Car is a repaired write off. Would you buy it? How much less?

Bullion78 on 19/12/2016 - 10:05
Last edited 19/12/2016 - 10:11

Hi Guys,

I'm considering purchasing a 2013 Holden Cruze Diesel with 42k on clock that after some preliminary checks I've found has been in a repaired write off. (Heavy structural to the drivers side)

The car looks to have been repaired well and comes with RWC and about 11 months rego.

Knowing full well of how difficult it would be to onsell and that im planning on owning for at least the next 4 years, pending my own inspection of works.

My question is..How far below market value is it worth? or what would you pay?

Automotive

Comments

  • chriise on 19/12/2016 - 10:15
    +25

    Honestly, i wouldn't be paying anything and keep looking.

  • k-rokfm on 19/12/2016 - 10:21
    +4

    Considering its a heavy structural damage i would not even be touching it with a 10 foot pole. Sure it could have been repaired well now, but down the track it could cause a huge amount of unknown issues or little niggly things.

  • pao2x on 19/12/2016 - 10:23
    +27

    Cruze tick
    Repaired write off tick

    Its going to be a gem

  • Gronk on 19/12/2016 - 10:42

    What these guys said, unless there's some kind of warranty being provided for the repairs I'd be steering well clear…

  • Pharos5 on 19/12/2016 - 10:47
    +1

    Unless you're a very well experienced qualified mechanic, I would also suggest against it. There are SO many things that can go wrong and it's easy for inspections to miss long-term damage to internal and structural components.

    I can already see the OZB forum post in 4 months time about how to handle a major un-covered fault. It's just not worth the stress.

    • k-rokfm on 19/12/2016 - 11:50
      +2

      and how he can get his money back from the warranty because it was a major fault and he wouldnt have purchased it otherwise

  • Daabido on 19/12/2016 - 10:51
    +2

    Been there. Done that. I would never do it again.

  • PVA on 19/12/2016 - 10:51
    +1

    dont buy it at all.

    and think, you wont be able to sell/trade later for anything close to a decent price.

    how much are they advertising it for, btw?

    • Bullion78 on 19/12/2016 - 11:13

      $9500 I had offered.. It was being advertised for $11500. The seller didnt disclose the facts until I discovered the truth via REVS check.

      • PVA on 19/12/2016 - 11:23
        +6

        no way is that anywhere near low enough.

        I would walk away, after letting the seller know that you know it was a writeoff.

        i see on caresales a 2012 diesel with around 40k for sale for $10900, so write off should be half of what you offer.

      • pao2x on 19/12/2016 - 12:54
        +1

        Oh god I wouldnt buy it for 5k

  • [Deactivated] on 19/12/2016 - 11:03

    Woeful car. My friend has the same year in diesel and it has been in and out of the mechanics for as long as i can remember. Loves to breakdown aswell.

  • Bullion78 on 19/12/2016 - 11:15
    +8

    Cheers Guys.. I think you have all made the decision for me.

  • blitz on 19/12/2016 - 11:16

    Holden Cruze
    repaired write off
    Heavy structural to the drivers side
    difficult to onsell
    pending my own inspection of works

    This is the deal of the century. I don't know why you are waiting.

  • holdenmg on 19/12/2016 - 11:17
    +2

    Run! Just run away…

    • k-rokfm on 19/12/2016 - 11:51
      +4

      Just cruze away?

      • holdenmg on 19/12/2016 - 12:43
        +9

        Holden: "We stand behind every Car we sell"
        Customer: "Yes, but will you help push?"

        • [Deactivated] on 19/12/2016 - 12:55
          +1

          That's why the wagon has a heated rear window, for breakdowns in winter. Just like the old Camira'n giveusapush.

  • airzone on 19/12/2016 - 12:44

    Depending on your state, repaired write-off's cannot be registered.

  • spackbace on 19/12/2016 - 12:45
    +1

    As others have said, run away

    Can never fully insure a repairable write-off. Can never finance one either

    When you go to sell it yourself in a few years, it'll be worth next to nothing as the next buyer will do the REVS check and find out.

  • Mumbles on 19/12/2016 - 13:10
    +1

    Cheap cars that are repairable write offs are never repaired properly. The numbers just don't add up.

    Imagine you are the owner of a low priced 2nd hand car, say $9000 used Cruze. The car gets majorly damaged. How much would you spend to getting it repaired? Would you spend $7000-$10000 on repairs for a $9000 car? (eg. body straightening, cutting and welding reinforcements, re-measure and square everything, ensure suspension and wheel alignment is returned to 1/100th of a degree)

    If you were the owner of a $9000 car and just spent almost $10000 on repairs, the car drives straight, would you want to sell the car?

    Probably the economics would work for posers who want to be seen owning a $100K Porsche or Mercedes Benz for peanuts.

    • Bullion78 on 19/12/2016 - 13:56

      Since discovered it was purchased at auction in 2014 as a wreck, repaired and then sold to the current owner. I fished out of him eventually that he paid 12k for it.

      • PVA on 19/12/2016 - 14:30

        The poor bugger, they were ripped off too.
        Did they know it was a write off, were surprised when you said it?

        • holdenmg on 19/12/2016 - 14:37
          +1

          The is no amount of PVA (Poly(vinyl acetate)) that can fix this or any Cruze. :+)

  • Cluster on 19/12/2016 - 13:26
    +6

    The question you have to ask is why someone repaired a car that was classified as written off due to uneconomical repairs?

    It's quite likely the car was repaired as cheaply as possible in the hope of flogging it off for a profit. Do you think the repairs would be well made under those circumstances?

    The OP has not mentioned whether it's a manual or auto transmission. The automatic is dreadful. Burns a lot more fuel than the manual and is described in reviews as a terrible box that keeps hunting for gears.

    If you want to buy it anyway then I suggest really lowballing the owner. They're unlikely to take your offer however, and keep fishing for a sucker who doesn't spend $20 to find out if the vehicle was written off or not. People are cheap and will save $20 now at the cost of thousands later on.

    • Bullion78 on 19/12/2016 - 13:53
      +5

      Yep its an auto and thanks for your input. Definitely not buying. Ozbargain community saves the day again.

    • Solarlux on 20/12/2016 - 10:48

      These cars get bought by crash repairers to fix in their quiet times or to keep the apprentice busy, they don't have to make big bucks on them just recover wages.

  • Randxyz123 on 19/12/2016 - 14:22
    +7

    or what would you pay?

    I'd expect them to pay me to take it of their hands

    The Cruze is the biggest heap of dog dirt and I wouldn't drive one if someone paid me.

    Not to mention this one was obviously T-Boned with substantial structural damage to the drivers side. Probably repaired cheaply as well.

    If the owner didn't disclose this information PLEASE report it to carsales. Some poor bugger(probably a international student or someone unfamiliar with buying a car in Australia or someone who doesn't want to spend $20 to check the car's history) is gonna see this as an excellent deal , not do their checks and get completely screwed over. There is a report button on the ad. If you don't want to do it, DM me the ad link, and condition check screenshot and I'll contact carsales.

    • PVA on 19/12/2016 - 14:25
      +1

      Great idea, report the person. They are being a crook for not advising you ro start with.

  • RockyRaccoon on 19/12/2016 - 14:47
    +1

    Apart from all the above advice, no car can ever be repaired to factory standard, look around any car park and see 10 year old cars with fading paint, and you know its been in a crash.

    My 13 YO corolla looks like new (and it spent over 10 years of its life not garaged), whereas the same coloured one, I parked next to a few weeks ago, had faded paint and some rust arount its rear.

    No matter how good the repair looks, it just cant restore the integrity of the finish to that of an undamaged car

  • 2ndeffort on 19/12/2016 - 14:48

    I have seen some writeoffs at the auctions where the damage was easily repaired, non-structural damage. There were a stack of cars 3-4 weeks ago with loads of hail damage from the storms in Adelaide. If you have some ability with the paintless dent pulling you could grab a bargain and maybe fix the thing up cheaply. Similarly i have seen a few written off because they had been stolen, written off/paid out then recovered. i saw another, a Porsche boxter that had water damage because somebody left the convertible top open in the rain. Not ideal but if it was cheap enough and you were able to re-wire the entire car you could maybe get a cheap Porsche out of it.

  • jagboy on 20/12/2016 - 07:22
    +1

    Run in the opposite direction as fast as you can

  • Euphemistic on 20/12/2016 - 08:43

    $2k.

  • TransportPosters on 20/12/2016 - 09:59

    See if you can get the details of who did the repairs and talk to them about the car, if you really want it. Sometimes the repairable write off is just an economic decision because too many panels and associated trim or components were damaged, that nothing underlying was damaged. Getting the info will also help with bargaining down the price.

  • Gromek on 20/12/2016 - 10:16

    I bought a repairable write off in 2010 with 160,000kms on it.

    Drove it all the way up to 300,000 with out spending a cent on it other than oil changes every 10k and tyres.

    Then it blew a head gasket (inevitable for that model Subaru)

    Put another engine in it and still going strong :)

  • farknos on 20/12/2016 - 15:13

    have you asked your preferred insurer what they will or wont insure it for?
    if not check, it may help you avoid this potential mistake.

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