Bought a car that’s a hidden write off

[Sooty79]

There lays my problem as neither the insurance company or Copart placed the car on the MIAFTR so it’s allowed it to slip through the net. It seems around that period a lot of cars slipped under the radar as auto express did an article on it. It’s horrible knowing I did my checks to avoid all this but then there seems very little I can do when it turns out someone hasn’t done their job properly

[Pezza54]

If the previous owner obtained a quote from carwow, and it was carwow that informed you that the car was Cat S, could the seller have received the same info as you did from carwow and decided not to tell you?

[Pezza54]

There lays my problem as neither the insurance company or Copart placed the car on the MIAFTR so it’s allowed it to slip through the net. It seems around that period a lot of cars slipped under the radar as auto express did an article on it. It’s horrible knowing I did my checks to avoid all this but then there seems very little I can do when it turns out someone hasn’t done their job properly

It only slipped through the net on a temporary basis. Carwow got the info that the car was Cat S from MIAFTR?

[Pezza54]

The MIAFTR database was never set up to contain all vehicles that are write offs
Over a 2 year period there were 168k less written off vehicles on the MIAFTR database compared with the DVLA database

The new logbook obtained from the DVLA when the Cat S car is re-registered should state Cat S and a potential buyer of this car should ask the seller to produce the logbook

[Sooty79]

The information regarding the cat s was on a salvage database not on the MIAFTR so it was never placed on the register and it’s had 2 log books issued since being through the salvage auction.
I do believe I have a breakthrough however! I searched the previous owners name on google and it actually turned up a match for the area I searched which is a very uncommon name and the name shows that it is matched to a car body repair technician and is/was employed for a big car repair company.
Also found the seller on Facebook and looked at his marketplace profile which has a few cars that were listed as Cat S, some repaired and some not so there is a history of written off cars from this seller. So if I can match the seller to the name at the bodyshop I’ve got my case! I do sway towards him buying with the intention of repairing but saw it wasnt registered on the HPi and perhaps took a gamble, however I intend to do a bit more evidence gathering and see if the car went through the workshop he works/worked for as that will at least have an engineers report

[Pezza54]

Good detective work. Well done

[Manxman]

... Begs the question, how did the previous owner after repairing the car, re-register the car and obtain a replacement logbook without the marking CAT S

You can't make a claim against Copart or the insurance company as you didn't have a contract with them

Not disagreeing that the OP may have a claim against the seller for misrepresentation, but wouldn't Copart and the previous insurer have a duty to future purchasers to ensure the write-off category was properly recorded?

(Genuine question: I don't know the answer and I don't know what the insurer and Copart are required to do in this sort of situation)

[Pezza54]

If the insurance company is involved, the ic arranges for the damaged car to be inspected and given a damage category and becomes the owner of the written off car, notifies the DVLA the car is a write off (returns the logbook to the DVLA )
The ic either sells the car direct to the salvage company or arranges for them to auction it on their behalf
If the new owner repairs the car, obtains the mot, applies to DVLA for a new logbook which will be marked with cat S

The salvage company has a legal duty to advertise the damaged car correctly and should check the inspector's classification before advertising
I suspect the salvage company states in their t&cs that they are unable to guarantee the damage category and prospective bidders should carry out their own check with the DVLA

[pattalam]

Hi sooty79, I am reaching out after seeing your post about the bad write off experience you had with your car. I am facing a similar issue now except mine is cat N. has your issue been sorted out?

[Frank1]

CAT N is different to CAT S.
The insurance company should notify DVLA that the car has suffered cat n damage.
The v5c is not marked with cat n and a private seller has no legal duty to inform the buyer that the car is cat n.
The buyer should carry out a hpi check.

[Frank1]

A company selling a car to a consumer has a legal duty to describe the vehicle as accurately as possible under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
So if a garage failed to inform the buyer the car had been written off and was cat n, the customer may have a claim against the garage.