Advice on buying a Cat S car

EmmaChamb

EmmaChamb

EmmaChamb

Associate
Joined
20 Jan 2020
Posts
12
Hi,

I'm pretty clueless about cars and I'd really appreciate some advice on this. So, I have my eye on a BMW X1 that is listed as a Cat S write-off. I called the garage who are selling it and they said it passed an engineers inspection, and has been repaired good as new.

I'd be looking to hang on to it to the death (have my current car 6 years and counting!) so I'm not too worried about re-sale value. It's the damage they describe that's been repaired worries me. Here's their description of the vehicle:

Only 21000miles had very light corner touch (new wing, bumper, headlight, hub, bottom arm) all parts used from Bmw Bawarian for fixing car, warranty available, engineer report carried out after repair, cat.s​

The 'bottom arm' part sounds pretty serious. Like, is it structural? Or, is it just a thing that if it's repaired right like a wing mirror or something it's grand.

Thank you!

Emma
 
Diddums said:
No no no no no. Cat S is for salvage only, run a mile.
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No cat S is for structural damage that can still be repaired, but the cost is usually considerable.

Depends what age/value of car you are talking about?
Cat S on a nearly new 20k car is at lot worse than Cat S on a 7k 8 year old X1
 
Look at it this way, if you can only afford a CAT S version of the car ask yourself - can you afford to run it?
 
And when you come to sell it, it will either be next to impossible to sell privately unless you accept pitiful amounts and any Trader will likely either not want it for the same reasons (difficult to sell) or offer you such a low price that it becomes a pointless exercise.

IMO the only time any Cat car is worthwhile is when you intend to keep it for a very, very long time when the savings can be maximised. If you only keep your cars for 2-3 years, avoid one.
 
EmmaChamb said:
Hi Armageus. It is a 2016 model, the asking price is £12,995 and I checked the value with its reg and it should be about £16,800 or so.
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Theres a few available on autotrader for £13/14k that in the long run may work out cheaper once you factor in insurance as well. Not worth it for such small savings on list price.
 
If you get a massive bargain then S can be fine but only if you know what you are doing. Definitely take along someone who repairs cars and knows what they are looking for.

I'd be looking for an exceptional deal not just a good one. Never kept track of SUV prices so no idea if this is exceptional. I'm not talking cheapest one on autotrader. I'm talking about cheaper than that!
 
Cat S would need to be an irresistible offer to grab my attention. 4k reduction is not a good enough saving. I'd rather drop to an older vehicle or just swallow the extra cost.

Good cars the X1's though my parents have had one since 2013 and it's been faultless so far costing only consumables and servicing etc.
 
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