Advice please - Just been to look at a 97 P Omega 3l Elite auto estate 78k miles - generally looks in good nick, none of the usual problems and had a Vauxhall-paid new head @ £3.5k a year ago. Vendor selling after 6 months as extending house and pickup makes more sense. Lots of history and felt good after a long test drive. Vendor seemed very open and straight - good vibes although the tailgate seemed to have slightly larger gap than expected.
Just one snag - went back to my car to do an HPI check via the AA and vendor taps on window - "Are you doing an HPI check ? Just want to let you know its a Cat D repaired write-off - rear and one wing" - have a chat with AA and they agree although can't tell me category - "AA person will call Monday with more details on category - everything else is fine".
Now the car drove straight - owner did tell me at length subsequently that he checked with 1st owner prior to purchase(current owner bought from dealer) about accident damage hence low price - it has no ripples - apart from tailgate panel gap and a fractional misalignment of OS front wing everything (apart from a few dodgy pixels on monitor) is fine.
It was up for £3450 - which is a substantial discount on private sale guide price - and we agreed subject to my final decision on Monday when I hear back from AA (my get-out clause) on £3000
Given this price reflects a considerable discount for a recorded write-off and otherwise seems very straight with all mechanical and electrical bits working 100% (don't know about Autolign status - didn't ask) your thoughts are appreciated on my risk here.
Am I getting a very keen price which reflects the difficulty I will face on resale (ie private sale only) ?
Or am I getting a enormous barking dog that will take months to resell (assuming price is good and no extra value is lost) and may have drastically inferior crash performance with pennies paid out by insurance co. ?
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What would the cost of a straight one in similar condition be?
You obviously realise it will be extremely difficult to sell on (they're not queueing round the block for 3.0L Omegas without accident history, let alone with) so if you are going to buy it, I'd bank on it never being worth anymore than £750. If you're happy with that, buy it. If not, I'd be inclined to wait for a straight one.
The other issue is you'll never know just how badly damaged it was, although Cat D's are generally light and often written off for solely economic reasons, eg. having to provide a hire car during repair etc.
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At 78k it's nearly run in and could serve you for years. I find the 3.0 quite expensive to run (I have a 98 MV6), in terms of servicing, but it's a helluva lot of car for the money. I usually only keep cars a year, two at most, but I've had this one for 3 1/2 already and have no plans to change it, it's such a good car.
I won't try to advise on price, but if you are planning to keep it a while then I wouldn't worry too much about the write-off business, so long as it seems OK now.
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First of all you need to think whether you really want an Omega at all. They rate just about lowest in terms of owner satisfaction and reliability in the Which? surveys (based on a large number of samples). Moreover they are the devil's own job to work on. I've done a number of repairs on the V6 engine and everything is awkward - parts are expensive too.
As to this particular car -well, it may be 'nearly run in', but its already had a new head at £3.5k (why?) and what about the other head?. The seller has only had it 6 months, which is not long in my book.
As to the accident repair - I would be wanting to inspect the chassis rails and suspension components. I would also want to know about the status of the airbag(s). If a front wing was pushed in then their is a chance the airbag(s) went off. Does the warning light operate as you would expect? (its not an MoT item, remember).
If you are not confident about thoroughly checking the car yourself then £200 on an AA check would be well advised.
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Aprilia : I know you have a "thing" about Omegas ! ;-) To elaborate - both heads were done - apparently due to a tensioner failure. All lights operated as expected.
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Sorry to interupt.Aprilia makes a very good point.I would suggest if you havent actually bought the car.be very carefull.
unless you have money to throw away.ex write off`s can be a very expensive mistake.I would not buy one myself.I think your choice.?
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I'm not disputing Aprilia's viewpoint !!! The smiley was a hint that my 1st sentence was just a light-hearted comment about his well-known and oft-expressed issues with Omega's - he makes a number of good points.
I know write-offs can be expensive mistakes which is why I am asking for this forums excellent advice before buying rather than just running a mile - not everything is black and white is it ?
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I think you will find any write off has to be checked out by a company that specialises in correcting faults to do with accidents.mainly chassis probs.I personnaly would steer clear if the car is that cheap with reasonable chance of it being ok.I still wouldnt trust it.I could be wrong but any write off in my opinion should go to or stay in the scrap yard.
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Mech1 : If it was repaired earlier in life and not written off then I would not have even known would I so it got to be more a condition issue.
Otherwise the car fits the bill - space, pace and feel-good - most Omega owners I've talked to don't have any major reliability concerns but assuming I run wildy away from it what do people think is a good large estate with auto, 10 years old max and under £4k ?
Mk1 Mondeo - I've driven and not been wildy impressed (esp autobox)
W124 MB - getting on a bit and rather spartan
E34 5 series - Ditto and people still won't let me out
Camry - nothing available
C5 - Reliable ?
Audi A6 Avant - Same issues as BMW ?
Saab 9000 CS - Its a hatch but has large load volume although reliability issues mentioned frequently
Primera Estate - Rather small load area
So what other cars might fit the bill ?
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Advice please - Just been to look at a 97 P Omega 3l Elite auto
you asked you got.still comes down to you if you want it get it.cant really say any more.
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Mech1 - not a dig at you ! Just that if a vehicle is repaired earlier in its life one might never know if its had substantial work so condition is all rather than write-off status. Thanks for advice anyway !
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If you really want it, pay the AA to inspect it,then offer £1500 with the view of maybe paying £2000 max.After all nobody else will want to buy it.
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May I suggest an accountant's viewpoint.
Use Parker's Price guide:
Establish what the cost would be if no Cat D.
Establish waht the value would be after 2 years older.
The difference between the two = depreciation if you had bought a no Cat D one.
If that figure is greater than the price you are going to pay then it's cheap.
If the depreciation over 2 years is less than your purchse price, buy an older one instead.
Depreciation is your biggest cost: you are trying to beat it by buying cheaply something which is likely to be worth nothing in 2 years time.
madf
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Guys, When I originally posted I was really looking to confirm that a write-off was really far more trouble than its worth.
Many thanks for all your good advice - I will not be buying this vehicle especially after vendor only told me of Cat D status when I called HPI.
Now what are your suggestions on a good large estate please ?
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volvo 940 is maybe worth considering ,dont worry too much about the age if it has a service history,they are good for very high mileage .rust not really a problem,serviceing fairly easy and plenty new or second hand spares about at reasonable prices .the 2.0 litre does 30mpg but if heavy towing you might want bigger engine or turbo ,strong ,safe cars I much preferred 940 to the 850 series
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Ho humm...850 is vastly better than 940/960 or 740/760 IMHO - a much better drive and usually better built plus the benefit of a newer design with a Porsche designed engine. Only downsides are taht it is front wheel drive, which is not necessarily the best for a large, heavy estate car especially if you drive with it laden most of the time, plus I think you will find the load area is not quite as long as in the 700 or 900 series. Personally I also like the Omega as an estate (but not as a saloon). The Mondeo is also a very large car as an estate - getting on for 16ft long especially in the latest version. Failing that, Citroen C5 if you're feeling brave, or BMW/Mercedes (got deep pockets?)
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Ah, as to Cat D write-off - This was the top-of-the-range version so worth many thousands - damage must have been quite substantial to make it uneconomic to repair, so no reservations about walking away from it. As to alignment - could have checked the wear pattern on the tyres to get an indication if all was well, but with uneven panel gaps evident, it obviously wasn't repaired as well as it should have been. Think you have done the right thing.
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I want to sell my omega if anyone wants it.
High miles but full vauxhall dealer history
2000/W CDX Estate (just over 4 grand).
Full MOT, Tax October Metallic Black.
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Anybody got a funeral business and need a new hearse????
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What sort of hearse. I know someone who likes to buy those.
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And1 : Re-read his post in context with your original post - with your tongue firmly planted in your cheek - it will all make sense.
MrW
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The first one was for you, trying to offer an alternative to a toxic lemon and the second one for him - right ?
Incidentally anyone who is considering a VCAR needs their brain
subjected to close examination, especially when its over priced regardless.
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He's right. VCARs are seen as a serious stigma. If you ever
go to an auction and the announcment of a VCAR is made everyone
will run for cover or cringe and the jokes begin. Not always justified maybe but thats the way it is.
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Audi A6 (in its 100 guise) is a very nice motor - never had a problem in being let out if that was what you meant?
Honda Accord? (Bit smaller)
Passat?
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Just a final update on the Omega - just got a call from the (private) vendor offering to take a personal cheque without waiting for clearance and drive it to me - obviously quite desperate to sell and confirms my decision to walk away.
Just been looking at an A6 of similar vintage on EBay (I do a lot of EBay trading hence estate requirement) - cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=...3
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VCAR is a national register of damaged vehicles - do a Forum Search.
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Vehicle Condition Alert Register
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I never realised write-offs were divided into categories. What are the other categories?
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A - Not for resale. Fire damaged (burnt-out), flood damaged (contaminated or salt water), severely damaged with no serviceable parts, or heavily stripped (shell).
Notification of Destruction required. (To be crushed). Recorded at DVLA & HPI.
B - Not for resale. Damaged beyond economical repair and/or severe structural damage.
Notification of Destruction required. (Parts can be removed and sold). Recorded at DVLA & HPI.
C - Repairable salvage. Generally applies to older vehicles. Can be sold for repair but must now have VIC inspection.
Recorded at DVLA & HPI.
D - Repairable salvage. Minimal damage sometimes stolen and found after claim has been paid, or cost of repair combined with difficulty obtaining new parts to enable a swift repair.
Recorded with HPI.
Mines a cat D. I bought it to use, not resell so I'm happy knowing I got it for half price due to the extortionate repair quote - wing and both bumpers
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