Cat D or Not cat D That is the question

[SkidMark2000]

I have seen some exotica Ferari, Maserarti, Aston Etc all on Cat D's and they seem cheap enough. I was told the story is "Uneconomical to Repair" usually this is because the Policy has a provision for a similar car to be hired whilst the repair is carried out and the cost of Brand New parts on a three year old car isnt viable. I could source 2nd hand parts to effect the reairs and end up with a Repaired Supercar at a greatly reduced price or have I missed something?

[Alex@POD]

You got the gist of it, the biggest downside is that you will have to advertise it a lot cheaper than similar non cat D models come selling time...

I don't see it as an issue as long as you don't plan to sell the car for a normal price later.

[volvoforlife]

A lot of people don't like Cat D because they don't truly know what happened to the car. Some people say its only panel damage whereas it could have been a whole lot more.

I suppose you'll know if you're buying it in unrepaired condition and do the work yourself. But selling it on will be hard for the above reason.

[Risotto]

As long as you don't pay much for the car + parts, the fact that you won't get much for it when repaired isn't an issue.

As others have said, if you're going to do it, it certainly wouldn't harm your resale chances if you photographed the damage and the repairs.

You can also repair cat c cars but resale would be even harder and there's an identity check that needs to be carried out by VOSA before it can be put back on the road.

[mrmr96]

volvoforlife said:

A lot of people don't like Cat D because they don't truly know what happened to the car. Some people say its only panel damage whereas it could have been a whole lot more.

I suppose you'll know if you're buying it in unrepaired condition and do the work yourself. But selling it on will be hard for the above reason.

This is true.

You can mitigate the price drop by keeping as much documentation about the repair as physically possible. i.e.

- The original advert for the car.
- The original invoice showing the price you paid for it.
- Detailed photos of the damage as it was when you received the car. (including odometer)
- A full bill of materials and labour used in the repair.
- Interim repair photos.
- Completed repair photos.
- Receipts for servicing and MOT work etc.

Having the above, plus anything else noteworthy along the way, will help to put the buyers mind at rest as to the exact history of the car.

[SkidMark2000]

Is there a % rule of thumb as to what you should pay for a Cat D car v an undameged one ? whats a repaired Cat D likly to be worth against an undamaged one.

[mrmr96]

SkidMark2000 said:

Is there a % rule of thumb as to what you should pay for a Cat D car v an undameged one ? whats a repaired Cat D likly to be worth against an undamaged one.

I'd estimate about 20-40% less than undamaged.

[TRUENOSAM]

You have to remember that it does not have to be damaged to be registered as cat D. If a vehicle is stolen with keys lets say and the poilice do not find or recover the car untill after the insurance has paid out to the owner the car will be registered cat D

A lot of water damaged cars go on the register as cat D mainly because the water is most likley going to be flood water and that will infect the car with bacteria and maybe cause future electrical faults. There could be no physical damage to the vehicle but the insurance company will write it off as uneconomical repair.

For instance a mate of mine purchased a Landrover Discovery purely for off roading and it was a cat C write off and all it needed was a bonnet and indicator lens but the way the insurance company cacluate the cost to repair would be using genuine parts that fitting painting then labour wich then would cost over 1/3rd of the vehicles value hance making it an uneconomical repair.