PRESS RELEASE

3rd FEBRUARY 2016

Buyers should beware of flood damaged cars and vans

Insurance write-offs from December's floods starting to appear for sale, says Glass's

Used car buyers need to beware that cars and vans badly damaged in December's floods are starting to appear for sale on the used market, says Glass's.

These vehicles are usually Category C and D* insurance write-offs that have been repaired. Some are clearly described as such but others are being sold as if nothing had happened to them.

Rupert Pontin, Head of Valuations, said: "The recent floods were widespread and a lot of cars and vans will have been significantly damaged and often written off by insurers. Inevitably, some of these will have been bought and returned to a roadworthy condition.

"However, no matter how good the repairs, category C or D vehicles are worth a lot less than their undamaged counterparts - usually somewhere between 25-50% below market value.

"If the seller is being completely open about this, then the buyer is aware of the risk they are taking and everything is above board - but there are always some dishonest sales of this type taking place after major incidents and we are starting to hear anecdotal evidence at the moment."

Rupert said that the highest risk tended to be from vehicles bought where there was a limited degree of redress, such as from a private seller or a less reputable motor trader.

"Sometimes, a buyer only finds out that the vehicle has been flood damaged when they receive the V5 registration document or if they try and insure the vehicle and find it has been marked as Category C or D on the insurer's database.

"If you have bought from anywhere other than a reputable dealer, it can be very difficult to get any kind of legal redress and a refund or compensation."

Rupert said that there were a variety of tell-tale signs that buyers should watch out for including a musty interior smell, water marks on fabric and problems with electrical systems.

"The difficulty with flood-damaged cars is that the issues caused by water may not become apparent for some time. Corrosion of many kinds of metal parts is often not evident until things start to go wrong, sometimes years later.

"Our advice to potential buyers is that if they have any doubt about a car or van at all, just walk away. It is simply not worth taking a risk."

About Glass's

*Category C cars have been assessed as repairable by insurers but the cost would exceed the vehicle's value. Category D cars are also repairable but have been assessed as costing a significant amount to repair, as well as taking a considerable amount of time to complete work.

Glass's is the largest vehicle data provider in Europe, offering products and solutions that are invaluable at every stage of a vehicle's lifecycle. These include key valuation, technical and fleet management data, estimating, bodyshop and dealer management systems and web-based services. Founded in 1933 by William Glass, the first Glass's Guide to Car Values - widely referred to as the used car dealer's bible - was published in July of that year.

For further details:

• Sanjay Mistry, Paperchase PR, 07810 368 772, sanjay@paperchasepr.co.uk

• Simon Wells, Paperchase PR, 07768 912 430, simon@paperchasepr.co.uk

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