Cat S cars - anybody bought one to use?

[anonymous-user]

As per the title; can you grab some bargains or is there a world of aggravation lurking after all diligent checks have been done?

[davek_964]

I think this has been discussed various times.

The "Cat" cars never seem particularly cheap to me - and it must be a massive pain when you want to sell. I've never been tempted - and Cat S would worry me more than Cat N.

Having said that - the person who bought my car (which I think was Cat N) seems to have it back on the road, at a cost he's happy with - albeit with a few minor running issues which he needs to sort out.

[glennjamin]

Daughters boyfriend bought BMW M2 that was cat s, Had been damaged ns front repaired by BMW given good bill of health. Drove really well no signs of damage handled well etc etc.....2 years on been on Autotrader for 3 weeks loads of views but no offers.

As they say buyer beware! Might be good idea but when you come to sell it is a nightmare...

[steveo3002]

some will be repaired like new , others bodged up with used /stolen parts and will never be any good

theyre never cheap enough for me to consider

[myvision]

Not cars but bought two cat S bikes and never had an issue with either.
Will buy another.

[anonymous-user]

glennjamin said:

As they say buyer beware! Might be good idea but when you come to sell it is a nightmare...

This is what I was thinking.

Somewhat ironically I've just found out my partner's Mini is a Cat N. I'd contacted a garage about a possible trade-in (not against a Cat S car) and they highlighted the fact.

I told her to do the check when she bought it. The seller never mentioned it, which I find distasteful.

We'll see how easily the Mini sells but my gut feeling is that once you know, you know and you'll never be 100% comfortable knowing.

Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 1st June 09:21

[solo2]

bought a Cat N car for my daughter 5 years ago. It was already 8 years old and of little value so the damage itself was minor, a bumper and some paintwork.

I'd happily do that again for an older car but not a newer one that would have had more extensive damage

[E-bmw]

I have bought, fixed & run all classes of write off car over the years & never had an issue with fixing/buying/using them.

I have bought repaired ones from others but only with well documented evidence of damage/repair, which I did myself when repairing for me/to sell on.

The only issue you will have is selling, because others may not be so trusting/knowledgeable of the end result.

This you need to factor in when buying, and should limit the value to around 66/75% of undamaged value.

You MUST get a HPI check done beforehand & MUST declare it when selling, ignorance is no defence, you will still be liable if the buyer then finds out later.

[Jamescrs]

I'd buy a Cat N car as an older car with a view that I was keeping it until it died, I wouldn't buy a Cat S personally and I wouldn't but a Cat car at all of higher value I may want to sell on again as too much hassle to bother with

[davek_964]

Jamescrs said:

I'd buy a Cat N car as an older car with a view that I was keeping it until it died, I wouldn't buy a Cat S personally and I wouldn't but a Cat car at all of higher value I may want to sell on again as too much hassle to bother with

I don't think I'd ever be tempted - but as they say, everything sells at the right price. I suppose that high value cars can become "affordable" to people who couldn't afford them without a cat history, and maybe that's tempting - if the price is right. In fact, maybe it makes more sense if it gets you into a car that you couldn't usually afford to buy because it's £20-30k cheaper - rather than the family wagon where you could afford both but might save £5k if you buy the cat one?

[Yellow Lizud]

E-bmw said:

You MUST get a HPI check done beforehand & MUST declare it when selling, ignorance is no defence, you will still be liable if the buyer then finds out later.

Private sellers do not have to declare anything, however they do have to answer honestly if asked.
Dealers have to declare a category write off, individuals don't.

[BertBert]

Yellow Lizud said:

E-bmw said:

You MUST get a HPI check done beforehand & MUST declare it when selling, ignorance is no defence, you will still be liable if the buyer then finds out later.

Private sellers do not have to declare anything, however they do have to answer honestly if asked.
Dealers have to declare a category write off, individuals don't.

E-bmw has said this before, but keeps on at it despite being in the wrong.

[dibblecorse]

glennjamin said:

Daughters boyfriend bought BMW M2 that was cat s, Had been damaged ns front repaired by BMW given good bill of health. Drove really well no signs of damage handled well etc etc.....2 years on been on Autotrader for 3 weeks loads of views but no offers.

As they say buyer beware! Might be good idea but when you come to sell it is a nightmare...

How much cheaper than a non Cat registered car is it ? Its also the sort of car that probably isn't just a cheap daily runabout so will have an even smaller audience ...

[Tupe]

Yellow Lizud said:

Private sellers do not have to declare anything, however they do have to answer honestly if asked.
Dealers have to declare a category write off, individuals don't.

That is not quite true:
I "t’s perfectly legal to sell certain cars that have been declared write-offs for insurance purposes, depending on the severity of the damage. We discuss the details of insurance write-offs here, but in a nutshell there are four levels of write-off and the lower two (Cat S and Cat N, previously called Cat C and Cat D) allow for a car to be repaired and returned to the road.

An insurance write-off must always be declared at point of sale and included in any advertisement. It will also be noted in a history check on the vehicle from CAP-HPI or other providers. It’s not good enough for the seller to only provide this information when asked about it."

[MustangGT]

My personal view is that a Cat S would need to be priced at about 60% of a clean car to be of interest, and a Cat N about 75%.

[0ddball]

Tupe said:

Yellow Lizud said:

Private sellers do not have to declare anything, however they do have to answer honestly if asked.
Dealers have to declare a category write off, individuals don't.

That is not quite true:
I "t’s perfectly legal to sell certain cars that have been declared write-offs for insurance purposes, depending on the severity of the damage. We discuss the details of insurance write-offs here, but in a nutshell there are four levels of write-off and the lower two (Cat S and Cat N, previously called Cat C and Cat D) allow for a car to be repaired and returned to the road.

An insurance write-off must always be declared at point of sale and included in any advertisement. It will also be noted in a history check on the vehicle from CAP-HPI or other providers. It’s not good enough for the seller to only provide this information when asked about it."

What he said is true. What you said is irrelevant.

[MustangGT]

Tupe said:

Yellow Lizud said:

Private sellers do not have to declare anything, however they do have to answer honestly if asked.
Dealers have to declare a category write off, individuals don't.

That is not quite true:
I "t’s perfectly legal to sell certain cars that have been declared write-offs for insurance purposes, depending on the severity of the damage. We discuss the details of insurance write-offs here, but in a nutshell there are four levels of write-off and the lower two (Cat S and Cat N, previously called Cat C and Cat D) allow for a car to be repaired and returned to the road.

An insurance write-off must always be declared at point of sale by a motor trader, but not by a private individual seller and included in any motor trader advertisement. It will also be noted in a history check on the vehicle from CAP-HPI or other providers. It’s not good enough for the motor trade seller to only provide this information when asked about it although a private seller may do so."

Amended for accuracy.

[5lab]

Cat s is a lot easier to occur than the old cat c as any damage to panels which are part of the monocoque are cat s if the damage costs enough, so any rear 3/4, sill etc will trigger it.

Currently run around in 2 cat s cars. One is a zafira tourer that (repaired badly) I paid under half the undamaged cost. Was low mileage, we will drive it into the ground.

Other is a gt86, lots of them come up as cat due to the nature of the car (cheap, rwd, it's the s2000 of this era). I'd say I paid around 3k under undamaged value, and acknowledge it'll be tricky to sell when the time comes, but it was the only way into the car for the cash I had (£7500 a year ago)

[Fermit]

Cat C/S, nope. I just wouldn't trust if it was ever right. Maybe, just maybe, if it came with an extensive photo library of post the accident, and then of the work undertaken. Cat D/N, yeah, for sure, if I know what's been done, the car drives straight and true, and it's a good enough discount. Our cat N (vandalised) Insignia is off to Copart next week after suffering rear end damage. All it needs for to sell is a new tailgate, light-clusters, rear trim, and dents taking out of the rear quarter panel, and some paint or smart repair. I costed it up as less than £500 of ebay parts. Someone will buy it from auction, and will have a great solid FSH car, with recent cambelt and brand new Goodyear F1's all round. I hope it lives on TBH, so will be keeping an eye on Autotrader for it.

[soad]

Doesn’t appeal personally.