Bought a car that has been written off - no one told me!

paigebeaa

As I said in the post, I have proof that the person I purchased the car from owned the car when it was written-off. So I do know that he was aware. And I have been informed by a garage that due to the Category N on the cars history, I will struggle to sell it for as much as I could've had it not had it, despite the fact it's mechanically sound and all the money I have put into it. But I understand where you're coming from regarding an exact figure. Thanks for the comment. 

Jenni_D

Archie_Duke said:

paigebeaa said:

To clear up a few things, yes I have lost money due to this, as the resale value of my car is less than half of what it would've been had it not been a write off. Yes I am aware that a £3 check would've prevented this but as I stated in the post I didn't know this was something I could do! I don't remember outright asking if it had been written off but I do feel like this is something that should've been disclosed at the point of sale, particularly when I asked about the dent in the boot. I appreciate all the useful comments so far, thank you. 

The value of a car at 213000 miles is really hard to calculate. With no details of the car involved here it’s impossible to say if it was worth £2000 or closer to the £1000 you now think it’s worth. The seller may have priced high expecting to be chipped down on their price, may have just been hoping for an easy sell, and got exactly that.
You don’t know for certain that your seller even knew themselves if it was written off, may have happened in previous ownership and not disclosed.
Good lesson on second hand car sales for the future.

OP says:

paigebeaa said:

Back in September 2021 I purchased a car from Facebook marketplace for the sum of £2000.
<snip>
Yesterday I enquired about part exchanging my car, only to be told it was a total loss category N write off in July 2021. I have proof the person I bought the car from owned this car at this point.

I'll let you work it out.

Archie_Duke

Thanks Jenni

Sandtree

paigebeaa said:

To clear up a few things, yes I have lost money due to this, as the resale value of my car is less than half of what it would've been had it not been a write off. Yes I am aware that a £3 check would've prevented this but as I stated in the post I didn't know this was something I could do! I don't remember outright asking if it had been written off but I do feel like this is something that should've been disclosed at the point of sale, particularly when I asked about the dent in the boot. I appreciate all the useful comments so far, thank you. 

A car having been declared a Cat D or N total loss doesn't half a cars value... the damage itself may cost half the cars value to fix it but that's another matter. It will be worth less but not that much less and you've already said you got a bargain even after paying for repairs and so maybe didn't pay over the odds

custardy

Do you still have a copy of the ad?

Jumblebumble

paigebeaa said:

Back in September 2021 I purchased a car from Facebook marketplace for the sum of £2000. The car had a small dent on the rear, when I asked the seller about this he informed me that it'd had a little knock and it was nothing to worry about, purely cosmetic. I then took the car home, and when I went to put the tow bar onto the car I was told that the bumper wasn't even connected to the car, and that the rear crash bar had to be replaced. As I'd only paid 2k I paid to have the work done and the tow bar fitted, as I still thought the car was a bargain. Since then I have also replaced the clutch at a sum of £1300 and an MOT which was a few hundred too. Yesterday I enquired about part exchanging my car, only to be told it was a total loss category N write off in July 2021. I have proof the person I bought the car from owned this car at this point. I didn't know anything about this, and didn't know hpi checks even existed. Do I have a leg to stand on? I feel like the seller deliberately misled me by not informing me that the car had been written-off. Had I known I wouldn't have bought it, and certainly wouldn't have spent so much money on it. My insurance company hasn't mentioned anything either, does this mean they are unaware too? Would really appreciate any advice on what I can do to resolve this matter. 

Can you prove you  asked the seller if it had been written off as if you didnt /cant you are out of luck?

Manxman_in_exile

What is the car and how old is it?  (Apologies if I've missed it).

I doubt any "average" bog standard make and model of car would be worth even £2k after 213000 miles.


(Well I wouldn't pay that unless it was something unusual I really wanted... )

theoretica

The internet tells me a cat N write off, after repair, may have a  20-40% lower price. Enough to turn the bargain you thought you had into a not great deal.  It may of course have reduced more in what the one particular dealer you were talking to was prepared to give - sometimes people just don't want to buy a particular car and may offer excuses.

macman

I'll be blunt. You have been very naive. The vendor doesn't have to disclose anything about the car's condition or history-it's a private sale, so consumer protection does not apply. 
All the seller has to do is be truthful in answering any questions asked and not to mis-describe it (which is why you were asked for the exact wording of the ad): beyond that, it's up to you to ask the questions and make your own checks. Which, unfortunately, you did not.

Sandtree

macman said:

All the seller has to do is be truthful in answering any questions asked and not to mis-describe it (which is why you were asked for the exact wording of the ad): beyond that, it's up to you to ask the questions and make your own checks. Which, unfortunately, you did not.

Well the op stated:

paigebeaa said:
The car had a small dent on the rear, when I asked the seller about this he informed me that it'd had a little knock and it was nothing to worry about, purely cosmetic. 

It would appear that it wasn't purely cosmetic however its a question if the seller knew that or not (and depends what you define as cosmetic).

The OP said they paid £2k which means the insurers would have imagined the repairs were well over £1k and probably more like £1.5k to write it off which doesn't really sound like a small dent in the rear unless its a body coloured bumper and the whole unit has to be replaced.