Almost bought a New (used) Car, Turn out to be a Cat-D :(

[VTR]

Cat D is something like the damage is 60% of the value

Cat C though is a total write off, normally extensive damage totally more than the value of the car so certainly stay away from cat C

To be honest buying a CATD even if the damage was not immense can still cost you, insurance can be more and trying to sell on is a nightmare

My father recently bought and repaired a CAT C Focus ST, it just needed a windscreen and some windows replacing. The glass had also marked the dash slightly so I guess they must have put down the cost of the dash as part of the repair. My sister has the car now, didn't bother doing anything with the dash it's only a scuff mark.

He also bought and repaired a CAT D Focus RS, had the side smashed in and was a massive repair.

I wouldn't write off a car just because it's CAT C/D, as long as it's repaired to high standard and the price reflects its a write off then I'd have no problem buying it.

(My father did pay over the odds on the RS at £6k as it was more work then he originally thought - bought from online auction so was a bit of a gamble)

The ST has 50k on the clock though and was only £1300 so a bargain IMO

 

[rallyfan1986]

where did you get the £4 check from?

is the only difference between the £4 check and the £20 check the amount of info you get?

 

[Joshy]

Surely they were MK1 STs and RSs?

 

[VTR]

Surely they were MK1 STs and RSs?

Yeah.

 

[Dogbreath]

Cat D is something like the damage is 60% of the value

Cat C though is a total write off, normally extensive damage totally more than the value of the car so certainly stay away from cat C

The category is based only the relative cost to the insurer to repair the car vs it's market value. It's entirely possible to have a Cat C write off with trivial damage on a cheap car e.g. dented or scratched panel.

 

[Janesy B]

I think people get far too worked up about previously written off cars. They make the assumption that if it is a Cat C/D it must have been involved in a horrific accident which certainly isn't always the case. Just because it was involved in an accident were the insurance company deemed it uneconomical to repair doesn't mean that the accident was massive.

An ill fitting bumper could just be a poorly fitted bumper and just that. If it was considerably below the average market value (which a quick search reveals that the car in question was) it may have still been a decent buy, especially if you tend on keeping it for a while.

It's a good example of always HPI'ing a car but I don't agree with the "If it is has been written off, automatically run for the hills", especially if it is cheap, but it is your money.

I'd buy a CAT D if the saving was substantial and there was full documentation of the repairs carried out, however in this case the seller was clearly hiding it and that doesn't bode well. I think it's a case of it not being worth it unless it's something particularly rare or you don't have the money to buy a straight one but you are satisfied that the repairs are done correctly. I bought a CAT D car for half the price it should have been (£500 instead of £1000) and I hugely regretted it and sold it on a few days later. This was 3 years ago now, I won't be in a hurry to repeat that mistake again.

 

[VTR]

Sorry for off topic - what do you reckon the value of a 50k CATD Mk1 Focus RS 2003 is? FUlly repaired to very high stanard inc full respray, wheels refurbed, immaculate now basically. Brand new clutch and MOT'd with 6 months TAX. No service history.

 

[RSClio]

Slightly OT here/

Say I want to borrow my friends car for 5 days, to use dayinsure it would be around £100, so if I used the HPI check on the car I can get 7 days free insurance? Kinda cheeky but if the service is there why not use it?

I'm 24 and the car will be 4 years old so I meet all the quota?

if you are under 21 years of age or your car is ten years old or more, which means that a Driveaway Insurance policy will not be available to you. Only one 7 day free policy is permitted per customer per vehicle registration number.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Slightly OT here/

Say I want to borrow my friends car for 5 days, to use dayinsure it would be around £100, so if I used the HPI check on the car I can get 7 days free insurance? Kinda cheeky but if the service is there why not use it?

I'm 24 and the car will be 4 years old so I meet all the quota?

You have to buy the car too.

 

[Dogbreath]

I almost bought a packet of crisps today, but it turned out to be the wrong flavour. Good job I checked before buying

If you'd have found out after buying it I could understand the sad face and need for instant internet sympathy, but you should be happy you didn't waste your cash.

 

[Joshy]

I'd buy a CAT D if the saving was substantial and there was full documentation of the repairs carried out, however in this case the seller was clearly hiding it and that doesn't bode well. I think it's a case of it not being worth it unless it's something particularly rare or you don't have the money to buy a straight one but you are satisfied that the repairs are done correctly. I bought a CAT D car for half the price it should have been (£500 instead of £1000) and I hugely regretted it and sold it on a few days later. This was 3 years ago now, I won't be in a hurry to repeat that mistake again.

If it has been repaired to a good standard, you're paying well below market value and intend on keeping it for a good long while I don't see why you'd be massively bothered.

I know the dodgy bumper does not bode well on the "repaired to good standard" requirement but it is possible that it just hasn't been clipped on properly. Not the end of the world. Equally the body could be royally twisted (doubtful if it is a CAT D, but hey).

 

[Jono8]

If it sounds to good to be true...

 

[Joshy]

If it sounds to good to be true...

... It may still be, but you will have to put in a little more effort than turning up, kicking the tyres and running a HPI check .

 

[Jono8]

... It may still be, but you will have to put in a little more effort than turning up, kicking the tyres and running a HPI check .

i was going for " It probably is"

 

[PMKeates]

The category is based only the relative cost to the insurer to repair the car vs it's market value. It's entirely possible to have a Cat C write off with trivial damage on a cheap car e.g. dented or scratched panel.

This isn't entirely true.

A Category C write off is simply a vehicle that the insurer has not decided to repair where the damage is considered 'extensive'.

I also hate to denigrate an entire industry and profession, but in my experience there's little consistency in the application of Category C versus D, and there seems to be a growing trend to issuing more Category C.

I would simply take a Category C as likely a bit more beaten up than the typical Category D, but to say it's because repairs were 60% of the value or 100% or 150% is just not true.

 

[RSClio]

You have to buy the car too.

But whats stopping saying you have? I'm going do it, save me £80

 

[Joshy]

A Category C write off is simply a vehicle that the insurer has not decided to repair where the damage is considered 'extensive'.

But the point Dogbreath is making is that 'Extensive' is all relative to the vehicle's value.

Example of a cheap Cat C car:

http://www.copart.co.uk/c2/homeSear...e4s8&lotId=25197670&returnPage=SEARCH_RESULTS

Note the last two pictures. I know it is difficult to tell exactly what is damaged without having a proper look at it in person, but let's assume it needs a new front wing, light cluster, bumper and wing mirror. Once you add in the prices of brand new O.E parts, prep and paint costs at an approved bodyshop it is easy to why an insurer would consider this excessive damage, but as we all know 99% of Cat C/D cars aren't repaired with brand new O.E parts and the labour done at an approved bodyshop. To the person who'll buy it and bung on a few second hand parts from a scrap yard for a couple of quid the damage is not anywhere near extensive.

That's not just an isolated case. Dig through co-part and you'll find plenty of cheap 'extensively damaged' cars that could be repaired in an afternoon with some second hand parts and a socket set.

Like I said, it is all relative .

 

[PMKeates]

But the point Dogbreath is making is that 'Extensive' is all relative to the vehicle's value.

And the point I'm making is that it isn't consistently applied. Most of the people who assess cars are independents and they follow their own rules.

 

[Dogbreath]

This isn't entirely true.

A Category C write off is simply a vehicle that the insurer has not decided to repair where the damage is considered 'extensive'.

Sorry but this simply isn't the case, the categories are determined purely by the cost to the insurer.

As I have posted previously (and this is from the 'horses mouth', an insurance assessor I know):

A Category C is awarded when the cost of repairs exceeds the value of the car. e.g. A scabby old Ford Escort worth £200 with a dent in a panel could easily be a Cat C. A more expensive car could be a Cat C even with relatively minor damage if the parts are not readily available, since the insurer will have to pay for a hire car whilst the parts get sourced.

A Category D is awarded when the repair costs exceed the value of the car less the salvage value. e.g. if a £500 car would cost £350 to repair, but the salvage is worth £200, then it would cost the insurance company £300 to write the car off, but £350 to repair it.

 

[K.C. Leblanc]

Snip

This, a bin lorry put a nice long dent in the rear quarter panel of my car (which is only worth a few hundred quid). The dent was too deep to straighten, so the car was declared Cat C. I'm still driving it with the damage.

I would consider buying a car that had been a write off.

What I wouldn't do it buy a car from someone who was almost certainly telling lies about the car's history.