Talking of Insurance .....

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,547
If you know about the whole thing after the weekend more than me hats to you and I wasted a lot of my time here and I will shut my site on Monday evening ;)

Hehehe. No, mate. Not the whole thing. Just the Experian piece. You crack on, but keep in touch ;)

C
 

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,547
Experian uses MIAFTR, there is no other DB to use I am sure about this ;)

Certainly not arguing with you :)

My point being more that Experian do not (generally) add or 'create' data. Although that creation is open to interpretation when we start thinking about enrichment. And I have no idea if MIAFTR is included in any enrichment products.
C
 

Arnie

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That is correct. None of vehicle history sites create data, all of them rely on existing databases. Problem is AutoExpross proved those databases are unreliable ;)
 
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Hey Arnie
Wherever you are this morning, I hope that you're enjoying idyllic surroundings and lots of quality time with your family.
I wasn't around, so didn't see how this thread progressed over the weekend.
Again, kudos to you, for building a solution to a problem and monetising it. Not sure of the stats, but I think that its something like one percent
of tech start-ups (very approximately) get as far as you have. So, as I'm sure you're aware, you're in a pretty elite club already.
I worked along-side the VMware leadership team back in '05 to create the fastest growing (at the time) quoted tech start-up in history and when too
ill to work full-time, I led a couple of start-ups of my own. So, first hand, at both extremes, I know that you must be ultra lean, always.
Which means very aggressively minimising your fixed costs by grabbing no cost and low cost services where you can.
Because of the incredible level of commitment needed, to lead a start-up. When others challenge it. It can be like someone
criticising one of your children. But, its actually one of the very good aspects of this forum. That members pass on anything positive, that supports our
enjoyment of our 'mobile money pits' (joke!) Equally though, members are protective of each other and everyone is subject to the same levels of
challenge. Things can get pretty salty here sometimes. But the moderators do a good job of managing that.
It feels a bit less salty now, than it seemed when I joined, but that's just my own very limited perception.
I would encourage you to stay active here. The wealth of knowledge is impressive. And, like a crack dealer handing out free samples. If we can get
you hooked on the marque. If you're not already hooked. It'll be a much needed good deed in the positive column, for when we finally go to meet
the Maserati brothers in the sky ;)
 

Arnie

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39
UlstermanAbroad, thanks for your comments and kind words. I must admit there was only one particular claim that my business could be another "Nigerian Scam" which made me write a few bad words here before. If it was inappropriate I do apologize but this one was something I never heard before about my site so, I must admit it was quite a salty one ;)

For those monitoring my IPs I am back in UK so IP will change again, and of course, as expected I had no spare time during my holiday to spend it with my family.

One thing about me I am very persistent and will be sticking around. I tbh like Aston Martin brand as well but don't want start another debate here ;)
 

Arnie

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RichardS

Member
Messages
107
Interesting thread. Shocking that this stuff is still going on when the problems with accident-damaged cars and the lack of transparency were highlighted as long ago as the mid-1980s. Back then there were many horror stories about cut-and-shut vehicles that disintegrated when involved in minor shunts.

In the last 80s, I was involved in start-up founded by three guys from the salvage trade. It was a collaboration between HPI, the AA (who did the inspections) and the insurance salvage industry, to try to clean up the act. This was the point when the VCAR categorisation first came in and the idea was to allow properly repaired cars to be inspected, signed-off and then finance companies and consumers could have faith in the value of repaired vehicles.

The original projection was that we would test about 20,000 vehicles a year in up to 20 centres, right across the UK. The company only ever reached a fraction of its target because repairers found they could sell cars irrespective of provenance and there was not enough publicity warning consumers about the risks associated with damaged-repairables. We mainly saw high-end vehicles where the seller needed to be able to offer the buyer finance, and an inspection was essential. We did find a few nightmare repairs though, including a Ford Escort RS Turbo which consisted of two shells with a straight weld across the floor and glazing putty used to plug holes in the floorpan! There were a few "ringers" uncovered too - VIN plate swaps. And some evidence which helped expose fraud and collusion between salvage dealers and insurers' motor engineers.

It's self-evident that a salvage vehicle that is "unrecorded" is worth significantly more than one that's on the register. A higher salvage value means a reduced net claims cost and helps the insurer to keep costs down. You might therefore conclude that it is in the interests of insurers to keep written-off vehicles off MIAFTR.
 

Arnie

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Its very non gallant but my brain is wired that way. First thought I had, when the link opened was, imagine going out for a night,
having a skinful and finding yourself in the middle of those three the next morning. Apologies to anyone having their breakfast,
while reading this ;)

:0037::0037::0037::0037:
 

alfatwo

Member
Messages
5,517
Its very non gallant but my brain is wired that way. First thought I had, when the link opened was, imagine going out for a night,
having a skinful and finding yourself in the middle of those three the next morning. Apologies to anyone having their breakfast,
while reading this ;)

Bet they'd give you a good run for your money;)

Dave