I recently bought a Mini Cooper S (R53 2005) and had some work done on the brakes.

On inspection the technician queried whether the car is a cut and shut as he saw what looked like a weld on the underside of the car. Im not sure it is a weld as it doesn't go all the way across the chassis and bodywork of the underside, and the car has a panoramic sunroof which clearly hasn't been welded.

Anyway, I've checked the HPI register and the car was written off in 2006 as a Cat D (which the seller informed me of), however the insurer decided not to repair.

I now need to find out a) who the insurer was, b) what the damage was and why they decided not to repair, and c) who bought the car and subsequently repaired it.

I can then find out what happended to the car and whether it is a cut and shut job.

Please can you advise which organisations can tell me who the previous insurer was at the time of the accident, and who then bought the vehilce and repaired it?

I've spoken to VOSA and the DVLA previously but really feel they don't actually know how to deal with these cases. Both organisations referred me to each other and were not convincing at all.