HPI check or Carwatch check ??

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Mosser
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HPI check or Carwatch check ??

Post by Mosser »

I am going to do either a carwatch check (£24.99) or an HPI check (39.99) on this Xantia i have just won on ebay for peace of mind
Trouble is that there is quite a price difference between the 2 companies that do the checking, but they both seem to check similar things,
Is one better than the other?, or is there a completely different company that i should use?
Has anyone used these type's of services before?, are they worth the money spent?
I've have emailed the seller and he said that he's happy for me to bring a bumper wing and headlight along and fit them myself on wednesday morning and he is going to book it in for an mot for after i have done the work so that i can tax it and drive it home, i'm going to leave the body parts in the primer they come in and get them painted at a local bodyshop when i get back, can anyone see any flaws in my plan at all ?, its just that the car is in derbyshire and i am in warminster and it will cost me an arm and a leg to get the car brought back to me here, probably the same amount as the cost of the repairs !!,
Any advice appreciated as this is a big gamble for me and i am hoping i will end up with a really nice car at the end of it that will see me thought a lot of years of motoring,
Thanks
bxbodger
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Post by bxbodger »

I don't know about Carwatch, but I have used HPI and its good for peace of mind-you will need the VIN and the reg number.
I am curious though....It looks as though it's been either written off,or the seller was uninsured, or he's just bought it from the auctions to sell on- Its a late car to be selling as a damaged repairable, and a HPI check may have been best before even bidding.
Did you buy this unseen without checking the V5 ( I notice he doesn't list one...),looking at the damage, etc, before bidding?
bxbodger
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Post by bxbodger »

Just looked at his other items- he's a salvage dealer!!
HPI will show its been written off.
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Post by np »

Mosser
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Post by Mosser »

I checked with him before i bid and its a cat d write off, so he should still have the V5 as it doesnt need to be surrendered like a cat c does,
I didnt know you needed a vin number to check a car, i thought it was just the registration number ?
bxbodger
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Post by bxbodger »

You need the VIN so they can match it against the reg. number: the reg alone doesn't tell you anything, my reg is a red BX, but it won't say if its the same red BX the reg. was originally allocated to unless its matched to the VIN.
Mosser
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Post by Mosser »

I see, that makes sense, I have emailed him to ask for the vin number, i think i will go with the hpi report as that seems to be the best recognised one from what i can make out
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Post by Mosser »

Ok, next big problem is that the hpi check has come back as showing the car had 75,121 miles on 22/09/03 and....
'The vehicle is recorded on our condition database. This means that the vehicle has been subject to a total loss claim by an insurance company on 12/01/2005 due to CAT C EXTENSIVE DAMAGE* '
Plus, when i look really closely at the pictures, it looks like it doesnt have a passenger side front door handle attached either, i emailed him asking for better pictures of the car and he ignored that part of my email, this makes me wonder if there is more damage down the side that he isnt telling me and knows i cant make it out on the ebay pictures
I am suprised he is arranging the mot for me if its cat c as that means that it wont have a V5 and i wont be able to mot and tax it to drive it back ?
Its looking more dodgey by the minute to me, should i try and get him to sell it to me for £1000 ? or am i best walking away from this one and just accepting i wont get a cheap hdi xantia
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Post by HaydnR »

I wouldnt bother with it if I were you it seems like a whole lot of trouble. You wisely done a hpi check which shows problems and they are the ones you have found so far. For another £500 you could find a kosher hdi and a lot less hassle.
Haydn
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Post by Richard Gallagher »

The big factor you don't know about is whether the wing will just bolt on, after all with the extent of the damage shown in the photo I would expect some degree of distortion on the inner wing. Have you also budgeted for a new N/S mirror?
Overall it seems like there are too many 'unknown factors' for me to make it worthwhile. Once you travel all that way, complete with replacement parts under your arm are you really likely to walk away even if the car turns out to be a real dog?
I would need to see that car in the flesh before I layed out money.
I once travelled 100+ miles to view a C15 which was described as 'still driveable/repairable', all I can say is that it was possibly the most useful journey I've ever made as the van was totally and utterly *&^%+_£?~!!!!
Mosser
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Post by Mosser »

Thanks for your replies,
I think i will walk away from this one then even if he does leave me negative feedback,
He wasnt exactly truthful in his description as he said it had a genuine 50,000 miles and it clearly isnt
Thanks to everyone for your help at such short notice, i nearly got burned on this deal !
mpr1956
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Post by mpr1956 »

Hi there, hope you mind me butting in ! Not only should you not worry about this chaps' neg feedback, but you can file a report to Ebay on his dubious descriptions . A bad Xantia can easily absorb hundreds of pounds in a short time.. I'm glad you have reconsidered !! But don't give up on Xantia's generally... Mine is fine ( a 93 tdsx)
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Post by davek-uk »

Remember as you walk away that you were told it was a cat D write off with 50k miles and it has turned out to be a cat C with 75k miles. And you asked before you bid. Report him to ebay.
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Post by bxbodger »

Its interesting to see the outcome of this-its what I suspected initially.
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">'The vehicle is recorded on our condition database. This means that the vehicle has been subject to a total loss claim by an insurance company on 12/01/2005 due to CAT C EXTENSIVE DAMAGE* '
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
This would explain why its on ebay-a cat D would normally be sold on very quickly without any need for advertising-most salvagers have trade customers queuing up for them!!
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I am suprised he is arranging the mot for me if its cat c as that means that it wont have a V5 and i wont be able to mot and tax it to drive it back ?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
This will be done by a trade mate who doesn't ask too many questions.....
So, in answer to your original question Mosser, Yes, the HPI check IS money well spent!!!!!!!!!!!!![:)]
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Post by madasafish »

Report him to his local Trading Standards. He is breaking the law.
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