I Stupidly Bought Repairable Write Off Unknowingly

[blaylock]

hello guys,

last year i purchased a car though a private sale. the car was everything i wanted and ticked all the boxes so i paid up.

i was going to do a revs check but for some reason my phone wasnt able to get online at the time so this coudnt be done. (i know im stupid)

so the best i could do was ask the seller if the car had money owing on it or been in any accident etc... seller of course said no to both.

the person seemed genuinely nice and egnuine reasons for sale so i trusted him (again im stupid)

anyways i came from interstate to buy the car so didnt really want to leave empty handed so i bought the car.

the car has been fine but recently when the original rego finally ran out it was time to transfer the car into my state and my name.

the car passed the vehicle ID check okay, but the inspector told me "did you know you car is a repairable write off?" my heart sank.

apparently the car was repaired only 5 months prior to me buying it. so no doubt it was this seller who had repaired it, put rego on i and put it up for sale.

i feel so stupid for trusting the seller and angry that they didnt disclose this information to me. yes i know they have not done anything legally wrong but it's still makes me angry that someone could do this.

anyways i feel so ripped off now. even though the car did pass a repairable write off inspection and can be registered in any state, i feel that i have paid a bit too much for the car now, seeing that it will put off some buyers when it comes time to sell it. it has somewhat left a bitter taste in my mouth each time i drive what was supposed to be my dream car.

I feel so embarrassed that i didnt do a revs check. ive been too ashamed to even tell my best mate about this. and also have been losing sleep if my parents ever found out.

it has been a very stressful few days for me know ing that ive been duped.

What would you guys do in this situtation? i know i dont have a leg to stand on legally, but i won't feel satified unless i do something about this. Even naming and shaming this person / business so that others dont fall for the same thing.

please dont abuse me and say that i should have done the proper REVS check. i have already accepted that im a fool for not checking.

I have learnt a very valuable lesson - dont trust anyone, and be patient when looking for a car.

p.s there is a reason why i am telling this on the SAU forums...

[bluey33]

Learn from mistakes, move on.

[GTR_JOEY]

No good to hear mate, personally I woulda have gottin over it pretty quick but still disappointing none the less

Just drive the car and be happy with it mate, no point worrying about it what's done is done

What model is it, how much did u pay?

[ras1983]

Not much you can do mate other than learn from your mistake and move on. BTW, do you know what was wrong with it?

EDIT: Seeing as the car was re-registered and the authorities knew it was a repairable write-off, two possibilities come to mine. Either it was a rebirthed car, or the repairs were done properly and the car was re-registered.

Does the car drive fine? Is it registerable or do you have to repair it before re-registering it?

Edited January 13, 2012 by ras1983

[blaylock]

Hi guys thabks for replying. Yeah I know I should just move on and learn from it but I dunno I just keep thinking about it. Guess ill get over it soon.

Don't really want to say the model of car it is as I believe the seller is possibly on these boards. I have not confronted him about the dupe.

I can say i spent over 20k + though.

The car isn't a rebirth as they checked th identifers and they appear to be original. I got it registered okay in my state because it had already passed the written off inspection after being fixed. Thank god for that and I'm lucky I don't have to pay money to get an engineer to inspect it.

Yes I know what type of damage it sustained only because the inspector told me. There's no way to find out exactly what was damaged though. I've searched all the revs website but they are not able to tell you the exact part of the car that was damaged.

I guess it drives fine and it passed all the tests by engineers but I just wish I knew the extent of damage it sustained.

[MrStabby]

As long as the repair was done well, you wont notice any difference. Not worth stressing about.

[R31Nismoid]

p.s there is a reason why i am telling this on the SAU forums...

Let me guess - you intend to slander the person?

the car has been fine but recently when the original rego finally ran out it was time to transfer the car into my state and my name.

Why didn't you transfer the car immediately?

Nothing wrong with a repaired write off realistically. Could have been something as simple as some hail damage, which once repaired, what difference does it make?

It couldnt have been repaired too badly if you didn't notice.

[nathanau]

i know how u feel, if it is any consolation i almost did the same thing but just in the nick of time found out the car was also a repairable write off .... I even had a bank cheque made out to the seller after having inspected it so next day I went over to give him the check and collect the car, I did a revs but it came up as not owing money , i didn’t do other checks, only revs, with clear title so i figured its all good, anyhows at the last moment i booked an MTA mobile inspection to come with me when i pay him (just to be sure) and found the car was rooted, the car needed repairs underneath AND existing repairs were dodged up ( front end damage) yet the seller was so nice, like you’d leave ya kids in his care type of person..... ... .. but it was a scam, he brought the car up from VIC got it rego somehow in NSW and was flogging it off as the 'best R34 on the road type car'..... Now i do own the best R34 on the road cause after that, i waited and inspected all up another 9 34`s before finally buying one .. But was soooooo freakgin close to doing what u did cause i just did NOT want to let that car go and i was pretty happy about buying it, it looked good, excellent paint, drove well ( to me) the works.....I HATE scamming C#$$NTS! Hell yeah tell us who sold u the car, bet it’s the same cock that tried to sell me one as well!!!! He gets them from VIC auctions as repairable write offs, brings them to NSW , gets them rego here, then floggs them. He has the cars registered in his retired mums name so he doesn’t have to pay Rego (pensioners get it free). Anyhows as everyone else here has said, if the car is ok, as according to your engineers, then feel happy that its ok (and not worse..... like the one i almost bought) , sounds like u got out of it reasonably ok so enjoy your ride dude.

[D.I.Y. Mik]

I got my 32 gtst cheap cause it was rough, but this is my cheap jap sports car that i can mod in the backyard.

Its a bit of a s-box but I love it.

Do you love yours?

[Paradizzle]

Not sure which state you're from but in Vic it's a legal requirement to advise the buyer that the car is a repairable write off. The following is off the victoads website;

Note: The seller is required to inform the buyer in writing whether the vehicle is entered on any Written-off Vehicle Register either in Victoria or interstate. This can be done by ticking 'Yes' or 'No' in the appropriate section of the Transfer form.

[Chris Rogers]

learn from mistake and move on

strangely most people buys cars/imports with heart instead of head. food for thought.

[ylwgtr2]

i say big deal.....if it had of been an insurance claim and the job just scraped in and got repaired then the guy sold the car its the same thing.....hundreds if not thousands of cars running around that have had long rears,chassis rails,turrets or hinge pillars changed....

[sultanaz]

Can't Do much man ,, as long as she drives and feels like a good car , drive her till shes gone so u make ur money out of it because i doubt you'd have the heart sell as is and f**k someone over like he did to u ...

Edited January 13, 2012 by sultanaz

[blaylock]

Let me guess - you intend to slander the person?

Why didn't you transfer the car immediately?

Nothing wrong with a repaired write off realistically. Could have been something as simple as some hail damage, which once repaired, what difference does it make?

It couldnt have been repaired too badly if you didn't notice.

no im not planning on disclosing which person or business it was. yet

i didnt transfer rego immediatley becasue its much cheaper to use the rego that was already on. Id only have gotten the rego component back (not third party compulsory) which is a fraction of what rego costs in my state for the same time period.

you say theres nothign wrong with a repairable write off, and you are probably right, but the percieved value is much less to a potential buyer. i will have to sell this car at a few grand below market value.

i know how u feel, if it is any consolation i almost did the same thing but just in the nick of time found out the car was also a repairable write off .....

lucky for you - but no i dont think its the same guy as you encountered.

I got my 32 gtst cheap cause it was rough, but this is my cheap jap sports car that i can mod in the backyard.

Its a bit of a s-box but I love it.

Do you love yours?

i do like the car but with all due respect its not a cheapie car that a potential buyer would not care if its a repairable write off or not. i will have a hard time selling this car at market value. i think thats what bothers me most.

Not sure which state you're from but in Vic it's a legal requirement to advise the buyer that the car is a repairable write off. The following is off the victoads website;

Note: The seller is required to inform the buyer in writing whether the vehicle is entered on any Written-off Vehicle Register either in Victoria or interstate. This can be done by ticking 'Yes' or 'No' in the appropriate section of the Transfer form.

nope not VIC, i do strees the seller has not done anything against the law. just a very sly move by not disclosing it. again my fault for not checking revs.

i say big deal.....if it had of been an insurance claim and the job just scraped in and got repaired then the guy sold the car its the same thing.....hundreds if not thousands of cars running around that have had long rears,chassis rails,turrets or hinge pillars changed....

what if it was flood damage? would you buy a car that was a repairable write off due to flood damage. Unfortunatley i dont know how severe the flood damage was.

not saying i will sell it anytime soon, but circumstances change and you never know what car you will need in the future.

Can't Do much man ,, as long as she drives and feels like a good car , drive her till shes gone so u make ur money out of it because i doubt you'd have the heart sell as is and f**k someone over like he did to u ...

thats right, i wouldnt sell it without telling the full story.

anyways thanks for all the replies. you guys have made me feel much more at ease. perhaps ive been stressing more than i should be.

[mad082]

as a few people said, a repairable write off isn't always a bad thing. all it means is that the damage was more than the car was worth. doesn't mean the car was totally shagged. i'll give you a simplified example.

lets say you have a datsun 120Y. the insurance company values it at $1000. someone backs into into the car in a carpark and breaks both tail lights and bends the bumper and puts a small scratch on the boot. you take it to a panel beater and they quote you $1500 to fix. you file it with your insurance company. instead of paying for the repairs they might just file it is a repairable write off and give you the $1000.

another real world example. my mum was hit in the rear 1/4 panel. the only damage done was to the bumper, tail light, fuel filler neck and rear 1/4 panel (dent and deep scratch about the size of a shoe box). the insurance company initially wrote the car off, before deciding to repair it.

[Truffles]

I know you're concerned about the resale value of your new car but if you really do like the car and enjoy it, when will selling it even be an option?

Given that it was a repairable write-off means that they deemed the car as having the ability to be repaired to near original standards.

It was a shit thing for the seller to do and I know you feel very disappointed but if the car is now straight, you look after it and be honest with any potential buyers when you come to sell it then I think you'll do okay.

As Mad said, a car can be deemed as a "repairable write-off" for a multitude of reasons that don't constitute the car being f**ked. I know a guy who had his 90's land cruiser with a lot of money put into it written off for a small dent on a guard and clear coat peeling on the roof + bonnet.

Edit: Personally, I nearly had my first car ('98 Lancer CE coupe) written off because the drivers door/guard got backed into and they quoted something absurd like $3800 to repair it.

Edited January 13, 2012 by Truffles

[NYTSKY]

He said his car was over 20k. So must have been a fair hit for them to write it off.

[Truffles]

He said his car was over 20k. So must have been a fair hit for them to write it off.

But since it wasn't a statutory write-off, it was obviously assessed as being able to be repaired effectively.

A vandal could dent and scratch up every panel on a 20k car and have it written off for economical reasons. Not saying this is the case, but until all the facts are known only assumptions can be made.

[ylwgtr2]

ive bought flood damaged cars before,ive done long rears,full fronts,bulkheads chassis rails turrets the lot.....i dont need an insurance company,klms on a dash cluster,bullshit racv inspections,roadworthies or registrys office reports to tell me that a car is good or bad.....its no big deal mate...take it for what it is

[nobby]

Buddy if your that concerned, try and find out which insurance company wrote the car off and see if ya can get the details, not saying you can do this but to me this isn't a breach of privacy, so can't see why it can't be done.

Be warned you may not like what you find out,and then again it may be nothing major only cost of repair related.

AND SOMEONE HAS TO SAY THIS.

And I bet you'll have no problem passing it onto the next unsuspecting person, your just going through the emotional state of feeling duped. that's life.

But bear in mind a repairable write off is exactly that, legally repairable by law.

That's why rev's exist.

You knew better that's why you were going to ring rev's in the first place but choose not to. a dead phone, come on who doesn't have access to another phone!! pls.

I'm sorry you feel ripped off but you had the chance to find out for your self.

Again that's life. some lessons are hard to swallow, mate you let yourself down.