Got the V5 thru today for the Octavia vRS I bought on 26th August.

I have had my suspicions that the car has had work as it is 'too' clean for a 3 year old car. I was thinking maybe a parking ding or something like that.

I then saw that the previous owner only had it for 4 months...so I tracked him down (he is in Liverpool) and asked about the car's history.

He told me that he bought it from it's first owner, it was a minter and within 2 weeks it needed a wheel bearing so it went into the garage to be done.

Before this could happen however, thieves broke into his house, took the keys and went and stole the car!!!

There is a 2 week gap and then it was stolen recovered after being used in a house burglary:eek:

He told me both rear panels were caved in, as if it had hit a fencepost or something, and they had a load of garden tools in the interior which had marked all the interior.

He said the car HAD BEEN WRITTEN OFF and he got paid in full from his insurance as he now has another vRS (I have told him about this place!).

Now the thing is, the car is mint - all panel gaps are spot on, it drives true, boosts fine, everything is spot on - the only way I sussed something was not right was, as mentioned, it is too clean - not a mark on it, not a stonechip, not a door ding, nothing - not normal for 3 year old cars.

Secondly, the bumpstrips on the drivers side are about 3mm out of alignment compared to the nearside (I am anal when it comes to my cars!) and I found a square centimetre of masking tape on the inside of the drivers door yesterday.

That's it. I was expecting him to say it had maybe had a parking bump, he had maybe got a new job with car and therefore sold the Octy - I was NOT expecting this.

SO...where do I stand? Any history was never disclosed when I bought the car, it is a Skoda UK Approved Used Car, sold thru a Skoda Main Dealer - I never bothered with an HPI because I thought I had some amount of safety buying from a main dealer!

I will be phoning them up first thing tomorrow, but what can I expect?

I have owned it for 18 days - is there a 30 day period where I can take it back as it's not what was advertised?

Is it up to me to get an HPI done therefore caveat emptor?

Admittedly I only have the previous owner's word for the right-off at present, but he sounds very credible, and in fact phoned me back to tell me the thieves had stolen the keys from his house therefore no lock damage.

I really am a bit lost for words just now - never experienced anything like this with my last 17 cars!

What is worse is that I love the car - it looks great, drives great and is a real eyecatcher!

I'll keep you posted...

Please any advice greatfully received.

What are you aiming to achieve by speaking to the Skoda dealer? My understanding is that the HPI check is up to you to do and as far as I can tell, the car was sold to you in A1 condition so there is nothing actually wrong with it?

Chris

Skoda UK have a 30 day/1000 mile exchange programme on used cars.

Have a look at http://www.skoda.co.uk/skoda3g/content/showroom/usedcar_intro2.aspx, and the T&C's for the exchange programme at http://www.skoda.co.uk/skoda3g/content/showroom/usedcars_tc.aspx

Hopefully that might help answer some of your questions.

Just noticed they claim.....

Vehicle status checks

A third party investigation of your vehicle’s history and mileage, to make sure that amongst other things your vehicle is not the subject of outstanding finance, or has been stolen or written off.

Did you ask about it's history before you bought it?? If no, you should have as they don't have to tell you, but if you ask then they have to tell the truth. So, yes it's up to you to check out any used car with respect to it's history.

Being a Skoda Approved car will mean that it should have been thoroughly checked and should be in spot-on condition.

But at the end of the day, if the car is in mint condition as you say, mechanically perfect and drives properly, I can't see much of a problem. Make a note of all this for when sale-time comes around and enjoy the car

EDIT: Interesting find Andy, by that clause, they SHOULD have known it's history...... hmm....

This is what Skoda says;

Vehicle status checks

A third party investigation of your vehicle

And they should have disclosed it, whether you've asked about it or not. Regardless of what you are going to do, it does matter when it comes to re-sale, so bear that in mind.

As the car is an approved used and part of that is a check of the cars history you have every right to return the car. Although the car is probably fine after being fully repaired it's likely to be registered as a cat D right off which will reduce the cars value come resale time by around 20%.

You need to decide what you want from the dealer, e.g. a replacement, refund or compensation (e.g. the 20% mentioned above).

Try to keep your head when speaking to the dealer as kicking off won't help the situation. Present them with the information you have and either ask what they propose to do or suggest a solution yourself.

Let us know how you get on.

My argument is that it was not declared as a car with history, therefore is not what I was sold.

My main concerns are with structural rigidity (as previously mentioned, should have been checked as it's Skoda Approved), any potential damage done by the scallies' driving suring the 2 week period, although i'm hoping they lay low - not the most inconspicuous car on the road after all!

And the resale value will not be as much as it would be if the car had no HPI - I paid the going rate for a clean car, but feel agrieved that it's not what I bought REGARDLESS of the current condition.

I also thought they should declare it, I have done HPI when buying privately in the past, but thought nothing of it as I was buying from a main dealer, with Skoda UK approval.

I must find out which bodyshop did the work though as it's immaculate! :lol:

I doubt there'll be structural damage. It will have been written off on the basis that it was a 'total loss' for the insurance company, in other words they had to pay out for the car in full. The recovery of the vehicle most likely happened after the payout had been agreed thus the car was 'written off'.

How much did you get it for?

I would threaten to return unless you receive some kind of compensation - whether its 3 years servicing or a good few percent off the asking price. I would be pi**ed off if this happened to me, you dont expect this from Skoda used approved. A stolen car always has that "dirty" feel about it - I would kick up a fuss and see what you can get. A well worded E-mail to Skoda UK and a few mailshots to the Auto press might get you somewhere - Auto express have some great letters on this type of thing.....

as Vic Reeves says "I wouldn't let it lie!" All the best and good luck.

I doubt there'll be structural damage. It will have been written off on the basis that it was a 'total loss' for the insurance company, in other words they had to pay out for the car in full. The recovery of the vehicle most likely happened after the payout had been agreed thus the car was 'written off'.

:iagree:

Its still pretty bad that you have been sold a car that contravenes Skoda's policy. :thumbdwn:

However, if you are happy with the car, and theres nowt actually wrong with it, simply be polite, and possobly seek some compo. I think 25% of what you paid would be a good starting point. Otherwise let them have it back.

How much did you get it for?

I would threaten to return unless you receive some kind of compensation - whether its 3 years servicing or a good few percent off the asking price. I would be pi**ed off if this happened to me' date=' you dont expect this from Skoda used approved. A stolen car always has that "dirty" feel about it - I would kick up a fuss and see what you can get. A well worded E-mail to Skoda UK and a few mailshots to the Auto press might get you somewhere - Auto express have some great letters on this type of thing.....

as Vic Reeves says "I wouldn't let it lie!" All the best and good luck.[/quote']

Give the dealer a chance! They may not even know the car has history, it could well be that the insurer didn't do their part in registering the car as a total loss.

I paid £9,200 for it (£2,500 of which was a trade in).

It is 53 plate, 29,500 miles, FSH and I got 1 years Road Tax thrown in plus the usual AA Cover, Warranty, etc.

I think I paid a fair price for a clean car - my worry is how much will I lose in 3 years or so when I come to sell!

:iagree:

Its still pretty bad that you have been sold a car that contravenes Skoda's policy. :thumbdwn:

However' date=' if you are happy with the car, and theres nowt actually wrong with it, simply be polite, and possobly seek some compo. I think 25% of what you paid would be a good starting point. Otherwise let them have it back. [/quote']

Which is pretty much what I said in my first reply.

I expect the dealer will be suprised to hear the car has been a total loss and will bend over backwards to put things right. This sort of thing looks very bad for dealers so they will be looking for damage limitation as if Skoda UK get onto it there could be major repercusions.

I paid

I'd also be concerned about the difficulty of resale when the time comes. I know I'd never by a category registered car of any kind, no matter what final condition it's in. Even if it is a very good buy, and 20% less than an equivalent untouched car etc etc

I'd be onto the dealer for exchange or refund myself, in your shoes....

Good luck

Steve

You paid the going rate for a 2nd hand good condition vRS am I right?

I'd be massively annoyed if that was me and Skoda UK hadn't told me that pervisouly it had been wrote off. HPI checks are a good idea but you would have understood that if you're buying a car from the main dealer, they should inform you of somthing so major as that.

'Sold as a minter' - but thats only on the outside, its been worte off for a purpose, you can argue that a car which is worth maybe 10k or more at the time wasn't wrote off because the value of replacing a few pannels was more than the vlaue of the car.. Must be somthing else up.

Take it back, and pay the going rate for a 2nd hand mint octavia which is mint, not a fake.

Initially be fair with the dealer, my guess is he didnt know. Unless you get serious compensation I would ask them to source you an equivalent vehicle through the Skoda network. Have a quick chat with trading standards & the Citizens Advice before you go to the dealer to find out your legal position. If trading standards make the right noises you can mention to the dealer that you will be talking to them & the local press if you do not get a satisfactory result

I once bought a tatalled Impreza but I knew what I was getting & saved about 37 % on a minter. I had it 3 years, it was a pig to sell but overall I think I lost less than if I had bought a minter.

If you are thinking of keeping it also take it to an independent body shop, explain what you know & ask them to give it the once over, might cost you £50 but worth it for peace of mind.

I was under the impression that if a vehicle is written off, then the V5 is endorsed with the letter relevant to the category of the damage.

Is it on the V5, or have I missed this in the earlier posts??

According to the DVLA there does not need to be anything on the V5 (maybe differs from Category to category).

They would only alert someone if they did an HPI check.

Do a HPI check anyway and see what crops up, it may not be listed. Two of my previous cars had history but were not listed on HPI. If this is the case, the dealer who sold it to you maybe unaware of the cars past, as it may have been repaired before being purchased by them. Or if it was a recent accident may have been hpi clear when they checked it.

Have a look on Pistonheads web site, as there is a thread running there, and they list as following:-

Cat A...Reported and noted on DVLA and HPI check

Cat B...As above

Cat C...As above

Cat D...Only reported on HPI check.

So get the dealer to show you what checks he made.

The plot thickens...

Just rang the dealer, and they did an HPI whilst I was on the phone - the car is coming back clear!

I am going to speak to the previous owner's insurance company to see what the position is....

OK - just spoke to esure who the guy was insured with.

They paid out on the policy, took ownership of the vehicle and sold it on to a salvage agent.

The car was not recorded stolen or damaged and will not be so it is HPI clear.

Whoever bought the car repaired it to a very high standard, and the Skoda Dealer boguth it in good faith, did the usual checks, etc.

So I think I can rest easy that my car is still worth as much as I paid, and will be sound - panic over.

Phew!

However, your V5 shows it was a write-off, and therefore you will suffer residual losses/hassle when it comes to selling it on.