Effect of Cat C/D Write-Off on Value?

macman

I'm trying to sell a car belonging to an elderly relative who has had to surrender his licence. It's a 12 year old BMW 330Ci Coupe Auto, Mileage 90K.
I've look at putting this through an auction house and the sales valuation they gave me is about half the expected value. I reckoned maybe £1,400 and they're quoting only £600-800 at auction.
The vehicle was declared a Cat C and Cat D write- off in 2013, but was been repaired, MOT'd and put back on the road in March this year. It appears to be in good bodily condition, but has no documented service history and I can't vouch for the mechanical condition.
The auction house said that the write-off declaration typically halves the value, yet all my other research indicates that it should reduce the value by maybe 30% at most. So who is correct?
I've seen similar vehicles advertised at around £1,600 as private sales, so would I do much better selling it privately, even as a former insurance write-off?

colino

Was it Cat C or D? Either way, £600 for a 12 year old, high tax beemer on the register is, "generous".

OnanTheBarbarian

usual "rule of thumb" is 30% reduction in value, but this is not set in stone.

Probably better off doing a decent ebay advert to move it on

A 330i is still a decent chariot and ones without rusty arches are rare, so some recent Cat C action would not be the end of the world.

DUTR

macman wrote: »

I'm trying to sell a car belonging to an elderly relative who has had to surrender his licence. It's a 12 year old BMW 330Ci Coupe Auto, Mileage 90K.
I've look at putting this through an auction house and the sales valuation they gave me is about half the expected value. I reckoned maybe £1,400 and they're quoting only £600-800 at auction.
The vehicle was declared a Cat C and Cat D write- off in 2013, but was been repaired, MOT'd and put back on the road in March this year. It appears to be in good bodily condition, but has no documented service history and I can't vouch for the mechanical condition.
The auction house said that the write-off declaration typically halves the value, yet all my other research indicates that it should reduce the value by maybe 30% at most. So who is correct?
I've seen similar vehicles advertised at around £1,600 as private sales, so would I do much better selling it privately, even as a former insurance write-off?

That maybe your best option, at the end of the day a car is only worth wht the next person is willing to pay for it (and the owner willing to let it go for) .
Apart from the cat C/D, seems a good price for the year and mileage.

BeenThroughItAll

As above really - a decent eBay ad will see it shifted but you really do need to confirm whether it was a Cat C or D - it can't be both (unless it's been written off twice in different accidents!).


I've bought and subsequently later sold Cat D vehicles without a problem, and the effect of a Cat D marker lessens as the vehicle ages. Cat C is likely to be harder to shift than Cat D however.

macman

Thank you all. I ran a check on it via mycarcheck.com for o/s finance etc, and it came back as:
'Recorded as a Cat C write-off 18/8/13'
'Recorded as a Cat D write-off 2/5/13'
No idea why it was reassessed again to a Cat C in August?!
Either way, why are the auction house saying that the value is probably halved, rather than 25-30% less?
I'm now considering a private sale either via eBay or Autotrader-any thoughts on which is best?

colino

First I'd check to see if the car has been properly recorded, ask your elderly relative if they did have two write-offs in the car and if it has now been through a VIC.
Only selling place for that is Pistonheads where the age is less likely to be an issue and someone will be slavering over it as a potential drifter. If it has been written off (twice!) you really don't want the badge of shame of C/D write-offs that automatically appear on Autotrader adverts now.

Herzlos

macman wrote: »

Either way, why are the auction house saying that the value is probably halved, rather than 25-30% less?

Because that's probably what they see. Traders won't want to touch cat C/D's because they are a pain to sell on, and there's more traders than private buyers (who are the ones buying cat C/D cars) at auctions.

You'll probably get the best price on ebay if you start it low and are clear about what state it's in, but it's probably not worth getting your hopes up for more than half the unrecorded price considering it was written off twice in 3 months.

BeenThroughItAll

macman wrote: »

Thank you all. I ran a check on it via mycarcheck.com for o/s finance etc, and it came back as:
'Recorded as a Cat C write-off 18/8/13'
'Recorded as a Cat D write-off 2/5/13'
No idea why it was reassessed again to a Cat C in August?! Unless as you say it was repaired and then written off again?
Either way, why are the auction house saying that the value is probably halved, rather than 25-30% less?
I'm now considering a private sale either via eBay or Autotrader-any thoughts on which is best please?

First things first, I would get a decent check done by HPI. Most of these other car check services are complete crap in my experience (and going by some of the threads on this and other forums).


Then I would ring HPI and question the results if there's two recorded write-offs shown - they'll be able to confirm the reason, insurer registering the record, and associated details.

macman

colino wrote: »

First I'd check to see if the car has been properly recorded, ask your elderly relative if they did have two write-offs in the car and if it has now been through a VIC.
Only selling place for that is Pistonheads where the age is less likely to be an issue and someone will be slavering over it as a potential drifter. If it has been written off (twice!) you really don't want the badge of shame of C/D write-offs that automatically appear on Autotrader adverts now.

Relative only bought it in March, the dealer had it repaired prior to that. His health then took a rapid decline and he is no longer safe to drive. He's hardly driven it and has no idea of the vehicle's history.
Yes, VIC was carried out and passed in March this year.
Since the VIC appears on the V5C, there seems little point in not declaring the write-offs, wherever I advertise it.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

either HPI is incorrect or it had a bump someone challenged the Category it was placed in and the insurers entered the two categories onto HPI file and did not remove the disputed category or it genuinly had 2 accidents in 2013.


if it was from 2 accidents, then its worth what someone is willing to pay for it as to me it has just above scrap value in that case.