MG Cat C Write off...query

[GreenMint]

Hi all, the gf and i went to look at an MGF for her yesterday, which she absolutely loved (No MG bashing please, this is just a query!)

Basically, she loved the car, and decided she wanted it, we came home, did an API check and its showing a Cat C write off, in August 2006, so we called the guy selling it (Guy who seems to sell MG only from a garage (as in a house garage) near his home, had the MGF and 4 ZR's there yesterday, he says he'll take it to his mates garage, get it up and see what he can find out, as he;s claiming he knew nothing, so he says the front driverside wing has been replaced, and something done to the door, something about a film over it, but his claim was, it was a Cat C write-off because at the time MG Rover had gone bust, ordering a new wing in would take 6-8 weeks, which would mean having to provide a rental car for 6-8 weeks which would work out more than the ~4k value of the car so it was written off.

Either way, i'm not going to take her back there now, just gotta find a way to get our deposit back (Yeah, i know, shouldn't have put £100 down without an hpi check, burnt and learnt)

But how valid/possible would you guys call his claims? Just for my curious side...unless anyone wants his number to call and ask about it, see what he says?

 

[GreenMint]

'ang on, ive confused my cats. CAT C is extensivly damaged, CAT D is light damage isnt it.

Yeah, thats right, and thats what worried me about it, i know my fiesta would have been a Cat C when i rearended someone, twisting the front part of the inner frame, but i took it to a garage, had it chainsawed through, towed straight and re-welded

It just seemed too much of a chance to take, as much as it COULD be clean and kosher, i imagine it must be as it was sold since then and the guy said it had the test done early this year, just after the MOT that assured it as road-legal again, but my gf really doesn't want something with bad history, 7 previous owners (He listed 3..) and something thats going to worry her.

But we're off to see a silver mgf tonight, 3 owners including current, did a hpi this morning, nice and clear, 1999, 41,000 miles, £3,000, so we'll see what that brings!

 

[GreenMint]

Well, not one to be discouraged, here's a follow up of whats happened since!

i hopped on pistonheads again last night and saw one that we'd skipped a few times, due to having leather seats, but she got her head around them and we gave him a call, Silver, T reg MGF with original plate, which was valued at £1400!

41,000 miles, Full service history, cambelt & head gasket done when MG did the MGF recall in 2000/2001 and cambelt done again at 5 years old, everything in the history checks up, api clear, looks absolutely stunning, spotless, drives well (Well for her, i'm so used to my civic i throw the stick in the direction of the next gear and it goes in, you need to be more precise with MGF's! haha) seats were very comfy indeed, the boyfriend of the girl selling it is a big car enthusiast, and has owned 2 lotus elise's so knows the k-series engine and has helped her maintain it, she's the third owner after a mother and daughter (she sold it to her daughter, who sold it to the current owner this April, so the car has really been in one household for 90% of its life, if not more!) again sounds good, as all MGF's do, with a cover for the roof when its down (A leather one that fastens down and tucks under the boot lid to keep the roof covered) a wind deflector, and all for £3000, which was basically the amount she owed on the car she bought after (A Yellow Ford Puma, she was looking for one for eons and found one 3 months ago, so the MGF has been sitting for ~3 months)

The only scare i had was taking the MGF over a speed bump (Ones in nottingham seem to have a point over them?) and i heard a scrape, which the guy said would be the exhaust bracket, and nothing to worry about, i think i just took the bump a tad too fast for the shape it was.

Long story short, we pick it up on Sunday, it looks fantastic, and we really can't wait! I really think that we have made the right choice, the guy showing us it was so good, talked us through every last bit, showed me piece by piece and item by item through all parts of the paperworks, from the V5, to the services, to mots to any notes/papers that had been collected over the car's life!

I just hope & pray we're onto a winner here!

 

[GreenMint]

Kate worked for MG Rover in the X-Part division a couple of years ago and body panels and bumpers were incredibly difficult to source at the time (a friend had front ended his ZR and a new bumper was completely unobtainable for some time) so a lot of Rovers and MG's were written off needlessly.

I belive Tesla here bought a Rover 200 for some ridiculously low sum that had been written off with a dent in the wing and a cracked indicator.

I can imagine that some C's and D's can be, as this one may be, real gems just with a tarnished record/written off due to a minor bump and situations as listed above.

I guess if either myself or my girlfriend had much mechanical knowlege, we'd consider it more, but neither of us know much at all about anything past checking levels/air pressures etc.. If I had more practical knowlege, it may have been considerable, but i think it wasn't the best idea for the people without much car knowlege.

 

[GreenMint]

No, the seller seemed to know nothing, was a guy working out of a rented garage space, selling only MG's, he said that it could be down to that after inspection of the car and after i let him know the date in which the HPI check registered the accident/claim/writeoff as being on.