HPI checks... do it

[Laura]

went out yesterday lookin at new clios, found a perfect one was well happy couldnt stop smiling , paid £100 deposit n went home to get the rest of the cash.
Rang work to HPi check it, for those of you that dont no it checks the vehicle history tells you its been in any crashes, colour changes etc.
I get them free as I work for a dealership usually £25 if I didnt get them free o wouldnt have bothered as the car looked mint.
found out it was a cat D, which means its been in a crash, the insurer had decided not to repair it, which means it was a fairly hefty bump. made the car worth half what I had agreed to pay.

absolubtly gutted, went back to get my deposit back.

just goes to show always HPi check new cars you just cant tell whats happened to them.

really upset I had the car id waited so long for, now im goin to have to wait another week just to hav another look around.:dapprove:

 

[James_Extreme]

you might be gutted but think yourself lucky that you did it

 

[Lee]

I learnt the hard way that when buying second hand a HPI check is a must these days.

Almost ended up taking some bloke to court, in the end he gave me my old car and money back for fear of trading standards closing down his body shop!

 

[Rich_16v]

Wise words

Mind you Cat D isn't always that bad, a mate of mine fixing up a Cat D vx220 all it needs is reshelling but the fibre glass clam shells are so expensive the previous insurance company had wrote it off despite it being mechanically sound

 

[CrazyK]

Cat D write off can also be Stolen Recovered.
If the insurance has paid out before the car was found then it would also be classed Cat D

 

[ianlowry]

What exactly does it tell you and how do you go about getting one?

 

[Ad]

Rac do one. www.rac.co.uk

Tells you if the car has finance, insurance loses. Checks for theft and also tells you what plate the car has been registered on and id they have anything with them.

 

[Leeshez]

What do all the cats mean? I know D is stolen recoverd or heavy damge but what are the others?

 

[Neil G]

Good advice

 

[Rcbuk]

 

[Laura]

it said, damaged but repairable, insurer decided not to repair....the car was 4 months old when it was done so to me it says it was pretty hefty for the insurance company not to repair a 4 month old car.

not sure what the catogries mean tbh.
but really like the look of dan pages 1.2 so maybe it was a good thing

 

[mintblue]

Does anyone think it is neccesary to hpi even though it's from a main dealer? Surely they have to tell you if their is any bad history??:dapprove:
I'm picking mine up tomorrow, you're making me nervous now.

 

[Mike-bham]

well they said my girlfriends car had 2 owners from new, but they bought it from new and kept it in the family, and had 2 owners as the daughter had it..... but turned out to have 8 owners, has been written off in a rear end smash, and the milage was wrong! but that was on a h reg clio, not newish lol.

 

[rory182]

i dont bother hpi'ing old cars, not likely to have outstanding finance but its better to be safe than sorry

 

[Rick]

What do all the cats mean? I know D is stolen recoverd or heavy damge but what are the others?

Cat D means the damage is repairable but the insurance company doesn't want to cover the costs. Usually if the cost of repair is more than 60% of the value of the car then it will be written off. C means that it would cost more than the entire cars value to fix. B means the car can be used for spares. Cat A means its well fooked and needs to be scrapped.

I believe stolen cars are also Cat D.

 

[GarethM]

good job you did it then mate, better to check!!
be patient and you'll find the right car

 

[timo172cup]

I think when a car is crashed/damaged catagories go like this,

Cat A; Car cannot be repaired, must be crushed, no parts off the car are allowed to be re-sold.

Cat B; Car cannot be repaired, but parts off the car can be sold.

Cat C; Car can be repaired, but due to extent of damage must be inspected by insurance company after it has been fixed.

Cat D: Car can be fixed, but does not require inspection as damage is not too bad.