Motorhome Purchased 2012 - Now Discover it's CAT 'D' Write Off!

[datasafe]

Hi all, I'll try and be as concise as I can

26th February 2012
Burstner Motorhome advertised on Ebay, the description read:
7-8 Berth. Very good condition, slight rear damage. Very Easy Repair.
Needs back bumper painting and repair to rear panel easy DIY job.
It's our own motorhome, not recorded as a write off. Very light damage.
HPI clear not recorded, no finance owing.

The V5 shows the seller acquired the vehicle on 28th May 2011.

Viewed the vehicle and agreed purchase subject to HPI check.

27th February 2012
Vehicle check was okay so transferred £22,500.

1st March 2012
Collected motorhome.


15th September 2014
Advertised motorhome on Ebay for £23,500 having spent many thousands on it.
Agreed sale of motorhome to Fuller Leisure Nottingham for £22,000.

16th September 2014
Received phone call from Fuller Leisure informing me the motorhome was CAT 'D' Write-Off and the sale was off.


I have since discovered the following:

16th January 2012
Loss recorded by insurer - I have no idea who the insurer was at this time. My insurer, AVIVA, advised me the 'mark' was added by Chaucer Insurance.

7th March 2012
CAT 'D' Write-Off registered on Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud and Theft Register - apparently the database HPI and the like obtain their information from.


I had to reduce the selling price of the motorhome to £19,000 to secure a sale having revealed all the facts, a net loss of £3,000.

So, the question is, do I have a claim against the seller who obviously was aware?

Thanks

John

[righty]

Re: Motorhome Purchased 2012 - Now Discover it's CAT 'D' Write Off!

'D' means that it MIGHT prove to be too costly to repair & with a MH that will only be identifiable once work begins . Rather than take the risk they wrote it off

[righty]

Re: Motorhome Purchased 2012 - Now Discover it's CAT 'D' Write Off!

My Hymer was written off for the very same reason (the quote being many K's) . It was repaired & sold to the guy who repaired it. Only a cat A B should be registered And as I discovered when I contacted VOSA MH are exempt as far as the Fraud Register is concerned

[datasafe]

Re: Motorhome Purchased 2012 - Now Discover it's CAT 'D' Write Off!

Thanks for the replies guys,

As you can imagine, it was a bit of a shock when I received the phone call advising it was a CAT 'D' write-off and understandable that the dealer decided to cancel the deal.

I did quite a bit of research about CAT 'D' write-offs but the fact remains that as a result, the value of the motorhome was reduced and it became considerably harder to sell. Other enquirers were 'put off' and no longer wished to consider purchasing. To be honest, if I'd negotiated to purchase a vehicle and subsequently discover it had been CAT 'D' write-off, I'd withdraw the offer and at the least expect a reduction in the purchase price. Some interested parties couldn't find an insurer that would take it on without full details of the reasons for the write-off and repairs carried out.

Cheers

[des8]

Re: Motorhome Purchased 2012 - Now Discover it's CAT 'D' Write Off!

Private sellers do not have to advertise the fact that a vehicle is a Cat D.
However they should not make claims which are untrue.
In this case though the vehicle was advertised and sold before "write off" registered with MIB.
IMO you would have difficulty PROVING the sellers new the vehicle was a write off before selling it.

[righty]

Re: Motorhome Purchased 2012 - Now Discover it's CAT 'D' Write Off!

Thanks for the replies guys,

As you can imagine, it was a bit of a shock when I received the phone call advising it was a CAT 'D' write-off and understandable that the dealer decided to cancel the deal.

I did quite a bit of research about CAT 'D' write-offs but the fact remains that as a result, the value of the motorhome was reduced and it became considerably harder to sell. Other enquirers were 'put off' and no longer wished to consider purchasing. To be honest, if I'd negotiated to purchase a vehicle and subsequently discover it had been CAT 'D' write-off, I'd withdraw the offer and at the least expect a reduction in the purchase price. Some interested parties couldn't find an insurer that would take it on without full details of the reasons for the write-off and repairs carried out.

Cheers

My insurer as well as paying out continued to cover my Hymer MH after it was damaged I should contact the insurer who was late in registering the repair even though there was no necessity to do so & ask hem to withdraw their mistaken registration ALSO contact VOSA for confirmation of what I have stated

[righty]

Re: Motorhome Purchased 2012 - Now Discover it's CAT 'D' Write Off!

PS after speaking to them my insurer & they speaking to VOSA never registered my Cat D.

[righty]

Re: Motorhome Purchased 2012 - Now Discover it's CAT 'D' Write Off!

Also the probable reason they wrote it off is that until the work commences there is no way that the damage can be fully assessed eg a rear end shunt could damage the floor requiring the removal of the entire interior & replacement of the entire floor as the floor is one complete item front to back