buying a cat d?

[james2009]

just a bit of advice really, i know it will depend greatly on the nature of the damage that caused the cat d in the first place but...

what kind of checks would need to be done to ensure a straight and safe car? or is it something that shouldnt be touched with a barge pole due to poor resale and potential probs.

there is a metalic purple green 111s in the classifieds that is newer with lower miles than i had been looking at, deo you recon its a good buy or not. i had a look at a caterham 7 just after christmas but it was just too full on for a 1 car solution, ( i know that many people do run one every day) so the lotus looks like the better option.

also i have seen people recomending getting cars inspected before purchase by a specialist, how does that work in practice, turn up with the guy to inspect the vehicle at the dealers? would they be happy with that?

what do you think?

thanks for your help.

James

[Wildfire]

Problem with the Elise chassis is that as it is Aluminium it is easy to damage. You can bend the wishbone mounts by hitting a kerb hard. Where as on a TVR cat D is often only GRP damage, and even CAT C can result in maybe some new wishbones and possibly a new tube welded in, on an Elise you could have more significant damage under the clams, that can't be seen or repaired. Depends on where the damage occurred. Head on? Rear end etc. I would reccomend a full professional inspection before purchasing.

[noodleman]

I'd probably walk from a cat d Elise unless there was proof of the damage that caused the write off. Preferably, I'd want photos of the damage before the repair and a full itemised receipt for the repair.

I'd probably also call the garage that did the repair to see if they've any notes of damage not repaired at the time.

[james2009]

fair enough guys, the search continues...

james

[Risotto]

I'd assess each car individually, but in principle, I can't see an issue with buying a written off Elise.

The Elise is one of those cars that can end up being written off as a result of sometimes very minimal damage. Don't forget for every car that's a known write off, there's another car that's been stuffed into a tyre wall on a trackday and has been repaired in the owner's shed. No insurance involvement, no record of any damage. At least you know a write off has been damaged.

Think about it - any damage to the front or rear clam that can't be repaired means a whole new clam. The insurance company will want to carry out repairs at a professional garage. The garage will assess the damage, note the fact that an insurance company is involved, and produce an estimate based on the use of new, Lotus-supplied parts. These cost A Lot Of Money and the insurance company will decide it's an uneconomic repair and cat d it.

The car will go through somewhere like Bluecycle, be bought by a salvage company and end up in the hands of someone who repairs the car using a perfectly good clam they got off a specialist breaker or eBay for a few hundred quid. Another few hundred to have the clam sprayed and the car is as good as new.

There are people who turn their noses up at these cars but as long as you inspect the car properly and there are photos/paperwork to prove the extent of the original damage and the price reflects the fact that the car has been written off then what's the problem?

You won't get much money for it when you sell it, but as long as you don't pay much when you buy it, who cares?

As others have said a thorough inspection is the key to avoiding dangerous or badly repaired cars.

Edited by Risotto on Thursday 26th February 19:38

[Mr_C]

I've seen them written off because of panel damage, but be very careful that the chassis hasn't been touched.

Alternatively, buy a older/higher mileage one that you know is straight and don't worry about it. A few extra miles won't hurt anything... If it's like mine it'll be a better car because I've changed pretty much everything now (60k 1997 S1)!

[LivinLaVidaLotus]

Be v. v. v. careful, there are a lot described as Cat D when the chassis is bent to hell.

[bencollins]

Also don´t buy it unless the seller supplies crash incident photos and you somehow read what happened in the accident, then you have an idea of the impact severity. A potential bargain or moneypit, good luck!

[Justin S]

The car was registered Cat D for stolen and recovered.It would be put on the register by the insurance company if they had to pay out, so it might be a straight car.If you are interested in it, then it is a good bargaining point and definately get it to a Loyus specialsit to inspect.It may not be damaged.Best to also speak to the owner about it too.

[james2009]

thanks for the further advice guys, so you say get it inspected how do you go about doing that? arrange with the seller to take it to someone to do the inspection or get the inspector to go with you to view the car?

[Justin S]

depends where in the country it is and where a local Lotus dealer or independant is.If you are showing interest in buying it, then the guy should want to assist the sale by allowing it to be inspected, especially with a 'history'.If he is a bit iffy on this, then walk away, there are other cars.I sold my TVR and the guy wanted an inspection, which he did at a local garage, I just drove it down there and picked it up afterwards.No more than an hour of my time to secure selling the car.