Selling a Cat D car...
Discussion
I'm currently in the process of selling a car for a family friend, however, the car is registered as Cat D and I'm not entirely sure why...
What I know is: there is one previous elderly lady owner who purchased the car from new. She hit a bollard in a car park and had to have the front bumper repaired through the insurance. She passed away sadly while the car is in getting the repair work done.
Why does this constitute a Cat D write off by the insurance? Would they have had to sell the car back to the family/put it to auction/sell it to a dealer? Or is a front bumper replacement enough to constitute it being registered as Cat D.
Only asking as I want to be as transparent as possible with potential buyers and if asked would like to be able to give a good explanation as why it's Cat D.
Cheers.
What I know is: there is one previous elderly lady owner who purchased the car from new. She hit a bollard in a car park and had to have the front bumper repaired through the insurance. She passed away sadly while the car is in getting the repair work done.
Why does this constitute a Cat D write off by the insurance? Would they have had to sell the car back to the family/put it to auction/sell it to a dealer? Or is a front bumper replacement enough to constitute it being registered as Cat D.
Only asking as I want to be as transparent as possible with potential buyers and if asked would like to be able to give a good explanation as why it's Cat D.
Cheers.
It's a 2010 Citroen C1 with 18k miles. I have it listed for £2,500.
Who would they have sold it back to if she was dead at the time though? And why Cat D for just a bumper replacement? Is it because she was deceased and therefore they couldn't give her it back and as a result had to sell it to a dealer? My family friend did purchase it off a dealer.
Who would they have sold it back to if she was dead at the time though? And why Cat D for just a bumper replacement? Is it because she was deceased and therefore they couldn't give her it back and as a result had to sell it to a dealer? My family friend did purchase it off a dealer.
Yes but as soon as they hear "Cat D write off" they will automatically s
t themselves and think the car has been rolled down a mountain or something as a pose to having a bumper replaced. Hence why I was looking for some explanation as to why the insurance company classified it as Cat D...
t themselves and think the car has been rolled down a mountain or something as a pose to having a bumper replaced. Hence why I was looking for some explanation as to why the insurance company classified it as Cat D...Insurance write offs are a big no no for the vast majority of people.
You will find a buyer at the right price tho, just keep dropping price until you get a bite.
On another note the c1 107 aygo are brilliant cars, I honestly can say i love them, very nippy and fun to drive, returning 50mpg from day to day petrol driving.
You will find a buyer at the right price tho, just keep dropping price until you get a bite.
On another note the c1 107 aygo are brilliant cars, I honestly can say i love them, very nippy and fun to drive, returning 50mpg from day to day petrol driving.
My mates bike had a Cat D marker put on it after it was repaired by the insurance co when it got knocked over. He only found out when he went to trade it in and the dealer told him and refused to take it in as a PX. He rang the insurance co, and someone had messed up and put the marker on it. They simply removed it. He checked a few days later and it was indeed clear of any markers.
Cat D is where the cost of repair doesn't exceed the market value of the car but where the costs are significant enough to make it uneconomical to do so, ie could be the cost of a bumper plus associate parts at dealer prices plus the cost of a hire car for the duration etc. It wouldn't be deemed a total loss and repaired by the insurers... so yes, more than likely they wrote it off and paid out, leaving her the car to do with as she pleased and she then had it repaired privately herself thus ownership always remained hers. I don't think many people will care on a car of this nature / value, but it they do carry a stigma hence are worth a little less than "clean" cars.
The problem with cat D cars is
(i) You don't necessarily know how bad the original damage was
(ii) You don't know how well it's been bodged/repaired
When I first started driving 20 odd years ago it was a cheap way of buying a newer/better car because, as a rule of thumb, cat D cars were usually 30% cheaper than "straight" cars. Or you could buy them unrepaired from a salvage auction for less than 50% of the price of a similar car from a dealer. The best ones to buy were "stolen recovered" which had locks and panel damage only - an easy repair for a student who was handy with a spanner.
As long as you're hinest about it, and price it accordingly, you shouldn't have any problems selling it.
(i) You don't necessarily know how bad the original damage was
(ii) You don't know how well it's been bodged/repaired
When I first started driving 20 odd years ago it was a cheap way of buying a newer/better car because, as a rule of thumb, cat D cars were usually 30% cheaper than "straight" cars. Or you could buy them unrepaired from a salvage auction for less than 50% of the price of a similar car from a dealer. The best ones to buy were "stolen recovered" which had locks and panel damage only - an easy repair for a student who was handy with a spanner.
As long as you're hinest about it, and price it accordingly, you shouldn't have any problems selling it.
The problem with buying a Cat D car is because, in 3 years time, you have to sell a Cat D car. which will take forever, as nobody wants an insurance write off.
just remember, if you buy one, i think you're doing the seller a huge favour buy buying it, i'd be making a seriously cheeky offer.
I'd only buy a cat D car if i planned on keeping it until i scrapped it.
If you're selling a cat d car and dont want to wait forever to sell, just stick it on ebay, low reserve (say £1000), and it will go for what its worth relatively quickly.
just remember, if you buy one, i think you're doing the seller a huge favour buy buying it, i'd be making a seriously cheeky offer.
I'd only buy a cat D car if i planned on keeping it until i scrapped it.
If you're selling a cat d car and dont want to wait forever to sell, just stick it on ebay, low reserve (say £1000), and it will go for what its worth relatively quickly.
Cat D is the least of all the 4 categories that the insurance industry uses. A vehicle can become a cat D on something as trivial, (relatively speaking), as having all 4 wheels stolen. As it is fairly rare, though not unknown, for the seller NOT to be the one that was subject to the insurance claim, and therefore is NOT completely aware of what the claim was about - the vehicle in question should be valued somewhere between a half an two thirds of it's TRADE value.
Put that into context. If the trade value of a 12/12 Ford Focus 1.8 TDCi with 18000 miles and 2 owners is, say, £2500 - then it's cat C or D value should be around £1000 - £1500. A reputable dealer will not normally have anything to do with any vehicle that has the stigma of a cat C or D insurance claim against it.
Unless a vehicle has a FULL picture catalogue of why the vehicle was subject to an insurance claim - I would keep well away from it......
Put that into context. If the trade value of a 12/12 Ford Focus 1.8 TDCi with 18000 miles and 2 owners is, say, £2500 - then it's cat C or D value should be around £1000 - £1500. A reputable dealer will not normally have anything to do with any vehicle that has the stigma of a cat C or D insurance claim against it.
Unless a vehicle has a FULL picture catalogue of why the vehicle was subject to an insurance claim - I would keep well away from it......
A quick look on Autotrader suggests you can get an undamaged one for near the same money.
Meanwhile, enjoy some Cat D pics (just bolt-on parts) from Copart
http://www.copart.co.uk/uk/Lot/38198426?searchId=8...
M3 :
http://www.copart.co.uk/uk/Lot/33241746?searchId=1...
Meanwhile, enjoy some Cat D pics (just bolt-on parts) from Copart
http://www.copart.co.uk/uk/Lot/38198426?searchId=8...
M3 :
http://www.copart.co.uk/uk/Lot/33241746?searchId=1...
Edited by Momentofmadness on Monday 24th October 20:28
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