Cat-D, again...

[Colvette]

Hey all,

I've been looking for a specific car for quite some time, and I've found one which looks decent, but is a Cat-D.

I've done my research on the tinternet, but based on what I can find, there are still some questions unanswered for me.

The info on the net says that a car is written off as a Cat-D if it's damaged to a point which makes it uneconomical to repair.

The car in question was stolen and recovered, with damage to the rear-quarter (how much damage, I don't know - no pictures available), and was written off. This was in 2010, and the car is a 2007.

Given that the car is a reasonably expensive motor, I'm struggling to make the pieces of the 'uneconomical to repair' fit together.

In addition, I can't seem to find if I'll have any issues insuring it, or really to what extent the car *could* be damaged whilst still maintaining it's Cat-D status (when does a Cat-D become a Cat-C?)

Can you lovely people give me some further insight here? Would you do the deal and hand over your wedge?

[SeeFive]

Personally Col, I would not buy a catD car without pre repair pics to satisfy myself that i was happy with the damage level and give myself a chance to look over the repair quality, and because of the extremely limited market for selling it on.

[Gochaz]

If you do buy it, you may be able to get the Cat D label removed using http://www.autolign-inspections.co.uk. This changes the categorisation to 'Condition Inspected', and I expect would make life easier when you come to sell it. I believe it's a very thorough inspection which ensures the repair was properly carried out.

I meant to go through this process with my old car but never got round to it - the website seemed to be down at the time I wanted to do it. I'm sure some of the other guys have experienced this.

[TooMany2cvs]

Colvette said:

The info on the net says that a car is written off as a Cat-D if it's damaged to a point which makes it uneconomical to repair.

(when does a Cat-D become a Cat-C?)

Cat C is damage beyond the pre-collision value of the vehicle.
Cat D is damage below the pre-collision value, but the insurers have chosen to write it off to limit their other exposure - hire car, mainly.

So whether a car is repaired by the insurer and unrecorded or written off as a Cat D _might_ just be a question of the insured's preferred bodyshop being particularly busy so not able to repair it for a month, or it might be a delay in parts availability, or it might be any of a number of other reasons.

The difference between Cat C and repaired/unrecorded might be as simple as a few hundred quid on the insurer's assessment of the value.

[andy-xr]

I insured a CAT C Lotus Elan a while ago, no probs at all. They checked that the market value of the car was lower as expected for the valuation and that was it

I'd have no problem driving round in a CAT C because it needs a VIC, CAT-D doesnt from memory so you're at the mercy of whoever repaired it. I guess they still have to pass the MOT though

[Colvette]

Gochaz said:

If you do buy it, you may be able to get the Cat D label removed using http://www.autolign-inspections.co.uk. This changes the categorisation to 'Condition Inspected', and I expect would make life easier when you come to sell it. I believe it's a very thorough inspection which ensures the repair was properly carried out.

I meant to go through this process with my old car but never got round to it - the website seemed to be down at the time I wanted to do it. I'm sure some of the other guys have experienced this.

That's quite interesting, actually.

I have a reasonable eye for damage and repairs, so I'll be giving it the once over to make sure I'm happy (I'll walk if I'm not), but I think taking it to those guys is a very good thing to do.

I know there's a lot of negativity against cat-D's - I share that myself - but I have no real concept of how badly it can be bent up whilst still categorised as a cat-d? Anyone have any pictures of a 'terrible' D?

[thescamper]

It could also be Cat D if it was recovered after insurance company had paid out. It may also have had components removed and not actually damagaed at all. You could always ask the previous owner what state the car was in.

[73mark]

Cat-D,
Most if not all cat-D would be bumper/panel damage.
Insurance company's look at main dealer prices to repair,so if you go to back street/DIY cost will be considerable lower.
Most dents if there's no paint cracked will just push out from the inside,bumpers scrapyards.
But resale price that's where your take the hit,so if you don't care about that you're golden.

[calibrax]

Colvette said:

I have no real concept of how badly it can be bent up whilst still categorised as a cat-d? Anyone have any pictures of a 'terrible' D?

It's a total lottery to be honest. I've seen cars written off as Cat C for cosmetic damage caused by a car scraping along the side of it. I've seen cars categorised as Cat D which have been rear-ended at speed causing extensive damage (i.e. squished so much that the back doors won't open!)

[Adrian E]

If you're considering buying a repaired car (well any car in fact) and want to confirm for yourself the extent of panel work undertaken it's worth investing about £60 in a decent quality paint depth gauge. I've borrowed one from a friend and out of interest have tried it on a few cars of known history to see if it accurately picks up where I know paintwork has been done and it is very good.

It does not work on non-metallic surfaces so bumpers or composite panels are excluded, but it tells you if it's jut the rear quarter that's been painted, indicating a fairly localised repair, or if both rear quarters and the tailgate are painted, suggesting it may have been a more substantial impact.

If it's priced accordingly and the bodywork is in good order I wouldn't rule out buying a repaired car, but having seen how bad insurance approved repairs can be I would be very wary of taking anyone's word for the quality of repair and if in any doubt would want to take a bodywork professional along to assess it.

I was looking at a £30k M3 coupe a few weeks back at a main dealer and the nearside rear 3/4 panel was a total mess of a repair. Initial concern raised by orange peel paint but the gauge backed this up reporting 2 coats of paint and filler in some places.

[k-ink]

Bear in mind no matter how amazing the repairs it will always be harder to sell on. So it needs to be hugely cheaper to make it worth considering, imo.

[buzzer]

I sometimes go down the salvage yard and look at the cars.... Some of the CAT D cars are easy repairs, just a few outer panels that need replacing. Others have really extensive damage and I struggle to see how the hell anyone can buy them, repair and then sell for any sort of profit... especially when you see what they sell for... you just know they cant be properly repaired.

Problem is that you just don't know how extensive the damage was if you buy a repaired car, and how well it was repaired...

This belongs to my mate, recently written off as a CAT D and they gave him £700 which was reasonable (1998 Starlet) and he kept the car... A new light and a bit of a kick out on the side panel and it was back to OK for a banger... On a newer car a CAT D can still mean extensive damage though...

[andymc]

cat d is ok for bangers and cheapies

[Daniel1]

all depends on the cost of the car

For example this is a cat d



This is also a cat d

[SMcP114]

andy-xr said:

I insured a CAT C Lotus Elan a while ago, no probs at all. They checked that the market value of the car was lower as expected for the valuation and that was it

I'd have no problem driving round in a CAT C because it needs a VIC, CAT-D doesnt from memory so you're at the mercy of whoever repaired it. I guess they still have to pass the MOT though

You do realise a VIC is only an identity check, yes?

Anyway, the car in question could well have had little to no damage but by the time it was found the insurance had already paid out.

There are no set rules when it comes to CAT cars, each case has to be taken on it's own merits. The pictures above explain that quite well.

[Colvette]

Daniel1 said:

all depends on the cost of the car

For example this is a cat d



This is also a cat d

Holy moley!

Thankfully, this car isn't a Ferrari - it's a Chrysler 300C SRT8 (6.1 V8). The car was 3 years old when it was written off, and the current owner has owned it for 3 years.

Is there a percentage cost where the insurers will write it off? 60% of the value of the car, for example?

[eybic]

Colvette said:

Is there a percentage cost where the insurers will write it off? 60% of the value of the car, for example?

It seems to vary between 60%-75%, I think it depends what the insurers' policy is.

[TooMany2cvs]

Colvette said:

Is there a percentage cost where the insurers will write it off? 60% of the value of the car, for example?

Sometimes.

Sometimes it's, as has been suggested, because it's not been recovered until after the payout. Sometimes it's because the insured's tooling around in a hire car and the bill for that will ramp it sky-high by the time the car's fixed.

[surveyor]

Had a pug 306d sport on a cat d as a student when I was naive about such things

When it came to sell priced it down by £500 and the phone was constantly ringing no bother at all

[folos]

A cat D right here on PH, i'd be nervous about driving that once repaired!



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