Cat D Vehicles

[Alfonz]

I have a dilemma, I want a new car as i've lost interest in my clio.

I've found a car I like but its a Cat D, insurance total write off but been repaired.

Im trying to weigh up the pros and cons. It's a 57 reg with 29k on the clock, written-off a year after new so its been on the road a while.

Its 35-40% cheaper than the current going price, plus its high spec, got everything apart from bluetooth.

Its got full dealer service history, MOTS, tax etc... I've HPI checked it, VIN checked.

The car is 170miles away so want to do everything I can before making the trip, another plus is I can part exchange.

Any advise, what would you do?


..... second option is get a very basic model for the same £££ thats not a write-off.

cheers.

 

[Andyrg@ ClioTurbo]

I wouldnt be worried about a Cat D or a Cat C. As long as the car has been repaired to a good standard.

 

[thegusset]

to write off a car thats only a year old will take some doing

cat d means its mainly panel damage meaning that when repaired it would not have to have a vic check after its been repaired.

you should take someone who knows what to look for with damaged cars to make sure he or she cant point out any bad workmanship.

as long as the car was repaired well and properly you will be fine thing is cars like this are bought by people like myself 90% of the time to make money and 90% of the time to make money corners have to be cut so i would advise getting a mate in the know to look the car over before you part with any cash :approve:

gus

 

[Rob]

Is it a car you'd want to keep for a long time? Selling on a categorised car can be a SERIOUS pain in the ass.

 

[Alfonz]

So it won't be anything structual? Only damaged panels? If that's the case then if it looks pleasing to me it should be alright.

I will probs get a independant inspector, spend a hundred save a few thousand.

Doesn't sound dodgey then?

 

[Da]

Is it a Clio?

 

[Alfonz]

Is it a car you'd want to keep for a long time? Selling on a categorised car can be a SERIOUS pain in the ass.

Yes its a car I am expecting to run to the ground, resell vaule doesn't bother me tbh. I just want it to be mechanically sound if im keeping it for that long.

 

[thegusset]

yeah should be only cosmetic damge nothing too serious but as i said it takes about 60% of vehicle value to write it off so if it was worth 10 grand then the damage has exceed 6000 to repair in theroy but you always get the odd few written off for practicaly no damage due to greedy estimators etc

 

[thegusset]

cat d should not be recorded on v5. only on a hpi check it MIGHT show up

 

[Alfonz]

cat d should not be recorded on v5. only on a hpi check it MIGHT show up

Cheers, Yep its on the HPI. got it checked.

 

[choong-moo]

Dont get too hung up on Cat C & D's. Basically it's down to cost of repair v's market value. High spec cars can cost lots£'s to repair. I know a chap who bought a "writen off" Cabriolet VW Eos and all it had was flood damage. 100% undamaged but very soggy floorpan. I reckon insurance companies are getting quite good at catogorizing cars these days for some unknown reason. I'd say have it checked out and go for it if the report is good (and save a small fortune too).

 

[slindborg]

the type of damage is almost irrelevant for the categories as I have a Cat C car there that you would barely notice the damage on!!!! just the value of the car VS repair costs went to the C route not the D...

That said, I wouldnt touch a CAT car with a barge pole regardless of the repair quality. Yes you save money now, but shifting it in future will be a total ****. Bit like buying a 182 with no cup packs lol....

 

[triggerdarr]

Dont get too hung up on Cat C & D's. Basically it's down to cost of repair v's market value. High spec cars can cost lots£'s to repair. I know a chap who bought a "writen off" Cabriolet VW Eos and all it had was flood damage. 100% undamaged but very soggy floorpan. I reckon insurance companies are getting quite good at catogorizing cars these days for some unknown reason. I'd say have it checked out and go for it if the report is good (and save a small fortune too).

Most flood damaged cars tend to be Cat B these days due to the fact that they can cost a fortune to put right. Plus as a garage we have to put a 5yr warrenty on our work so we can't be sure that the car is safe to drive airbags failures and such. Basically we would have to strip everything out depending on how high the water was the stills are replaced the doors are replaced, all the interior that was damaged the wiring, sometimes ecu's, brake pipes. There more hassle then there worth most ive seen have started to rust badly within a year.

Cat D also includes stolen recovered where as the insurance company has payed out and the car has been found, they may be no little or no damage to the car.

 

[SteveS Cup]

I think I'd only buy a CAT car if I knew what damage it had and it had pics to price repair and I couldn't notice the repair.

As stated, it could be stolen and recovered and it just needed a new window.

It could of had brake fluid poured over the whole car or keyed on every panel and had it's windows smashed in

Without knowing what damage it's had you don't know where to look for any repair work.

As stated, selling a CAT car is a nightmare. I had a car which was Car D, was a cheap car and it just had a new rear 1/4 panel, no chassis damage and I had photo proof etc. I had so many people put off by it being CAT D... It would of sold 10 times over!

 

[blambert]

I'd want to know what happened and see pics. But if it was like, a nasty scrape down the side that wrote it off... it'd be fine.

You buy it for less... and you sell it for less. So you're not getting it 'cheap' but it just means you can get a nicer car than you could afford otherwise.

 

[slindborg]

I'd want to know what happened and see pics. But if it was like, a nasty scrape down the side that wrote it off... it'd be fine.

You buy it for less... and you sell it for less. So you're not getting it 'cheap' but it just means you can get a nicer car than you could afford otherwise.

Selling will take an utter age though.... And from what I've seen depreciation on a catD/C is harder than a non bent car.
tbh I'c only go down the c/d car route for a track car that you wont really worry about lol

 

[Psalm23_(UK)]

As for insurance, isn't it a case of if an insurance company has paid out on the vehicle once they won't pay again? Heard something like this.
Plus do insurance companies like to insure catogorised vehicles or do you have to pay through the nose?

 

[DIDITNO]

will the insurance pay out again if for example the car is written off or stolen once you own it, as i have heard of this before when they have refused to pay out again for a car that has already had a full cost claim. this happened to an ex. may be worth checking.

 

[Adam.]

I always though that flood damaged cars were often written off due to the potential bacteria that can be present due to stagnant water.

 

[Daniel]

will the insurance pay out again if for example the car is written off or stolen once you own it, as i have heard of this before when they have refused to pay out again for a car that has already had a full cost claim. this happened to an ex. may be worth checking.

If a Cat D/C car is written off again, the insuruers will only pay out 1/3rd of the trade value of the car iirc.

Something to bear in mind.

 

[Craigus]

What car is it?

 

[gwilson]

i have just bought a cat d car. had a front end bump as far as i can tell. just the bumper and poss bonnet. was 600 cheaper than it would have bin . plus front end is as new now with the repaint . the rest of the car is spot on . nearly all cars have had some paint work or repair, if the price is right then go for it . if you are going to keep the car it will be worth nothing in a few years anyhow. less you pay the less you lose....

 

[blambert]

"If a Cat D/C car is written off again, the insuruers will only pay out 1/3rd of the trade value of the car iirc."

F that. I didn't know that.

 

[Soot1e]

Cat d's can also not have any damage, they may be just a stolen/recovered and the insurance co. have already paid out.

 

[Budgie]

I wouldnt be worried about a Cat D or a Cat C. As long as the car has been repaired to a good standard.

This. I've had various Cat D's, and they've been fine. Just take someone who knows the cars well to check it out.

 

[Sir_Dave]

I've created various Cat D's

I'd consider it, but it would have to be cheap for resale purposes.

Consider these facts:

1. I could have a head on with a tree in my car, then fix it myself using a piece of rope, reverse gear, another tree & some 2nd parts off ebay. That wouldnt be Cat anything.
2. 95% of people wouldnt know if a car had been binned anyway, & Renault panels gaps are worse brand new than a BMW thats been banana'd around a tree, so that wouldnt help you out.

Just check it over properly, & pay naff all.

 

[Yellow Dave]

To cause enough damage to cost 60% of the value of a car only a year old must have been fairly substantial IMO. I wouldn't touch it unless there was a full record of everything repaired or replaced with pics of the origianl damage.

 

[yellowbelly]

if its cheap enough then this will outweight any negative points for buying the car. However like others have said ensure its checked over fully, the more details about the reason for the catagorisation the better. Oh and like Rob touched on, buying a Cat D is great if you intend to keep for a long time.

the only issue for me is what Daniel mentioned, was not aware of this....

 

[Pete.M]

If a Cat D/C car is written off again, the insuruers will only pay out 1/3rd of the trade value of the car iirc.

Something to bear in mind.

Can I ask where this information has come from or is it just word of mouth? As I have had a number of Cat D and C cars in the past. My sister has one also, she happened to crash it earlier this year and she was paid out in full for the car. As a result I would have to disagree with you on that one!

 

[choong-moo]

Can I ask where this information has come from or is it just word of mouth? As I have had a number of Cat D and C cars in the past. My sister has one also, she happened to crash it earlier this year and she was paid out in full for the car. As a result I would have to disagree with you on that one!

But girls are good at crashing so insurers tend to take pity on them....

 

[Revels]

I'd consider it, but it would have to be cheap for resale purposes.

Consider these facts:

1. I could have a head on with a tree in my car, then fix it myself using a piece of rope, reverse gear, another tree & some 2nd parts off ebay. That wouldnt be Cat anything.

You can crash and have it repaired via insurance and a proper bodyshop and it will never be on any register either.

There are many cars that are crashed and repaired that people will never know about. There's just that line that's crossed when it's written off.

 

[Alfonz]

You can crash and have it repaired via insurance and a proper bodyshop and it will never be on any register either.

There are many cars that are crashed and repaired that people will never know about. There's just that line that's crossed when it's written off.

What line?

 

[SteveS Cup]

What line?

Cost to repair vs value of car %.

Cars worth £10k and say an Insurers % is 60% then it's a cat d... so if it costs £5500 to repair then it won't be a write off and no one would know it's been in a crash from doing an hpi etc.

 

[Andyrg@ ClioTurbo]

Indeed a lot of people thing cat C and cat D mean the ammount of damage to the car, and offtern thing Cat C are a lot worse.

This is not true at steve S Says, its all about the Repair costs.

 

[Steve]

Why bother just find another car, millions out there.

Who buys a car without hpi'ing nowdays, so your asking for trouble come time to sell.
We've all seen the ads glowing advert last line....... had small repair in first 18 months... b****cks to that.

Who you fooling?

Only yourself

 

[MullyBaby]

I work for a well known insurance company as a total loss engineer.

Once we write a car off we will not insure the vehicle again, this should be stated in the terms and conditions of your policy and it is worth phoning your insurer to make sure they will insure the vehicle. I usually have to throw out at least one claim a day due to this alone.

But be prepared to get a very low payout once the car is written off again, we only offer the Glass's guide trade value which is often extremely low.

Cat D means the vehicle repair costs are less than 100% of the market value, you can still have some serious damage on a new car that has had estimated repair costs of 6,000 but then has been repaired on the cheap by someone.

If it was me, I would ask the owner to supply the engineer report from the insurance company so I could see exactly what damage was done and why it wasn’t repaired in the first place.

 

[Yellow Dave]

Cost to repair vs value of car %.

Cars worth £10k and say an Insurers % is 60% then it's a cat d... so if it costs £5500 to repair then it won't be a write off and no one would know it's been in a crash from doing an hpi etc.

But for the car to be bought back then sold on for considerably less than market value, the repairer is going to be looking to do it cheaper than if the insurance company is paying out on the repair for him to make any money out of it, and that's the only reason for doing it

 

[welshname]

If a Cat D/C car is written off again, the insuruers will only pay out 1/3rd of the trade value of the car iirc.

Something to bear in mind.

LV take 40% of a straight cars value off. f**king joke really. but if you can prove that in the market a 40% decrease isnt apparent then they will give you more money. its very simple to do.

 

[Englebert]

I would only buy a CAT D car if it was some little s**t box i was going to run into the ground. Even so, i'd want an engineers report and photographic evidence of what it looked like before.

Went and saw a CAT D NSX once and the seller said it had been prepared perfectly, and it was just like new. Outside, it looked fine, but underneath there was so many things wrong with it!

 

[5charlie46]

i have bought many a write off, personally it doesnt bother me and i have never had a problem selling them after (in fact ive made a profit on everyone bar one), but do ask where the damage was and inspect it properly but other than that your just getting more car for your money as lets face it the majority of used cars have had some sort of knock in their lifetimes at least you know about this one