Ford Fiesta Ecoboost - New Car, Innaccurate HPI check, damaged car

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Thu 8 Jun 2017 15:51
Ford Fiesta Ecoboost - New Car, Innaccurate HPI check, damaged car - charles phillips

Hello,

I bought a car in March from a private seller on AutoTrader for £6,550. Before purchasing the car, I paid for the Autotrader HPI vehicle check - the report came back clear, with no outstanding finance/write offs or anything untoward on the car.

The car recently developed some problems, so I took it to the garage. They told me that the car had been in an accident. I took out another vehicle check on another website and this time the check came back saying the car was a Cat D.

I have just phoned the vehicle check branch of Autotrader (run by Experian). They have told me that the car was only registered as a Cat D in April (after I had purchased the car), and the date of the actual accident was in October 2016!! They told me they are going to chase the insurance company to check whether the Cat D label is right and if it is, they are going to send me a claim form (as they offer up to £30,000 compensation).

I wondered what it is I should be claiming for - is it the cost of repairs, the value of the car, the price difference of the valuation of a non-cat D vs non-cat D? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Incidentally, Ford have told me that there are a number of problems with the car that need addressing, possibly going in to the thousands. I would not have purchased this car had I known it was a Cat D. The seller is, of course, claiming complete ignorance and taking him to a small claims court would be risky, according to the citizens advice bueraeu as he could claim he did not know about the write off category / damage.

Any advice on any part of the mess would be much appreciated!

Charles

Edited by charles phillips on 08/06/2017 at 15:52

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Thu 8 Jun 2017 16:15
Ford Fiesta Ecoboost - New Car, Innaccurate HPI check, damaged car - RobJP

As to what you can claim from HPI, your 'quantifiable losses' is probably the answer. In other words, the difference between what your car is worth, and what it would be worth without the Cat D marker on it. However, your guarantee from HPI should detail what the cover pays for.

Regarding your claim against the vendor : forget it. Caveat emptor applies. Unless you specifically ask a question and the vendor tells you a deliberate lie (i.e you ask if the mileage is genuine, and they tell you that it is), and you've got unequivocal proof of that lie (it was recorded, or is in writing), then they have absolutely zero liability to you in law.

Do bear in mind that, occasonally, cars get mistakenly marked up as Cat D (or worse!). Fat fingers when typing, it happens to everyone from time to time.

Finally, bear in mind that Ford will almost certainly be telling you that there are problems with your car, needing thousands of pounds spent to rectify. If it was still under Ford warranty, you can bet your bottom dollar that it would nearly all just be fine.

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Thu 8 Jun 2017 16:42
Ford Fiesta Ecoboost - New Car, Innaccurate HPI check, damaged car - charles phillips

Thank you for your reply.

So in the vehicle check T+C's it says:

"At the time the Vehicle Check was performed, the vehicle was recorded as an insurance write-off by an insurer (other than a Category A or B writeoff) but this was not shown (or not shown correctly) in the results of the Vehicle Check either":

(1) where you retain ownership of the vehicle, the reduction in the market value* of the vehicle as a result of the missing insurance marker coming to light; or

(2) where you have sold the vehicle, the market value* of an identical vehicle without the insurance loss marker which was omitted from the Information less the price you received for the vehicle.

In each of the above cases, the market value of the vehicle is the market value at the time of the claim under the Data Guarantee. The lower of 50% of the market value* of the vehicle at the time the claim is made or £15,000.

Still confused...

Edited by charles phillips on 08/06/2017 at 16:44

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Thu 8 Jun 2017 17:25
Ford Fiesta Ecoboost - New Car, Innaccurate HPI check, damaged car - RobJP

You will be entitled to, as per (1), the reduction in the market value. The clause at the bottom limits the maximum claim to the lower of 50% of the open market value of the car, with a maximum claim limit of £15,000.

So basically, in your case, the claim will be what the difference in value for a 'clean' car and a Cat D car would be.

But as I said, wait and see, It might be a mistaken entry on the database. It does happen.

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Mon 12 Jun 2017 14:39
Ford Fiesta Ecoboost - New Car, Innaccurate HPI check, damaged car - charles phillips

You will be entitled to, as per (1), the reduction in the market value. The clause at the bottom limits the maximum claim to the lower of 50% of the open market value of the car, with a maximum claim limit of £15,000.

So basically, in your case, the claim will be what the difference in value for a 'clean' car and a Cat D car would be.

But as I said, wait and see, It might be a mistaken entry on the database. It does happen.

Just had confirmation that the car is definitely a write off and I now need to make a claim.

Price comparrison sites kniocking 40-50% off with the Cat D in, so potential claim of around £3,000.

I wonder how they'll weasel out of this... having no luck so far!

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