Just in case anyone is thinking about a VXR220, check out this thread.

http://www.vx220.org.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=54660 - http://www.vx220.org.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=54660

Basically someone is taking crashed cars and repairing them and then not telling anyone about it.

It's a very long thread, but worth the million hours it will take to read. 

The link IS working but there were 255 visitors on that forum when I looked at it five minutes ago. That amount of traffic would take the server down and send their bandwidth soaring through the roof. I hope they won't have to pay extra for this month.

Interesting thread yes, but after the first 6 pages the novelty wears off. I admire (or feel sorry for) anyone who had the patience of reading through all 51 pages of it!  

Takes about 2.5 hours

The issue with the car is not that it has been repaired from either a Cat C or D write off.  The problem is that the guy in question was trying to sell it on without admitting the fact - and therefore trying to gain an extra profit by doing so.

In addition to this (not saying that he would) the car could have been made cosmetically okay, but still a death trap

The most interesting bit that may (or may not be provved) is that there is a registered garage/repairer involved that may actually be doing this.  If a business is doing this, they must disclose the history of the car.

I read the first few pages - I am quite impressed with them finding all his eBay purchases etc ...

Too long to read it all but I am intreged - how does it all end.

I assume he's a dodgy car fixer and knows full well it's a write off & him and his brother have fixed it up...

Come on do give the outcome to save me wading through the 55 pages of posts....

That's basically it.

He turns up under a different name and is looking for all the bits to fix up a crashed 220.  He also then registers another id at the same place (remember admins can trap the IP address/email addresses / log in times etc, that may or not be much use).  Given it's obvious he is trying to fix up a VXR220, the mods then think, hang on.  Someone we have never heard of pipes up selling a VXR220 (not the most common car) and some time ago, from the same IP, someone was wanting bits for a crashed 220.

Quick look on ebay and find that someone has bought all the appropiate bits there.  Quick  HPI check (some of have contacts) and bingo, "his" car at some point had the same reg as the crashed car in the pics.  He says he sold the plate and so it's not his car that got crashed.

Connecting the (apparently unconnected facts) is not always so difficult.

We've done the same on Tyresmoke.net a few times.

What would you do if someone came onto the MPS site looking for all the bits to fix up a MPS that you know had a real bad accident.  Some time later someone else trys to sell a MPS that has "no crash damage" that just does not feel quite right, might you connect the facts ?

I think they did the right thing ... I'd be gutted if I brought a pup ...

Did he 'fess up in then end or just go away ...

I assume his brothers garage is also in hot water

he made some comments along the line of "some idiot will buy it and I'll make 1000's".

Thing is would anyone really buy something like a VXR220 from a small garage hidden away in an industrial estate in Crawley.  I'd not and did not when I bought my WR1 !

I have to be carefull because of the industry i work in but i do know of a car manf, that put a ar back through the system which had fallen off a transporter, because it was written off before it was regd you cant trace it!!!!!!  and no you wouldnt buy a VXR220 from a small back street garage not without HPI checking the car at least!

How was it that the HPI was clear on this?

That is what I cannot work out either, surely there would have been some kind of insurance claim/accident report made which would flag this up....

I gave up after page 20...

HPI will only report info given to insurers etc.  If you crash your car and decide to get it repaired yourself, you have a duty to tell the Ins Co you have had a crash, but you don't have to tell them how bad it was or the damage to the car (you might have to tell the finance co mind you).  The HPI came up showing the number plate changes the car that was for sale had been thru, one of the plates the "car for sale" had had was the same as the crashed car.

I am sure if that was the case they would have told the new owner what he was buying and he'd have got a bargain ...