Buying a CAT D car - pitfalls - Yes, No?

[scoobster999]

I got around to thinking about what to buy when I replace my current Alfa. In a little over 4 years I have done 144K miles and what was once a sizable purchase is now barely worth more than scrap despite being in good condition, all due to the mileage.

It got me thinking about the virtues if any of buying a CAT D which has already been heavily discounted so potentially I get a lower mileage or higher spec car for less money. Given my 35K + current mileage the resale value is fairly much guaranteed to be minimal so it really comes down to a few practical questions - getting finance, and getting insurance on a CAT D. Is is different from a normal non Vcar registered car, would I have trouble getting either?

Looking around there are several nice cars with CAT D status advertised, not sure I'd go for sommat with a heavy whack but stolen recovered might be worth a punt albeit I guess being hooned by a hoodie would perhaps weight heavily on the mechanicals?

Anyway, any thoughts, experience, advice?

[alangla]

I wouldn't worry about insurance. I've re-insured a Cat C after repair, the only stipulation the insurers put on it is that an MoT was obtained after the repairs were completed. No increase in premium apart from the NCD loss, though obviously there would be a significant reduction in the value they'd pay out if the car was crashed vs a standard car.

[TooMany2cvs]

The only difference between a CatD (written off, but not because repairs were more the car was worth) and a non-Cat car may very well be the mood that a bloke in an insurance office was in at the time of the claim.

If it's a decent car, apart from that black mark on the record, and it's priced right, goferit.

[Flatinfourth]

i used to do pre-sale repairs for a car dealer, and one day he dropped a 16V Integrale outside my workshop door while i was out, the phoned me. He said, trade in, cat D, looks like your sort of fun car, £1,500, pay me sometime if you fancy it, drop it back sometime if you don't. That car proved to be a very successful replacement to our much adored, and perfect 82 flat front quattro.

I would say buy from salvage dealers or known sources, not ebay, because cat d cars are now heavily overpriced on there

[monthefish]

Cat-D is a great way to get into metal you wouldn't otherwise be able to afford
e.g. M3 for 330i money
911 Turbo for Carrera money
Clio RS for 1.6 money
etc etc

Sure it'll be worth less when you sell it, but that won't be an issue if you paid less for it in the first place.

I'd want to know exactly why is was a Cat-D in the first place (ideally with pictures before and after repair) and be assured that the repair was to standard, but other than that, I'd go for it.

[sjabrown]

If you know what you're getting then yes. I've had two Cat D cars -
1. Toyota Yaris, the cheapest at the age/mileage that there was for sale at the time. It had been already repaired and I'd seen photos of the damage. Mechanically was fine, bodywork wasn't 100% but then my sister went and wrote it off so became a Cat D a second time before I sold it!
2. VW Passat, my current car. bought direct from salvage then got my friendly garage to put it right. 2009 Highline trim with plenty toys inc towbar, 42,000 miles when I got it. Spent £4400 buying it then £2500 putting it right. Brilliant car. Similar age/mileages on autotrader were about £11k at the time I bought. If it remains mechanically good then I'll keep it till it's done.

[Herbs]

All depends on the individual car.

I have bought 2 cat d's and both really good. I was about to pull the trigger on a cat c VX220 Turbo as they only need minimal damage to be written off.

I have also bought a straight M3 Evo which turned out to have been badly repaired outside of the insurance and was a death trap.

For me to buy the car would need documented proof of the damage and repairs, been on the road at least 2 years since the repairs and the car to have been older than 3-4 years at the time it was written off.

If you are going to put huge mileage onto a car that will kill it's value anyway it could be a really smart move

[Snowboy]

If it's a sound car the cat-d status isn't a problem.

But, if it's been badly repaired then it's a waste of money.
My (limited) experience is that cat c/d cars tend to be bought cheap at auction by chancers, badly repaired with cable ties and bodyfiller, then sold on cheap.
I looked at a few - total waste of time.

[alanw89]

My car had an interior fire when some welding was being done and was written off mostly due to the difficulty in getting and expense of genuine interior parts. Insurance said they would have to replace the entire interior so it became uneconomical. I decided to buy it back because, the mechanicals were untouched, bodywork untouched and the paint was unmarked. All it has taken is a seat retrimming and a lot of second hand trim pieces and speakers from eBay. It annoys me now that it won't be worth as much to sell but I might just hold on to it for a good few years now. It's a bit more rattle now because all the trim has been out and there's a couple of marks on the dash but I think it would be bargain for anyone that wasn't that fussed about that or a perfect candidate for a track car, it's definitely changed my opinion on Cat D cases as long as there before and after pictures and the repair has been documented.

[GroundEffect]

I would worry about potential chassis issues with a CAT C or D. Enough to put me off, despite how cheap they seem.

[kiethton]

Could be worth purchasing something from Copart: http://copart.co.uk/c2/home.html (after a small membership fee) - other pre-repair vendors exist

In this instance you will see the damage prior to repair and possibly do the work yourself. Finance can be sorted via a personal loan fairly easily if your credit rating is sufficient?

[ging84]

i would not be interested in something high value that is cat D without know about the circumstances
you can do quite a lot of damage to to a £30k vehicle before it becomes a cat D, so unless it was something like stolen and recovered then i would not be interested.

But once a car is say 5 years old they can be written off by hitting a crisp packet

[Flatinfourth]

GroundEffect said:

I would worry about potential chassis issues with a CAT C or D. Enough to put me off, despite how cheap they seem.

Point taken,but you really do have to judge each vehicle individually, plenty of cat Ds have zero structural damage, and are simply written off due to the absurd cost of new parts, which may just be lamps, grills and wings. In fact it is often the case that on the same car, one repairer will do an estimate that would write the vehicle off, where another repairer will negotiate with the owner and the insurance company to keep the vehicle on the road and see it repaired. Either scenario may or may not suit a particular owner.

Also all this crazy hire car rubbish writes cars off unnecessarily, which is also avoidable by the repairer reducing the insurance company's cost by offering the customer (and effectively the insurance company) a free loan car.

I carry out repairs on specialist, glass fibre and classic cars all the time, and too many cars get written off for no good reason, the Lotus Elise and VX220 are prime examples. But they are in turn those which become available to you at a reduced price.