How reliable are HPI, or similar, checks?

[Lankan]

I was sent this info by a former member.......

According to the owner of vcheck.uk there are a significant number of damaged/salvaged cars being sold as "never been crashed", or where the damage sustained is simply not declared!

Judging by the examples provided this certainly appears to be true:
For sale on Autotrader - note that the Autotrader advert states the following:
"We’ve checked this vehicle’s history so you can buy with confidence. We’ll never advertise a vehicle that’s stolen, scrapped, or recorded as Cat A or B.

All checks passed"

However, vcheck.uk reports to the contrary.

I can understand if the damage is light but would be rather cross if I paid full price thinking that the vehicle had never been damaged.......

 

[GPH]

Interesting post Dulan but the Trader is correct in that car is not Cat A or B so the report is not "to the contrary" as you say. The car is the new category of Cat S (old Cat C) which means structural damage that was uneconomical to repair. In the advert they don't say it's not Cat C or D.
Buyer beware of slippery traders as usual. It's always what they DON'T say that's important
I didn't know about these name changes that happened 18 months ago.

From AutoTrader
"Categories S and N were introduced on 1 October 2017 to replace Categories C and D. According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), the new categories focus more on the condition of the car rather than the cost of repairing it.

Vehicles categorised as a Cat C or Cat D prior to 1 October 2017 will remain a Cat C or Cat D - which is why you may still see cars advertised with this category.

It’s ok to buy a car that’s Category C, D, S or N. In all cases, they reflect a car that was repairable, but the insurers chose not to - probably because they thought it was cheaper to replace the car than repair it. Category A and Category B cars are so badly damaged, Auto Trader will not allow them to be advertised for sale, and strongly advise you not to buy one.

See Cat C cars for sale
What’s the difference between Category S and Category N?

Both Category S and N cars can be repaired and put back on the road, but the two are defined as follows:

A Category S vehicle has suffered structural damage and has been written off by the insurer as it was uneconomical to repair. This damage could be to any part of the vehicle's structural frame, including the chassis.

A Category N vehicle has also been written off by the insurer as it was uneconomical to repair, but the difference is that it suffered non-structural damage. The vehicle's structural frame or chassis did not suffer any damage.

With Category S and N cars, insurers will often sell the car on for salvage, when someone else may choose to repair the car. If the car is repaired properly, there’s no reason you shouldn’t buy and run it."

So it seems he ABI is trying to make it more obvious to buyers whether the damage was cosmetic or structural which I think is good.

 

[Jamesv6]

A reminder of course that there are cars easily qualifying as S & N which went to the body shop under the insurance radar.

 

[Lankan]

I hear what you say, Graeme, and you are correct that the vcheck report does not contradict that particular vehicle's actual CAT status.

However, my point is that if I am prepared to part with close to £30K on a vehicle I would rather know its full history before doing so, and choose a vehicle that has had minimum damage or no damage at all. As such, if I was looking to buy a 2016 Lexus NX 300H 2.5 then I would rather settle on this one: Lexus NX Estate 300h 2.5 Luxury 5dr CVT, since it comes up as 'No salvage records found', has covered only 5K miles more than the example in my first post, and is just under £1K cheaper.

IMO the salvaged vehicle does not reflect the price one should pay when compared to a similar example that is undamaged. That is unless the F-Sport makes it significant enough to account for the price difference (I am not an expert on Lexus SUVs), but then there are others with slightly more mileage, and for the same price as the black one above, that are not flagged as 'salvaged'.

I will definitely be adding vcheck.uk to my pre-purchase checklist.

 

[Lankan]

Just seen this article published by Autoexpress, which certainly reinforces the point made above: The Great British car insurance write-off scandal

Good news is that paid members of v6clio.net have now been offered a 10% discount when using vcheck.uk. The discount code to be used will be added to the Member’s Area in due course.

I am told that the checks done will continue to be enhanced. Although it is unlikely to be relevant to us Vee owners, there will also be a check to flag up vehicles that have been used as Taxis or Hire Vehicles, which I am sure will be of interest to those who are looking to purchase a daily driver.

 

[Noyzboy]

Duncan posted a reference to a site called Cazana which reports a little more than HPI including previous registration numbers for the vehicle and has a section that says " Damage Report - No damage reported" ( for my car anyway).
Its interesting that in UK people like to keep vehicle VIN numbers close to their chest while in the USA the VIN is a widely available data that owners don't hide.

Duncans Thread .viewtopic.php?f=11&t=22332&p=220635&hilit=cazana#p220635