Selling a CAT N

[fiatpower]

My wife had an accident a couple of weeks ago where she was spun and pushed sideways by a lorry on the motorway at around 30mph for a short distance. The car went off for an assessment but has subsequently been written off due to a number of panels needing changing and some paint work required. A lot of the damage they have noted down is very minor and could be repaired at a far lower cost than replacing for new like they do.

It needs a new door and front wing with a few dents pulled out of the rear quarter. I can change the panels and a friend could spray them as he does body repairs on the side. The tracking was off when I drove it so presume there's some damage to the suspension which are probably track rod ends but again this is something I could do and have done before.

She wants nothing to do with the car understandably but I want to buy it back off the insurer. They gave a price of £700 with the vehicle having a market value of £6k. Even if the recat drops the value by half I think I could make a fair bit of money off it. My only worry is the process of reinstating the body to the road and selling it as a Cat N. Is there a set process to follow? I couldn't see anything on google but it seems a bit strange that theoretically I could just repair it and stick it back on the road. I was personally thinking of doing the work and then getting an AA or RAC assessment done on it to cover myself. I would have got it MOT'ed but that was last done 2 months ago. Is there anything else I could do?

[randlemarcus]

At that price, unless you are mechanical, and have a mate with a body shop, the most practical path is to pop it on eBay. Assuming it's worth 4.5 fixed, you should be able to get 2.4 for it. Less fun, for sure, but pragmatic.

[HustleRussell]

randlemarcus said:

At that price, unless you are mechanical, and have a mate with a body shop, the most practical path is to pop it on eBay. Assuming it's worth 4.5 fixed, you should be able to get 2.4 for it. Less fun, for sure, but pragmatic.

Fully agree, I feel that the OP is underestimating the severity of the damage and the cost of a proper repair.

[fiatpower]

I'm not concerned about the repair. I am mechanically competent and always do my own work. My friend works in a body repair and paint shop and would do the work on the side for me. I'm concerned about the legalities of selling it on as it seems a very lax process. I would have thought it would need inspecting officially before being deemed roadworthy again but it doesn't seem that way. I was just wondering if anyone has done this before and has any suggestions.

[Challo]

fiatpower said:

I'm not concerned about the repair. I am mechanically competent and always do my own work. My friend works in a body repair and paint shop and would do the work on the side for me. I'm concerned about the legalities of selling it on as it seems a very lax process. I would have thought it would need inspecting officially before being deemed roadworthy again but it doesn't seem that way. I was just wondering if anyone has done this before and has any suggestions.

It will be recorded as Cat N on the system, so you will need to make sure thats included in the advert when you come to sell it. I would also take lots of photos of the damage, and while its being fixed you can show the new owner. That being said unless is priced alot cheaper then non-Cat N cars you might struggle to sell.

People can buy insurance write-offs from Co-Part and fix them up and put them back on the road. No set process that you need to follow, I would just make sure it has a brand new MOT when you come to sell to give them peace of mind.

Edited by Challo on Monday 16th May 10:44

[InitialDave]

Looking at it in terms of cash-to-hassle ratio, I'd strongly consider just selling it on as-is for someone else to repair.