# buying a car with history of Cat D damage



## asl (Jan 25, 2009)

Hi all. I have been looking at buying a particualr car for a while and have just seen one which is a fair bit cheaper than the average due to Cat D damage (apparently cosmetic front end) The damage has been repaired.

I've googled Cat D and it comes back with 'Category D - Repairable. Probably non-structural damage. May have been economic to repair, but insurer doesn't want to.'

The car I'm looking at is only 2 years old and would have been £50k new so the fact that an insurance company didn't want to repair it rings alarm bells with me.

Has anyone got any experience / thoughts on this subject???

Cheers


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## weeman (Sep 6, 2007)

My mate has a ford focus ST170,he bought it from brand new and inside a year stuffed it trying to avoid an oncoming car in his lane when he was coming home from work one night,the damage was all cosmetic,basically new front bumper/wings/bonnet/body kit and two alloys/tyres,the insurance company werent interested and its now listed as a cat D too,the thing is repaired and there is fook all wrong with it,you have to remember the insurance companies will be getting quoted top dollar prices on parts and hourly labour rates so the cost can stratosphere no bother,making them choose to not repair the car.

Seems nuts to me,but leaves bargains for the rest of us,just selling it on again may be a headache come the time


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## Nidge (Jan 22, 2007)

*I got the missus a Cat D Vectra 58 plate last year, like the others have posted it was only front end damage and a radiator plus some paint. Got it for a song and took a week and a half to get back on the road. *

*There's some good bargains out there.*


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## essexboy (Sep 7, 2008)

The reason the insurance company dont want to repair is simple ecomomics.They will not get involved, if the repair cost outweighs the value.Lets asume the car is a two year old merc.Residual value might be £27000.All repairs have to be carried out at main dealer prices.that means £80 plus an hour labour, plus parts at full retail.We used to run a merc approved reapair shop.You have to use insurance approved primer at £80 a litre, when we pay under £20.The cost soon ramps up.Better to sell the car and recoupe as much as possible, than reapair it, and still not recover the bad equity.

So you will have a car that costs 30% less than a "straight one" reselling will be a pain, as everyone nowadays checks the vcar register.So you will have to price accordingly.If you sell it without declaring it, youve done nothing wrong(caveat emptor) but if the new buyer finds out further down the line, he may get the hump.

Bricks etc through windows. threats, have not been unheard of.

As with most things in life.There are no free lunches.


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## Nidge (Jan 22, 2007)

weeman said:


> Seems nuts to me,but leaves bargains for the rest of us,just selling it on again may be a headache come the time


*When it's been tested it's no longer a Cat D write off, it's given a clean bill of health. You can't get Cat D's tested at your local MOT station I had to take the Vectra to Birmingham where they go through it with a fine tooth comb before issuing you with pass and a MOT.*


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## Milky (Nov 30, 2008)

I have got a cat D Freelander it was written of because it was covered in paint stripper.

Your log book WILL stipulate it has been written off onve so it will be a pig to sell on ( as l have learned myself) but if you intend to keep it ehn dont worry about it.


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## Five-O (May 21, 2006)

Cat d's can be bargains, make sure they have the full repair bills from any accident and poss any pics of the damage too.

At the rate dealerships charge to fix things, and the insurers normally getting sky high quotes, it makes for lots of cat d's...sometimes even if its something cosmetic even.

I think they say its a cat d write off IF its more than 1/3 of the vehicle value.


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## Rob68 (Sep 16, 2008)

gemilky69 said:


> I have got a cat D Freelander it was written of because it was covered in paint stripper.
> 
> Your log book WILL stipulate it has been written off onve so it will be a pig to sell on ( as l have learned myself) but if you intend to keep it ehn dont worry about it.


How would you go on if you tried to part ex it at a main dealers,would you still have the same problem or are dealers not that bothered?


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## Milky (Nov 30, 2008)

RJ68 said:


> How would you go on if you tried to part ex it at a main dealers,would you still have the same problem or are dealers not that bothered?


They either wouldnt touch it or kick you right in the nuts price wise.

:thumbup1:


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## essexboy (Sep 7, 2008)

RJ68 said:


> How would you go on if you tried to part ex it at a main dealers,would you still have the same problem or are dealers not that bothered?


Main dealers will kick you in the nuts if you part ex one.Most traders will take them but obviously wont allow as much as a straight one.Actually I love em.When we used to buy part exs from a few local main agents, they would sell us really nice cars, on the list, at giveaway prices.We used to take them straight to auction,and draw nice profits.Although the auction would declare the cars status , most of the buyers(non-english) wouldnt understand what "insurance loss" meant.They used to make the same money as straight cars.

If i was selling one now privately, id mark it up cheap.You will then be inudated with calls from poles, latvians, etc.They want to take them home, so it makes no odds, if its recorded.

Same goes for high mileage cars (esp diesels) they are buying them here, clocking them and taking them home.I sold a 4 year old skoda diesel last month, with 277,000 up it.The phone was alight for days.


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## weeman (Sep 6, 2007)

gemilky69 said:


> They either wouldnt touch it or kick you right in the nuts price wise.
> 
> :thumbup1:


yep thats what they did with my mate when he went to trade the st170 in against the old RS focus at the time,offered him something like 4k under the book rate for it.


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## Robbieben (Jan 1, 2010)

No problems buying a car that has been a Cat D write off, just understand that you need to be buying it cheaper than an ordinary non damaged car of the same age/mileage, as you will likely lose out when you come to sell it as it will still be a Cat D and therefore worth less than a car that has not been repaired.


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## Nidge (Jan 22, 2007)

*All this Cat D stuff is bollox. What happens when an insurance company repairs a motor and gets it back on the road?? Yep it goes straight back on the road with nothing on the log book.*


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## freeline (Dec 12, 2009)

Robbieben said:


> No problems buying a car that has been a Cat D write off, just understand that you need to be buying it cheaper than an ordinary non damaged car of the same age/mileage, as you will likely lose out when you come to sell it as it will still be a Cat D and therefore worth less than a car that has not been repaired.


Award for stating the obvious and repeating whats already been said goes to Robbieben..


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## essexboy (Sep 7, 2008)

Nidge said:


> *When it's been tested it's no longer a Cat D write off, it's given a clean bill of health. You can't get Cat D's tested at your local MOT station I had to take the Vectra to Birmingham where they go through it with a fine tooth comb before issuing you with pass and a MOT.*


Unless HPI/Equifax, have recently changed practices, the car remains on the total loss register.Mot tests are no different, form "straight" cars.


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## Guest (Jan 24, 2010)

Its a great money maker buying and selling them.


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## stl (Apr 12, 2009)

> Unless HPI/Equifax, have recently changed practices, the car remains on the total loss register.Mot tests are no different, form "straight" cars.


Agreed, i had a CAT D Audi for a few years- great car, when i sold it,i didnt hide the fact it was damaged and didnt lose any money on it.

Also it is only a CAT C which require a VIC check before going back on the road.


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## Magic Torch (May 30, 2005)

Depends on price really - if I was saving a few grand I wouldn't buy one but if it was a lot lot cheaper then I would consider it.

You have to think about the resale value and if you can still achieve a good price after you have finished with it.


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## sphinx121 (Apr 22, 2009)

stl said:


> Agreed, i had a CAT D Audi for a few years- great car, when i sold it,i didnt hide the fact it was damaged and didnt lose any money on it.
> 
> Also it is only a CAT C which require a VIC check before going back on the road.


And also only cat c is shown on the log book, not cat d but this can be found when vehicle checks are done!


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## DB (Oct 31, 2003)

no problem imo..

One of my motorbikes got written off with a cat D, i repaired it, told the dude who bought it a year later what happened and he didnt care..

Most people are wise to it tbh and understand how silly the reasons for write offs are..

parts are so damn expensive.. I remember once I asked a guy at kawasaki how much it was to buy a new ninja from parts = 30k without an engine!! the whole bike cost 8k brand new&built! lol stupid


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## Five-O (May 21, 2006)

Thats right Baz mate, I had an evo 8 which was a cat d, all it was, was a stolen recovered, had a few scratches which the old owner sorted out with a proper paint job, no damage to engine etc, and was spot on, I got kicked in the b0llox selling on though as some won't touch them no matter what is explainable, I have no problem having another IF everything can be accounted for.

Its repair bills and quality that sets a good one apart from a pile of 5hite.


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