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Buying Category D Listed Cars
- Thread starter linktoinsanity
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I bought a Cat D car, on the understanding that it would never be the same value as a non-write off. I was told that mine was a stolen/recovered by the (small) dealer, but, the HPI check showed up that it was a write off due to damage, so, I had it checked over by a Mitsubishi dealer after my test drive. No damage showed up in the check over and I got underneath the car myself to have a good look, although I'm no expert. The check up at Mitsubishi showed that it had a Euro spec headlight on the right hand side and they quoted almost £1 000 to replace it! I don't know at what percentage of value insurers start to write cars off but I assume mine had a front end impact (due to the headlight) and on looking into prices it was possible the quote to replace the bonnet, lights, front bumper etc. exceeded £4K. Would they write off a £10K car for that? I think they did.
I paid £7295 for a car that would have cost around £9 000- £10 000 if it was not a Cat D. I've now had it for two years and spent a lot on modifications, but, to date, nothing has gone wrong with it. I'd certainly buy another Cat D, but I, again, would want it checked out.
I don't agree with Fox, although I do see his point, as I think you can pick up a perfectly good car for a lot less that a similar "supposedly" undamaged version, keeping in mind that it's never going to be worth as much on resale.
I paid £7295 for a car that would have cost around £9 000- £10 000 if it was not a Cat D. I've now had it for two years and spent a lot on modifications, but, to date, nothing has gone wrong with it. I'd certainly buy another Cat D, but I, again, would want it checked out.
I don't agree with Fox, although I do see his point, as I think you can pick up a perfectly good car for a lot less that a similar "supposedly" undamaged version, keeping in mind that it's never going to be worth as much on resale.
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I did phone my insurance company to find out and they warned that they would not touch it.
I have found a similar (none write-off) car for just over £1 grand more so I may go with that, if I can sell mine.
I have found a similar (none write-off) car for just over £1 grand more so I may go with that, if I can sell mine.
Personally I'd say it depends on the car the damage & what you intend doing with the car but that's all been said before in previous posts & you've already decided against it.
What I'll add is I always wonder why people compromise on the cars they buy when there are so many out there for sale. Get Exactly what you want & get it at the price you want to pay or don't buy it & move on to the next. I walk by dealers & see the prices in the windows & chuckle to myself knowing how much you can get the same car or better for if you just do a little research/homework & reach out to people you know & to the information out there readily available.
What I'll add is I always wonder why people compromise on the cars they buy when there are so many out there for sale. Get Exactly what you want & get it at the price you want to pay or don't buy it & move on to the next. I walk by dealers & see the prices in the windows & chuckle to myself knowing how much you can get the same car or better for if you just do a little research/homework & reach out to people you know & to the information out there readily available.
My son lost his driving licence 3 years ago and I bought his 03 Audi A4 to help him out.
Went to a Mini dealership yesterday with the intention of trading in the Audi towards a new Mini Cooper 5-door and it turned out the Audi was a Cat D write off and consequently worth a lot less than I thought.
I am now worried about my insurance as I didn't tell the insurance company that it was previously a write-off since I didn't know but now feel I need to inform them.
I wish I had never bought the damn thing.
Went to a Mini dealership yesterday with the intention of trading in the Audi towards a new Mini Cooper 5-door and it turned out the Audi was a Cat D write off and consequently worth a lot less than I thought.
I am now worried about my insurance as I didn't tell the insurance company that it was previously a write-off since I didn't know but now feel I need to inform them.
I wish I had never bought the damn thing.
Considering it's the insurance companies that declare it cat D, ad they all share records, and it's freely available with a simple check, I'd say they should already know it's cat D.
I would have thought so as well but I still feel I should tell them.
I had never heard of these categories before yesterday. I feel it is strange that given the car was deemed repairable at less than the market value by the insurers but they decided instead to write it of for other reasons of economy that it is now a marked car with reduced value but had they repaired it no one would be any the wiser.
What would you gain now from telling them?
Soldato
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Unless you're actually worried about pranging it between now and you selling it, then don't bother, else you could end up paying more..
As others have already brushed on, the hassle is going to come when selling it, as others will be in the same mind of whether to buy a cat C/D.
If you're planning on running it into the ground, then potentially you can get a newer/lower mileage within your budget. Just have to remember that if you do plan to sell it on though.
If you're planning on running it into the ground, then potentially you can get a newer/lower mileage within your budget. Just have to remember that if you do plan to sell it on though.
It's the fact that it was repaired by someone other than a main dealer or insurance approved garage, and you have no idea if second hand or aftermarket parts were used in it's repair rather than genuine, new Audi parts (very common with repaired write-offs). Someone might have done an excellent job on it, but plenty of write-offs get badly repaired as cheaply as possible.
How? You buy it cheap and sell it cheap.no issue with getting rid of it, why would there be. There's always a market for everything. Just don't overspend when you buy it.
As far as I understand, a lot of insurance repairs use aftermarket parts. When I was looking at insurance, most of the policies had written into them that they could use none genuine parts in repairs.
I had to search around for a company (Allianz) that didn't make this stipulation.
Since I have had the car I have suspected that at some point in the past it had undergone some less than satisfactory repair work. The paintwork on the bonnet dulled but my garage said it was most likely due to bird droppings when I had it resprayed. Then I had a rear spring break and the garage had to replace both springs since those on the car, although Audi coded, were not the correct part. The paintwork on the passenger door just below the window has now started to dull.