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- Thread starter rossd0131
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StevenH72 said:
Price seems reasonable for a CAT D, even if the seller doesn't mention it's a CAT D in his advert, which is a bit naughty in my opinion. If it's a CAT D it should be mentioned clearly, not an explanation hidden in a load of other text that skirts around the actual fact of the matter. Also, if your offering to put the car through an MOT and you know the car will fly though the MOT, then put it through the MOT, because you can guarantee a potential buyer will ask you to put it through anyway so why mess about. *Takes chill pill*
pvr said:
And if it was repaired by BMW, why did they use a USA spec front bumper (as noted above) as a replacement??! Makes no sense!
Sorry Ross, seems like having a dig, but if I was a buyer I would certainly want to know the details of this 'incident' as it's going to affect the re-sale (value or otherwise) in future. I would add more detail to your ad including who did the repair, how the incident happened, proof the chassis is straight, why its got a USA spec bumper etc. Also, detailing the service history is always useful with these cars, running in/service mileages and dates. GLTWS
Ross you should be clearly stating that it's a CAT write-off on the ebay listing in the item condition banner and the body of the advert, more so on the forum, the way it reads the cat write-off status is definitely skirted around and looks shifty :thumbsdown:
I've owned a couple of cat D's with no problems with either the car or re-sale, being super up-front will give people confidence that they are getting a bargain example of a car they might not otherwise be able to afford, so don't be afraid to announce it's status if it's a good'un. GLWTS
I've owned a couple of cat D's with no problems with either the car or re-sale, being super up-front will give people confidence that they are getting a bargain example of a car they might not otherwise be able to afford, so don't be afraid to announce it's status if it's a good'un. GLWTS
To save yourself possibly a lot of wasted time and for full transparency I'd stick CAT D somewhere in the ad: think it comes across more honest and saves any shocks on the phone or 'I knew it was too cheap for a reason' comments. Traders have to declare it but private sellers don't, but with the full description of the car's qualities I'd probably stick it on there 
rossd0131 said:AndyBeech said:StevenH72 said:
Price seems reasonable for a CAT D, even if the seller doesn't mention it's a CAT D in his advert, which is a bit naughty in my opinion. If it's a CAT D it should be mentioned clearly, not an explanation hidden in a load of other text that skirts around the actual fact of the matter. Also, if your offering to put the car through an MOT and you know the car will fly though the MOT, then put it through the MOT, because you can guarantee a potential buyer will ask you to put it through anyway so why mess about. *Takes chill pill*
Whoa! I've been at meetings at work all day since I posted it and my inbox and eBay messages have been inundated.
Thanks for your advice and comments, that's why I posted it here - I tried to describe the car and explain the history in a relatively comprehensive way in the assumption that an interested buyer would read it all and then contact me for more questions and arrange a viewing. Nothing to hide but equally i wouldn't want someone to see CAT D in bold at the start of the advert and assume it's been in a huge fireball crash and read no further. It's genuinely a really good car, it's mine and I know it well and would be confident that its a good as any other for sale. I bought it as it is and having owned it for 3 years with no issues at all I would rather have mine than one with the original bumper and double the mileage (though I suppose 55,000 miles is still not huge) I guess it's easy for me to say as the owner, but I checked it over when I bought it, and I had the alignment checked at CLCM in edinburgh as I do with every car and it's all true and straight - it was clearly a low energy impact as the radiator etc are all original and standard.
The USA bumper spec is interesting? I presume you could tell by the accent and desire for fast food? It was fitted in 2007 so I can only assume this was the one that was ordered when it was repaired. I do not think this was done by bmw but I honestly don't know. It's been into bmw several times during my ownership and they have never mentioned (but seriously, how does the USA one differ?)
In short, nothing to hide, and more than happy for any exam or questions, but equally I when i wrote the advert i wanted people to read the full description rather than be read "CAT somthing" jump to conclusions be put off and read no further. Makes sense to me but I suppose that opinions are just that and it's subjective.
As for mot, it seemed like a waste of a morning to put it through an mot now, when it'd not due until July, and in case it doesn't sell for months. Does this not make sense or does this seem odd?
Cheers for your reply folks!
As others have said you don't have to highlight it in bold but put somewhere that it's a CAT D, save yourself and others some time. If it's irrelevant to you is besides the point, if I'm the buyer I want to know the facts, not your opinion on what's worth mentioning or not, your selling the car after all and I don't know you from Adam so as far as I'm concerned your bound to be biased :wink:
Like I said, putting service history dates and mileage is also a good idea, gives people piece of mind. If it's got a full history done at the correct times/mileage then use it to your advantage and detail it. The M's that sell the quickest on here and at the best prices are always the one's that have long and detailed descriptions of the car and it's history/how its been looked after, they are generally enthusiast cars after all and not much will get by a prospective buyer!
I know very little about such matters, but at less than 1 year old a car that cost >£43k new suffers damage that is fixed with a new, non UK bumper because the insurance company couldn't/wouldn't repair it. That doesn't really ring true. I am not stating that the OP is not telling the truth, just pointing out that it's all a bit odd.
However, if I was looking for such a car then I would do what the current owner did - check that everything is pointing in the correct direction and if all checks out then go for it. I guess one has to accept that the downside is suspicious folk like me when one comes to sell.
However, if I was looking for such a car then I would do what the current owner did - check that everything is pointing in the correct direction and if all checks out then go for it. I guess one has to accept that the downside is suspicious folk like me when one comes to sell.
rossd0131 said:
Sometimes less is more....... like your advert you have posted a lot of information little of which is relevant to your car, a buyer will want to know what the actual damage and repairs were rather than generalised (and possibly misleading) information about write off's. You seem to be suggesting that the insurance company replaced it because it was under 12 months old even though it was not a write-off, but are you sure that's correct? Policies with new car cover generally won't replace with a new car unless it's under 12 moths old AND is an uneconomic repair (write off) not just repairable damage. Some policies allow a replacement once repair costs are 50% which still isn't minor damage on a £40k car.