Would u buy a written off, repaired/registered car

chakendrick, Dec 3, 5:09am
2008 Toyota had front damage that activated the air bags. Written off, sold at auction, repaired and reregistered.
Seller has suggested buyer get car checked out prepurchase.
neo_psy, Dec 3, 5:10am
I'd have it looked at. Airbags are expensive so could have been the main reason for the write-off.
Yeah, you'd want a pretty extensive inspection first though to make sure.;
phillip.weston, Dec 3, 5:11am
is it priced significantly lower than the other comparable "2008 Toyota" models! In order to get back on the road it has to go through a stringent test.
gunhand, Dec 3, 5:14am
Yep, if done correctly theres no reason not to. Half if not more of the cars on the road will have some kind of damage repairs.Get it checked, as you should with every car. Talk to the panelbeater if possable. some perfectly good cars get written off for what appears to no good reason. Cost of new parts useually does it.
chakendrick, Dec 3, 5:14am
Why would it need to be priced significantly lower! I think a lot of cars for sale might have had a prang in their lifetime - not to the point of being written off, but I am pleased the seller is being upfront (although he would have to explain reregistration).
a.woodrow, Dec 3, 5:15am
I would give it a good roadtest first. make sure it handles normally. check tyres for any indication of abnormal wear. my parents had a good prang in an mazda eunos 500, was repaired but for ever after handled a bit piggish and ate the tyres. If its been well repaired, could be a good deal. See if you can talk to the repairer and get an idea of what damage there was
chakendrick, Dec 3, 5:16am
Thanks for that, good point re handling. I have heard others say that too after getting cars repaired.
phillip.weston, Dec 3, 5:16am
Why would you buy a repaired vehicle if you can buy a good condition accident-free vehicle for the same price then! People have a complexity about damaged vehicles, and while I wouldn't turn away from a repaired&re-registered vehicle, it doesn't do wonders for the re-sale value.
chakendrick, Dec 3, 5:18am
Do you know if most vehicles have had a significant repair!
phillip.weston, Dec 3, 5:22am
If significant enough to be written off, then yes you would know by the fact that they've been re-registered and the previous de-registration reason put down as 'written off by insurer'. There are of course vehicles which have been damaged and repaired before getting a chance to be written off, but they are far and few between.

I'm not talking about minor fender benders here - most cars 10 years old by now will have some amount of bog in them after repairing relatively minor jobs - but why would you buy a car which has had another whole front or rear quarter for instance stitched on for the same price of a car which has been undamaged previously!
pollymay, Dec 3, 7:03am
I don't have any problem if it's a nice toyota. A corolla can be left to rot though. Someone who has done a good stitch job of repairing the car then it's going to be fine. However shoddy fixes are what gives the industry a bad name. It's a lot of cost and work to fix a car to a proper standard. Re-sale will be hurt though, people would rather be ignorant of if their car has been crashed.
gunhand, Dec 3, 7:09am
To ask the question another way. Would you buy a fully restored, um 65 stang for the want of an example!It may well have had, the front replaced, the floor replaced, the back gaurds replaced, the sills replaced and god knows what else.
All welded back together. Is it better than any other repaired car!Shouldnt be.
Way more basic car as far as computers etc go but if everything is done correctly wheres the problem.
wright7, Dec 3, 7:23am
AA inspected my car, said it was better to be deregistered, and then re registered as the car has to pass re certification, as apposed to just being repaired.I brought 3 year old car with 19000k, had it 3years done a other 29k, and it's been mechanically fine,but wouldn't have purchased without AA inspection or mechanical inspection.
chakendrick, Dec 3, 8:33am
Thats a good point. At least it would have had rigorous re certification whereas if it was just damaged and repaired it might havea problem not detected.
treachug, Dec 3, 11:47am
Having done a few import cars requiring a repair cert, I'd be happy to purchase a repair certed car. The repair cert is very tough, needs inspection before, during & after repair & thats before painting! And if not up to standard has to be bought up to standard before signed off. The car needs chassis plant print outs, wheel alignment done & print out required, proof provided of repair parts used etc.,its tougher than an insurance repair of the same type where no running checks are done on the repair quality.
crzyhrse, Dec 3, 11:51am
'Written off' is just an insurance term meaning "uneconomical to repair" (at least at commercial rates).

I wouldn't be particularly worried as if it needed re-registering then it would have needed to be repaired and the repairs certified prior to the re-registration.
joanie32, Dec 3, 9:55pm
upuntil a few years ago Id only ever owned ex right offs. All my inlaws and some mates have owned my repairs too. Never a problem
friendly_prawn, Dec 3, 9:59pm
yes have done in the past. if fixed properly then cant see the problem.
kazbanz, Dec 3, 10:18pm
I think this is exactly the issue.
The 65 stang as I rercall has a fulltraintrack type chasis to which body components are bolted. Ie it has chasis rails. Ie built like a brick dunny
Modern cars are mostly of monocoque desighn with the door sills,pillars etc all as part of the basic car.
Where I have issue is when everything is "inhouse'
The write off is purchased and then "boogied" to hide damage from the inspector. The inspector then only requires a small repair and the car is out there on the road deemed safe.
I definitely have no issue at all when the repair is done "by the book"
What doesn't make sense to me is the double standard
A fresh import or a wright off must be up to a standard. But if the insurer doesn't wright it off then much less work is required.
I saw an example recently where a left dogleg was crumpled -requiring replacement of an entire quarter panel
If it wasn't a compliance job the panelbeater could have simply chopped the dogleg out
kazbanz, Dec 3, 10:23pm
ACTUALLY -- this is one area that totally pisses me off.
A vehiclesmashing $5000 of fairings/bumpers at say 5km/h or lessis treated in the same way as a vehicle that was in a 100km head on.
IMO there should be uneconomicalandstructural wright offs
grangies, 4 days, 12 hours
+1 Absolutely!

And airbags, while a great safety feature are an issue too.

I've seen a cars written off due to airbags going off due to a minor front
bumper impact. No bonnet or radiator support damage, just the bumper LOL.