Ask an expert

Hi - I'm looking at buying a car that was damaged (minor) during a test drive, written off, then bought and repaired. The car is on trademe @ http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=397151629.
Are there any major pitfalls in buying such a vehicle?
Cheers
Tim Jackson

I am not an insurance underwriter and don’t know all the detail on this particular vehicle however, I think it extremely unlikely this vehicle was written off due to minor cosmetic damage to the front bumper.

While the seller is being very open in declaring the vehicle has been written-off, the reasons given definitely require further investigation.

For the vehicle to be written-off I suspect it would have sustained reasonable structural, mechanical and body panel damage.

An insurance claim and subsequent repair covering minor/cosmetic panel damage may remove the vehicle from a distributors new vehicle stock list it does not mean the car should be de-registered .

A repaired vehicle can for example be used as a company demonstrator or staff drive car until such time it can be sold quite legitimately as a used vehicle.

A thorough inspection by an independent and qualified panel beater may be able to identify just how extensive any previous repairs have been and the repair standard reached.

You could ask the seller who the Dealer was that originally owned the vehicle and try and make contact with them and ask for the reasons why the vehicle was written-off.

Or, you could buy a Vehicle History report which should list the name of the Dealer and will also provide a registration history.

If you decided to purchase this vehicle one of the downsides is the car will always carry some baggage on its past history.

Like you, potential buyers may have their doubts and if they are comparing similar makes/model/age/mileage vehicles with clean histories, this particular vehicle may be very hard to re-sell.

Be very careful and do your homework.

Any doubts, walk away.