just a note on cars that have been recorded on the insurance register as cat c or cat d. In an ideal world everyone would want to go and buy a brand new car with full warranty and then have no depreciation and sell it for what you bought it for. sadly (sighhhhhh :dapprove: ) its not really true to life. comparing a insurance write off car to a second hand car is somewhat unfair and misleading (which i know hasnt really been done), i for one have had 5 or 6 insurance write off cars and really enjoy repairing them with my best friend and uncle (both highly experience mechanics, BMW, Audi, Renault etc..). If i were to go out and buy a good condition 172 cup 52 reg with 27k miles id pay around £7-9,000, where as if you spent time getting hold of a good repaired one or one which is in need of repair then there are massive savings to be had. the downside is that it will take time to fix and that once finished it will never be worth as much as an un-registered one. So its horses for courses really, but as some of the other members have said be wary of a cheap RS as there are quite a few hanging around scrap yards and to cash in on the younger market to make the cars more accessible (price wise) people literally throw them together and sell them on. always give them a once over, ring the hpi people and get a list of the damage that was recorded by the insurance company as most will have access to this information. it will show if they have tried to cover things up and make it look more presentable on the 'surface'. all in all i would say dont be put off by a stolen recovered or damage repaired vehicle (biased i know lol) as long as you understand that it will never be worth what similar models are.
the main areas to look for damage are the front slam panel, inner wings, boot floor (pull up the carpet and look for signs of welding or creases where it may have been pulled out), and check the gap lines between doors, boot and bonnet, but as suggested ive seen brand new clio's with dodgey gaps so dont put too much emphasis on them. if you feel comfortable with it (after a thorough check over and test drive) then buy it, but dont be dazzled and drawn to just the price, it has to satisfy you in all aspects. i got a real bargain with my 172 cup buying it from a friend and as suggested i have family and friends in the business who do 'mates rates' and a fabulous job to the highest spec so it works out i save £1000's and get a fabulous fun weekend/track car for ford focus money.
as for people ragging it when its stolen? yeah thats a problem, but to be honest ive seen worse driving by real owners! haha
