This is why we have a WOVR for repairable write offs

[prktkljokr]

These guys will repair anything at all, this is what happens to the stat write offs that are exported

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ecTqqZaUsc

[Citroënbender]

Probably about the worst I’ve seen, lots of “inshallah” going on if you ride in those results. Even Artur Tussik made me wince at times when I saw some of the UHSS rail repairs (work it until it cracked, then weld and grind).

But compared to NSW stat write-offs where three bird poops, a blown H7 and lost the keys becomes an unfixable death-trap, we do need a balance…

[prktkljokr]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

Probably about the worst I’ve seen, lots of “inshallah” going on if you ride in those results. Even Artur Tussik made me wince at times when I saw some of the UHSS rail repairs (work it until it cracked, then weld and grind).

But compared to NSW stat write-offs where three bird poops, a blown H7 and lost the keys becomes an unfixable death-trap, we do need a balance…

Unfortunately this type of repair is still being done here in Australia, I see some shockers, they are that good at bodging the repairs even down to making spot weld dimples in the bog, to make it look like its been professionally repaired, or not touched at all.

This vid just shows the types of cars they will tackle, and just imagine how bad the donor car was for the roof to be sacrificed for that pile of turd.

[Rallye Sport]

Originally Posted by prktkljokr

Unfortunately this type of repair is still being done here in Australia, I see some shockers, they are that good at bodging the repairs even down to making spot weld dimples in the bog, to make it look like its been professionally repaired, or not touched at all.

This vid just shows the types of cars they will tackle, and just imagine how bad the donor car was for the roof to be sacrificed for that pile of turd.

I've seen a chassis number stamped into the bog on a rusty shock tower of a Mk1 Cortina

Maybe we could send them the Found on rubbish dump Cobra to straighten up

[Citroënbender]

Spot weld dimples in filler - I agree that’s a low point.

WOVR doesn’t catch the uninsured cars or self-insured fleet vehicles, and NEVDIS categories are way too vague IMO. Both of those issues can affect repair quality.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by prktkljokr

These guys will repair anything at all, this is what happens to the stat write offs that are exported

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ecTqqZaUsc

This kind of reminds me what I had seen in the 70's with many panel shops in Melbourne, plenty of wrecks getting rebuilt.

[Big_Daz]

Buying cars on WOVR, fixing and reselling has become huge in Brisbane it seems by certain....types... of people... Go on marketplace or whatever and they are easy to tell. Names that are obviously of a certain persuasion and a low price you can almost guarantee its a WOVR resell. There's even a car yard not too far from me that pretty much only sells them... I mean, each to there own but no chance in hell would you find me or my family buying one.. Too many unknowns with regards to how bad it was before and the quality of the workmanship...

Though for the record I was involved in part buying a VE SSV that was stat write off (floods) which we then stripped to bare metal and turned into a dedicated drift car...

[kevino]

Originally Posted by Big_Daz

Buying cars on WOVR, fixing and reselling has become huge in Brisbane it seems by certain....types... of people... Go on marketplace or whatever and they are easy to tell. Names that are obviously of a certain persuasion and a low price you can almost guarantee its a WOVR resell. There's even a car yard not too far from me that pretty much only sells them... I mean, each to there own but no chance in hell would you find me or my family buying one.. Too many unknowns with regards to how bad it was before and the quality of the workmanship...

Though for the record I was involved in part buying a VE SSV that was stat write off (floods) which we then stripped to bare metal and turned into a dedicated drift car...

Is that car sales in Slacks Creek?

[Big_Daz]

Originally Posted by kevino

Is that car sales in Slacks Creek?

The one I know about is HMM Auto Cars in Coopers Plains.

[Jastel]

Good skills.

I currently only have 2 cars out of 7 that were NOT WOVR cars.
Why spend $50K on a car if you can get one for half price or less and fix it up legally.
If you dont have the knowledge and skills buy new and pay full price.
The current balance in Qld is pretty good I think. You must document repairs and prove where parts come from etc. Inspectors have always been fair to me, I guess that proves the thing was repaired properly.

I wouldnt try what was in the video but we are a throw away society these days, writing off a car for a shopping centre bingle or some hail damage is stupid as well.

[SumoDog68]

Originally Posted by Jastel

Good skills.

I currently only have 2 cars out of 7 that were NOT WOVR cars.
Why spend $50K on a car if you can get one for half price or less and fix it up legally.
If you dont have the knowledge and skills buy new and pay full price.
The current balance in Qld is pretty good I think. You must document repairs and prove where parts come from etc. Inspectors have always been fair to me, I guess that proves the thing was repaired properly.

I wouldnt try what was in the video but we are a throw away society these days, writing off a car for a shopping centre bingle or some hail damage is stupid as well.

Only reason to buy written off car is price. Repaired car might be ok but it will never be as good as the clean one . For something like a taxi i would understand as it is just a tool .

[prktkljokr]

I am a bit lucky when it comes to buying cars, I have been buying auction write off cars for 30 years now, having a Dealer licence helped as it gets you into some dealer only auctions, I have done hundreds of write offs before WOVR and done hundreds since WOVR was introduced, there is only 1 vehicle out of 12 in my driveway that is not on the WOVR and that's my Canter, I also didn't pay full price for it either.

I don't buy cars with Chassis or major structural damage unless I am using them for parts, I'm used to doing airbags now so they don't bother me anymore, I used to stick to one model of car and once purchased 8 Hyundai Getz on the same day from Pickles in 1 hit, 3 for parts and 5 repairers, I would have purchased 10 but I got there late

I generally buy a car a week, if not to fix, I just wack a $1000 on what I purchased it for and on sell it, never had a problem selling them, plenty of people wanting repairable cars to do up, I very rarely buy from pickles any more unless its cheap as its gone to $#!t in the last 5 years price wise.

What I cant stand is when people buy a car from the auctions for way too much, then scrimp on the repairs to make up for it, this is what gives all WOVR vehicles a bad name, My RTV is on the WOVR for two broken door glasses, my sons AUDI is on for a tow bar hole in the front bar and a bumper reinforcement, the wife's Mercedes is listed for the LH rear suspension damage, My smart car is on for a rh fender and door skin, I know when I eventually sell them the buyer will be scared off what they are buying, so I have kept all documents and pictures of repairs so they can see.

I have always been upfront when I sell a WOVR car, shown the potential buyer all pictures etc, I have only had 1 woman tell me she was no longer interested in a late model Mirage I was selling, I sold it to the next guy who was waiting in his car while the woman was looking.

I can remember my first write off I purchased to repair, it was a brand new VR Calais in two tone white and silver hit down the LH side 2 doors, 1/4 panel and the rear suspension (IRS), paid $1800 for the wreck and spent the same to repair, sold it for $14000 and that started the ball rolling, and it hasn't stopped since.

Identical to this 1

[Citroënbender]

Buying eight cars in one day? Life would have been interesting for a fly on the wall. I have this mental picture with you making a road train of tow dollies behind the RTV.

“Honey, I’m home!”

[prktkljokr]

I had the tilt tray at that time, so 2 ups and they were home, the wife spat it, so the 3 wrecks were stripped of their parts in the first 2 days, 4 went in the shed then she was a little more happy, then she was very happy when I sold the first 2, money fixes everything

Because I focused on 1 model car for a while, in total I bought, repaired and put through WOVR 34 Hyundai Getz's in a 2 year period, there's not much I don't know about them now and still have tail lights etc hanging in my shed, it makes it so much easier when you do 1 model car, I think I only purchased a bonnet from a wrecker all the other parts came from the cars I used for parts and there were a fair few parts cars, most times I sold the spare motors and gearboxes, that covered the price of the wrecks that I used the parts from, I still will buy a wreck for parts now over buying parts from a wrecker or new, it keeps the costs down and you can generally recoup the purchase price back quite easy.

Doing a 2014 BMW 120i convertible, the 1/4 panel was about $2500 from BMW, so I bought a parts car a 135i convertible hit in the front, I made money on the purchase by selling the Brembo's off it and a few other bits, now both cars owe me nothing and I'm in front already, I still have a 6 cyl N55 single turbo motor if anyone needs one

[Citroënbender]

I have deliberately made it quite difficult to get cars into the backyard. I know what I’m like.

[danzvtil]

My sister is looking for a late model xtrail or outlander, and has champagne taste on a beer budget. Every car she has sent me the link to is of the persuasion mentioned here. One still had the drivers seat covered in bog dust from cousin abdullah driving it in and out of his “paint shop” shed every day.
There’s nothing wrong with any of this if you know what you are getting and the price is right, but my sis is the type to get buyers remorse once things come to light after the fact.

[prktkljokr]

Originally Posted by danzvtil

My sister is looking for a late model xtrail or outlander, and has champagne taste on a beer budget. Every car she has sent me the link to is of the persuasion mentioned here. One still had the drivers seat covered in bog dust from cousin abdullah driving it in and out of his “paint shop” shed every day.
There’s nothing wrong with any of this if you know what you are getting and the price is right, but my sis is the type to get buyers remorse once things come to light after the fact.

Always do a PPSR check on any car you buy $2 well spent, if you have any inkling that the car is a repairable write off and does not show on a PPSR, then get a independent inspection done.

PPSR $2 report link
https://www.ppsr.gov.au/

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by prktkljokr

Always do a PPSR check on any car you buy $2 well spent, if you have any inkling that the car is a repairable write off and does not show on a PPSR, then get a independent inspection done.

PPSR $2 report link
https://www.ppsr.gov.au/

My Caprice was incorrectly on the stolen vehicle register, which came up on a PPSR search I did on it years after I bought it, had it registered and was driving it around Melbourne without any inkling of an issue.

Involved NSW Police and VIC Police to get this sorted.

Number plate was stolen from it in May 2000 in Sydney, and reported to the police back then, then at some point when systems migrated over the years and the national stolen vehicle register became a thing, that stolen number plate report had been turned into 'stolen vehicle' report when it came out in the new system.

NSW Police were dumbfounded that no one here in VIC had questioned it, no drama with VicRoads or Vic Police, and it was clearly on the national stolen vehicle register, as a stolen vehicle.

Bankstown Police basically said, lets get this shit cleared up, we just need to sight the VIN and we can clear the record, go to your local police and get them to sight the VIN and then call us, and we'll sort it out.

I go to my local police with my PPSR in hand and Caprice in their car park, I walk in, they don't even know what the PPSR is, they search up the national stolen vehicle register, see my Caprice on it, then tell me, yes it is registered as a stolen vehicle, but its a matter for NSW Police and that they won't be doing anything to help - well **** you then

So I went to another police branch, who were more than happy to help me out, came out, looked at the VIN, called and emailed Bankstown Police saying they've seen the car and sighted the VIN, and CC'd me in the response.

Between Sunbury and Bankstown police they got it off the national stolen vehicle register for me.

As far as repairable write offs go, would probably buy one as a work vehicle like a ute, probably not as a daily though - there's no way with how complex cars are these days you can repair anything properly, no matter how good you are.

[prktkljokr]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

As far as repairable write offs go, would probably buy one as a work vehicle like a ute, probably not as a daily though - there's no way with how complex cars are these days you can repair anything properly, no matter how good you are.

See this is the misunderstanding of what a WOVR vehicle is, cars are written off for non accident damage, it could have smashed glass, the wheels have been nicked, etc.

The thing with WOVR is that they indiscriminately put every economical write off on the register, I had a little A class Mercedes with a broken sunroof glass, it was on the WOVR because the glass for the roof was more than the car was insured for if you buy it new, but second hand it was $100, cheap fix, cheap car, also bought a stolen recovered S class, it had a few minor scratches, obviously the repaint that would have been quoted was more than the insured value. I just washed and detailed it, went for WOVR inspection with a stat dec saying I washed it, passed licence and on-sold within 3 days for a tidy profit.

Its unfortunate that all write offs get tarred with the same brush, I'm sure there are damaged cars sold on Gumtree / Facebook that are repaired to a sub standard that are not on the WOVR, at least with the WOVR they can ensure a standard of repair.

[Citroënbender]

There is at least one car in the WOVR which was mis-fuelled by putting diesel into a petrol car. Not vice-versa. That’s all which landed it there.

These repaired write-offs, they’re death traps.

[prktkljokr]

The deal with my wife is as long as I keep the back yard as a backyard I can do what I like, Apart from my Canter being parked in there its a normal backyard, I wreck parts cars out the first day I get them and put the parts in the shed or behind it ( out of sight out of mind ), the shell goes to scrap the next day or to a mate who still has a wrecking yard, only if I leave bits on it he can sell, which I do quite often, this keeps her happy and me happy because she is happy .

I sell a lot of non needed parts on Gumtree and this alone at times can fund the next parts car.

I have a parts cull every few months or so and offload parts that I no longer need, again my mate appreciates the parts, mostly doors and panels etc.

If I remember, the next WOVR car I buy to do, I will do a step by step thread, it might assist anyone thinking of doing one, I wont show where I buy my cars from though as that would be cutting my own throat

[Citroënbender]

With the Nanny State mentality pervading Australia, you’ll have to change your user name to “Doctor Death Trap”.

[prktkljokr]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

With the Nanny State mentality pervading Australia, you’ll have to change your user name to “Doctor Death Trap”.

Yeah its funny how some people think that a WOVR car means that it was pancaked, folded in half and will kill them if they get behind the wheel.

A written off vehicle does not mean its beyond repair, it means that its uneconomic for the insurance company to repair.

What they don't take into consideration is that insurance companies repair thousands of cars every day, the car does not have to pass any test at all, so nothing gets checked, so there can, and is some shonky repairs done in the industry just to make a dollar, but its never checked.

Where as a WOVR car has to be inspected for repairs, every step of the repair has to be documented, you have to follow manufacturers repair procedures, anything safety related has to be inspected by a dealer and signed off on, it has to pass a wheel alignment test, then it can go for WOVR where the repairs are thoroughly checked, and only if done right it is passed, then has to go over the pits for a further inspection, then it can be relicensed.

So theoretically its more safer than a repaired car that hasn't been checked?

I can change airbags at work, once the car is finished the car goes to the customer, no dealer checks, but if I change them at home on a WOVR car, it has to be inspected by a dealer for them to report of its function and resistances, for safety

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by prktkljokr

I have a parts cull every few months or so and offload parts that I no longer need, again my mate appreciates the parts, mostly doors and panels etc.

I did that recently, I got rid of a bunch of EF/EL parts I had stocked up, they all went to the tip though

We've got a guy locally who does something similar, not sure if the cars are write offs but over the past 20 years there's always been various Falcons and the odd Territory out the front his joint with texta on the windscreen with them for sale,

You'll see one out on the nature strip on the highway out front of his place on the regular, its always local Fords.

Now its a 1980s F350 dual cab but he's had no luck moving it at all, been out there for months, its got $25K on it I think.

[Citroënbender]

PJ, am I mistaken or do you have a fork at home for helping these projects along?

[naddis01]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

I did that recently, I got rid of a bunch of EF/EL parts I had stocked up, they all went to the tip though

We've got a guy locally who does something similar, not sure if the cars are write offs but over the past 20 years there's always been various Falcons and the odd Territory out the front his joint with texta on the windscreen with them for sale,

You'll see one out on the nature strip on the highway out front of his place on the regular, its always local Fords.

Now its a 1980s F350 dual cab but he's had no luck moving it at all, been out there for months, its got $25K on it I think.

Any pics of the F350?

[None-ya]

Wasn't there a 'thing' in the 90's / early 2000 where people would get two 'half cuts ' ( 1 front ,1 rear ) and basically just weld them back together.
I remember one news article about how one business got done because all( most) of the cars they sold started rusting in a line across the roof

[prktkljokr]

Originally Posted by None-ya

Wasn't there a 'thing' in the 90's / early 2000 where people would get two 'half cuts ' ( 1 front ,1 rear ) and basically just weld them back together.
I remember one news article about how one business got done because all( most) of the cars they sold started rusting in a line across the roof

The old cut and shut we used to call it, generally a long rear half joined to a short front half through the front floor and the windscreen pillars.

I must admit in the early nineties i did a fair share of these, mostly on rusty 1 tonner cabs, staggered cuts on the front pillars and long sill panel to the rear cab, joined through the floor at the factory seam.

There was no real problem doing them if they were done right, it was that anyone could do them even in their backyard, thats where the problem came up, so the best way to combat it, as it was pretty rife back then, was to ban it alltogether.

[prktkljokr]

Yeah sort of, I have a electric Walkie stacker, I sold the forklift, it wouldnt fit through my carport :(

[.:4:.]

There was a place in north Parramatta who came unstuck when an employee went at a car with the gas axe but the fuel tank hadnt been removed yet and the lines werent drained. The fireys didnt have to be genuises to work out the cause, the police had a pretty straight forward investigation. 2 smashed cars enter, 1 reasonably well priced car gets sold and there was a lot of scrap metal bins with some scraps having vin numbers on them.