I'm sure the book price without damage is around 22k , not really much cheaper do you think I should pay less, also I noticed the hard plastic trim on the sills , front grill and back diffuser have been painted the colour of the car looks smart,,,,,cheers
I think that if I was ever to consider buying a Cat N car, the quality of repairs would be a key factor in deciding whether or not to buy it. I’d either get it professionally inspected or at the very least, take someone along with me to view it who could provide an impartial opinion on the car. Does the seller disclose which parts of the car have been repaired? (presumably they’d know).
I’d also want to view it under different lighting conditions - e.g. natural, bright sunny conditions, under artificial lighting, to see if it was possible to spot the repaired / replaced panels and whether or not there were any differences in paint shade / paint finish between original and factory paint and new paint / new panels.
I’d also be checking all the panel gaps carefully to ensure they were all uniform, checking for signs of paint overspray on rubber seals, whether or not there were any ‘sharp’ edges from masking up, or any areas of poor finishing - e.g. in the engine compartment / tops of wings where they’re bolted to the car, around door and tailgate openings etc.
I’m personally not a big fan of matte black plastic parts being painted in body colour, but we all have different likes and dislikes which is a good thing IMHO
. Be aware that if the plastic wasn’t prepped correctly prior to painting, then long term durability of the finish could be compromised - especially in areas subjected to projectile road debris thrown up by the wheels. It would certainly be worth inspecting the painted plastic parts carefully for signs of undue wear and chipping / flaking of the paint.
A final point - I see from the first and forth pictures of the wheels that one of the plastic wheel bolt covers are showing tell tale signs of what might have been an ‘unsuitable’ (possibly acid based?) cleaner having been used on the wheels as those bolt covers have turned grey (it usually happens to the cover on the locking wheel bolt). There’s also what might be light etching on a couple of the wheels; third picture - the spoke in the 4-5 o’clock position, and forth picture - the spoke in the 10 o’clock position. It might just be that the wheels haven’t been dried very well and it could just be water spots, but worth checking.
