect... and should be fine... some great bargains to be had...

smash

Has nobody else read where the OP got an AA check and it came back:

"Status is CAT D VEHICLE DAMAGED" - Vehicle damaged being the prominent point here. He was told there was no damage but there obviously was, so the questions are:

how much damage did the car sustain?
Was it repaired to a high standard?
Why is the seller lying about it?

BeardyGit

steve06 wrote: »

Has nobody else read where the OP got an AA check and it came back:

"Status is CAT D VEHICLE DAMAGED" - Vehicle damaged being the prominent point here. He was told there was no damage but there obviously was, so the questions are:

how much damage did the car sustain?
Was it repaired to a high standard?
Why is the seller lying about it?

Ah come on now Steve - You're ignoring what everyone else is saying. Several people have rightly pointed out to you that a Cat D write off might have absolutely no damage whatsoever, even if the CAT D labelling might imply otherwise. Each car would really need to be assessed at this level to determine what its actual condition is, instead of just assuming it's an accident damaged writeoff.

It could just as easily be the best case scenario as it could be the worst case you're latching onto for the purpose of your argument. Can you not acknowledge that as a possibility?

If the car can be inspected and verified to be intact and undamaged, then it could be a very good purchase, depending on the OP's budget, needs and expectations.

OP, if the savings justify pursuing a possible purchase, have it inspected and factor the cost into the overall budget you set aside. Scaremongering on the internerd is no reason to be frightened off what might be a great purchase for you....

Gil

smash

As Yop pointed out:

"Category A damaged vehicle which the insurer has decided not to repair, but which could be repaired and returned to the road. "

A stolen recovered car is not a cat D, it's a stolen recovered insurance write-off.

If you go to any salvage site there are differences, Cat D, Cat C etc, then there's stolen recovered. If it was a cat D stolen recovered, then it was stolen, damaged and recovered. But I've already said, damage may have been minimal so it could be a good buy.

yop

Its circa depending on where you are going to buy, about 1500 pounds cheaper than a private sale and up to 2.5k cheaper than garage.

alias no.9

A stolen recovered car will always require new keys as a 'repair'. On some models this can require the immobiliser and sometimes even the ECU to be changed too, depending on how it communicates with the immobiliser. Replacing with new parts is very pricey. There isn't necessarily any damage done.

Eoin

alias no.9 wrote: »

A stolen recovered car will always require new keys as a 'repair'. On some models this can require the immobiliser and sometimes even the ECU to be changed too, depending on how it communicates with the immobiliser. Replacing with new parts is very pricey. There isn't necessarily any damage done.

Even if the keys were stolen and recovered as well?

ikillcopiers

Right, I'm bailing out of this.

I've worked in ELV, bought several cars of several different CAT's, imported
them, fixed them, broke them out, sold them, but what do I know?

Stolen recoveries often don't need new keys, as nowadays thieves don't bother
to hot wire cars, with all the electronics it's far far easier to just steal the keys.

All you need to do is get in the front door, 9 times out of 10 the keys are
left inside.

Just go and view the car, this has gone on far too long.

yop

I will organise an RAC check and see what happens.

I have asked him to see if he could get a report of the insurance company to see what the details are. Not sure if I will get it.

alias no.9

eoin wrote: »

Even if the keys were stolen and recovered as well?

Would you be happy to just get your keys back with the car? I wouldn't, the key blade could have been copied in minutes making the locks next to useless and many transponder chips can be cloned.

Eoin

alias no.9 wrote: »

Would you be happy to just get your keys back with the car? I wouldn't, the key blade could have been copied in minutes making the locks next to useless and many transponder chips can be cloned.

Depends on the circumstances I suppose.

yop

Well if the AA check is sound I will land an 05 Mondeo ST TDCI with 37k miles for 10300 inc travel and vrt.
What you reckon, I have a wee doubt about it, but the AA check will soon decide that!

demag

If you're buying stolen/recovered just watch out for ones described as "stolen/recovered not recorded" they can often be clocked, I know one salvage dealer in north Armagh doing this.

jpm080456

Has anyone imported a cat d from the uk? was the vrt reduced or were you charged at full omsp as if not damaged?

Eoin

jpm080456 wrote: »

Has anyone imported a cat d from the uk? was the vrt reduced or were you charged at full omsp as if not damaged?

VRT is not affected as far as I know.

LimaBravo

yop wrote: »

Well if the AA check is sound I will land an 05 Mondeo ST TDCI with 37k miles for 10300 inc travel and vrt.
What you reckon, I have a wee doubt about it, but the AA check will soon decide that!

Sounds too dear, and not worth the doubts of buying an insurance write off.
I would have thought you would pick up a similiar year/spec for around the same price off the forecourt or small ads here no?