The truth about Cat D Tivs..

[scottyr]

I heard over the weekend that any TVR requiring repair through a claim automatically wound up as a Cat D as no official TVR replacement parts can be sourced to complete the job.

Probably got the wrong end of the stick here, but can someone enlighten me please.

[bubblebobble]

well cant really comment on that but I can tell you that I have had a few cat c and cat d tvrs......the damage can vary significantly.
I have only purchased vehicles with body damage. I have had a cat c with really very minor fibergalss damage and a cat d with major damage.
It all comes down to the assessor I believe as for writing them off due to lack of parts, this may not be the case as I know people who have had major damage and the insurance have paid out.
UNless someone knows different?

[Gazzab]

The lack of parts will make it more expensive to repair if sourcing parts is difficult or manufacture of parts is expensive BUT this will just make it more likely that a car is written off. It wont be the rule. Frequently TVRs are repaired using filler, glass and paint, this can be expensive and will require an ins claim but is less likely to require a write off.

[scottyr]

Point being, there's a Cat D 05 T350 with 4k on clock, just had a full respray also.

The bloke selling it is based in silverstone and has been doing insurance jobs in Tivs for years.

Says that it was easiest job ever, front wing, headlight and wishbone was all that was needed.

My worry is trying to re sell it. It's 22k which sounded cheap to start with, but CAT D registered, it now seems a tad expensive.

[bogie]

its the same in the Lotus world, with Cat D Elises and I know a guy who buys them, makes them as good as new and re-sells....BUT theve got to be a bargain as re-sale is harder, you cant trade in at a dealer etc.

pics of the damage and repairs can help, but it really needs to be thousands cheaper than any straight car on the market...and you intend on keeping it for quite some years

[Gazzab]

Needs to be 1/2 to 2/3rds of normal money to make it worth it, even then you are stuck with it !

[scottyr]

Well and 22k, I reckon this guy is stuck with it then.

He was really trying to sell it to me as not being a problem.

Also (in 40 years time maybe) he was trying to convince me that TVR's are being written off every day, eventually hardly any will be left and they will be worth a small fortune.

[kmpowell]

scottyr said:

I heard over the weekend that any TVR requiring repair through a claim automatically wound up as a Cat D as no official TVR replacement parts can be sourced to complete the job.

Probably got the wrong end of the stick here, but can someone enlighten me please.

I got run off the road in my old T350 and had to have nearly £20k's worth of damage repaired. I claimed on my insurance but contrary to what you were told the car was never catagorised and was HPi clear.

So I'm afraid you heard wrong.

[blackpoolrocket]

22k for a CAT D 350 is not cheap!!!!!. You need to check if the seller is wearing floppy feet and a red nose.

12k for a CAT D is cheap but the fact still remains would you want the hassle of selling if you ever need to because your only option is a private sale

[Targarama]

Personally I'd avoid a damaged car, but there are people who buy to keep and get a bargain. Good luck to them as many cars are probably better than new after repair. As people have said, try selling it...

I reckon this would be worth 18k max (but I don't have all the details of course...). Reason is that you can get a very clean non-cat damaged car for 20-22k. The fact this one has done 4k miles doesn't interest me - the engine (and the rest of the car) will be in much better nick if its been used (assuming it has sat outside and not inside a dehumidified garage).

[plasticman]

Are you really saying that things deteriate quicker if thet are noy used than when they are ??
I been working on TVRs almost solely since about 1990 . I have repaired many cars for main dealers that have had worse damage than some of the "written off " cars that I have repaired . Wether a car is written off can depend on many things including whether the owner wants the car back or even how busy the repair garage is at the time . A car that has been categorized can easily have had less damage than a clean one . I had to do a quick repair for a main dealer whos mechanic had reached into start a car not realising it was in gear . The car shunted the car in front into the car in front of that one .The middle car had new front and back ends fitted and the remaing cars one new front and back each . I am sure the owners of the cars never found out about the incident !
I have also seen category B cars that have had a hole the size of a golfball and no other damage . What I will say is I have seen more badly repaired written off cars than ones repaired through insurance .

[blackpoolrocket]

I can agree with what plasticman wrote but the fact still remains when a car gets a category d or whatever slapped on it, you are going to have problems selling FACT and by the same token you can take a good 10k off any other similar priced non cat car.