Would an RAC inspection check repairs all correct to a Cat D car?

apples1

Mr Apples has found a cat D car and as the price is good (obviously) we are considering it. It's at a London dealer so not local to us.

He has checked out insurance & policy (via broker) is same price as it would be if said car was not Cat D so that is ticked.

If we now pay for full RAC check would we be safe? Dealer says we can have RAC check done. Is there a better inspection than RAC?

forgotmyname

Within reason. They will be able to check and tell you where repairs have been made.

But they wont knowthe full extent of how good the repairs were.

Only a full geometry test and a jig will tell you things like that.

apples1

forgotmyname wrote: »

Only a full geometry test and a jig will tell you things like that.

How would you get that done? At the risk of stating the obvious I don't know what a geometry test & jig is! I only want him driving a safe car. We need a bargain but not at any price.

Joe_Horner

Cat D is unlikely to need jigging / alignment checks etc and is very unlikely to be a death-trap. Many cat D cars are economically repairable at the time of the accident but the insurers decide to settle as total loss for some other reason.

That can be anything from parts / panels not available quickly enough (so hire charges wopuld increase) to no damage stolen but they'd already paid out by the time it was recovered.

Basically, if it gets a sound report from the RAC (make sure the inspector is aware of the cat D) and it looks / drives ok then enjoy the bargain




eta: Basically, an alignment check measures how well the wheels line up with each other compared to how the manufacturer says they should. If they don't line up then either the suspension or bodyshell has damage that hasn't been repaired properly. If they do line up it doesn't rule out bodyshell damage because the suspension may have been adjusted to compensate.

"Jigging" involves putting the bodyshell onto a frame that gives accurate reference points for where the suspension mounting points should be. It will show up any bending or twisting of the shell itself.

forgotmyname

Many are minor scrapes BUT some are bottom clenching to look at.

Search some of me older posts, I posted pictures of some CAT D cars. And they would have needed a bit more than a bit of T cut and a polish.

Light frontal on the auction listing. Why is the engine in the boot?

As Joe says. The average garage can check the wheel alignment but that wont tell you if the car is twisted.

A full jig will. Specialised bodyshops. If you need to goto these lengths to think a car is safe then dont buy it.

forgotmyname

click the picture on these links all CAT D.

Some of these have had suspension damage or crumple zones impacted,
But will they be repaired properly?

Google or go on youtube "fifth gear ford focus crash" They crash a very tidy looking repaired car into a non damaged one. The repaired one crumpled more.

If the chassis is damaged you maybe able to adjust the tracking or suspension arms to put the wheel back into alignment. But that doesnt fix the fact the chassis is not straight or weakened.


http://www.copart.co.uk/c2/homeSearch.html?_eventId=getLot&execution=e1s7&lotId=26445302&returnPage=SEARCH_RESULTS

http://www.copart.co.uk/c2/homeSearch.html?_eventId=getLot&execution=e1s7&lotId=24704812&returnPage=SEARCH_RESULTS

http://www.copart.co.uk/c2/homeSearch.html?_eventId=getLot&execution=e1s7&lotId=22441362&returnPage=SEARCH_RESULTS

http://www.copart.co.uk/c2/homeSearch.html?_eventId=getLot&execution=e1s7&lotId=25882222&returnPage=SEARCH_RESULTS

http://www.copart.co.uk/c2/homeSearch.html?_eventId=getLot&execution=e1s7&lotId=25128102&returnPage=SEARCH_RESULTS

apples1

The seller has told us which panel was damaged in the accident and we have checked with manufacturer that the remainder of the warranty will not be invalid due to being Cat D. They said they will still honour the warranty except the paintwork on that panel. RAC checked now booked.

I assume there is no way of checking independently from the dealer what the accident damage was is there? Just so we can be sure he is telling the truth?!

mmaarrkk1982

I buy and sell a lot of salvage vehicles but repair a few myself, if the seller bought and repaired it himself ask for pictures before it was repaired.

What make is it and what year?. There is no way to tell what damage it was without contacting the insurer who wrote the car off which would be hard to track who it was down.

colino

AA/RAC full price inspections are notorious for nit picking, irrelevant queries and comments. For the same money or less let your local, friendly independent give it a bumper to bumper check and see the difference.
Panel damage is easy to fix, but gaps more difficult to get right, exact paint match, even with extensive wash out is still obvious to the trained eye. Repairs are more interesting as panels that were factory spot welded might even look better seam welded, but they're not right.

apples1

mmaarrkk1982 wrote: »

What make is it and what year?. There is no way to tell what damage it was without contacting the insurer who wrote the car off which would be hard to track who it was down.

Its a Nissan 2011

We had a HPI check done which confirmed the damage. Is that not enough a check without contacting insurer that wrote it off)?

mkirkby

Doesn't a written off car have to pass an independent check to confirm the actually damage has been correctly repaired to get it back on the road anyway?

Please note that this was my assumption, not a fact; I'm no expert but I'm sure many on here are.