Code 3 Car

mcryan said:
I would personally stay away from Code 3's, though I have had a friend buy one and the car has been relatively hassle free. Let's see what happens when he tries to resell it one day.
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A car can be written off because of the cost of replacing airbags, BTW, so your Code 3 doesn't have to have had a really bad smash, just an expensive one. 90% of my rally cars were Code 3 and as strong as hell, but for the guy in the street it's a no brainer to waste money on one.
 
Code 3

Fazda said:
It is marked on the "Log Book"/Natis document, and should also be on the licence disc. Always check those papers before buying.
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IF it is a stolen/recovered, you don't have any peace of mind on it's history between being nicked and being found. the muppets may have redlined it, done some speedbump gymkhana etc etc etc.
It could have been thrashed within inches of blowing up.
walk away.
 
CaptainSensible said:
IF it is a stolen/recovered, you don't have any peace of mind on it's history between being nicked and being found. the muppets may have redlined it, done some speedbump gymkhana etc etc etc.
It could have been thrashed within inches of blowing up.
walk away.
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Same with a code 2 and the previous owner. Or a car you bought new being taken to be serviced etc etc.
 
CaptainSensible said:
IF it is a stolen/recovered, you don't have any peace of mind on it's history between being nicked and being found. the muppets may have redlined it, done some speedbump gymkhana etc etc etc.
It could have been thrashed within inches of blowing up.
walk away.
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This could also happen when you buy a second hand car. If you watched Carte Blanche on the story of where a customer bought a bakkie from a reputable dealer where it has been involved in an accident.

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Code 3 isn't necessarily a car that has been S&R/writen off, it could also be a car that has been cut and joined, possibly the engine has been changed or modified........I'm not 100% sure though?
 
When I was younger and penniless I have a had a few code 3 cars, my father in law to be would help me fix them up, I was pretty picky about what I bought, rear end smashes are normally the easiest and safest to buy if its a smashed car.

The problem with stolen and recovered cars is that the guy stealing the car does so because they cant afford the car let alone the upkeep of one.

I would not touch a S&R car, only ones that have a had slight prang are worth it in my opinion.
 
If it gets stolen you presumably claim from insurance then it ends up being written off when they pay you out. If it's recovered after that it has to be registered as code 3.
If it's stolen and tracker magically actually works and they fly in with a heli and 10 cars and save your car then you'll just get it back with no change on the natis.
 
CrazYmonkeY159 said:
if your car was S&R but not damaged then what is it then? still code 3?
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No, it is only S&R which only gives it almost zero market value. A Code 3 car, on the other hand, is one that has been written off due to accident damage (NOT because it was stolen). The only way you can get an S&R and Code 3 all rolled into one is if the car was stolen, then written off then recovered and rebuilt - and anyone foolish enough to go to that expense needs his head read.
 
Code 1:
Brand new from the factory floor with no km's on the clock.

Code 2:
Second hand, doesn't moean it wasn't damaged. There is a huge market for buying accident cars and having them repaired then re-sell them for a profit. You would be amazed at the condition some of your second hand cars where in before they where repaired ;)

Code 3:
Damagein such a way that the insurance company had it scraped because the repairs would exceed 70% of the replacement cost.

Stolen and recovered:
Recovered by the police, it will always be on the licensing system as being stolen at some point.

With the above being said:
A car can only be code 3 if it was claimed against insurance. Same goes for Stolen/recovery. You can drive a code 2 car that was in an accident worse than some code 3 cars where. However the owner didn't claim it from insurance and either sold it directly to a rebuild place or fixed it himself. It will then just come out as a code 2.
 
Fazda said:
No, it is only S&R which only gives it almost zero market value. A Code 3 car, on the other hand, is one that has been written off due to accident damage (NOT because it was stolen). The only way you can get an S&R and Code 3 all rolled into one is if the car was stolen, then written off then recovered and rebuilt - and anyone foolish enough to go to that expense needs his head read.
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even if your car was S&R'd and given back to you in the same condition? i dont understand the logic in losing more than 50% of your cars book value because some tsotsi stole it. this is news to me :O
 
CrazYmonkeY159 said:
even if your car was S&R'd and given back to you in the same condition? i dont understand the logic in losing more than 50% of your cars book value because some tsotsi stole it. this is news to me :O
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I couldn't agree more. It's a bloody ridiculous system, and I don't know who originally dreamed it up. :(
 
Yeah doesn't make much sense to me either, I mean they steal say a Golf 6 Gti, drive it around the block and head for the hills because the anti hijack kicked in and now your cars worth peanuts? :confused:
 
Grimspoon said:
Yeah doesn't make much sense to me either, I mean they steal say a Golf 6 Gti, drive it around the block and head for the hills because the anti hijack kicked in and now your cars worth peanuts? :confused:
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My guess would be when the car is stolen and not recovered the insurance scraps the car when they pay out. Then say a year later the car is recovered then you have to register it as a code 3 to get it back on the road.
 
Code 3 is a car that was de-registered and then after the fact re-registered. De-registering a vehicle is incredibly simple but once it is done, your car is no longer road worthy and you also no longer receive those license payment notices. Therefore on the eNATIS database your car VIN is shown as de-registered. The only way to have it registered again is by putting it through the road test, after which the car will be code 3 (Built Up).

A car can be written of in a number of ways, the most popular is: 1) Insurance company, they write of a car if they believe the repair cost to be too much, then pay you.
Then there is: 2) Your car was stolen and recovered. The police will write off the vehicle and in the impound remove the engine number and stamp and case number on the engine block.
3) You decide to write off your own vehicle for whatever reason.
4) You are pulled over by the police and they deem your car un-roadworthy, car is impounded, you are charged and simultaneously the car is written off.

There is a whole list of reasons your car may be written off, at that point once you re-register the vehicle it will be code 3, provided you passed the road test.

There are only 3 types, Code 1 - New, Code 2 - Used, Code 3 - Built Up.

However, changing an engine for example does not require that your car be registered as Code 3, you just need to have the new engine number registered.
 
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I was looking into this recently and it seems that if a car is imported privately then it is also classified as Code 3 / Built-up

Can anyone confirm this?
 
syrrano said:
I was looking into this recently and it seems that if a car is imported privately then it is also classified as Code 3 / Built-up

Can anyone confirm this?
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I think you are referring to the "grey" imports that come in by the ship load from Japan.

Those cars may not be registered in SA and must be sold to one of the surrounding countries.

If you move here from the UK for example, you may bring your car with you and it will be registered as a normal car. LHD cars, on the other hand, may NOT be imported.
 
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