[Arcticdan]

I would not want to be caught out and buy the M4

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/cars/owner...9Ug&ocid=edgsp

[WillLowe]

Theres a chance that might of been the m4 I test drove from an independent dealer in Romford. If so Car didnt feel right at all. The bonnet bumper and offside wing were slightly different colours to the rest or the car and the engine sounded like a bag of hammers. The man selling the car swore blind it had never been involved in a crash. He wouldn't let me go over 30 on the test drive then wanted to go back after about 5 minutes.

[philiper1]

There is a guy on babybmw who started a site similar to HPI but he has more details, photos of the damaged cars and afterwards listed as minor damage unrecorded, I will see if I can find the post as he listed some samples

These are interesting to read through!

https://www.babybmw.net/viewtopic.ph...8;hilit=Vcheck

And this the history check site

https://www.vcheck.uk

[Arcticdan]

Originally Posted by WillLowe335d

Theres a chance that might of been the m4 I test drove from an independent dealer in Romford. If so Car didnt feel right at all. The bonnet bumper and offside wing were slightly different colours to the rest or the car and the engine sounded like a bag of hammers. The man selling the car swore blind it had never been involved in a crash. He wouldn't let me go over 30 on the test drive then wanted to go back after about 5 minutes.

If it was the same car looks like you had a lucky escape, good gut instinct!

[Arcticdan]

Originally Posted by philiper1

There is a guy on babybmw who started a site similar to HPI but he has more details, photos of the damaged cars and afterwards listed as minor damage unrecorded, I will see if I can find the post as he listed some samples

These are interesting to read through!

https://www.babybmw.net/viewtopic.ph...5&hilit=Vcheck

And this the history check site

https://www.vcheck.uk

Thanks for the extra information will definitely check out vcheck when buying used cars in the future.

[PaulT_M5]

At least the basic check is free, so you've not wasted anything by checking, but I tested 4 Cat D or Cat S cars on that site, 2 came back with a warning, but 2 didn't. Therefore, a lack of information isn't necessarily an indicator the car is fine.

Cat S Car that I first saw for sale back in April 2018: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...01712292328417

Report: https://www.vcheck.uk/search/LD14BYT/

"GOOD NEWS! No salvage records found*"

Then at the bottom of the page, the caveat is clearly visible:

"* Please note we have access to data which covers most of the salvage auctions since 2015 but we cannot guarantee 100% coverage as not all companies supply their information."

Cat S Car: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...01902215173994
Report: https://www.vcheck.uk/search/HX14TWV/

[mierzwin]

It looks correct. People can buy writeoffs direct from insurance company aswell so it will never go on public sale. As it stays with owner who claimed.

Unless insurance companies supplied all info to vcheck at claim stage that would be only way. But MIAFTR was created to capture this info without pictures and failings are huge.

Vcheck is extra database, but right now I don't think there is way to be 100% sure about used car history unless it lived with you or your neighbour since new.

All HPI data is supplied with vcheck reports covered by the same guarantees.

Initial FREE check also works on current plate, so if car was written-off with different reg it will be on record but no warning to start with.

I checked above two m5's and in fact they are not on record even when checking all plate history. I wish they were all there but not possible right now...

[teaston]

Another great reason to always buy brand new cars!

[RobUK]

"There are 203 UK motor insurance companies authorised by the Bank of England, meaning six do not use MIAFTR; cars written off by these six insurers are unlikely to be detected by history checks."

I guess one question is why don't these six insurance companies use MIAFTR and who are they?

[mierzwin]

Originally Posted by RobUK

"There are 203 UK motor insurance companies authorised by the Bank of England, meaning six do not use MIAFTR; cars written off by these six insurers are unlikely to be detected by history checks."

I guess one question is why don't these six insurance companies use MIAFTR and who are they?

I am sure someone will be on this soon. MIAFTR is not required by law and this is why not all companies are submitting info to them.

Then you have more issues like no specified timeframe when cars need to be put in MIAFTR, some insurance companies do it with many months delay, others don't do it at all as there are no penalties. Other way is car was only on third party policy or policy got cancelled halfway the claim and if no payout was done for total loss, even tho there was report for cat S/N it will not be on MIAFTR.

So buy new or take a risk

[mierzwin]

Do you ever wonder what happens with ex-Police cars? This example came back to use as a personal car, sold as Category C write-off and clocked "only" 150k before first MOT. It looks current owner has no idea of its past, as it was done before him. The car received a new interior, which is common with ex-Police cars, as they come with basic spec.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...01909092019315

https://www.vcheck.uk/report/VX13CTF-1DPLT3P/