Hail Sale, would you buy one?

[jaydee]

Well Melbourne got battered with a hail storm and so did Perth on Monday.
Now the car yards here in Perth are having a hail sale. They don't have hail insurance because it's 100 grand a year and they figured they could do without it, wrong. Probably saved heaps over the years anyway by not taking it out.

So back to the hail sale, on a 85k Mitsubishi Pajero 4WD they're willing to take off 13 grand, Volvo would take 10k off a 70k 4WD. A good negotiator could probably get nearly that much off anyway.

I know I certainly wouldn't pay that much for a brand new car and drive around with more dimples than a golf ball on it, what do others think?
Maybe if you had a panelshop and could fix it and make a quick profit, even so 10-13 grand off isn't much.

One dealer was offered 20 grand on a 50 grand car (a bit more realistic to me) but they turned him away.

[Paull]

I am hearing today that up to 20,000 to 25,000 (20,000 private and 5,000 dealer) cars maybe written off. Really don't know if that is true or not but it begs the question, if a huge amount of cars are either sent to the wreckers or fixed up, what will happen with both the new and second hand car market?

Will Dealers struggle to get replacement new cars? Will existing second hand cars go up in value? If this is the case, will it make it more viable for many of these damaged/written off cars to be replaced?????

As I am not buying any cars soon, I would not be interested but am sure many would be though.

[uranium_death]

My brother's car was written off, although it is still driveable.
Cosmetically though, it just looks terrible...
If you aren't fussed about how your car looks, then it's a good car.

[Silver Ghia]

No way, the car will always bear the effects of the repair no matter how good it was done, and you knowing it had been damaged. And as for the cars where the windscreens were smashed, the interior would be water damaged as well, and how does the electrics go after a while, after getting damp? Also, the finish on these damaged cars is not covered by warranty at all.


And the poor unsuspecting person you sell it onto after a while. Perhaps there should be a permanent stamp in the log book of these cars, or on the car itself.

Would be far better to buy a used car of the same model, that has been well looked after, for a cheaper price.

[302 XC]

really does depend on your needs
mate bought a newish hail damaged car 10 years ago
other than a few dents, hasnt had any trouble at all
if they are not insured for hail damage i doubt they will end up on the written off register

[302 XC]

silver ghia,
so u can tell that a car has had hail damage
no matter how good the repair ????
i think theres a few restorers out there that would beg to differ
ive seen NEW cars getting repaired from storage damage and the customer wasnt aware when they bought the car

[jaydee]

One repairer was showing a Jag that they were just going to cut the roof off and weld on a new one. Really, you pay huge dollars for a Jag you wouldn't expect it to be a welded up car. Dealers should have to declare it to the buyer in these cases.
Sure just a small ding from being in transit is OK, but a major rework just isn't right in my books.

[snappy]

Originally Posted by Silver Ghia

No way, the car will always bear the effects of the repair no matter how good it was done, and you knowing it had been damaged. And as for the cars where the windscreens were smashed, the interior would be water damaged as well, and how does the electrics go after a while, after getting damp? Also, the finish on these damaged cars is not covered by warranty at all.


And the poor unsuspecting person you sell it onto after a while. Perhaps there should be a permanent stamp in the log book of these cars, or on the car itself.

Would be far better to buy a used car of the same model, that has been well looked after, for a cheaper price.

I know what your saying my xr was only 2 months old when someone backed into the side of it . I took it to my panel beater and it came back much better then it did from the factory all the panels lined up perfectly and the paint was spot on . But your right it still bears the marks of a repair now it doesn't look like it rolled out of the factory it looks like it was built with care.

Dont underestimate what a good panel beater can do .
That same panel beater buys hail damaged cars reskins them a sells them for a profit . You would not pick it either .
Allthough he tries not to buy them with much roof damage . Also i agree with your last comment unless you can fix it yourself.

[XR Martin]

The ones with water damage inside are always written off, there wont be any of those on sale.

[GT0132]

My last BA was a month old when in December 2004 my wife was caught in a hail storm - roof, boot, bonnet and two doors were damaged. All repaired to perfection and you couldn't even tell.

[Silver Ghia]

Originally Posted by nerida67

silver ghia,
so u can tell that a car has had hail damage
no matter how good the repair ????
i think theres a few restorers out there that would beg to differ
ive seen NEW cars getting repaired from storage damage and the customer wasnt aware when they bought the car

Hmmm, perhaps the average owner may not be able to tell. I was thinking of myself.

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

The ones with water damage inside are always written off, there wont be any of those on sale.

I was wondering if that was the case in every instance.

[MITCHAY]

Personally I wouldn't. Of course you can get a bargain if the purchase VS repair balances out or even better, but IMO I would not bother.

I find it a pain just to buy car regardless :

[Sorted]

Wednesday is the day to go to pickles auctions in melbourne

Also note that if it's a repairable write off then that will be noted on it's history at Vic roads for the life of the car so don't think you can just buy a hail damaged car, fix it, pass viv inspection and sell it off for a huge profit.

When the buyer checks the rego they will be told it's been written off and repaired this is to protect buyers from being ripped off.

South East Suburbs has ezydent and Vic hail center that can spot dents under uv light, so even though human eye can't see it their machines can.

[jvdesensi]

i had mitsu verada 00 worth about 10k..it got written off due to flood and hail damage.

im wrapped cause i now have a blood orange 04 xr6 with gas and fully optioned that i picked up for 14k

[Auslandau]

Originally Posted by Silver Ghia

Hmmm, perhaps the average owner may not be able to tell. I was thinking of myself.


I was wondering if that was the case in every instance.

Not every instance but there is the absolute majority out there who think as much of their car as a they do their washing machine so there will be some bargains out there for many .... its just a matter of how much you think of what you drive really.



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[SS_01]

Hey Guys,
I work for a Dealer in Melb that was caught up in the Hail Storm. We had minor damage to all but 4 vehicles in stock, and none were written off. Its too time consuming to fix the vehicles, and based on what we get back on average per vehicle its better to notify the people and offer them an incentive to purchase.

The thing i wish people would understand, if it has one dint in the bonnet and a slight dint in the roof, this does not mean your going to get $10,000 off. The vehicles still owe the dealer money, and depending on the extent of the damage on the cars, will depend how much the insurance company pays back. Most likely you will be offered compinsation that covers the cost and then some to fix the vehicle.

All customers at our Dealership are informed on which cars are effected.

[BHDOGS]

Most of those cars will probably be moved interstate to s.a mostly that doesn't require roadworthys and sold to unsuspecting suckers for regular money happened when all those cars got flooded before.

[Auslandau]

A few dents don't make a car unroadworthy ... and unsuspecting suckers cannot see dents on a new car? Cars still need to be roadworthy in SA as well as far as I know?



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[fordOwner]

- I was sitting in my car at Rockeby road in subiaco waiting for my girlfriend to finish work and I could not believe litterally 1 out of every 4 cars were dimpled to the hell house. Subiaco must have gone done BAD.

[Yaw]

Small side note to consider.
If you do buy a hail damaged car it is difficult to find insurance on a hail damaged car.

The problem for the insurer is if it is involved in an accident they can only recover the fair and reasonable cost of repair for the damage caused. By having pre existing damage like hail, they then have to either forgo a certain amount of recovery or ask the owner (you) for the contribution which the owner (you) does not want to pay and gets upset at.

P.S The insurer I work for will also refuse third party property policies on hail damaged cars as there are certain circumstances (uninsured motrist extention) where the same thing as above can happen.

[LTDHO]

Exactly.
Why save up to 10K on a car when it will cost you over 10k to fix and no insurer will go near you. Unless you want to commit insurance fraud, in which case I would rather not be a jail **********. (word rhymes with ditch)

[DJM83]

Nope, too much hassle for me.

[MAD]

Don't forget that if you purchase a car with damage you will not be able to get any insurance for it until its fixed. The insurance companies are well aware of the hail damage sales.

[Gabbs]

I wouldn't touch one. They would have just about every panel dented and if the windows smashed rain damage inside as well.

[DJR-351]

I knew a guy who used to buy these and rip them down and sell of the parts, he used to do ok out of it i think....

[SumoDog68]

No...

[Polyal]

If you where after a race car it would be ok, get something cheap and tidy it up.

Otherwise nah, too much stuffing around.

[Road_Warrior]

I'm after a cheap ute.

So I will be keeping a close eye on the Perth auctions to see what comes up.

Hailstone dents for a bunkie ute don't phase me in the slightest. If anything, these storm auctions have widened my choices.

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by DJR-351

I knew a guy who used to buy these and rip them down and sell of the parts, he used to do ok out of it i think....

Thats not a bad idea. If i were after a work hack id probably consider it.

[LUXO_8]

id buy a hail damaged fourby if i could get third party to cover the other car in event of an accident.....id only dent and scratch the thing in the bush anyway