buying a Cat D

vygec · 1 Jan 2011 at 17:12

Ive been on the lookout for a car (civic) for the mrs.
i just went to see one today, everything about the car looks fine. all the paperwork is present and signs that the owner has taken care of the car i.e. has receipts/stamps for annual service/mots.
car was in very good condition.
the car is listed as a cat D-which i knew before going out to him. the owner has suggested it was recovered stolen, the log book also confirms this.
im really tempted at buying, but never bought a cat D before, anything i can check for myself.
is doing a HPI check even worth it, as the car is listed as cat D, so anything else that will reveal to me. to be fair to the guy, all the signs pointed to the fact that he has taken care of the car( he has had it for nearly 2 years, its a 2005).
book price is £4500, he's not going any less than £3700 to me.
Thanks for any input.

The Edge · 1 Jan 2011 at 17:20

If you're going to drive it till it does it doesn't really matter if it is cat D.

To be honest stolen/recovered is probably the best cat D to buy.

Spamalot · 1 Jan 2011 at 17:21

Any 'saving' you make is going to be lost come resale time. If you can get a reasonable insurance quote (some companies just won't insure you), and you're going to keep the car for a few years then I guess it might make sense. That's all assuming that the car was fixed up to a good standard.

Personally I really wouldn't bother. Cars are a pain, cat d cars have the potential to make that pain larger! The 'savings' you'll make buying cat d usually don't add up.

Scrutinize · 1 Jan 2011 at 17:50

Spamalot said:
Any 'saving' you make is going to be lost come resale time. If you can get a reasonable insurance quote (some companies just won't insure you), and you're going to keep the car for a few years then I guess it might make sense. That's all assuming that the car was fixed up to a good standard.

Personally I really wouldn't bother. Cars are a pain, cat d cars have the potential to make that pain larger! The 'savings' you'll make buying cat d usually don't add up.

+3

And when you say books at 4.5 is that glass's trade or Parker's?

vygec · 1 Jan 2011 at 18:05

mrk1@1 said:
+3

And when you say books at 4.5 is that glass's trade or Parker's?

from parkers.
whichever car we end up buying, we will keep for a very long time.

Janesy B · 1 Jan 2011 at 19:03

Is it confirmed stolen recovered or is that speculation on the owners part?

Scrutinize · 1 Jan 2011 at 19:12

vygec said:
from parkers.
whichever car we end up buying, we will keep for a very long time.

Then knowing parkers that would be well over proper trade I.e. glass's. You would want to buy a cat d below what you could get a normal one at auction for.

BigglesPiP · 28 Feb 2011 at 00:35

You buy it for less and sell it for less.

It can be a way to get a car which is equal in other ways as if that car had depreciated into your price range.

It can also be a pitfall if you get something that's been improperly repaired.

Durzel · 28 Feb 2011 at 01:35

Can't imagine how or where the logbook would list the car as having been stolen/recovered? Where did you see this information?

It's not atypical for people to claim that their car was stolen/recovered as it's likely to be the most pallatable option for buyers when trying to sell. Saying "oh yeah it went sideways into a ditch and needed a whole new side"... not so much.