The affect of being Cat D registered
Discussion
I am currently thinking of getting a 993 or 964 and I have seen a car advertised as Cat D registered (light panel damage) which apparantly was repaired and now "like new".
but what does Cat D "light panel damage" actually mean? a small dent and a repray, a new bumper? could "light" actually include more serious issues?
should i avoid a cat D car altogether even though there is an obvious price advantage?
what affect should Cat D registration make to a cars value over a non-damaged car (even though they might look and drive the same)?
anything else that should be considered?
how does anything become Cat D registered anyway? i suppose by simply the process of the owner making a claim for some incident?
thanks for your advice on this!
- rich
but what does Cat D "light panel damage" actually mean? a small dent and a repray, a new bumper? could "light" actually include more serious issues?
should i avoid a cat D car altogether even though there is an obvious price advantage?
what affect should Cat D registration make to a cars value over a non-damaged car (even though they might look and drive the same)?
anything else that should be considered?
how does anything become Cat D registered anyway? i suppose by simply the process of the owner making a claim for some incident?
thanks for your advice on this!
- rich
Buying written off cars is a job for the experts or for idiots and most of the experts don`t buy them. We have bought & sold a few cars over the years on the VCAR but in each instance we were happy that we knew the extent of any damage. We have rejected ten times the number we`ve bought.
There is usually a reason why the car was written off, on an older car the cost of m/d labour, parts and the fact that the insurers pay for a belt and braces repair can make some relatively minor damage un-economic but that won`t be a scratch / wing or front bumper it will be more serious. There is also the question of mechanical damage as a result of the impact, gearbox mountings for instance are very common.
I have yet to see a car advertised as being a real shoddy repair and hanging onto life by a thread but I seen some cars that match the description on the list. Similarly it`s amazing how every engine out of a written off car has done 40k miles but the cars that haven`t been written off and have service history all seem to have travelled 3 times that distance. Do you think the sort of people dealing in this type of car might have cause to bend the truth from time to time?
Henry
There is usually a reason why the car was written off, on an older car the cost of m/d labour, parts and the fact that the insurers pay for a belt and braces repair can make some relatively minor damage un-economic but that won`t be a scratch / wing or front bumper it will be more serious. There is also the question of mechanical damage as a result of the impact, gearbox mountings for instance are very common.
I have yet to see a car advertised as being a real shoddy repair and hanging onto life by a thread but I seen some cars that match the description on the list. Similarly it`s amazing how every engine out of a written off car has done 40k miles but the cars that haven`t been written off and have service history all seem to have travelled 3 times that distance. Do you think the sort of people dealing in this type of car might have cause to bend the truth from time to time?
Henry
Hi Rich
I was told by the bodyshop who CAT D wrote off my 944 that if the repair costs are more than about 80% of the cars value they will CAT D it, the repair cost also includes car hire charges for your loan car. The damage to my car was very minor, light damage to front wing, bumper and spoiler - £4500 to repair!! I can see how a 944 would easily be written off but as a 993 etc has a much higher value I would have thought damage would have to be quite a bit more severe. Regarding resale, I have been advised that repaired CAT D cars are worth about 25% less than non damaged ones. I bought mine back from the insurer and repaired it for much lower costs and have kept detailed pictures of the damage to show purchasers if I come to sell. I still think it will put people off though.
I was told by the bodyshop who CAT D wrote off my 944 that if the repair costs are more than about 80% of the cars value they will CAT D it, the repair cost also includes car hire charges for your loan car. The damage to my car was very minor, light damage to front wing, bumper and spoiler - £4500 to repair!! I can see how a 944 would easily be written off but as a 993 etc has a much higher value I would have thought damage would have to be quite a bit more severe. Regarding resale, I have been advised that repaired CAT D cars are worth about 25% less than non damaged ones. I bought mine back from the insurer and repaired it for much lower costs and have kept detailed pictures of the damage to show purchasers if I come to sell. I still think it will put people off though.
Hi Rich
I was told by the bodyshop who CAT D wrote off my 944 that if the repair costs are more than about 80% of the cars value they will CAT D it, the repair cost also includes car hire charges for your loan car. The damage to my car was very minor, light damage to front wing, bumper and spoiler - £4500 to repair!! I can see how a 944 would easily be written off but as a 993 etc has a much higher value I would have thought damage would have to be quite a bit more severe. Regarding resale, I have been advised that repaired CAT D cars are worth about 25% less than non damaged ones. I bought mine back from the insurer and repaired it for much lower costs and have kept detailed pictures of the damage to show purchasers if I come to sell. I still think it will put people off though.
I was told by the bodyshop who CAT D wrote off my 944 that if the repair costs are more than about 80% of the cars value they will CAT D it, the repair cost also includes car hire charges for your loan car. The damage to my car was very minor, light damage to front wing, bumper and spoiler - £4500 to repair!! I can see how a 944 would easily be written off but as a 993 etc has a much higher value I would have thought damage would have to be quite a bit more severe. Regarding resale, I have been advised that repaired CAT D cars are worth about 25% less than non damaged ones. I bought mine back from the insurer and repaired it for much lower costs and have kept detailed pictures of the damage to show purchasers if I come to sell. I still think it will put people off though.
Hi Rich
I was told by the bodyshop who CAT D wrote off my 944 that if the repair costs are more than about 80% of the cars value they will CAT D it, the repair cost also includes car hire charges for your loan car. The damage to my car was very minor, light damage to front wing, bumper and spoiler - £4500 to repair!! I can see how a 944 would easily be written off but as a 993 etc has a much higher value I would have thought damage would have to be quite a bit more severe. Regarding resale, I have been advised that repaired CAT D cars are worth about 25% less than non damaged ones. I bought mine back from the insurer and repaired it for much lower costs and have kept detailed pictures of the damage to show purchasers if I come to sell. I still think it will put people off though.
I was told by the bodyshop who CAT D wrote off my 944 that if the repair costs are more than about 80% of the cars value they will CAT D it, the repair cost also includes car hire charges for your loan car. The damage to my car was very minor, light damage to front wing, bumper and spoiler - £4500 to repair!! I can see how a 944 would easily be written off but as a 993 etc has a much higher value I would have thought damage would have to be quite a bit more severe. Regarding resale, I have been advised that repaired CAT D cars are worth about 25% less than non damaged ones. I bought mine back from the insurer and repaired it for much lower costs and have kept detailed pictures of the damage to show purchasers if I come to sell. I still think it will put people off though.
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