Discussion
Boxsters
Cat D's are throwing me and so I cant make up my mind
I know any car could have had an accident without it being declared but its what is on paper that seems to matter so
2.5/2.7 1998/9 75k miles no history 2 or 3 owners for £6k or
2.7/3.2 2000/2/3 60k miles cat D £6.5k
for me I think a 2.7 2002/3 Cat D at 6500 with 65k on would do
what are you thoughts
Cat D's are throwing me and so I cant make up my mind
I know any car could have had an accident without it being declared but its what is on paper that seems to matter so
2.5/2.7 1998/9 75k miles no history 2 or 3 owners for £6k or
2.7/3.2 2000/2/3 60k miles cat D £6.5k
for me I think a 2.7 2002/3 Cat D at 6500 with 65k on would do
what are you thoughts
as long as its been repaird professionally with proof. No need to let anybody knows its a cat D until you sell it on.You need the documentation if you ever intend to sell it.
Personally, for a moderate performance car like a boxster I wouldn't touch one. Even with a well evidenced quality repair, psychologically I'd always believe it wasn't quite right.
Worth doing if you're going to keep it for a while. Again I wouldn't touch one otherwise.
Just my two pence mind.
Personally, for a moderate performance car like a boxster I wouldn't touch one. Even with a well evidenced quality repair, psychologically I'd always believe it wasn't quite right.
Worth doing if you're going to keep it for a while. Again I wouldn't touch one otherwise.
Just my two pence mind.
I bought a Cat D Grande Punto from my next door neighbour; 56 reg, 28k, £500.
It was front and side damaged when he bought it, he put new wings, bonnet, doors, radiator and headlights on it (as well as other sundries) and ran it for three years with few issues.
I know it doesn't really help your buying decision; I just wanted to boast!
It was front and side damaged when he bought it, he put new wings, bonnet, doors, radiator and headlights on it (as well as other sundries) and ran it for three years with few issues.
I know it doesn't really help your buying decision; I just wanted to boast!
Defcon5 said:
That is an unbeleivable bargain - how on earth did he make a profit!
He ran it for 3 years...Whilst I'm a proponent of not getting upset about Cats, I'm super-cautious of Cats on more expensive cars for the simple reason that insurers will duck and dive to avoid putting a Cat on a car like a Porsche (as it loses them money when they sell em as salvage).
So when a car like that gets a Cat, you know the damage was significant - not just a new bumper and a bit of T-Cut...
The other, more general, factor isn't just reduced resale value but how hard it will be to sell. If you're dithering now, so will everyone else be when you sell it.
Basically, Cat'd cars are fine when there's a BIG price difference and not a lot of competition at that price point - and they're a nightmare otherwise.
Also - there's one common reason for cars to get a Cat and it's one you NEVER buy a car after - and that's flooding...
After the last bout of floods, the salvage market filled-up with cars which had been in various amounts of water. It's so hard to deal with the result of standing above the chassis in water that cars are often written-off without even sizing the job up.
The issue is that all the damage isn't always obvious and it can come back later and bite you - and insurers don't want you coming back again and again. It's one thing to replace carpets and ensure the engine isn't full of H2O before starting it - it's another to consider the long-term effects which can lead to premature wear of components, rot, electrical problems and worse - at any point in the future...
Cars and water don't mix - ask any Mini owner
After the last bout of floods, the salvage market filled-up with cars which had been in various amounts of water. It's so hard to deal with the result of standing above the chassis in water that cars are often written-off without even sizing the job up.
The issue is that all the damage isn't always obvious and it can come back later and bite you - and insurers don't want you coming back again and again. It's one thing to replace carpets and ensure the engine isn't full of H2O before starting it - it's another to consider the long-term effects which can lead to premature wear of components, rot, electrical problems and worse - at any point in the future...
Cars and water don't mix - ask any Mini owner
Edited by johnpeat on Tuesday 31st May 13:44
I'd say cat Ds are fine for your average car, shopping cars and motorway munchers for someone who needs a mode of transport on a budget. When you start stepping into Porsche territory you're probably going to give yourself a hard time when you come to sell it, I'd imagine someone looking to buy a Porsche would be quite particular when looking for one and would instantly dismiss a write-off, meaning you would either stand to lose an awful lot of money on your purchase or struggle to sell it for a long time.
Then you have to take into consideration the extent of the damage, 'light panel damage' could actually mean the previous owner ploughed it into a ditch and the car was a wreck, even though it's been repaired I still wouldn't fancy my luck on how the car would fair should it be involved in another crash.
I'd be cautious of buying one and the best advice I can give is to save your money and buy a genuine, clean example which you won't have to worry about.
Then you have to take into consideration the extent of the damage, 'light panel damage' could actually mean the previous owner ploughed it into a ditch and the car was a wreck, even though it's been repaired I still wouldn't fancy my luck on how the car would fair should it be involved in another crash.
I'd be cautious of buying one and the best advice I can give is to save your money and buy a genuine, clean example which you won't have to worry about.
A lot of Cat D's are around the wheel arches.
Insurance companies won't take a risk as suspension components might be damaged even if you cannot see it - they dont want something failing after and then you claiming a load more money off them. Sometimes this might be true but other times it may just be damage around the arch and on the panels and the suspension is ok.
Insurance companies won't take a risk as suspension components might be damaged even if you cannot see it - they dont want something failing after and then you claiming a load more money off them. Sometimes this might be true but other times it may just be damage around the arch and on the panels and the suspension is ok.
Although Cat D cars are tempting, they will be very hard to sell, so overall you could pay as much (in terms of deprecation being very heavy, when you come to sell). With regards to a Boxster most would agree a low mile car is not always a better buy. Cars with regular use rather than sunny weekends are often also in better mechanical condition, so for your budget I would strongly consider buying a higher mile example instead of a low mile cat D for the same money.
Sam1990 said:
Truth, not sure what difference this would make to premiums but I would be prepared to pay higher rates, how much higher I don't know.
Are you sure?????? 
Have you ever been asked without offering this information?
The HPi status is a huge stigma - As previous posts have highlighted, many people are scared of them but don't really know why!!!! It's all down to the individual car.
The categorisation system doesnt work either... and has a massive negative (costly) affect on premiums. Ask any salvage dealer.
I have seen cars with as little as a dented wing classified as CAT B Spares Only (one such example was an Audi R8 would you believe, through Copart).
I have seen Cat D cars absolutely bent in half, whilst recently I bought my Subaru Impreza which had obtained a Cat C marker for nothing more than 2 lightly dented door skins (which I never changed). The car had original bill of sale, every reciept, MOT etc from new and a very detailed and thick folder of history.
IF there was a way to check the engineer reports as to why it had been classified as such, that would be a start - but AFAIK there is not. The bottom line is that it's down to the individual vehicle.
A clean title car with no history vs one with a CAT marker = same problems come to resale time.
.
I would rather have a FSH vehicle with an HPi marker than one without any history (Does anyone ever lose the service history for a Porsche??)
G.
Edited by Gallen on Tuesday 31st May 14:39
Gallen said:
I have seen cars with as little as a dented wing classified as CAT B Spares Only (one such example was an Audi R8 would you believe, through Copart).
If that's the same R8 I was looking at that was up there for about £20k, it had spent rather a while getting closely acquainted with the bottom of a lake. I think.mikey P 500 said:
Although Cat D cars are tempting, they will be very hard to sell, so overall you could pay as much (in terms of deprecation being very heavy, when you come to sell).
Not necessarily. My previous TVR was a Cat D - I sold the day after the advert went up on here to someone who paid me what I bought it for...However I did obey a few golden rules. Namely, only buy Cat D if:
- It's rare enough for people to take a punt on one with 'history'
- It's got a separate chassis that's less likely to be bent in an impact and can be repaired in sections
- The advert openly declares it's an ex-write off
- You know the circumstances of the damage and you can see photos of it before the repair
- The repair work is well documented and very thoroughly inspected
- The price is right
Over the last couple of years I have bought 2 cat D Lotus Elise and also a cat C Boxster 3.2 S, repaired them, ran them for 6 - 12 months or so and had no trouble selling them on, none of them had history and all 3 of them only 1 key, as normally the insurance company manages to lose these items!
Just make sure you pay the correctly adjusted price for a cat C or D car.
Just make sure you pay the correctly adjusted price for a cat C or D car.
edo said:
This isnt meant to come across rude, but IMVHO if you can only afford to spend £6k on a Boxster, it is questionable whether you can afford to run/repair it if things go wrong?
They aren't that costly if you use a specialist or find a good regular garage for general consumables.For 6k its not gonna be main dealer!
ManOpener said:
It was on here about 6 months ago, can't remember what thread though. Just remember it being Cat B and about £20k, but someone mentioned that it was heavily water damaged, despite a very clean looking exterior.
...before bidding on it LOL!Still an R8 for £20k ......nothing a bit of WD40 wouldnt sort out! LOL!
here's the thread you referred to:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=902...
...It ran and drove too. Still must be condemned if Cat B. Makes perfect sense huh! not.
Edited by Gallen on Wednesday 1st June 17:47
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