M666 POR, Cat C write off for sale.

[Mr968]

Those of you who were at Harewood Hall in June may have seen the car up for sale by an honest chap who was declaring it as a write off and asking a fair price on that basis, a trader bought it and allegedly then sold it without declaring the problems.

Not knowing it was the same car I went to have a look at this car a couple of weeks ago and found out it was the same car and it was indeed written off Cat C, the unfortunate owner didn't know at the time and had paid a substantial price for it, once I told him, he complained to the dealer that sold it to him and they gave him back £2500 less than he had bought it 6 months previous.
They now have it back up for sale even higher at £13,495, so buyer beware.
They are to be commended in that they have put in their advert this time that it has some front end damage.
Here is the actual wording,

"Porsche 968 3.0 Sport , 1995 M Reg , slate grey metallic, Coupe, 91,000 miles . the cars had a minor shunt to the front some time in its past from records, but not so you'd know, the car is fabulous and stunning in every respect."

Further on they also declare it to be below market value at £13,495.

Anybody looking for a 968 Sport should take advice before making an offer for this car.
It is a nice looking car and if you are interested it is for sale with Autograph.

Cheers,
Stuart.

 

[lali]

IS it just a coincedence that it is assigned the devils number!

 

[Alpine]

i hope the guy that bought it reported the garage to Trading Standards - i'm sure they would be very interested in it

 

[Guest]

Not sure I would consider a minor shunt to the front to be the same as a Cat C. write off!

£13.5k seems a bit steep given the above. I remember the car being advertised (briefly) at one time for IIRC £8.5k - possibly a lot of work has been done since.

 

[Mr968]

That would have been the original chap who was declaring it as a write off and asking a fair price, he then sold it to Autograph who marked it up a few thousand and sold it to a private individual who wasn't made aware of it's true history.
I agree the description would not appear to fully disclose the cars true condition.

From what I know of the car since it was originally bought buyer the private individual he has had the front seats leather covered, had it serviced including a new steering rack and pump.
As far as I am aware the price of £13,495 does not reflect the small amount of work that has been done on the car and is mostly profit, it certainly does not reflect the true market value, remembering that the same dealer has already sold this car once this year at some profit without fully declaring the history and is now doing it again. Buyer beware.

It should also be noted that if the car where to be written off again how much would the owner get from the insurance company, who would of course do a data check and find out it's true market value as a previous Cat C write off. I think the owner would feel pretty sick when he gets the cheque.

Remember also that this would then be one of our fellow 968 owners.

 

[Big Dave]

These "sort" of traders want STRIGING UP by there GO+++ES....
In fact thats WAY too good for them...

Why oh why do these people get away with it time + time again.....[][]
+ Why does it seem to be 968,s that attract these "sort" of unscrupulous people.?????????

IF + i stress IF they sell it for that exorbitanty price, As its a cat C it "should be a max of £6000,,,,,then theyve done it twice "with the same car" [][][][]
I did see the car at Harewood this summer + it looked reasonably nice But as Stu has mentioned it was advertized as a "insurance" car...+ priced accordingly......

There is a car for sale at present in the Sheffield area thats a Cat D ,, But the seller / trader is declaring it as such + is also priced accordingly, so nobody "should" get stung.....

My heart goes out to the most recent owner who seems to have been duped out of his hard earned ££££££££..

Lets hope it doesnt happen AGAIN ...............

ALWAYS get a car either H P I,d OR AA data checked......

 

[2alexcoo]

I just looked at their website, they have another 968 in stock:

1995 Sport in Iris Blue (not Lapis Blue!)
120k miles (not a problem in itself but should reduce the price)
'over 250 horsepower' (yeah, right)
'some stamps in the service book' (not quite an FSH then)
£13995

not quite as bad as the Cat C car but at still a joke for a car with patchy history and 120k on the clock.

 

[968er]

Cat C is a serious belt! Ask Dave.

However, if the car has been put back together again by a specialist and there are all the corrobarating paperwork there you could end up with a car that is a lot straighter than other allegedly pristine cars on that are currently up for sale.

So it is not always bad news, but go into it with your eyes open. Price, again if the repair has been done properly would probably be about 10 -15% under the going rate.

 

[timward]

perhaps the price was a little loaded to reflect the novelty value of the private plate but nevertheless....! Ive been looking at 968s for 18months and took the plunge a few months ago. I did notice quite a sharp drop in values in the last 6 months. Early last year I'd have said £13.5K for a dealer derived car was pretty damned good, this year I'd expect that sort of cash to reflect a really top notch example with no nasty stories at all. and cat c damage? I'd imagine the residual would take a real wallop, probably 20-25% and more for a private sale. What a bunch of sharks

 

[carlmthompson]

I went to look at a 944 Turbo in a private sale that the owner had bought from these lot.

They had sold him the car for 12K in March 2004. He was wanting 11K in October for it as it only had 50K miles (it was a 1988 Turbo S).

I went to look at the car, and to be honest, they'd sold the poor chap down the river big style. The "Full Srvice History" was actually a stamped up service book (guess who?) and bills from 2002. The car had had some major work done on almost every panel (and not done very well), as well as alot of rust around both of the rear hatch catches and the sills (which had been covered up with some chrome sill plates). I came to the conclusion that either the mileage wasn't genuine, or the car had been used as a track car for a long time.

The last time I looked on Autotrader it was down to 9K, but IMHO it was probably worth nearer 6k (and that would only be because of the mileage!)

I feel really sorry for the seller as he genuinely believed he had a good car.

 

[Andy Duncan]

Actually, the insurance Cat ratings are not an acurate measure of the damage sustained to a vehicle. Commercial consideration takes precendence and insurance company implementation of the Cat guidleines varies widely.

So it happens often that CAT C cars are not in fact structurally damaged to the extend that the Category implies.

I understand that CAT C & D will be visible in Registration Documents, if not already, and these cars have to be DVLA inspected after an MOT is passed, before the Registration Document is reissued.

Andy

 

[Guest]

I might be wrong but I have recently been told that dealers are not legally abliged to declare a cars history??

I'm currently thinking about buying a 968 to replace my 964cab and I enquired about the car mentioned above in Sheffield, I can't remember the name of the dealer ( I'll try to find out) but he was very honest from the moment i spoke to him and he explained straight away the cars history, please bear with me but I think it was a cat d and it was priced at £7950. witch is a fair price.

I also thought that Autograph were a "credible" dealer?

Ant.
P.S. I hate car dealers. just so's you know.

 

[Mr968]

Could this be the explanation,

That would have been the original chap who was declaring it as a write off and asking a fair price, he then sold it to Autograph who marked it up a few thousand and sold it to a private individual who wasn't made aware of it's true history.

 

[graham m]

Buyer beware! A few years ago, i was in a local specialist workshop where a late high value Porsche ('nuf said) was being repaired. It had had such a hard hit on to some Armco that the gearbox bell housing had sheared off, not to mention the requirement for a new inner & outer front wing, suspension parts, front & rear PU's, cill, floor, A & B posts, door, windscreen pillar and dashboard (plus a couple of air bags) etc, etc. Pretty bad! No insurance companies were involved in the repair (for whatever reason) and the owner repaired it at his expense over a period of about 9 months. Once he got it back it was little used and then turned up in a Specialist High Performance Car Showroom.
I was looking to buy a Porsche myself at that time and travelled to have a look - what a surprise when I stumbled across the very same car for The car was described as 'low mileage immaculate condition' - not surprising as half it's life had been spent in the repair shop, and it had undergone a complte respray so it did sparkle! The car was in the 'system' with NO history - or should i say a good history as the service book showed full OPC record, and no damage traceable. Unless you knew it looked absolutely kosha. So - is ignorance bliss? The car was repaired by a 'very knowledgable' garage but not an official Porsche approved establishement. Genuine Porsche parts were used - new and secondhand. So is there a problem? I know I'd be mighty upset if I'd of shelled out my hard earned for it-but someone did! And I believe they would not have been told as the salesman had absolutely no knowledge of any repair. He maintained that the previous owner was fastodious and kept it in a heated garage and had it valeted after each time he drove it!!!! B**llsh*t!
You pays your money - you makes your choice!
There again, sometimes you'd never know without inside information! Like the story at a certain OPC crashing a brand new Boxster in the compound! Two wings and PU later and a sacked valeter! Blissfully ignorant punter with brand new car!
Graham

 

[Guest]

The link below shows a CAT C 911 GT2 ! Would you want to buy post repair ?

http://www.s-w-s.co.uk/vehiclesstock/5160.htm

According to the above site "Cat C. An extensively damaged vehicle which the insurer has decided not to repair, but which can potentially be repaired to a high standard. "

(More disturbingly http://www.s-w-s.co.uk/vehiclesstock/5327.htm is possibly hpi clear!)

 

[Andy Duncan]

OK, I've just bought a cat C damaged Silver Rose Turbo S (a car worth saving), it needed a new rear bumper & lower valance, ROS light cluster. It sustained a bump to the ROS wing but is repairable and when painted will look as it should.

Cat C; because as usual insurance companies under value cars and take very little regard for special cars, age being a factor, for a car that could retail 6-8K they value at 4k, with a 2.5k repair bill, declared uneconomical to repair, write off - no contest.

The GT2 on the Web site is a bit of a mess, I have no problem with that cars status!

How many people get what they think their car is worth from insurance companies!!

Don't be put off by older Cat C cars!

 

[Guest]

Silver rose, nice car, I agree worth saving. But why Cat C and not Cat D ? (Cat D. A damaged vehicle that the insurer has decided not to repair, but which can be repaired and returned to the road. )