I've never bought a CAT D. Should I consider one?
Discussion
Currently looking for a replacement car after taking a deposit on mine.
Just looked at a 330d but it's a CAT D repaired.
When growing up I was always told avoid CAT D as you never know how good the repair was done or whether it has done lasting damage. etc
I know I'll never get the money back (ie buy cheap sell it on cheap), I appreciate it will be harder to sell on as well.
It's more whether it's something I should consider.
The one I looked at was apparently repaired by BMW Synter.
How about insurance is this different at all for a CAT D.
Educate me if you will guys.
Just looked at a 330d but it's a CAT D repaired.
When growing up I was always told avoid CAT D as you never know how good the repair was done or whether it has done lasting damage. etc
I know I'll never get the money back (ie buy cheap sell it on cheap), I appreciate it will be harder to sell on as well.
It's more whether it's something I should consider.
The one I looked at was apparently repaired by BMW Synter.
How about insurance is this different at all for a CAT D.
Educate me if you will guys.
Cat D is fine if details available of the repair, in which case no reason why not, 25% less than a regular car (more if you are lucky).
Cat D is based on cost of repair v's value hence it can range from a very minor tap to quite a hard knock depending on age and value of car and cost of parts. Evidence of the damage is important so you know what you are buying.
There are 1,000's of motorists happily driving around in 'Cat D' cars they dont even know are cat D due to dubious vendors not declaring the facts.
Cat D is based on cost of repair v's value hence it can range from a very minor tap to quite a hard knock depending on age and value of car and cost of parts. Evidence of the damage is important so you know what you are buying.
There are 1,000's of motorists happily driving around in 'Cat D' cars they dont even know are cat D due to dubious vendors not declaring the facts.
The problem is that some Cat D can be just slightly damaged, others can be slaughtered - there is no hard and fast rule regarding damage levels.
I have viewed many, bought/repaired and run a few over the years and I personally wouldn't touch one that I hadn't seen prior to repair and knew who had repaired it.
Take a walk around a salvage auction yard and see the wide range of possible damage levels for yourself.
I have viewed many, bought/repaired and run a few over the years and I personally wouldn't touch one that I hadn't seen prior to repair and knew who had repaired it.
Take a walk around a salvage auction yard and see the wide range of possible damage levels for yourself.
Bonnet kinked, wing pushed in and a headlamp, no frame damage at all on our SLK wrote off because of parts cost.
I bought it back, repaired with all new genuine panels (can you believe I rejected 3 bonnets that came damaged from the dealer!) now it is better than new, no more stone chips etc.
Cat D cars can be as good as they ever were, in this case I am sure it is better now so ask to see before pics and invoices for parts if poss, I would not sell this for less than retail if we ever parted with it, I have seen far worse damage on non recorded cars and anyone who viewed the car would agree I am sure.
I bought it back, repaired with all new genuine panels (can you believe I rejected 3 bonnets that came damaged from the dealer!) now it is better than new, no more stone chips etc.
Cat D cars can be as good as they ever were, in this case I am sure it is better now so ask to see before pics and invoices for parts if poss, I would not sell this for less than retail if we ever parted with it, I have seen far worse damage on non recorded cars and anyone who viewed the car would agree I am sure.
I did....... http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Edited by magpie21 on Thursday 13th October 22:33
If you unsure or don't know what to look for you could take it to a place like this http://www.autoligninspections.co.uk/inspections.h... and they will probably tell you what the condition of the repair is like
As said, atleast you know it's been damaged so can go into the purchase with your eyes open - and get a bargain!!
I bought a cat d damaged car but organised the repair myself. I bought it from a salvage auction.
The car was 3,000 mile old MX5 with a very very light nudge at the front which I paid £4k for. New Mazdas, of that type, had the services logged on computer which saved the worry of no service book which is a common thing with damaged cars.
Although it was very light, the car needed nose cone, 2 headlights (which were slightly cracked) and a bonnet - I replaced the wings due to it being cheaper to replace rather than spend half a day on each repairing. It also needed dash top, pre-tensioners and a couple of airbags. All parts other than the RHD dash top were sourced from a dealership in the states at a fraction of the uk price.
All told the car cost me £1500 to repair, totally £5500 for a car that was on the forecourt at over £15k, kept it 3 years and sold for £7k - the guy still got a bargain compared to a non repaired car.
I bought a cat d damaged car but organised the repair myself. I bought it from a salvage auction.
The car was 3,000 mile old MX5 with a very very light nudge at the front which I paid £4k for. New Mazdas, of that type, had the services logged on computer which saved the worry of no service book which is a common thing with damaged cars.
Although it was very light, the car needed nose cone, 2 headlights (which were slightly cracked) and a bonnet - I replaced the wings due to it being cheaper to replace rather than spend half a day on each repairing. It also needed dash top, pre-tensioners and a couple of airbags. All parts other than the RHD dash top were sourced from a dealership in the states at a fraction of the uk price.
All told the car cost me £1500 to repair, totally £5500 for a car that was on the forecourt at over £15k, kept it 3 years and sold for £7k - the guy still got a bargain compared to a non repaired car.
snuffle said:
At least with a cat D you know that its been damaged.
Very true. If a car is Cat D'd after it's about 5 years old I reckon that the cat D means nothing - a bonnet and a few panels would economically write off most cars. Meaningless.Remagel2507 said:
If you unsure or don't know what to look for you could take it to a place like this http://www.autoligninspections.co.uk/inspections.h... and they will probably tell you what the condition of the repair is like
It's now not possible to take cars off the HPI register however you can have them changed to "Cat Inspected" - as far as I know Autolign are the only company that can do this. They even check things like "are all the fasteners holding the undertray on present?" and stuff when doing this.I'm pretty sure that as the car would have already been wrote off and the owner at that time paid out for the car- then if the unfortunate happened and it was wrote of again- the insurance company would usually not give you more than what had already been given for the vehicle after the first incident.
I'm sure Zollar can confirm this!? ?
I'm sure Zollar can confirm this!? ?
It really depends.
For example, my girlfriends fiesta (Y plate) was a cat D (possibly even cat x - she never did explain it very clearly) after an audi lurched out of a junction at her. Fortunately she was only doing 30 and scrubed off a bit of it prior to impact.
Only needed a new front bumper, headlight unit and skin on the off side front wing (that was only a slight crease, but as it was on the other party's insurance, why not?). Structurally the car was untouched and all the damage was cosmetic.
Basically it varies on a case to case basis, best treat it as such!
For example, my girlfriends fiesta (Y plate) was a cat D (possibly even cat x - she never did explain it very clearly) after an audi lurched out of a junction at her. Fortunately she was only doing 30 and scrubed off a bit of it prior to impact.
Only needed a new front bumper, headlight unit and skin on the off side front wing (that was only a slight crease, but as it was on the other party's insurance, why not?). Structurally the car was untouched and all the damage was cosmetic.
Basically it varies on a case to case basis, best treat it as such!
As others have said, you know a cat d has been damaged - there are many non-recorded cars that will have had equally bad or worse damage but you'll have no clue unless you happen to spot evidence of repairs.
Another key factor is when the car was damaged. If it was 2 years old, the chances are that the damage was reasonably significant. If it occurred at 10 years old, it could be nothing more than a dented panel.
Another key factor is when the car was damaged. If it was 2 years old, the chances are that the damage was reasonably significant. If it occurred at 10 years old, it could be nothing more than a dented panel.
s31tof said:
I'm pretty sure that as the car would have already been wrote off and the owner at that time paid out for the car- then if the unfortunate happened and it was wrote of again- the insurance company would usually not give you more than what had already been given for the vehicle after the first incident.
I'm sure Zollar can confirm this!? ?
I bought a Z3M that was a cat d. Didn't tell insurance as it's not something they ask. The car was written off (by my wife) and we were paid out full price we paid because it was only 4 weeks earlier. I'm sure Zollar can confirm this!? ?
No problem, provided it has been fully and properly repaired (and you have the documentation to back this up, not just for your benefit, but also for whoever you may sell it to in the future).
Yes, you'll get less for it when you sell it but that won't be a problem if you paid less for it in the first place.
It's potentially a great way of getting a BMW M3 for 330i money, a Corsa VXR for 1.6 money, or a Porsche Turbo for Carrera money etc etc.
Yes, you'll get less for it when you sell it but that won't be a problem if you paid less for it in the first place.
It's potentially a great way of getting a BMW M3 for 330i money, a Corsa VXR for 1.6 money, or a Porsche Turbo for Carrera money etc etc.
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