Would you buy a cat-d car??
Discussion
I have bought and sold numerous cat D cars that have been used by me and the girlfriend for our daily drivers.
As far as I'm cornered it simply allows you to have a better/newer car for the same money.
Who cares it's been damaged and repaired? Think how many cars get smashed up and repaired by an insurance company whilst in peoples ownership, or how many cars have been crashed and repaired without going through an insurance company and you wouldn't know...
I smashed up a Golf GTi really badly a few years ago and the insurance company repaired it for me, it was a right mess before it was fixed and no one will ever know about that... On the other hand, the girlfriends current Polo GTi was a cat D write off due to a damaged wing, bonnet and broken xenon headlight. Hardly any damage at all. Madness.
I once bought a 6 month old Suzuki GSXR600 that was a write off because it was dropped at walking pace and all the plastics were scruffed and the levers snapped off.
So buy a cat D? Oh yes, all day long.
Just make sure you pay considerably less than the equivalent 'non-written off' example, and make sure it doesn't 'look like it's been repaired', ie the panels all line up 100% and the paintwork is perfect.
I have never found selling them on to be a problem as long as you price them as keenly as you bought them.
As far as I'm cornered it simply allows you to have a better/newer car for the same money.
Who cares it's been damaged and repaired? Think how many cars get smashed up and repaired by an insurance company whilst in peoples ownership, or how many cars have been crashed and repaired without going through an insurance company and you wouldn't know...
I smashed up a Golf GTi really badly a few years ago and the insurance company repaired it for me, it was a right mess before it was fixed and no one will ever know about that... On the other hand, the girlfriends current Polo GTi was a cat D write off due to a damaged wing, bonnet and broken xenon headlight. Hardly any damage at all. Madness.
I once bought a 6 month old Suzuki GSXR600 that was a write off because it was dropped at walking pace and all the plastics were scruffed and the levers snapped off.
So buy a cat D? Oh yes, all day long.
Just make sure you pay considerably less than the equivalent 'non-written off' example, and make sure it doesn't 'look like it's been repaired', ie the panels all line up 100% and the paintwork is perfect.
I have never found selling them on to be a problem as long as you price them as keenly as you bought them.
Edited by NinjaPower on Tuesday 14th September 16:29
musclecarmad said:
Plus, yes, I feel there is a certain amount of 'can't afford it' if you buy a cat d car.
Or maybe the OP simply sees a way of sensibly saving some money on the sort of car he wants after realising it's only a car and lots of them get crashed and repaired everyday without becoming a 'cat'.musclecarmad said:
Plus, yes, I feel there is a certain amount of 'can't afford it' if you buy a cat d car.
Sorry, but I find that a bit ridiculous. There's nothing wrong with getting a bargain - would you baulk at buying a suit in the sales incase someone found out?If someone had a budget of around £10k, and really wanted a Boxster, then their options are pretty much limited to 10 year-old, leggy 986s. Nothing wrong with that, but when they could also get a 5 year-old, low-mileage, 987, for the same money, then why not? As long as they know what they're buying, then it makes perfect sense. Cars develop over time - the 987 is a better car than the 986. This would be a way into the better model for poorer model money.
I'd have no problem with buying a Cat D, or maybe even a C, so long as I knew why it was recorded, and preferably had some photographs.
I'd not have a problem with a car that someone had keyed, and it had been repaired, for example.
I'd not want an asthetically clean car that had been driven through a river, however.
I'd not have a problem with a car that someone had keyed, and it had been repaired, for example.
I'd not want an asthetically clean car that had been driven through a river, however.
TTwiggy said:
musclecarmad said:
Plus, yes, I feel there is a certain amount of 'can't afford it' if you buy a cat d car.
Sorry, but I find that a bit ridiculous. There's nothing wrong with getting a bargain - would you baulk at buying a suit in the sales incase someone found out?If someone had a budget of around £10k, and really wanted a Boxster, then their options are pretty much limited to 10 year-old, leggy 986s. Nothing wrong with that, but when they could also get a 5 year-old, low-mileage, 987, for the same money, then why not? As long as they know what they're buying, then it makes perfect sense. Cars develop over time - the 987 is a better car than the 986. This would be a way into the better model for poorer model money.
At least with a Cat D you know it's been in an accident. With a non write-off, you have to work it out for yourself.
That brings us to the question of damage and repair. If the damage was cosmetic or involved a bolt on part then there's less of an issue with safety. If the damage was structual then it would be best to try to establish the extent of the damage and who did the repair.
That just leaves pricing. As long as you don't pay much for it in the first place, the fact that you won't get much for it when you sell it is irrelevant. Priced correctly, a Cat D car is no more difficult to sell than any other car.
That brings us to the question of damage and repair. If the damage was cosmetic or involved a bolt on part then there's less of an issue with safety. If the damage was structual then it would be best to try to establish the extent of the damage and who did the repair.
That just leaves pricing. As long as you don't pay much for it in the first place, the fact that you won't get much for it when you sell it is irrelevant. Priced correctly, a Cat D car is no more difficult to sell than any other car.
Edited by Risotto on Tuesday 14th September 17:05
Ruling out a Cat D just because that is what it is is wrong. A relatively new car, lets say a BMW 330 could have an accident doing £10k of damage and be repaired and not be a Cat D as the repair would be well within the value of the car. Move on a couple of years and the same, or lesser, damage would be beyond the economic value in insurance company terms. So which would you rather buy? The one which was repaired a few years ago or the one with some relatively new parts? Also have to factor in that when calculating the total cost of repair an insurance company will factor loan car costs etc whilst the damaged one is being repaired so it can work out cheaper to write off a car even when the repair is less than the value of the car - especially if it might take some time to source the parts needed for repair.
I could afford to go out and blow quite a bit more on a second car if i wished but with bargains like this around i would feel a little cheated and maybe even ripped off.
The way i am thinking is this. I have owned 3 damaged and repaired cars over the years, non recorded, and all have been fine, apart from the MR2, but i did repair that on a budget. Now thats what gets me thinking! My budget repair probably left out a couple of small parts that may have needed repairing but i just got the car fit for the road again. I exchanged the car with no issues and didnt lose any money. Now a cat-d car has to go through a detailed inspection to be identified as fit for use once again so as it goes it is certainly a better purchase than the repaired/non-recorded car. At least you know it has been repaired and you are saving because of it.
The porsche is a perfect example of how it all works. The repair costs of a recognised Porsche repairer are astranomical and if the said Porsche needed for example new bumper, bonet, wing, headlight, airbag, other consumables and paint the cost to put it back on the road from the perspective of an insurance company outweights that of repair. The same car repaired by a private garage with used pannels and their own paintshop would be considerable cheaper. There are plenty of crashed and repaired Boxsters driving around that have not been recorded, at least this way you know for sure and pay considerably less because of it.
The way i am thinking is this. I have owned 3 damaged and repaired cars over the years, non recorded, and all have been fine, apart from the MR2, but i did repair that on a budget. Now thats what gets me thinking! My budget repair probably left out a couple of small parts that may have needed repairing but i just got the car fit for the road again. I exchanged the car with no issues and didnt lose any money. Now a cat-d car has to go through a detailed inspection to be identified as fit for use once again so as it goes it is certainly a better purchase than the repaired/non-recorded car. At least you know it has been repaired and you are saving because of it.
The porsche is a perfect example of how it all works. The repair costs of a recognised Porsche repairer are astranomical and if the said Porsche needed for example new bumper, bonet, wing, headlight, airbag, other consumables and paint the cost to put it back on the road from the perspective of an insurance company outweights that of repair. The same car repaired by a private garage with used pannels and their own paintshop would be considerable cheaper. There are plenty of crashed and repaired Boxsters driving around that have not been recorded, at least this way you know for sure and pay considerably less because of it.
Grey Ghost said:
If I knew how the car was written off in the first place.
If the car had been repaired by a well known/recommended repair shop.
If the car has an engineers report and I could speak to the engineer to confirm this.
If I was going to keep the car for a long time as it would have minimal resale value.
Yes I would consider a Cat D.
A Cat D Porsche however is a walk away job
ThisIf the car had been repaired by a well known/recommended repair shop.
If the car has an engineers report and I could speak to the engineer to confirm this.
If I was going to keep the car for a long time as it would have minimal resale value.
Yes I would consider a Cat D.
A Cat D Porsche however is a walk away job
Evil.soup said:
Now a cat-d car has to go through a detailed inspection to be identified as fit for use once again
Does it? As far as I know, only Cat C cars have to be inspected, and that inspection is solely to establish the identity of the car; it makes no assessment of the quality of the repairs.Edited by Risotto on Wednesday 15th September 09:37
reggie82 said:
Grey Ghost said:
If I knew how the car was written off in the first place.
If the car had been repaired by a well known/recommended repair shop.
If the car has an engineers report and I could speak to the engineer to confirm this.
If I was going to keep the car for a long time as it would have minimal resale value.
Yes I would consider a Cat D.
A Cat D Porsche however is a walk away job
ThisIf the car had been repaired by a well known/recommended repair shop.
If the car has an engineers report and I could speak to the engineer to confirm this.
If I was going to keep the car for a long time as it would have minimal resale value.
Yes I would consider a Cat D.
A Cat D Porsche however is a walk away job
They are no more difficult to put right than any other vehicle.
There are always plenty of people willing to buy cat D porkers as the cat element makes them more affordable. People, as I have seen many times on forums, are far far more suspicious of porkers they 'suspect' have been crashed and repaired, rather than a cat D, which is what it is and is priced accordingly.
NinjaPower said:
reggie82 said:
Grey Ghost said:
If I knew how the car was written off in the first place.
If the car had been repaired by a well known/recommended repair shop.
If the car has an engineers report and I could speak to the engineer to confirm this.
If I was going to keep the car for a long time as it would have minimal resale value.
Yes I would consider a Cat D.
A Cat D Porsche however is a walk away job
ThisIf the car had been repaired by a well known/recommended repair shop.
If the car has an engineers report and I could speak to the engineer to confirm this.
If I was going to keep the car for a long time as it would have minimal resale value.
Yes I would consider a Cat D.
A Cat D Porsche however is a walk away job
They are no more difficult to put right than any other vehicle.
There are always plenty of people willing to buy cat D porkers as the cat element makes them more affordable. People, as I have seen many times on forums, are far far more suspicious of porkers they 'suspect' have been crashed and repaired, rather than a cat D, which is what it is and is priced accordingly.
Definitely, if it was repaired properly and not completely stuffed.
My old 190E was a Cat-D, a police car went into the back of it, but if you weren't told then you wouldn't have known.
I take a very dim view of people that say they won't ever buy a car that 'has seen paint' or been in even the most minor accident. It's so snobby.
My old 190E was a Cat-D, a police car went into the back of it, but if you weren't told then you wouldn't have known.
I take a very dim view of people that say they won't ever buy a car that 'has seen paint' or been in even the most minor accident. It's so snobby.
8400rpm said:
I take a very dim view of people that say they won't ever buy a car that 'has seen paint' or been in even the most minor accident. It's so snobby.
They make me smile. Unless they exclusively buy new cars, I'd say a good proportion of them have unwittingly have bought cars that have had paint or other repairs.I've had buyers wanting to have a third party inspect a car with a paint depth meter before buying! What that would have told them, I've no idea. A panel may have been painted because the owner is obsessive about stone chips or because the car has been in an accident or any number of other reasons.
I actually think some of them suggest the idea in order to gauge your reaction. If you agree enthusiastically enough, they tend to drop the idea.
Edited by Risotto on Wednesday 15th September 10:14
with the budget you are talking about i wouldn't.
i would view buying a cat D car as buying a car you will have to run into the ground and will probably get only the scrap-metal value of. In all likelihood you won't be able to pass the car on for more than half of its "uncat-d'd" value
a £1-2000 car I would though, however I would be very very carefful that the repairs have all been done correctly.
i would view buying a cat D car as buying a car you will have to run into the ground and will probably get only the scrap-metal value of. In all likelihood you won't be able to pass the car on for more than half of its "uncat-d'd" value
a £1-2000 car I would though, however I would be very very carefful that the repairs have all been done correctly.
My brother does paint & bodywork for a living, so he gets asked about Cat C & Cat D damaged cars all the time
He tells them the following.....
Cat C & Cat D just means that the insurance company has payed out for its repair
There are lots of cars on the road that have had major accidents & been repaired & they are not Cat C or Cat D because the insurance has not payed for the repair..... the owner has got it fixed themselves
You should look for accident damage on ALL car's you look at buying
He tells them the following.....
Cat C & Cat D just means that the insurance company has payed out for its repair
There are lots of cars on the road that have had major accidents & been repaired & they are not Cat C or Cat D because the insurance has not payed for the repair..... the owner has got it fixed themselves
You should look for accident damage on ALL car's you look at buying
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