Cat D A class 2006 Avantgarde

[joe egg]

Hi peeps,

After some advice. My missus is after a A class she's spotted this one it's a good spec etc and in top condition. The model is 2006 06 Reg MERCEDES-BENZ A150 Avantgarde SE Tip petrol with 36k on the clock. However it's cat d damaged, i've said to stay away and not touch it.

She's gone today and had a look with her dad and said it's in really good condition, the guy doesn't know what damage was done but it happened about 2 year ago the sales guy said. He has offered £1500 trade in for her old class which is a 2000 reg classic with upgraded oz alloys and upgraded lights. It's a diesel and has 88k on the clock with full history and it's in mint condition.

He's offered £1500 without seeing it which again i find strange. The car he has for sale is up at £5475 which i don't think is priced for it being cat d damaged. W have looked at a couple which seem to bee around £200 dearer but are not damaged repaired. Also my missus says she has read that cat d doesn't mean it's been written off is this true? i'm almost 100% sure a cat d is a insurance write off.

the car:

http://www.thornhamcarsales.co.uk/19694/stocklist....

hopefully the link works if not there is only three a class on - It's the dark blue one.


Thanks a lot!!!!

[2 5HAN]

General rule of thumb is that Cat D's are 15% cheaper than retail

If it is a Cat D then it has been written off, it has been written off as a category D that is what the Cat D means.

It may however be the case that the car didn't suffer any actual physical damage, it may have been stolen with it's keys and not found within the payout period of the insurance company.

If you are worried i would pay £100 - £150 and get the car inspected

[Dog Star]

Indeed - I know someone with a very high end Merc that is HPI Cat "Inspected" - it used to be a cat D. Not a sausage wrong with it - it was stolen in late '04 when it was almost new and was recovered from a shipping container bound for parts foreign.

According to the baying hordes of PH (the one that says all French cars are st, buy an MX5 etc) you shouldn't touch cat Ds with a bargepole. Load of rubbish.

[va1o]

Doesn't seem that cheap for a CAT D, I wouldn't bother with it, should be able to get a nice clean one for the same sort of money. There are countless reasons why you don't want a car previously damaged in an accident.

[S800VXR]

Nothing wrong with Cat D cars. I had a nice 550 BMW which was immaculate when I sold it but It took some selling even well below price. People really have an issue with the Cat D stigma so go for it if its cheap and clean but remember it will be hard to move on unless you almost give it away! Shame but thats life..

[mbtech01]

Just A word of caution – before buying check with your insurance company on whether they will insure car & if the cars ever involved in an accident & declared a total loss what sort of percentage will they pay out. I’ve heard that if the insured vehicle is a known cat c or d vehicle then they will only pay out up to a maximum of 75% of the current trade value of the car & not 100% trade value. This could be a fair amount of money you could loose out on if ever you were involved in an accident & your vehicle was declared a total loss.

[jayfish]

might be worth investigating what her Oz alloys are worth, and what a replacement set of standard one would cost you too, might be a deal maker if the prices are right.
As for Cat D, it's likely to have been cosmetic damage only, but it is a bargaining chip for you, especially if you intend to keep the car for a while, which will soften the depreciation hit.

[gtidriver]

Check for rust around the bottom of the doors, tail gate and wheel arches. If its full merc history then it should be covered under warranty.