Cat C repairs
Author
Discussion

GingerNinja

Original Poster:

3,988 posts

286 months

Tuesday 16th December 2003
quotequote all
Hoping someone can help.
There are a few Cat C category Tuscans for sale out there in the £20K area.

As I understand it, a Cat C is when the cost of repairs exceeds the cost of replacing the vehicle. So we'd be talking probably at least £20K worth of repairs....so how come the cars are there for sale, apparently looking immaculate? Who's payig for the repairs, and where's it getting done?

trooper1212

9,457 posts

280 months

Tuesday 16th December 2003
quotequote all
These are the descriptions for the different insurance categories

A. A vehicle which should be totally crushed, including all its spare parts.

B. A vehicle from which spare parts may be salvaged, but the bodyshell should be crushed and the car should never return to the road.

C. An extensively damaged vehicle which the insurer has decided not to repair, but which could potentially be repaired to a high standard.

D. A damaged vehicle that the insurer has decided not to repair, but which could be repaired and returned to the road.




What typically happens is low value cars are written-off under Cat D, high values cars under cat C.

You're right to question the cost of repairs, but a lot of the cost will be in a labour charges, which will differ considerably between the charges made to insurance companies and somebody doing the work using a 'friend'.
A category C car is still repairable and can be finished to a very high standard, but you'll need good history and evidence of repair to be satisfied and it will be a nightmare to sell on.


>> Edited by trooper1212 on Tuesday 16th December 23:48

Ballistic Banana

14,706 posts

295 months

Tuesday 16th December 2003
quotequote all
I think with Cat C. It would have cost more than 70%( ish ) of the value of the car to repair it.

BB

Psychobert

6,318 posts

284 months

Wednesday 17th December 2003
quotequote all
IIRC CatD can be repaired by anyone, but a CatC has to be inspected by an approved garage. I thnk that makes a C a better buy than a D because it will have been repaired properly, (rather than with gaffa tape).

pistolar

1,474 posts

296 months

Wednesday 17th December 2003
quotequote all
a cat C or D do not need the workmanship inspected, only an MOT. If the repair is done correctly the normal practice is to get the car inspected by an insurance approved test centre, if the car passes this extremely strict test on your HPI report it will state that the car is a cat C or D but repaired correctly.
Note you dont get an inspection report when the dealer repairs your car under a normal accident repair!

N4 SPY

85 posts

273 months

Wednesday 17th December 2003
quotequote all
pistolar said:
a cat C or D do not need the workmanship inspected, only an MOT. If the repair is done correctly the normal practice is to get the car inspected by an insurance approved test centre, if the car passes this extremely strict test on your HPI report it will state that the car is a cat C or D but repaired correctly.
Note you dont get an inspection report when the dealer repairs your car under a normal accident repair!


Agree with Pistolar on this, I looked at a Cat D Chim a while back and when I spoke to several insurance companies they all told me that it would have to come with an inspection report that gave it a clean bill of health or else they wouldn't touch it. Plus there is only one approved company that they get to do the tests and they only have 2 centres in the UK. When I questioned this to say that the car didn't have an inspection report and yet the owner has insured it, I was told that if he/she ever comes to claim on the insurance they will say, in a nice way ............. no chance, it isn't road worthy!!.

HPI also confirmed that they will only update their history when they receive an official copy of the inspection report from this particular company. Plus, HPI have the official classification of any damaged car, this Chim was advertised as a Cat D but was infact a Cat C, so it's worth checking everything!!!

tonyrec

3,984 posts

283 months

Wednesday 17th December 2003
quotequote all
Whichever way you look at it, a Cat C or D car will be difficult to sell on, unless of course its a real bargain and the buyer is clouded by this.

I guess what im trying to say is, if you do buy one that has been professionaly repaired, then buy at the right price.
Personally, i wouldnt touch one with a barge pole, but still, everyone is different.
You pay your money and take your chance.