DShox Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 cat D does say it was recorded by the insurance company - but most cars sold by importers are graded R or RA (accident and well repaired) hence why you aint shown or told the rating...so there are a lot out there that are still driving well. personally i steer clear - there are simple checks you can perform when test driving or inspecting to spot an accidented motor but it is made harder if the car is modded as any mechanical inaccuracies could be attributed to bad workmanship after the car left the factory! oh by the way HJM - did the seller reveal it was Cat D or was he hoping you simply didnt HPI it? cos i gotta say, if he was prepared to lie to you about its condition and history, can you really have confidence in anything else he puts forward - stepping back is the right move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazboy Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 HPI only extends to claims in this country. What happened in Japan is anyones guess. There is also nothing to stop someone rolling their car, getting the AA to recover it and taking it to a bodyshop, fix it and sell and not tell anyone, providing no-one was hurt iirc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blert596 Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 I'd be tempted to sell you mine for that mate. Ive got the TT bug now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HJM Posted August 24, 2005 Author Share Posted August 24, 2005 oh by the way HJM - did the seller reveal it was Cat D or was he hoping you simply didnt HPI it? cos i gotta say, if he was prepared to lie to you about its condition and history, can you really have confidence in anything else he puts forward - stepping back is the right move. No, they revealed nothing! They are trying to imply they didn't know (which may or may not be true) but I have to agree - confidence is all gone now :thumbdown Oh well, going to get my deposit back tonight - which they are happy to refund - so well worth the £40 to HPI I reckon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DShox Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 yup that is usual - basically I'll tell you this...the importer knows what 'grade' the car is before he decides to stump up the money to bring it over. the car is 'graded' by experts in Japan and communicated to the importer - having done this myself, I can confidently tell you that the overwhelming majority are accident repaired and the vast majority of the car buying public would not spot the tell tale signs. If the car is in good condition - it will be graded '4', good/average is '3.5', average is '3', accident repaired is R or RA. If I wanted to hide something, I wouldn't mention the grade or try to BS my way through the sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HJM Posted August 24, 2005 Author Share Posted August 24, 2005 OK, been to get my deposit back and the seller seemed to be genuinely unaware of the situation (or a damn good liar ) So, the question is - what if I could get this car for around £2k cheaper and get it checked out mechancially and bodily before parting with my cash - would it still be a bad buy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jezz Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 Yes. £4.5k for a n/a supra on an 'L' is still quite pricey. For a cat d car i'd expect to pay £3k max for that spec. You can get a top notch CLEAN n/a for £5k now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kosmic Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 OK, been to get my deposit back and the seller seemed to be genuinely unaware of the situation (or a damn good liar ) So, the question is - what if I could get this car for around £2k cheaper and get it checked out mechancially and bodily before parting with my cash - would it still be a bad buy Yes....would still be too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HJM Posted August 24, 2005 Author Share Posted August 24, 2005 You can get a top notch CLEAN n/a for £5k now. I hear what you are saying but I am struggling to find any within 100 miles of this spec for under £6k. Oh well - the search will go on Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jezz Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 Travelling to see good examples is part of buying a car. Surely you can manage a trip to southampton? I bought my first n/a from a company there. Try Newera imports. They usually have some good examples. Plus i'm sure some guys on here could source you a good example? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockys96 Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 guy called mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jezz Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 guy called mark Thats the one! Paid 10k for a manual n/a. Many years ago though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockys96 Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 how old was that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HJM Posted August 24, 2005 Author Share Posted August 24, 2005 Travelling to see good examples is part of buying a car. Surely you can manage a trip to southampton? I bought my first n/a from a company there. Try Newera imports. They usually have some good examples. Plus i'm sure some guys on here could source you a good example? Travelling is not an issue at all - just can't see the 'one', that's all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HJM Posted August 29, 2005 Author Share Posted August 29, 2005 Thanks again to those who convinced me this n/a was overpriced - as I have just bought home a low mileage TT - for the exact same money Off to play now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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