Cat D cars.......

Ralph-y

Hi, I have been looking at a nearly new car for a short while now .......

and expect to pay about £14,000 with 10-12,000 miles, I have spotted a same spec car -cat D- for £12,500 1,000 miles

now I understand cat D (thanks google)

but what , if any are the implications of owning/buying one?

Ralph:cool:

Ranger8

Main thing is checking its been repaired properly !
I bought many over the years but the last was a repaired 6mth old Astra, great but battery keep going flat done all usual checks (new battery etc) ended up taking to main dealer who replaced / repaired some botched wiring and module which has been hacked to stop air bag light.
Bill £1600
Tread careful.. what seems like a bargain often isn`t taking into account the resale value

force_ten

as long as the car has been repaired properly and it is a nice straight car that runs well then there is no real issue buying and driving a cat D car

questions to ask why was it written off was it accident damage was it flood damage what is the history of write off and the history of the repair

if you are happy and keep the car forever and a day then all well and good but the Cat D will hurt the value and put off some buyers so you might find it hard to move on

would I buy a Cat D ? no not of the age and miles you talk of and not an older car either

motorguy

Ralph-y wrote: »

Hi, I have been looking at a nearly new car for a short while now .......

and expect to pay about £14,000 with 10-12,000 miles, I have spotted a same spec car -cat D- for £12,500 1,000 miles

now I understand cat D (thanks google)

but what , if any are the implications of owning/buying one?

Ralph:cool:

No. Too expensive.

For a £14,000 car to have been written off, its had approx £7,000+ of repairs needed. Granted thats at dealer rates but even so its still had a fair whack.

As was told to me by a body man, the only way you can make money at a Cat D repair is by cutting corners (bearing in mind someone has likely bought this car wrecked, fixed it and is taking a profit out of it). You've no idea how the car was repaired, and if it would otherwise still be under manufacturers warranty, if theres a major failure of some sort, the manufacturer will blame it on the repair. Also, its unlikely to have been repaired and painted to manufacturers standards, so your paint and rust warranty are invalid.

Price of the car is roughly £10,000 - bear in mind that come resale time dealers will whack a third off the value of it, and it will be more difficult to sell.

Kimberley

Not all Insurance company's will insure a Cat D car will they? Or if they do the premiums will be higher. This is the reason I never bought one.

motorguy

Kimberley wrote: »

Not all Insurance company's will insure a Cat D car will they? Or if they do the premiums will be higher. This is the reason I never bought one.

Premiums will be higher and some companies wont insure at all. Also if there is a total loss claim they will pay out at a reduced rate - roughly 1/3 rd off.

Hintza

We have 3 in the family all bought as salvage (ie un-repaired) and the decision was taken that they will be run until they die. I know exactly what was wrong with them and I know exactly what repairs were done so I'm happy.

I would disagree with motorguy slightly in that I think cost of repairs were a little less somewhere in the region of £5,500. But sometimes assessors will look at car and decide the possibility of hidden damage might be too high so will in fact write it off for a lot less. The last thing the insurer wants is the car to keep coming back for more repairs. The point being if they are in doubt they will get rid.

I probably wouldn't buy it myself as I want to know what has been done but my gut feeling is to may no more than £11,200 and I would be a lot happier at motorguys price but I doubt you would get it at that.

Ralph-y

Find out insurance probs ...........

find out what damage was ..........

find out about manufactures warranty ..........

the resale is not an issue as I normally keep my cars 7+ years

What would be the best way to have car looked at/tested should I proceed further?

Please correct me if I am wrong but, is it not the case that some new cars are replaced new for new in some circumstances?

I have no intention to rush into buying such a car, but I do like to consider all options

thanks

Ralph:cool:

motorguy

Ralph-y wrote: »

Find out insurance probs ...........

find out what damage was ..........

find out about manufactures warranty ..........

the resale is not an issue as I normally keep my cars 7+ years

What would be the best way to have car looked at/tested should I proceed further?

Please correct me if I am wrong but, is it not the case that some new cars are replaced new for new in some circumstances?

I have no intention to rush into buying such a car, but I do like to consider all options

thanks

Ralph:cool:

Yes, if a car is written off by the insurance company if its under a year old some policies replace with a new car, rather than pay out a used car value.

That doesnt take away from the fact that this car was that badly damaged that it was uneconomical to repair by the insurance company.

The car is too expensive for what it is - salvage repaired and put back on the road. You are not "saving" £2000 by buying that car as you're not comparing like for like, however you are paying more than a Cat D is worth.

Ralph-y

thanks ,

if any one is interested I can post replies to the questions I asked the dealer.

Ralph:cool:

Hoof_Hearted

I wouldn't touch it. The newer/more valuable the car, the more extensive the damage. The car has had a big accident. I would rather pay more for some peace of mind.


However, I would buy a Cat D older car. It could just be a new wing which made it an uneconomical repair.