MG Cat C Write off...query

GreenMint · 4 Oct 2007 at 15:47

Hi all, the gf and i went to look at an MGF for her yesterday, which she absolutely loved (No MG bashing please, this is just a query!)

Basically, she loved the car, and decided she wanted it, we came home, did an API check and its showing a Cat C write off, in August 2006, so we called the guy selling it (Guy who seems to sell MG only from a garage (as in a house garage) near his home, had the MGF and 4 ZR's there yesterday, he says he'll take it to his mates garage, get it up and see what he can find out, as he;s claiming he knew nothing, so he says the front driverside wing has been replaced, and something done to the door, something about a film over it, but his claim was, it was a Cat C write-off because at the time MG Rover had gone bust, ordering a new wing in would take 6-8 weeks, which would mean having to provide a rental car for 6-8 weeks which would work out more than the ~4k value of the car so it was written off.

Either way, i'm not going to take her back there now, just gotta find a way to get our deposit back (Yeah, i know, shouldn't have put £100 down without an hpi check, burnt and learnt)

But how valid/possible would you guys call his claims? Just for my curious side...unless anyone wants his number to call and ask about it, see what he says?

GeX · 4 Oct 2007 at 15:50

body panels were/are hard to source. heard of people going into the old plant collecting as many parts as possible to begin making templates etc from them, so sounds fine to me.

M0T · 4 Oct 2007 at 15:50

Cars can be written off due to the costs of hire cars whilst they are being repaired, but usually they are given cat D status. More likely is that the structure of the car was damaged as well, you would now need to find out if it had been repaired properly.

ajgoodfellow · 4 Oct 2007 at 15:52

Yeah, body panels were/are hard to source but that would be a Cat D write off

Cat C is more serious. I wrapped my Astra around a lamp post and twisted the chassis and it was still only a Cat D write off. I'd personally keep looking as I'm sure that there's more to the story then he's saying

GeX · 4 Oct 2007 at 15:52

'ang on, ive confused my cats. CAT C is extensivly damaged, CAT D is light damage isnt it.

ajgoodfellow · 4 Oct 2007 at 15:54

Sp00n · 4 Oct 2007 at 15:55

What are the catergories?

I imagine my golf will be a Cat D by the sounds of it (uneconomical repair).

GreenMint · 4 Oct 2007 at 15:57

GeX said:
'ang on, ive confused my cats. CAT C is extensivly damaged, CAT D is light damage isnt it.

Yeah, thats right, and thats what worried me about it, i know my fiesta would have been a Cat C when i rearended someone, twisting the front part of the inner frame, but i took it to a garage, had it chainsawed through, towed straight and re-welded

It just seemed too much of a chance to take, as much as it COULD be clean and kosher, i imagine it must be as it was sold since then and the guy said it had the test done early this year, just after the MOT that assured it as road-legal again, but my gf really doesn't want something with bad history, 7 previous owners (He listed 3..) and something thats going to worry her.

But we're off to see a silver mgf tonight, 3 owners including current, did a hpi this morning, nice and clear, 1999, 41,000 miles, £3,000, so we'll see what that brings!

M0T · 4 Oct 2007 at 15:58

Category A A vehicle which should have been totally crushed, including all its spare parts.

Category B A vehicle from which spare parts may be salvaged, but the bodyshell should have been crushed and the car should never return to the road.

Category C An extensively damaged vehicle which the insurer has decided not to repair, but which could be repaired and returned to the road.

Category D A damaged vehicle which the insurer has decided not to repair, but which could be repaired and returned to the road.

Category F A vehicle damaged by fire, which the insurer has decided not to repair.

Theft These vehicles have not been recovered and ownership rests with the insurer who made the total loss payment. They are able to repossess the car as soon as it is identified, even if it has been bought innocently.

Dogbreath · 4 Oct 2007 at 16:28

A vehicle can be cat C without extensive damage if the cost of repairs far exceeds the vehicles worth.

GeX · 4 Oct 2007 at 16:34

Dogbreath said:
A vehicle can be cat C without extensive damage if the cost of repairs far exceeds the vehicles worth.

surely that is cat D

BigglesPiP · 4 Oct 2007 at 16:44

Eeeeeeeer, a well written off Metro (well, 2 metros actually).

Durzel · 4 Oct 2007 at 16:57

TimBrad said:
it was a Cat C write-off because at the time MG Rover had gone bust, ordering a new wing in would take 6-8 weeks, which would mean having to provide a rental car for 6-8 weeks which would work out more than the ~4k value of the car so it was written off.

That's bull to be honest. Even if the story was correct it would've ended up a Cat D, not C. Category writeoffs are all the same as far as monies paid out is concerned, it's an "insurance total loss assessment". On that basis I'd be very wary of believing anything the guy says.

Cat C is a pretty serious structural write off, having said that I drove around a cut-and-shut for 3 years without issue (only found out during the 3rd year of ownership), so it's not always clear cut. So long as you got a major discount and a AA/RAC vehicle inspection you should in theory be ok.

Dogbreath · 4 Oct 2007 at 16:57

GeX said:
surely that is cat D

No, wether it's a D or a C is purely down to how much the cost of the repairs are compared to the value of the vehicle. After all, almost anything can be repaired to a roadworthy standard given enough money.

Also a Cat D once repaired only requires an MOT (if over 3 years old), but about 60% of Cat C classified cars require a Vehicle Identity Check (VIC) before they can be MOT'd and put back on the road.

http://www.universalsalvage.com/categorisation.asp

Durzel · 4 Oct 2007 at 17:02

Dogbreath said:
No, wether it's a D or a C is purely down to how much the cost of the repairs are compared to the value of the vehicle. After all, almost anything can be repaired to a roadworthy standard given enough money.

Also a Cat D once repaired only requires an MOT (if over 3 years old), but about 60% of Cat C requires a Vehicle Identity Check (VIC) before they can be MOT'd and put back on the road.

I disagree.

A car would be classified as Cat C with moderate damage to all panels (e.g. rolled), or it could end up Cat D with a hard frontal impact. It doesn't always come down to cost of parts - since all categories represent a "total loss" assessment by the insurance company. There isn't a threshold of cost where it goes from being one category to another, the categories are an assessment of the vehicles suitability to be repaired.

That being said it's more likely that a car registered as Cat D was written off due to factors other than the cost of repair itself (e.g. cost of providing hire car, etc).

Dogbreath · 4 Oct 2007 at 17:30

Durzel said:
I disagree.

You are of course fully entitled to disagree, even if you are wrong

Did you follow the link I posted?

The only Categories that take into account the structure of the vehicle are B and A, neither of which can be legaly put back on the road.

willd58 · 4 Oct 2007 at 17:48

MG's are cheap and plentiful, I wouldn't take this one as another which is even better should be around if you keep looking

Durzel · 4 Oct 2007 at 19:44

Dogbreath said:
You are of course fully entitled to disagree, even if you are wrong Did you follow the link I posted?

I followed the link, but since the link didn't lead to any official website I didn't pay much attention to it

If you do a Google search for "insurance write off category" you get a hundred odd links each with their own literal intepretation of what the categories mean. With the exception of the obvious things like Cat A and B being vehicles that shouldn't be returned to the road, Cat C and D seem to be described differently depending on which website you go to.

Dogbreath · 4 Oct 2007 at 21:36

Fair enough, there are lots of misleading decriptions around. Cat C's are *usualy* badly damaged cars, since these cost more to fix than light damage, but ultimately it's the cost to fix that puts it in the cateogory.

As an example this Renault Clio has minor damage, a scuffed wing and a dented door, yet is a Cat C because parts and labour will likely exceed the value of the car.

This Honda Jazz has considerably more damage, but because it's a newer and more valuable car it only receives a Cat D.

GreenMint · 4 Oct 2007 at 22:31

Well, not one to be discouraged, here's a follow up of whats happened since!

i hopped on pistonheads again last night and saw one that we'd skipped a few times, due to having leather seats, but she got her head around them and we gave him a call, Silver, T reg MGF with original plate, which was valued at £1400!

41,000 miles, Full service history, cambelt & head gasket done when MG did the MGF recall in 2000/2001 and cambelt done again at 5 years old, everything in the history checks up, api clear, looks absolutely stunning, spotless, drives well (Well for her, i'm so used to my civic i throw the stick in the direction of the next gear and it goes in, you need to be more precise with MGF's! haha) seats were very comfy indeed, the boyfriend of the girl selling it is a big car enthusiast, and has owned 2 lotus elise's so knows the k-series engine and has helped her maintain it, she's the third owner after a mother and daughter (she sold it to her daughter, who sold it to the current owner this April, so the car has really been in one household for 90% of its life, if not more!) again sounds good, as all MGF's do, with a cover for the roof when its down (A leather one that fastens down and tucks under the boot lid to keep the roof covered) a wind deflector, and all for £3000, which was basically the amount she owed on the car she bought after (A Yellow Ford Puma, she was looking for one for eons and found one 3 months ago, so the MGF has been sitting for ~3 months)

The only scare i had was taking the MGF over a speed bump (Ones in nottingham seem to have a point over them?) and i heard a scrape, which the guy said would be the exhaust bracket, and nothing to worry about, i think i just took the bump a tad too fast for the shape it was.

Long story short, we pick it up on Sunday, it looks fantastic, and we really can't wait! I really think that we have made the right choice, the guy showing us it was so good, talked us through every last bit, showed me piece by piece and item by item through all parts of the paperworks, from the V5, to the services, to mots to any notes/papers that had been collected over the car's life!

I just hope & pray we're onto a winner here!