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Aug 27, 2020 21:46:22 GMT
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Hi Guys,
So I know this isn’t really relevant to (retro rides) but after reading some of your threads, I realised there’s quite a few knowledgeable people on here and I could really do with some advise.
June 2019 - I did a really silly thing! I was looking on eBay for a new car and I noticed there was a Mercedes C63 that had been lightly damaged and up for sale. After reading more about the car I realised it was unregistered and had been imported from Australia - in which case I thought, If I repair it and register it in the UK, hopefully it wouldn’t be categorised.
As I work in a car body repair shop, I brought the car, repaired it to a fantastic standard and took it for an IVA test.
The car cost me £25k and 5k in parts, retail at the time was around £48k so I really thought I hit the jackpot. I took the car for it’s IVA and it passed with flying colours, then I applied for its (vehicle of compliance letter to prove all the VIN was correct. Finally I put it through an MOT and applied for registration with its V55/5 form.
About 8 weeks later the DVLA sent me a letter saying that the car had been categorised in Australia as a statutory write off and would only be allowed to be sold as parts or scrap in Australia.
The only way the car will be allowed on the road is on a Q plate which literally kills the value by about 80%
It’s absolutely crazy that they categorised the car in Australia as this. There was no structural damage and all it needed was a new bumper, radiator pack, wing and wheel. It’s only due to Mercedes crazy prices it cost 5k.
If anyone has any advise on this I’d be really grateful - i literally put all my money into this project and I really put my heart into it. Some so upset and heartbroken. I now have a loan on a car that’s not worth anything.
My name is Edd and my phone number is 07815557928
Again.. any help would be really appreciated.
Thanks
Edd
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Even on a Q plate at 80% value it's still £8.5k profit unless prices have dropped in the mean time.
It shouldn't put buyers off if it's been done to a high standard and you have the paperwork and evidence of the repair work as you'll be making a profit and the buyer will be getting a good car for a nice price.
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Even on a Q plate at 80% value it's still £8.5k profit unless prices have dropped in the mean time. It shouldn't put buyers off if it's been done to a high standard and you have the paperwork and evidence of the repair work as you'll be making a profit and the buyer will be getting a good car for a nice price. Sorry - I mean 20% of its Value. I had a rough estimate from a car dealer and his thoughts were that the car will be worth 9k  |
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And you believe him?
Sounds like someone looking for a cheap buy.
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Proton Jumbuck-deceased :-(
2005 Kia Sorento the parts hauling heap
V8 Humber Hawk
1948 Standard12 pickup SOLD
1953 Pop build (wifey's BIVA build).
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TessierAshpool
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 507
Club RR Member Number: 168
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Without knowing the age of the car, it's hard to say anything about prices, but if we assume the market value is 48k of a good example as you say:
- you bought a car with no registration and accident damage, presumably priced accordingly well below market value
- you end up with a car with a registration and finished to a high standard, but a Q plate.
At worst, I'd expect you to break even, give or take a couple of £k either way. While the car is still tainted, the C63 is highly desirable, especially to wannabe gangsters, so there'll be a market for a car for people with champagne tastes but only the money to afford it at 50% off. Your 9k estimate seems way too low.
So yes you probably won't make money from this deal, but don't expect to lose it all either. All this assumes of course that we're talking about a 2016-ish or newer C63, if we're talking about a 2008 model your initial purchase cost was way too high...
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Aug 28, 2020 22:04:02 GMT
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Yes it’s a 2016 - 10K miles C63S. It’s a gorgeous car - I just can’t believe the DVLA want to put it on a Q - I didn’t think they still do that. I wish there was a way around this |
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Aug 28, 2020 22:11:30 GMT
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Even on a Q plate at 80% value it's still £8.5k profit unless prices have dropped in the mean time. It shouldn't put buyers off if it's been done to a high standard and you have the paperwork and evidence of the repair work as you'll be making a profit and the buyer will be getting a good car for a nice price. Sorry - I mean 20% of its Value. I had a rough estimate from a car dealer and his thoughts were that the car will be worth 9k That changes the picture but that could be a car dealer that’s trying to buy it to add a markup on himself  |
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I think its fair tbh (the Q plate thing). The car was deemed unsafe for the roads in Australia, regardless of if it was repaired, hence it being a Stat write-off. At the very least there should be a mark on the records saying it had previously been a write-off as that will put a lot of buyers off, and you shouldn't be able to hide that fact when selling it just because it was written off in a different country.
We have the same issue here with people bringing in these cheap written off cars from Aus, and seeing the state of some of them I wouldn't want them on the road after being repaired either. Thankfully our systems record all these cars on import and flag them as write-offs, so they will always carry that with them. I would rather they were unable to be registered and were parts only tbh, we don't need more rubbish flooding our market.
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Yo ure missing the point about th is car specifically and like most cars that are "wrote off".
It usually has NOTHING to do with the extent of the damage or it's potential road worthiness but has everything to do with the fact that insurance companies refuse to pay for repairs and choose to categorize them instead.
The general public are still lead to believe that being a car c, d etc is somehow unsafe but buying the exact same car falling to bits or with UNRECORDED damage is somehow any different/better. Yes there are dodgy cars but there are far more dodgy UNRECORDED cars that have never been in an accident tbh.
You've got to judge it on a case by case basis- what accident, damage, who did the work, current condition.
If it's had legit checks and passed an MOT they should use common sense and realise that it was wrote off for monetary purpose rather than because of safety issues and register it with a normal plate and obviously a market as they would any car that has had a previously recorded accident
Maybe put forward any documents, photos and evidence to support an appeal against the decision, don't forget that any correspondence/decision making is made using a generic criteria, find an alternative route beyond the base level of customer service.
I've never been in your position but know if be doing everything possible to recoup my investment, don't give up mate, if not I think 9k seems way too low regardless the hit might not be as bad as you think
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Aug 29, 2020 11:32:12 GMT
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I think its fair tbh (the Q plate thing). The car was deemed unsafe for the roads in Australia, regardless of if it was repaired, hence it being a Stat write-off. At the very least there should be a mark on the records saying it had previously been a write-off as that will put a lot of buyers off, and you shouldn't be able to hide that fact when selling it just because it was written off in a different country. We have the same issue here with people bringing in these cheap written off cars from Aus, and seeing the state of some of them I wouldn't want them on the road after being repaired either. Thankfully our systems record all these cars on import and flag them as write-offs, so they will always carry that with them. I would rather they were unable to be registered and were parts only tbh, we don't need more rubbish flooding our market. If you see the damage Kevin, you would totally disagree. I feel something dodgy happened in Australia to more this on any record. We had it fixed in 2 days and we are an approved garage for alliance insurance group. Marking this as the Q is tragic - if it had been rolled over I’d totally agree but all it needed was a new radiator - bumper - wing and wheel and it was back on the road |
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Aug 31, 2020 19:53:17 GMT
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Maybe appeal as above with all the photos etc etc but also get someone in Aus to price up the cost of the new repair parts you would have needed this may be the reason for write off as merc’s are imported and costs are high
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