Buying/running a Cat D write off.....?

[Tony*T3]

Can anyone with experience please let me know the pitfalls of buying a Cat D write off?

I'm aware that future resale value will be affected, and its not a problem for me, as i'd keep the car until it 'expires'.

Obviously, type of write off might make a difference, but suppose its just a stolen/recovered car, thats had an insurance pay out (maybe with cosmetic damage repaired). Will it affect the future insurance premiums?

Also, as a %, what sort of discount should I be paying for a Cat D? If a non Cat D car was worth £8000, how much roughly would a car thats been Cat D'd retail at?

Any horror stories about doing this?

Cheers

[jon-]

I've been wondering this myself. I was looking for Mazda 2's for the girlfriend and there are a lot of cat D's on ebay with relatively minor cosmetic damage. Assuming the parts are cheap, it could be a nice little bargain.

[qooqiiu]

Quite a few insurance companies will not insure CAT c'/d's, so you need to have a ring around.

For an £8,000 car id be wanting it for £6,000, tops.

[andye30m3]

I had a cat D E36 M3, the damage was quite minor to the front drivers side which had been repaired to a good standard and in the 2 years I owned it I never had any issues which could be connected with the damage sustained.

Resale is often the biggest issue and I'm not sure how likely you are to get the service history and any previous receipts.

With regards to price I paid £7k for my M3 when similar cars were selling for £11-12K.

I think a lot depends on the type of car and how old it was when it was damaged. for instance my M3 was probably work 13-15K when damaged, silly BMW prices helped right it off but had the car had the same accident earlier in it's life when it was worth up to £30+K it would have just been repaired and I would have been none the wiser.

When looking for cars at least one other car I looked at had had a far harder knock in the front end resulting in a replacement chassis leg and wasn't registered.

[J4CKO]

You may as well, so many cars have a hidden past, at least if its a Cat D it was minor and the seller is being up front.

My Cousin ran a salvaged Golf for years without issue, I have run plenty of stuff that has been repaired.

Worth keeping photos of it pre-reapir to show any potential purchaser in the future.

My mothe in law was really funny about me buying a damaged repairable, it wont be safe etc, I pointed out that her A Class Merc had, at the hands of my father in law been in a fairly hard knock, but apparently that was different !

[Gizmo!]

I've never understood the problem with Cat D's. As long as you know the history it's as good as any other car.

Which would you rather - a car that's Cat D with a history, maybe had a couple of panels replaced; or a car that has been smacked into a lamp-post, dragged down to Dave McDodgy's lock-up and bashed back into shape with a large hammer without telling the insurer anything happened?

All depends on the condition of the car really...