Discussion
Have been looking for a nice ragtop for the summer, my top top $$$ is 7k but I really would much prefer to keep it closer to 5. Have seen a car that is right what I am looking for but A, its at the other end of England from me, B, its a cat D!
Asking price is 5k, if it wasn't a cat D it would be around 7.....fully repaired etc .......what would you do?
Asking price is 5k, if it wasn't a cat D it would be around 7.....fully repaired etc .......what would you do?
MattHall91 said:
Been tempted by a few myself before now. It's just the pain of selling it again that put me off.
I'm impatient though!
Same for me. I don't have a problem with a well repaired cat D myself, but I haven't managed to keep a car for longer than ten months in about five years and I wouldn't want to have to wait ages for the car to sell.I'm impatient though!
I've read (in numerous places) that repaired write-offs can be harder to insure as well as harder to sell. That what would put me off. I might consider one if it were a 'keeper' (such as a classic that I've always wanted) and there's extensive photographic records of the damage and subsequent repair ... or alternately if it were a 'shed' that I'd simply drop off at the scrap yard when I've done with it.
MitchT said:
I've read (in numerous places) that repaired write-offs can be harder to insure as well as harder to sell. That what would put me off. I might consider one if it were a 'keeper' (such as a classic that I've always wanted) and there's extensive photographic records of the damage and subsequent repair ... or alternately if it were a 'shed' that I'd simply drop off at the scrap yard when I've done with it.
This.I've had numerous cars and no-one has ever asked if it was a category write off. I have owned cat c and cat d cars myself and never had a problem regarding insurance.
I actually think this is one of those urban myths!
The cat c car we had was fooked, strangely fooked like it was twisted or something strange but it was dirt cheap and was bought to be an A to B heap for short term.
The cat c car was ok condition wise but was tough to sell, luckily (?) an old boy pulled out of a junction in front of me so wrote it off (again) and we got top dollar for it.
I wouldn't buy one again.
I actually think this is one of those urban myths!
The cat c car we had was fooked, strangely fooked like it was twisted or something strange but it was dirt cheap and was bought to be an A to B heap for short term.
The cat c car was ok condition wise but was tough to sell, luckily (?) an old boy pulled out of a junction in front of me so wrote it off (again) and we got top dollar for it.
I wouldn't buy one again.
Hi, nothing to do with being a cat D (considering everything it's probably nothing serious) but it's a Porsche and there are no cheap Porsches irrespective of purchase price.
Just pointing out in case you have set a low overall ownership budget. Hope I don't come across the wrong way, I don't mean to, but especially if you are not handy and rather competently handy at that, annual maintenance can be eyewatering.
Leaving aside the utter tragedy of a potential IMS failure - a 10k write off, which does happen - these cars will have relatively non major item failures relatively regularly at that age and purchasing parts and repairing at a specialist will soon make that £2k difference between your original budget and the asking price completely fade into insignificance.
My Turbo had 3.5k spent by previous owner at a specialist just before I bought it and apart from clutch (£1.2k alone) nothing major seemed to have been done.
DIY, I spent thousands on common failure items in the past couple of years. Tyres are close to a grand alone.
Practically speaking, your Box and my Turbo have more in common than not.
On the other hand my MX5... has had nothing done other than consumables / wear and tear items in 23 years...
Just pointing out in case you have set a low overall ownership budget. Hope I don't come across the wrong way, I don't mean to, but especially if you are not handy and rather competently handy at that, annual maintenance can be eyewatering.
Leaving aside the utter tragedy of a potential IMS failure - a 10k write off, which does happen - these cars will have relatively non major item failures relatively regularly at that age and purchasing parts and repairing at a specialist will soon make that £2k difference between your original budget and the asking price completely fade into insignificance.
My Turbo had 3.5k spent by previous owner at a specialist just before I bought it and apart from clutch (£1.2k alone) nothing major seemed to have been done.
DIY, I spent thousands on common failure items in the past couple of years. Tyres are close to a grand alone.
Practically speaking, your Box and my Turbo have more in common than not.
On the other hand my MX5... has had nothing done other than consumables / wear and tear items in 23 years...
I have been looking at cars in the 10K to 15K bracket and I am amazed at how much some cat d and even cat c cars are up for sale at. Not that I would buy a cat d or whatever, but how can a write-off be worth only about 10% less? I thought they would be maybe 30-40% less. But they are on AT at stupid prices, IMO anyway.
curlie467 said:
I've had numerous cars and no-one has ever asked if it was a category write off. I have owned cat c and cat d cars myself and never had a problem regarding insurance.
I actually think this is one of those urban myths!
I actually think this is one of those urban myths!
Axa policy docs said:
We do not insure certain types of vehicle:
If it has been previously written-off or scrapped (including where the vehicle log
book identifies that the car has been previously damaged or repaired or an HPI
database check identifies the vehicle as Category A, B, C or D write off).
I thought that too until spotted this in my insurance docs recently!If it has been previously written-off or scrapped (including where the vehicle log
book identifies that the car has been previously damaged or repaired or an HPI
database check identifies the vehicle as Category A, B, C or D write off).
mikeyr said:
curlie467 said:
I've had numerous cars and no-one has ever asked if it was a category write off. I have owned cat c and cat d cars myself and never had a problem regarding insurance.
I actually think this is one of those urban myths!
I actually think this is one of those urban myths!
Axa policy docs said:
We do not insure certain types of vehicle:
If it has been previously written-off or scrapped (including where the vehicle log
book identifies that the car has been previously damaged or repaired or an HPI
database check identifies the vehicle as Category A, B, C or D write off).
I thought that too until spotted this in my insurance docs recently!If it has been previously written-off or scrapped (including where the vehicle log
book identifies that the car has been previously damaged or repaired or an HPI
database check identifies the vehicle as Category A, B, C or D write off).
I'd not be put off by Cat D of itself, its just another factor to consider alongside all the others. Simply check the car sensibly as you would normally, perhaps in more detail. If there's a documented repair list with pics, all the better. Have it professionally inspected. Drive it. If you can track down past owners or garages that have serviced it, then that helps. Buy it at the price you think is representative of its condition.
I'd argue my S2000 was in better than average condition, the repairs were immaculate and the car was beautiful to look at and drive. I'm not sure it would have been difficult to sell on (at the right price) given it was a rather niche model, the same would apply to a Boxter to a degree.
The only thing I'd say is as someone above notes, if you're thinking about the car just because it's cheap then that's probably the wrong way to approach it. The running costs don't care if its a Cat D or not!
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