DO your homework peoples..

[wulos]

For those that are looking to buy a car. Make 100% sure that you do your homework.
Some may already know that a few months back my mother was involved in a pretty serious car accident. Long story short there she has mended reasonably well, is finally out of hospital, and despite some ongoing issues is moving on, and ready to get back behind the wheel.
Having spent a good portion of the last week searching for a suitable replacement, I finally thought that I had found a worthy replacement. a 2008 FG G6E.
Had a chat with the owner, who assured me that there'd been no major issues with the car. A bit of a check over the car showed it to be quite tidy(although it did have a couple of items that required attention). Considering these items, & the fact that it drove quite well I thought it a worthwhile purchase.
That is until I did an online REVS check. Check revealed that the vehicle was deemed a economic write off back in 2010. Whilst it had been repaired and put back on the road 12 minths later, and the vehicle as presented was in what appeared to be great condition, any 'major' issues were unlikely to show until somewhere down the track. Given the seller claimed that there had never been any major issues with the vehicle, the REVs report does raise a few questions in my own mind.
Simply put, a vehicle I was NOT prepared to take a risk upon.

The REVs checks up until Jan of this year used to be a free service in NSW. This is no longer the case. irego.com.au can do encumbrance / stolen vehicle / write off checks. The process costs anywhere from a few $$$'s, up to around $30 depending upon the amount of information you want included / added to the checks.

For less than the cost of a tank of petrol, this is prob the cheapest, & most prudent of checks to be made when purchasing a used vehicle...

[P6LTD351]

Moral of the story: take what a seller says with a grain of salt. I'm not saying everyone that sells cars lies, but as a buyer, you need to assume such and do your own research.

It could have been that this guy had bought it off someone prior and genuinely did not know that it had been in an accident.

I really learned to trust no one when buying cars; especially when I was looking for my P6. Example of one conversation:

Me: (on the phone) Does the car have any rust?

Seller: No. She's in mint condition.

Me: Great, let's arrange a time for me to see the car.

Get there to see the car. Upon laying my eyes on the car the first thing I notice is visible rust on all doors.

Me: I thought you said there wasn't any rust?

Seller: Oh, that's just a little surface rust. The kind you'd expect from a car this age.

Me: Surface rust? Is that why I can see daylight through the holes?


Needless to say, buying a second hand car can be very frustrating (as well as selling one for GENUINE people).

Research, research. A timely reminder Wulos. Cheers.

[xisled]

On the vic roads site it is still free. Cars rego on vic only tho. I nearly got done put deposit down. Night before pick up done check and found out car was written off, through vic roads. Had to call naw rya because car was origanlly written off in Nsw, found out it was a stat write off and never should have been re registered.

[GTENVY]

Sorry to hear about your Mum mate, good that she is on the mend.

I hear ya about checking rego's, especially to check whether there is still finance owing on them. If there is and the previous owner of the car doesnt pay, bye bye to car. Its amazing how people can rip people off and not think anything of it, feel guilty etc. Some people are just scum.

[sneaky]

I agree. When I was looking at cars earlier this year I found a newer model than what I had been looking at going for less than what I thought it should have. I called the yard and spoke to a sales guy, car seemed good. Someone from another forum checked the car for me and said it was neat and good price.

A revs check revealed it had been written off in qld and then 6 months later written off again in Vic, and I was looking at it 6 months after that. Needless to say I didn't touch it after the rev check.

[GTpilot]

Carsales offers a service called carfacts. You can purchase one for $10 on any car advertised that has the VIN supplied. Better still the seller can purchase one when they create the ad, So you can request them to show it to you and make them pay for it.
This is basically the same as a revs check.

[wulos]

This car is / was listed on carsales. There is however no carfacts listing for this specific vehicle (should be an integral part of the site imho).
I mention this as some may feel that buying through carsales may offer this as a standard service.
I believe that dealerships also provide this as part of their sales process as well..

[FTRXR8]

I always do a Vicroads check and use Ford vehicles to check the VIN against its specs when it left the factory.

I had a similar experience checking out an EF XR8, the guy keep saying I wouldn't let you drive up here if it wasn't mint.

Terrible paint, interior needing burning, both mirrors smashed, gearbox hammered and clutch slipping like a MoFo!

It's annoying as hell!!

[Yellow_Festiva]

The one thing I hate more than dealing with a realestate agent is dealing with a used car seller.

Actually.... no, agents are worse.

After buying a hand full of used cars (mostly helping friends) I got used to the BS and just did my best to cover my bases....

The best one I could remember was a seller of a Festiva.... At the time, a 5 year old car that had only 32,000 km on it. "Driven to the shops / Church and back by my mum"...

Service receipts were all made in a word document, of course the factory logbook was 'lost in the last move' (heard that several times as well - even cars advertised with a service history)...

Anyway, didn't even start the car.... I opened the door and looked down at the rubber shoes on the pedals, worn down MUCH more than my own cars pedals. Same age as mine, and mine had 150,000km on it.

I made him aware of this, and he said 'They are all like that, it's the 3rd Festiva I have owned and the rubber on the pedals wears very fast'...

Sure it does.....

I honestly think there should be very direct questions regarding the history of a car in car advertisments. Stuff that a buyer can use against the seller if the car is not as described and to the detrement of the buyer after the transaction.

In the last few weeks we have had 2 similer threads here about the same sort of thing.

ALL cars sold should also list their vehicle indentifiers.... Called a few people to ask for a VIN only to get the 'I'm driving, I have your number and will SMS it to you' only to not hear back. Wonder why???

[Theo@BluePower]

Not good mate, hope mum is ok

Chris

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by FTRXR8

I always do a Vicroads check and use Ford vehicles to check the VIN against its specs when it left the factory.

I had a similar experience checking out an EF XR8, the guy keep saying I wouldn't let you drive up here if it wasn't mint.

Terrible paint, interior needing burning, both mirrors smashed, gearbox hammered and clutch slipping like a MoFo!

It's annoying as hell!!

Some people couldn't lie straight in bed, I went through all this sort of crap when I was ute shopping and later when we bought our wagon, one muppet claimed "oh, it's been serviced every 6 months" and I was like, o rly, is that why it has oil leaks everywhere and a misfire?

[leighm]

I found that looking at the cheapest car of it's kind meant it was a write off.....and that was guaranteed if the suburb was Bankstown.

You're always better off spending an extra thousand or two, repair bills add up quite quickly otherwise.

[Kryton]

This is something that you shouldnt have to pay for.
Checking a vehicles history should be free - if the governmemnt is serious about what they are preaching.
Sure, it may only cost a few bucks, but when youve looked at over 30 vehicles, it adds up.
Then there are those that dont want to pay for the service and end up taking the risk - the risk that keeps the industry going.

[zilo]

Just for a different opinion?

Sometimes a car that was an economic write off just might be in better condition than one that hasn't.

At least you know that it has been through vigorous checks to make sure that everything is as per manufacturers specs. (hail damage comes to mind here)

Certainly the VIV check does that in Victoria, a bit like a triple roadworthiness check.

[302 XC]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

I honestly think there should be very direct questions regarding the history of a car in car advertisments. Stuff that a buyer can use against the seller if the car is not as described and to the detrement of the buyer after the transaction.

ALL cars sold should also list their vehicle indentifiers.... Called a few people to ask for a VIN only to get the 'I'm driving, I have your number and will SMS it to you' only to not hear back. Wonder why???

Considering a real estate company is getting sued because they sold a house for less than its guided price,how i never understand fully,when you need the sellers scribble for a contract, anyway that aside,seller or agents need to lift their game if being sued for forwarding incorrect info becomes then a case for litigation
Its now illegal to advertise cars without giving out VIN numbers,or rego numbers (one or the other must be present in an add)alot of advertising mediums wont accept adds if its not provided
Ebay have a policy of Ks must be on the add, but theres alot of cars with ,"000000000000" Ks on them

[RedHotGT]

Originally Posted by wulos

For those that are looking to buy a car. Make 100% sure that you do your homework.
Some may already know that a few months back my mother was involved in a pretty serious car accident. Long story short there she has mended reasonably well, is finally out of hospital, and despite some ongoing issues is moving on, and ready to get back behind the wheel.
Having spent a good portion of the last week searching for a suitable replacement, I finally thought that I had found a worthy replacement. a 2008 FG G6E.
Had a chat with the owner, who assured me that there'd been no major issues with the car. A bit of a check over the car showed it to be quite tidy(although it did have a couple of items that required attention). Considering these items, & the fact that it drove quite well I thought it a worthwhile purchase.
That is until I did an online REVS check. Check revealed that the vehicle was deemed a economic write off back in 2010. Whilst it had been repaired and put back on the road 12 minths later, and the vehicle as presented was in what appeared to be great condition, any 'major' issues were unlikely to show until somewhere down the track. Given the seller claimed that there had never been any major issues with the vehicle, the REVs report does raise a few questions in my own mind.
Simply put, a vehicle I was NOT prepared to take a risk upon.

The REVs checks up until Jan of this year used to be a free service in NSW. This is no longer the case. irego.com.au can do encumbrance / stolen vehicle / write off checks. The process costs anywhere from a few $$$'s, up to around $30 depending upon the amount of information you want included / added to the checks.

For less than the cost of a tank of petrol, this is prob the cheapest, & most prudent of checks to be made when purchasing a used vehicle...

www.ppsr.gov.au can do a check (of sorts) for $3.70 which includes a search of the NEVDIS system, and also checks against any finance/encumbrance that the car may have.

If you don't know what you're looking for/at in the way of repairs and stuff - get someone in to do it! You can never be too careful when buying a secondhand car. I prefer to pay an independent (professional) person to inspect for me. Takes emotion out of the equation, and also gives you a second perspective of the same car. It's cheap insurance really - because without checking things properly - you'll may well be spending far more repairing things than you would have spent checking things out prior.

Just my 2 cents. It pays to be careful.

PS - you can't treat every seller as a liar or shyster.... but you do need to keep your wits about you - and understand when something sounds/feels fishy...

[Hell Cat]

The first ever car I looked at buying was a Holden rodeo. (I was 16)

I liked it, I had my money that i spent ages saving up & was ready to hand it over, dad wanted to do a revs check (I got ****** because I wanted the car there & then)

We got the details of the car & did the revs check at home on the Internet, turned out the engine was out of a car that was reported stolen.

Glad I listened to dad

[mik]

Originally Posted by Ugg

Just for a different opinion?

Sometimes a car that was an economic write off just might be in better condition than one that hasn't.

At least you know that it has been through vigorous checks to make sure that everything is as per manufacturers specs. (hail damage comes to mind here)

Certainly the VIV check does that in Victoria, a bit like a triple roadworthiness check.

just my opinion UGG, i think i`d rather have a car that has`nt been repaired, while you might get a very good one, there`s an old saying, paint hides a multiple of sins, a mate of mine years ago got some quotes to get rust cut out of his holden, he got it back looking very nice(like new), i might add, my mate picked the most expensive quote hoping to get the best job..........12 months later the paint started getting crows feet in it.

[Kryton]

Originally Posted by loftie

www.ppsr.gov.au can do a check (of sorts) for $3.70 which includes a search of the NEVDIS system, and also checks against any finance/encumbrance that the car may have.

Thats great if the system actually worked.
Ive paid for numerous reports and each and every one of them has come back saying the same thing: "The system is not yet up to date and there is no record of this vehicle".
Uselss.

[gtfpv]

when i sold my el xr8 in 2005 , i could tell the young bloke looking at the car did not know what to look at , i felt sorry for him as he didnt know if i was feeding him BS or not , i was a genuine honest seller and it kind of annoyed me that i couldnt get acknowledgement for this , finally i seen a smile on his dial , during the test drive , he pulled over showed me his wallet and police ID , IT DIDNT PHASE ME IN THE SLIGHTEST , he aksed me if the car was genuinly as described , then smiled when i said sure it is , i have nothing to hide and your welcome to do all the checks and inspections as necessary , he then told me that this was the 3rd car he'd looked at , and was prepared to buy , the only difference being that the previous 2 owners fed him stories about how good the cars were untill they seen his badge , then the 2 previous vehicle owners suddenly felt honest and disclosed the fac5t that the car was a statuary write off .
needless to say , he bought my vehicle .
i thought that was great and felt good for him .

[GTpilot]

Originally Posted by wulos

This car is / was listed on carsales. There is however no carfacts listing for this specific vehicle (should be an integral part of the site imho).
I mention this as some may feel that buying through carsales may offer this as a standard service.
I believe that dealerships also provide this as part of their sales process as well..

Was the VIN listed in the ad? no one can provide a VIV/Carfacts cert if there is no VIN number. Rego alone does not provide all the info.

Regardless - You're right, Carfacts is a value add service to help its consumers not part of the service.

[red_hotxr6]

I reckon all car yards should provide a revs check for free when selling the car to someone..and how many times have you asked the dealer or the salesman, to give some back ground on the car, service wise or been in the panel beaters or if it has any mods on it....i have had it once, once on an ef xr6 and that was only because it had just come out of the shop and he had all the receipts to go with it....and then he wanted an arm and a leg for the car..

[xisled]

If buying through a card yard in vic, they must tell you if the car is under finance or on the stolen or written off register. They also need to provide you with a copy of the RWC, if the car has rego.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Car yards must sell an unencumbered vehicle. Pretty sure it's law isn't it?

[xboss]

Around 8 or 9 years ago, we bought a second hand AU from a Ford dealer. We gave the dealer a brief of wanting a relatively low km car that was not an ex hire car. We did a deal on an ex company car, however shortly after we got the car, we became suspicious and did some digging and found out that the company was in fact a car hire company. We only found that out through going to the physical address of the company.
At this stage, it was our word against the salesman regarding the ex hire car thing, however we were able to get a copy of the service history from the hire car company and low and behold, that information was different to the service history that the salesman provided with the vehicle.
When this 'discrepancy' was pointed out to the Manager at the dealership, they were of course happy to take the car back and return our money.
So, I can certainly agree with the OP. Do your homework before you sign on the dotted line.

[wulos]

Originally Posted by Ugg

Just for a different opinion?

Sometimes a car that was an economic write off just might be in better condition than one that hasn't.

At least you know that it has been through vigorous checks to make sure that everything is as per manufacturers specs. (hail damage comes to mind here)

Certainly the VIV check does that in Victoria, a bit like a triple roadworthiness check.

As mentioned here, there most definitely would be a few times when considering a re-registered economic write-off. Vehicles of historical significance (collectable cars especially).
In this instance I spoke with the owner, and asked him is he was aware of any major repairs having been undertaken on the car. He assured me that there wasn't and, giving him the benefit of the doubt here, it is possible that the repair work was performed prior to him owning the car.
It is possible that he didn't perform the checks himself when he purchased it originally so the writeoff history may have been unknown to him.
Given that this vehicle wasn't for myself, and that I most definitely was not overly keen to have to keep revisiting repairs, don't want to take the risk on unknown reason for the write off.

Originally Posted by loftie

www.ppsr.gov.au can do a check (of sorts) for $3.70 which includes a search of the NEVDIS system, and also checks against any finance/encumbrance that the car may have.

If you don't know what you're looking for/at in the way of repairs and stuff - get someone in to do it! You can never be too careful when buying a secondhand car. I prefer to pay an independent (professional) person to inspect for me. Takes emotion out of the equation, and also gives you a second perspective of the same car. It's cheap insurance really - because without checking things properly - you'll may well be spending far more repairing things than you would have spent checking things out prior.

Just my 2 cents. It pays to be careful.

PS - you can't treat every seller as a liar or shyster.... but you do need to keep your wits about you - and understand when something sounds/feels fishy...

sound advice.

Originally Posted by GTpilot

Was the VIN listed in the ad? no one can provide a VIV/Carfacts cert if there is no VIN number. Rego alone does not provide all the info.

Regardless - You're right, Carfacts is a value add service to help its consumers not part of the service.

I've noticed that a lot of sellers(this one included) only list the number plate (rego number) To do the PPSR you need more info than just the rego no. Interestingly I have also found that you can do a PPSR check on ANY VIN number. you don't have to provide proof of ownership, or intent to purchase.

Originally Posted by red_hotxr6

I reckon all car yards should provide a revs check for free when selling the car to someone..and how many times have you asked the dealer or the salesman, to give some back ground on the car, service wise or been in the panel beaters or if it has any mods on it....i have had it once, once on an ef xr6 and that was only because it had just come out of the shop and he had all the receipts to go with it....and then he wanted an arm and a leg for the car..

I am not 100% sure on this, but I think that it may be a requirement of MTA certified car dealers to do a PPSR check on each & every vehicle that they list for sale in their yards.This doesn't apply? to vehicles that they send direct to auction.

A little more info on the PPSR checks. The data base is still in development. Along with the encumbrance checks(whether it is secutiry on a loan), and the stolen vehicle register / write - off register, it is also intended to add kilometer usage data into the checks. For some states this information will be incomplete, but for NSW, this data will most likely be tied in using the echeck "pinkslip" data.
Personally I think that this kilometer trending may help with vehicle fraud / speedo tampering...

[DBourne]

You ended up buying it though didn't you? Or are you able to give it back...

[xisled]

Here is the link to Vicroads.

http://vre.vicroads.vic.gov.au/

[SumoDog68]

To OP - was the car you looked at cheaper then most ?

[nuthin' fancy]

Originally Posted by loftie

PS - you can't treat every seller as a liar or shyster....

Yes you should.