Copart - £40,000 vehicle Sold as Unrecorded but Cat B in Australia

[CarTrader89]

Hi, i'm looking for some advice on where I stand with regards to a vehicle purchased at a online Copart Auction please.

 

 

The vehicle was advertised as Unrecorded and in the additional information stated that it was an import, it has never been UK registered, additional charges may apply to register in the UK and it's history cannot be guaranteed.

 

There was no mention of where the vehicle was imported from, so was extremely difficult to trace back any history. I purchased the vehicle believing it to be a UK car, it was right hand drive and sold through a UK company. It was only when I had paid and sent a driver to collect the car that I realised it wasn't a UK car. Not only this, but the damage was much worse than photographed on the website, someone had basically polished a turd.

 

I accepted this and cracked on and repaired the vehicle. The retail of the car here in England was £42,000 and after its repair I have around £40,000 in it. Because the speedometer was in Kilometres, I then had to order brand new clocks before the vehicle would pass an IVA Test, these were on backorder and took 4 months to arrive.

 

Speedo arrived, the vehicle was completed and passed through its IVA Test with no issues. From here is where I tried to register the vehicle with DVLA. I was told by them this would take 10 days and after 6 weeks of waiting I finally received a response from them to the tune of... We have been liaising with Australian Authorities and the vehicle was a statutory write off, because of this we cannot issue a logbook under it's original VIN number. It must have a replacement VIN number and be on Q Plates because of a it's questionable history.

 

I looked into this more now I knew where the vehicle was from and a Statutory Write Off in Australia means "A statutory write-off is too badly damaged to be repaired to a standard that is safe for road use. The vehicle identification number (VIN) is recorded as a statutory write-off, and the vehicle is not allowed to be registered. These vehicles are only suitable for use as parts or scrap metal." - What's known in the UK at a Category B vehicle. These are worth around 10% of a cars retail value as they should never be allowed on the road again - only dismantled for parts and crushed.

 

I have since spoken to Copart who have told me that because the vehicle has never been registered in the UK, that the car is "Unrecorded" and they have not misrepresented it on the advert. They have said they will look into the documentation and come back to me.

 

I was looking to get opinions on this. As I have £40,000 in a vehicle which is worth around £8,000 as a breaker and probably £15,000 - £18,000 as a vehicle with "Q Plates". Not only this, but I am now concerned for my safety as it's been deemed unsafe by an assessor previously. Copart are saying the vehicle is unrecorded, yet I have a certificate confirming it is, although not in the UK.

 

What has happened here is a [problem]mer has purchased the vehicle in Australia as a parts only vehicle, exported it to the UK then sold it as an unrecorded right hand drive vehicle for maximum profit. Surely Copart should have done the due diligence before advertising this car as unrecorded? I have been told international titles will confirm if the vehicle is for destruction or not - something Copart will have asked for before making the vehicle available for auction.

 

Any advice and thoughts would be appreciated.

[CarTrader89]

Thanks very much.

 

Just so people know, I purchased the vehicle at the end of October.

The whole situation would've come to light much sooner had I been able to get ahold of the speedometer.

 

The vehicle was paid for by debit card and the repair work carried out was done with new genuine parts from the dealers.

[CarTrader89]

I believed this as I’ve never known the company sell imported vehicles and I buy 100’s per year and have done for over a decade.

 

I didn’t read the additional information on the lot, I accept that and it’s a mistake that’s probably going to cost me 20 grand or more.

 

My argument is the vehicle was sold as unrecorded, meaning it has no bad history.

Yet it was recorded in Australia as a vehicle which is not fit for the road.

Which either Copart or the seller using them to move his vehicles did know.

[CarTrader89]

But my point is that it is recorded, I have the Australian Certificate proving this.

does that not count because it's not within the UK?

 

I presume it's only fair then that Copart resell the vehicle on for me, again as unrecorded?

[CarTrader89]

I wasn't saying that was the route I was going to choose,

I was just curious to see if unrecorded would still be accurate in your opinion.

Which, although morally you don't agree - theoretically it is right?