Would like to know the general feel about a car iv almost bought. its A black Ford Focus 1.6 Zetec on a 52 plate, 11,000 miles and asking price of £4,000 . The car was advertised locally and was described as having "light accident damage" in the advert. Today found out through HPI check that its a category D writ-off , the owner did tell me about the damage and repairs but didnt tell me it was written off until i mentioned a HPI check . At the test drive he told me he replaced front passenger side wing and light unit and had the bonet straightened out (it lookes like a good repair job) im getting cold feet about the sale now which is a pitty as i have a great liking for a focus and plus i have the cash (which is a rarity). Can anyone help me as im now very confused and i dont know what to do

 

My advice would be to walk away. 4 grand is a lot of money for a car which is always going to be on the hit list. Go to the car auctions mate. i bought a Y reg TDI focus 2 weeks ago for 2,500 notes from Manheim. Highish miles (86K) but other than that, nothing wrong with it.

cheers

NEIL

 

Cat D write off is the lesser evil of all the Cat write offs IIRC.

I know 4k might seem a lot of money to you on paper - but I don't think I would be too bothered buying a car if it was a Cat D in that price range.

Anything in the higher bracket of say 10k + I wouldn't entertain it.

 

well i plan on slight modification, nothing too drastic but something enought to make it stand out a little, im not aiming to make money on it but it does concern me in years to come when its time to sell her on, i dont want it haunting me

 

In 'years to come' it ain't gonna be worth much at all anyway.

 

i agree with red kop there they dont hold money for long as they have been the best selling hatch car for a while now, awesome car though.

ask the geezer if he will fork out for an aa or rac check on it if you show him you have the cash you never know

 

he has already paid for the HPI check but i dont know what to look for now (the AA or RAC for a vehicle inspection and ask them to comment regarding the writeoff status??), Im suppose to be picking it up tomorrow

 

take someone who knows what they lookin at mate, a mechanic or just bite the bullet and try get an aa or rac inspector better to losse that cost than 4 grand mate

 

Sorry to sound condescending... but it's only 4k you are spending.

 

4k is a lot to most folk redkop we cant all be rich mate

 

Very true as £4,000 isnt that much but i was stung when i baught a Vectra 2 years ago, it turned out to be on finance, as i baught it off a so called mate it took me a very long time to get it to court, after 2 years of battling the court system i think they may be near a decision, the charges are theft from the finance company and deception towards me. In the past 2 years i have had a car on my driveway thats been registered as a stolen vehicle (im not allowed to sell it, give it away or greater still cant drive the bloody thing ) so i think i have lost a lot of money in the past and i cant afford to keep chucking money away

 

mate i work in a body shop and i have seen brand new cars and vans with damage worse than that so i wouldnt worry to much, when you go to look at it just check that the repaired areas have been done right and then work out if the car isnt for you

 

You know it's a Cat D write off and lets be honest, in a year or two the car is gonna be worth eff all, whether a Cat D write off or not.

 

exactly mate thats why 4k s a lot to spend on something thats gonna be worth nowt in a few years, lots of things to take into consideration there

 

Agree to a point. If you are going to run it until it dies then who cares - makes no odds as long as it's solid. If you only plan on keeping it for a short while then buy something else.

Redkop - 4 grand may not be alot of money to some, but whatever way you look at it 4 grand is STIlLL 4 grand...............

 

I know 4k can appear to be a lot... I said that, but be realistic, if the car has been repaired A1OK - I don't see the problem.

 

fair comment redkop, its a megga tough one, i hate decision making at the best of times, i love the focus and i understand that there are loads of them about but i have been without a car for 3 weeks now and public transport is a bloody nightmare

There are millions of Focus's out there are trust me to find a knocked 1 lol lol lol if i dont buy it im sure there are loads more that will come my way

The overall replies that i have been recieving are possitive but is on a 50 /50 ratio.

I shall let you all know tom what the outcome is i think, my head is buzzing now o

 

Some Cat D cars are better than ones that aren't, as they have been checked over thoroughly to see that they are roadworthy befre being allowed back on the road.

 

good on ya mate it sounds sweet, have you had an ins quote on it

same as you in thoughts redkop mate

 

no iv not had a quote but iv always had cheep insurance due to max discounted no claims and my age, it wont be a problem to insure at the moment (just wait till i start modding it)

 

For a start it's the 1.6 which is fairly gutless in the focus. Best choice has to be a Tdi.

 

good luck then mate hope everyone has helped in a way and just be certain when you make the choice

 

Thanks for the S1 now you really have given me something to think about, if i didnt have enought o think about as it is already i shall have a look at some and see what i can find. but my price range cant go any higher

 

cheers 4 ur help mk2rstaff

 

Thanks to all of you, i suppose after a nite of sleeping on it i will come to some sort of decision, but ur all rite i have to make a choice and i have to be sure, Cheers all you have all helped greatly