Noob Needs Urgent Advice!

[billy12345]

hi guys,

i've seen a toyota avensis mpv 7 seater for a decent price today in my local ads. The ad also mentioned that the year the car was manufactured, its first owner had some insurance flood disaster - carpet+floor, which got repaired by him in four years ago. Even with this, I was very excited as it seemed a good bargain for 53 plate. That was until I rang the owner up. He didn't mention that the flood claim meant it was written off in 2004 and is now a CAT C. I only found this out using HPI check via AA website. It shows as "ACCIDENT DAMAGE - CAT C- TOTAL LOSS".

I still want this vehicle as the owner does sound genuine and didn't actually hide anything other than its a CAT C, but need to clarify that i'm not heading for a big problem. I don't mind a damage-repaired vehicle as long as its legally okay and its mechanically sound.

He said he got the work done when he bought the vehicle about four years ago, but yet he has no paperwork to show this - is this normal?

What checks can i do to make sure the work that has been carried out is of high standard?

Is it normal for a report to say ACCIDENT DAMAGE even if its flood damage? I mean should it not say FLOOD DAMAGE?

[bothwell_buyer]

I'd guess an insurance total loss is an insurance total loss. The reason is of littel interest.

Your problem would be trying to get an insurance company to give you a policy.

[billy12345]

thanks bothwell,

to be honest the reason for buying the mpv is for personal/family usage. As long as the vehicle doesn't give me serious problems, i plan to keep such a vehicle for as long as possible. Its too late anyway as i've bought the vehicle before you posted last night, so i guess i'm stuck with it.

The vehicle was involved in some sort of flooding in 2006 and was declared a total-write off in 2007. Since that time its new owner bought it from a salvage, did it up and drove it up until now, so it must be road worthy if its been running for 4yrs.

I've managed to get insurance cover.

Now i'm aware that there could be hidden dangers from flood damage, such as rust, corrosion, but i only found minimal rust for this age vehicle, although the worrying thing was that the owner had washed its engine beforehand (oil leaks?)

There are two other problems:-

1. The airbag light comes on and off randomly - is this the seatbelt pre-tensioner? If so, where is it located? Does anyone have a photo/diagram to show me the location?
   
2. There is some grinding/juddering feeling when i press the brake pedal
   

Any ideas what these problems could be?

Thanks

PS: I'm also gonna post these problems in the avensis forum.

[Leeky]

Worth paying for a garage to inspect the car. A few hundred pounds and could prevent you from buying a car that needs a few thousand pounds to get right.

My personal opinion is avoid all category marked cars. They are cheap because they are hard to sell - you may be stuck with it for a long time.

[reidy]

Worth paying for a garage to inspect the car. A few hundred pounds and could prevent you from buying a car that needs a few thousand pounds to get right.

My personal opinion is avoid all category marked cars. They are cheap because they are hard to sell - you may be stuck with it for a long time.

Sound advice