buying a cat c (water damage)

[crombie1]

iv seen a car for sale quite local and its registered as a cat c due to water damage (fresh water came in contact with the carpet)this happened almost 1 year ago and its been on the road since. looking on different sites for a 2005 with the same milage are going between £4500-£5500 and the one im looking at is much less. as its been on the road almost a year will it be ok or will it be a ticking time bomb?. any thoughts or help would be apreciated​

 

[Goodj]

fresh water on the carpet?

How did it get in?

I wouldn't risk it, if it's flood damage think about the chassis and mechanicals

 

[Wick]

How much are you saving vs how much will the resale value be?

Does the owner have proof that it was water damage? I.E photos at the time of the incident? As above, how serious are we talking.

 

[Final Maxim]

only thing that would put me off would be perhaps corrosion on the loom? would be a ball ache trying to fault find what wires have corroded and having to replace them. depends how bad the water damage was really. if the price was good, id risk it, the money you save would be the cost for you finding corroded wire ends and plugs etc

 

[andywa]

I could be wrong but wouldn't this need to go through tests to make sure it's roadworthy after any write off! With this in mind you'd want the price about 25% lower than normal.

 

[Scrooge]

Not that it matters, what car is this?

 

[crombie1]

it has had its vic check last year. it was flood water which is classed as fresh water. its a civic type r 2005 with 66k. normal price is between £4500-£6000 and the price of this is £3000. im not to bothered about the resale price as its worth its money in parts

 

[andywa]

That's not a bad price really. Did you find out how the water got in? I'm seeing an awful lot of cat c/d ctr's around!

 

[Scrooge]

I'd buy it for that price.

 

[crombie1]

it was in a flood. the carpet got wet. iv already had 3 and 2 of them were crashed. 1 was a cat d and 1 was unrecorded and both were perfect on the road. i sorted them myself

 

[crombie1]

this is her

 

[andywa]

For £3k mate I'd say Sod it and buy it. As you've already said if you were unlucky and it turned out to be a shed you could break it. I'd be wanting someone to check her over. See if you can have a look under the carpets to see what and what hasn't been replaced. Good luck.

 

[Paul172sport]

id be thinking this water ingress must been alot more than a wet carpet for it to be a Cat C over a D

Id walk by myself

 

[Budgie]

id be thinking this water ingress must been alot more than a wet carpet for it to be a Cat C over a D

Id walk by myself

Could be as simple as wetting the UCH (if they're in a potentially vulnerable location), carpet and seats.

If claimed on through insurance, that could write one off. You could fix it with second hand parts for less than £1k though.

 

[benhwolves]

What about the soggy bread though

 

[Tunst]

Id go for it.. Run it into the ground and break it when ur done

 

[Owen92]

I wouldn't go for a water damaged car because of the potential for corrosion on the wiring looms etc. Could turn out very costly.

 

[_Tom]

Buy it. We submerged a mates fiesta a good while ago and it's still fine.

 

[Gally]

id be thinking this water ingress must been alot more than a wet carpet for it to be a Cat C over a D

Id walk by myself

Doesn't work like that mate. Water damage is usually Cat B because of the bacteria/health issues even though it may only take a couple of hundred to sort it.

It couldn't have been that bad or it would have been Cat B.

 

[JoedotwasT5phy]

i'd have a stab for that price tbh

 

[crombie1]

I bought lol. Cat b water damage is salt water. Cat c water damage is flood/ fresh water

 

[Deeg]

I bought lol. Cat b water damage is salt water. Cat c water damage is flood/ fresh water

I would suggest that there isn't a hard and fast rule about that.

Flood water is incredibly dangerous.

 

[crombie1]

I got fucked about in the end and the seller pulled out

 

[Chili Red]

^probably just as well TBH. You have no idea what the extent of the damage is.