Hymer on ebay (1 Viewer)

[donnkim]

Do not understand some people. Do they think everybody is daft?
3 months ago I was interested in a S650 on ebay. It was at the other end of the country from me so I asked my brother to view it as he lived near by.
He came back with mixed report so I phoned the seller on a number of occasions to get more info. It was not quite what I wanted but as Mercedes Hymers are rare an offer was on the cards - but not before a HPI report.
I paid for report which shows a Cat D insurance write off some years before this seller purchased the van.
The seller stated ignorance of the fact - I told him he might have a claim from the guy he purchased it from as it is against the law to sell a vehicle without Cat information in the advert.
I would be still interested but I would want to steal it at a silly price. He said he might as well keep it.
The guy has readvertised the same van with the same advert without a mention of the Cat D.
You can see the registration number clearly.
Surely nobody would shell out £25k. Without basic checks??

 

[Figaro]

He's hoping someone will be daft enough and he just may get lucky.
Is it recorded on the V5 ?

 

[donnkim]

Didn't get to see the V5 but I would assume so. HPI is the first step with MOT history.

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[Lenny HB]

Why not report the add on eBay that should get it taken down.

 

[chaser]

Don't really see any problem, if it's all been put right and no damp or anything, it's still a fair bit of kit.

 

[deleted-member02]

As the seller is a private individual is he legally obliged to mention that it's a Cat D?

http://www.parkers.co.uk/car-buying/2016/what-is-category-d/

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[donnkim]

You might be right but who would pay top price without checking. There might be one face for it somewhere. I offered him £14k when I found out!

 

[deleted-member02]

I think plenty of buyers are very trusting and naïve (often seen here, where buyers have problems which could have been foreseen)
Folk get caught up in the excitement, reasoning, common sense and caution seem to go out the window when purchasing a motorhome...

 

[DavidG58]

It wouldn't take much to get a Cat D on a MH, a crease in the roof would be an unviable repair but no real detriment to the MH itself, I saw a Hymer rear panel on ebay recently for £5K presumably much cheaper that 'real' price so with fitting and painting etc etc a £20K job, immediate write off on a £30K MH for what might only be a cracked rear panel

depends who did the damage in many cases, someone elses liability write off inevitable

devalue?? even if not repaired not sure, wouldn't put me off provided I knew what the damage had been

IMO very cheeky offer on your part, no problem with asking , don't take offence at refusal

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[Derbyshire wanderer]

You might be right but who would pay top price without checking. There might be one face for it somewhere. I offered him £14k when I found out!

You have established that it has a cat d and value it at 60% of what he is asking for?
A cat d is minor damage so why would you think you could have it for so little money?
Assuming it is in good order the market value would not be much affected by the previous insurance claim.
Obviously if the (insurance) history is an issue to the buyer then there is no point in buying it but if it's the right van and good condition then it would only be at worst worth 20% less than book.
As you have now made clear that there is a cat d the seller should disclose this in the advert to be fair to any potential buyers

 

[Jagtazman]

Ok guys re Cat C and Cat D, the problem really comes if you own said vehicle and you are unfortuante to end up in a large incident / write off. The insurer would look at the market value and then take off circ 25% for cat D and 50% for Cat C of the market value.
Its hard to say the exact amount as it depends on the insurer however from my experience (and I am an insurance broker) this is what happens.
You therefore have to ensure you paid the correct value otherwise you could find yourself out of pocket.
I would also strongley recommend you get a copy of the before and after photos along with an engineers report.
Some insurers do not like Cat D and most dont like Cat C, Cat A and B forget it only to be used as spares.

Category A
Scrap only. For cars so badly damaged they should be crushed and never re-appear on the road. Even salvageable parts must be destroyed.

Category B
Body shell should be crushed. Signifies extensive damage, although some parts are salvageable. Should never re-appear on road, although reclaimed parts can be used in other road-going vehicles.

Category C
The vehicle is repairable but the costs exceed the vehicle’s value. Can re-appear on road. Read more.

Category D
The vehicle is repairable but repair costs are significant compared to the vehicle value – including time delays to source parts. Can re-appear on road. Read more.

I saw a wonderful Hymer last year for sale as a good dealership who told me all about the Cat D damage, however had no photos and no engineers report and wanted circ 10% of market value. I had a nice conversation and told me what I would be happy to pay if I was serious, he just laughed at me and told me it would sell as is. He was prob correct but I walked away.
Without documentation how would I know what he was saying was the truth? Also his price was just too high and I was not going to risk it.

As I said you need to be mindful of what would happen in the event of a serious claim would you get a fair price back from insurers vs what you paid for it?