To Cat C or not to Cat c...

[Ianb2017]

Hey guys, I've been doing a lot of reading online regarding the merits and the negatives to buying cat c/d cars and I've read a few forum posts on PH which basically say "if you don't know what you're looking at, don't do it"....

..But... I still have a few more questions...

I'm looking at an 05 merc, seems pretty tidy, 100k miles on clock, high spec, tidy body work etc, they want 2-2.5k for it... BUT, in 2007 it was a cat c...

I have read reams and reams about cat c meaning uneconomical to fix etc, but them a few posts on here have me another train of thought... If it's not economically viable, then why repair it? Of course two further schools are "high spec merc, cat c 2 years in - probably pretty bad"... But "cat c 10 years ago, still seems to be going strong"...

I'm a little unsure how to view this. The owner now wasn't the owner back then, so doesn't know the extent of the damage, car has had a healthy MOST history from 2012 onwards, (can't see before that), only a few advisories, no fails, it has FSH....

I am tempted, I'm just not sure whether vehicle inspections are worthwhile, or whether anyone thinks its probably ok, or whether everyone is screaming walk away...?

Cheers

[exelero]

Hello.
You still have to be careful even if the car is not Cat C or D. If you have an accident with a brand new car they most probably are going to repair it (depending on the damage), than no Cat C or D. But if you rip the mirrors off an old Civic that can be cat C so it all depends on the car really.

[UberMeister]

It's not an especially rare car so unless you can determine why it was a write off I'd be inclined to say look for another car.

[jamiebae]

For it to be Cat C at two years old it will have had a pretty substantial smash, there's no way it was just light damage.

On the 'why repair it then' question, there are a few reasons why people will fix a Cat C car:

• They fix it themselves so save on the labour cost
• They use secondhand or low quality pattern parts instead of original ones
• They use different repair methods - for example hammering a dent out and putting 4kg of filler in rather than replacing a rear wing

Often it's a mix of all three, and I've also seen people lying about the extent of the damage - I called about a Cat D Polo which was about 3 years old, the seller said it had been rear ended and needed a tailgate, slam panel and bumper. In reality it had the whole rear corner wiped off it including suspension and the rear wing but most people would just take the seller's word for it.

I'd buy a repaired write off, but only with plenty of evidence of the damage and how it was repaired. I believe there are also problems with getting insurance sometimes so go in with your eyes open.

[TooMany2cvs]

Ianb2017 said:

I'm looking at an 05 merc, seems pretty tidy, 100k miles on clock, high spec, tidy body work etc, they want 2-2.5k for it... BUT, in 2007 it was a cat c...

So on the plus side - it's been repaired a decade no. It's difficult to hide bodges for that long.
But on the minus side - it must have been VERY badly damaged at the time. 2yo Merc...?

What would it be worth without the cat tag on it?

Ianb2017 said:

I have read reams and reams about cat c meaning uneconomical to fix etc, but them a few posts on here have me another train of thought... If it's not economically viable, then why repair it?

Because it's not economically viable at insurance-approved bodyshop labour rates, and dealer parts prices, taking into account the costs of a hire car for the policyholder while it's being repaired.

That doesn't mean it's not economically viable at back-street rates, with used parts.

[Ianb2017]

See, toomany2cvs has said what I've been thinking.... If it was a 2 year old car smash and it was only a year after that, or 2 years then I'd be quite worried, but one reason I feel less worried about it (and perhaps this is my ignorance shining through) is because it was a long time ago....

I think I may end up avoiding this anyway... I would like the car, but I'd have to PX my current car and it's not really ready (need to tidy up a couple bits) and I don't have any spare time at the moment, so it's all a bit rushed for my liking.

Thanks V much for the advice though guys

[mattyn1]

So would you avoid this because of the Cat C?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

[jamiebae]

mattyn1 said:

So would you avoid this because of the Cat C?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Almost certainly, yes. Clearly it's had a pretty serious shunt to write it off if it's still north of £20k after the repair, looking at the modifications to the front and wheels I'm guessing a heavy front end impact with damage to the suspension and wheels.

The issue is you have no idea how well the repair was done - budget suspension components which will last a few thousand miles at best, bits off a knackered 2007 Freelander etc...

[mattyn1]

jamiebae said:

Almost certainly, yes. Clearly it's had a pretty serious shunt to write it off if it's still north of £20k after the repair, looking at the modifications to the front and wheels I'm guessing a heavy front end impact with damage to the suspension and wheels.

The issue is you have no idea how well the repair was done - budget suspension components which will last a few thousand miles at best, bits off a knackered 2007 Freelander etc...

Roger that - thank you.