Going to look at a Mazda 5 for my older sister, what to look for?

mrk

mrk

mrk

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Hello car fans!

My older sister's looking for a bigger car than the 03 plate Corolla they have and asked if I could go visit this car after work today:

http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/uv...max_records=200&id=201032365378163&distance=4

We're aware it's a Cat C and I have spoken briefly with the showroom owner who said he didn't have the repair details but there is no sign of an accident so was obviously repaired through the correct channels.

I am awaiting details from another family member who works at an insurers who is getting the paperwork history on this as I type.

In the meantime are there any obvious faults are obvious with the Mazda 5 to look out for?

Many thanks!
 
Do you really want your sister to mess about with cat c history cars and potential problems associated with them? Especially as the showroom doesn't have the specific repair details. :-/
 
Hmm that is a point and this is the kind of car she's been looking for to lug her family around in so obviously who repaired it and why when it was a cat c (and therefore would have cost more to repair than the value of the car anyway) would be the things to know?

I guess most of that info will come about from the insurance database records I'm just waiting to be sent over.
 
I am not sure what you are expecting to find in the 'insurance database record' but I doubt its a detailed explanation of the cars damage!
 
Well I'm not sure either but I'm happy to look it over and drive 15 minutes to see it in person - surely if it has been repaired as well as it's been described then it's at least worth the look!
 
You really need to take someone who knows about accident repair to view a car like this, provided its been fixed correctly then its happy days car should be little / no different from pre accident, clearly one thing the watch out for is when she comes to sell this in several years time it could be very very hard to shift.
 
Khaaan! said:
I guess most of that info will come about from the insurance database records I'm just waiting to be sent over.
Click to expand...


What is the point of an insurance database saying "yeh, it was a cat c, bumper came off and replaced" when you don't have reciepts and other stuff to trace back?

I'd only buy a cat c if:
- It was worth it
- I have every piece of paper associated with the cat c vehicle
- I know exactly what happened and what the damage was
- I know exactly what was replaced and by who

This isn't the case for the car you're showing us.
 
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Aye I can completely see where you're coming from there^ The value in a few years time would be even less yeah but given its current price anyway would that matter either way?

She bought the Corolla brand new and it's only done ~30k miles so they don't drive much (lives in London so they commute via public transport) but for long journeys wants a car that will hold everyone more comfortably than the Toyota.

Can you guys recommend a similar sized car then? I'm no good with people carriers!

Also, here's the info that I have just been sent:

Called Royal and Sunalliance, they confirmed accident happened on 24/05/09 - driver hit the central reservation and a third party vehicle.

Pre-acc value was: £9800.00 and salvage was £3091.00 Cat C

Cat C means that the figure to repair the vehicle was higher than the actual vehicle value so they write it off and pay only the value of the car.
Driver chose not to retain salvage, which means that they gave the vehicle away to Royal and Sun and then Royal would sell the car to their salvage agents... who would have veh repaired and then back on the road
Click to expand...

Along with inspection screenshots and damage marked as on the off side only.
 
If I may be blunt, stop faffing about and look into a different car.

If it's anything to go by we had a mk2 Galaxy for a few months (neighbour literally toured all of Africa and left us his Galaxy to run, look after etc). It was a 2L petrol. It was economical for what it was, 42mpg combined. It was very spacious inside. The rear two seats were crap and small - only really suitable for kids, which was well and good as we never used them. Everything was modular - if you didn't need it you could chuck it out, i.e. the rear most seats. Loads of little cubbyholes made life a little bit easier. Saying that, they weren't exactly world saving features. Just nice enough to put a bag of Skittles, or a can of Coke in a compartment. Head room was good and to be fair, it was pretty easy to park, even in tight spaces, which was good for driving in London. Although I'd say parking sensors are a must.
 
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I wouldn't personally, you don't know how well or exactly what had to be repaired and how this may effect the vehicle were it to be in an accident again.
 
Khaaan! said:
Can you guys recommend a similar sized car then? I'm no good with people carriers!
Click to expand...

whats wrong with a normal mazda 5 ?

There are Mazda 5s available with 12 *months warranty from a dealer with all the peace of mind that goes with it from about 7k

I cant see what price that Cat C one is, but is 7k out of budget then ?

*oops :D
 
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Unfortunately they're not Vauxhall fans (they'd fit in perfectly here no doubt!) but are jap car fans.

I'll mention everything that's been said so far thanks!

MrLOL the cat c price is 5.5k, since you cannot see the ad the car looks like it's in very good condition, has 22k mileage and is an 08 plate. She has not mentioned their budget however.
 
I've mentioned getting a slightly older one but they want a facelift one so 08 onwards as they don't like the prefacelift style - Also I've spoken to her just now and they've chosen just the Mazda 5 as they've seen some others and weren't too keen on them with all things considered (room inside, convenience, running costs etc).

She's said their budget is up to 8k but it has to be a facelift 5 and I think for that budget they're going to be able to get what they want - just the 5.5k on the one in my Op caught their attention for obvious reasons :p

Edit*

I did as you guys recommended and told them to forget about the car in the Op but I also went to see it anyway for my own curiosity if anything and it was certainly in good condition, engine looked like how a 22k miles car should and sounded new as well. The NS damage repair was not visible at all, someone went to some trouble to get that fixed. I think the insurers wrote it off due to the slide out door with all the electrics and things inside it - can't imagine that being cheap.

The NS front tyre was a different unknown brand to the others (which were recently changed by the looks of it), the OS wing mirror motor did not work and the A/C didn't blow cold either and the steering wheel was rather scratched like as if the old lady owner who part exchanged it was gripping it for her life (probably during the accident lols).
 
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that car is a disaster waiting to happen. If you've found those things on a quick inspection, what else is broke ? and why arent they fixing them if they are just minor things like the A/C needing a regas etc..

They have to compromise somewhere, compromise on the facelift and get an older one, or comprise on the budget and spend enough to get one.

This should do however.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif.../postcode/wf13hl/radius/1501/page/1?logcode=p
 
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