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

DB1904

Sandtree said:

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.

Maybe it was purely cosmetic in the eyes of the seller. That's enough to write an old car off, the OP will never prove they knew anymore.

DB1904

Jumblebumble said:

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?

Given the OP can't remember asking the answer is no.

400ixl

theoretica said:

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.

What is the car and what age?

The impact of cat N has become far less over the years as it has become a more common marker, so estimates of 20-40% will most likely be old news and not really relevant these days. 40% is more in the cat S region. You are looking more 10-20% these days for a cat N unless it is a prestige marque.

And dealers are of course going to be sucking air through their teeth and giving you a worst case view as they will want it for the cheapest price possible. Trade in prices will always be lower than private sale prices. If you bought a car at a genuine private sale price of £2k, then its trade price would usually be anywhere between £1k-£1.5k.

Jumblebumble

Sandtree said:

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.

This makes a big assumption that  the insurers took the view that the car was actually worth £2000
They may have considered it worth £500 for all we know and it may have had an MOT that was only valid for 2 more weeks which means that the real value would possibly be £160 ish  a tonne mixed metals at the local crusher