Category D

AdrianC

Cat D is purely and simply a numbers thing. It's damage that would have cost less to repair than the vehicle was worth, but which they've decided not to repair anyway. Perhaps parts supply problems, perhaps hire car costs, perhaps the customer was a PITA and they just wanted to close the claim down.

If the damage was more than the vehicle was worth, it'd be Cat C.
If the damage was significantly structural to the shell, it'd be Cat B, and should not have got back on the road.

Them is the definitions. Nothing else matters.

So the difference between a Cat D car and one that has been repaired and unrecorded? It might be as simple as if the owner didn't need a hire car because they had another car, or it tied in to their holidays, or the bits weren't on back order.

If you're going to say "Oooh! Crash test!", then - by all means - use that as an argument against buying a previously damaged car, but the only difference the insurance status means is that you're more likely to know about it. Cat D vs unrecorded/repaired is purely a paperwork triviality.

pimento

So how do I work out if the reduction offered for it being Cat D is big enough for the inconvenience and resale value?

Hintza

For a Cat D it is meant to be around 17.5%.

If you plan on selling it in the near future then you might want to be more cautious. If you plan on keeping it a number of years then it doesn't matter as much.

Hoof_Hearted

I wouldn't buy one simply because I do not have the knowledge and expertise to be able to tell how well it has been repaired. Wouldn't be worth the risk to me.

AdrianC

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

I wouldn't buy one simply because I do not have the knowledge and expertise to be able to tell how well it has been repaired. Wouldn't be worth the risk to me.

Would your attitude be different if the car had been damaged but not recorded?

pimento

If I ask the owner what the damage was, is s/he obliged to tell me the truth?

(Yes, I realise this is a car dealer we're talking about.)

bod1467

Car dealers are obliged to inform you about any such issues, irrespective of whether or not you ask. A private seller is not obliged to disclose such information unless asked (or unless it was mentioned in the advert for selling it).

In either case the seller is obliged to be truthful.

Hintza

AdrianC wrote: »

Would your attitude be different if the car had been damaged but not recorded?

If you watch auction sales of salvage unrecorded write offs go for significantly more than recorded (and the damage can be a lot worse) because no one will know. Many companies self insure and if a car is written off then it will never see an assessor and will pass in to the chain as unrecorded.

AdrianC

Exactly. What the paperwork says is less important than what you can see parked in front of you.

Four identical cars are hit in the same place with the same force, and get the same damage. The damage will cost £2,000 to fix.

One is worth £1,500 pre-accident. The owner decides not to go through insurance.
One is worth £1,500 pre-accident. The insurers flag it as CatC.
One is worth £2,500 pre-accident. The insurers flag it as CatD because of hire-car costs.
One is worth £2,500 pre-accident. No hire car's needed, so the insurers repair it.

Four identical cars, two unrecorded, one CatC, one CatD. All with the exact same damage.