30 replies to this topic

[Guess-Works.com]

Just thought this is worth mentioning...

I buy non-runner Minis, failed projects and MOT failures, mostly off ebay, but since running as a fully fledged business I've got into the habit of running a vehicle check on everything that I have an interest in.

This week I've show interest in 2 vehicles and out of the those 2, BOTH have come up with warning flags.

The first which is the red one I broke at the weekend was a CAT C write off in 2007...

The second which is currently on ebay with a few days to go is being sold with no v5, however after checking the plate the vehicle was scrapped in 2003. It may just be that the boot comes off a 'very similar' vehicle of the same age, colour and model, but I doubt it...

The warning is, if you're going to buy ANY car, make sure you spend the money on a vehicle check before you buy so you are fully appraised of the vehicles history... It may make a very big difference to the selling price and as far as I'm aware a private seller is not legally bound to make available this information.

[bunch1980]

Very true good advice. I bought my first car in March off my mate and only reason i didnt do check was because he owned it for a year and had no problems etc and lady before him owned it for 16yrs. If I was buying private would deffo do a HPI check.

I like how you can check on dvla site etc now and atleast you can tell if the plate matches the car with out paying anything.

[R1minimagic]

You can get a basic check for £3.50 which will show if it is an insurance write off.

[Guess-Works.com]

At the moment I buy them in 5's from Autocheck for £25, but looking at the cost of a 'trade' account.... may work out cheaper over the year.

But as Mini prices seem to be escalating again, I think more are coming out of the woodwork and quite a few seem to have a hidden history.

[R1minimagic]

At the end of the day as long as they have been repaired properly from a Cat C or D it shouldn't be anything to worry about.

Let's face it, most Minis that haven't been in accidents but have had half their panels replaced due to rot (and a large percentage of minis have) could be in far worse condition than a properly repaired write off!

Best advice is to check them out with a fine tooth comb, get a HPi check and if you don't know much about Minis get an inspection done before buying.

[Juju]

Best advice is to check them out with a fine tooth comb, get a HPi check and if you don't know much about Minis get an inspection done before buying.

I had a full inspection on mine before I handed over the dosh. Well worth it in my opinion, especially if you're planning on using it as an REAL car rather than a plaything. One word of warning, though, vehicle inspectors are much like building surveyors. They are harbingers of doom. They will report the worst case scenarios in order to cover themselves legally, so don't be put off by a list of bad news.

(Matilda's veehickle inspection reported that her clutch be replaced at the earliest opportunity. We've done 31,000 miles on the same since..... )

[Ethel]

A check done by a pen pusher on matters relevant to a spanner monkey are of limited value, but there are pen pusher related pitfalls.
I wouldn't necessarily be bothered by a "Trigger's Broom" of a Mini if it wasn't for it bothering the DVLA.

I hadn't considered HPI being an issue for Minis any more, but I guess the prices some now command at specialist dealers it's worth thinking about.


It does peeve me that you have to pay a private company to access info, we supplied to a government dept, in order to protect yourself from falling foul of dodgy dealing and the law.

[GTIAlex06]

When i was looking for mine, i went to see three in a row and all came up as Cat C write offs.

Jusrt a simple text check as seen on the tele does me. Only takes half a second to come back through.



...Alex...

[mk3 Cooper S]

Going to get more and more cars that are categorised.

Anything more than a dent and cscratch these days will cause then to fall into either a C or D category

[mattsbmw]

Any car i am even remotely looking at always gets a text check to see if everything is ok from a paperwork perspective.

[daemonchild]

Gotta be worth a few quid to find out that the wagon you nearly bought would have been illegal on the road right?

[R1minimagic]

It can be an advantage to find out if it is a previous write off as you can use it to get the price knocked down!

[mk3 Cooper S]

It can be an advantage to find out if it is a previous write off as you can use it to get the price knocked down!

Yes every car should be taken on it's own merits as long as the price reflects the history and it isn't a hidden history.

[mini danny]

i got mine done and all was good cost me a tenner

[Guess-Works.com]

well someone's going to get a shock when they apply for the v5 for this.... as it was the second one on my "interested" list.

http://cgi.ebay.co.u...em=110522012617

especially after forking out £510 for it...

I was interested until it hit £350, as that's about what it's worth in bits ( less the engine of course ;0 )