BMW 318I se CAT C

Aretnap

Cat C doesn't specifically refer to the amount of damage. It means that repair is technically possible, but the cost of doing the repairs (using new parts and at the insurer's approved garage's rates) exceeded the value of the vehicle. On a 15 year old snotter. that could be something as simple as a cracked bumper or dented door. Someone buys the wreck for £100, puts on a door or bumper from a scrapyard (another £50) and the car is as good as new again - or at least as good as a 15 year old snotter. OTOH for a 5 year old BMW to be written off implies fairly significant damage, and I would want to be confident that it had been repaired properly before I parted with my hard earned money.

motorguy

pesser wrote: »

anyone please help me going to test drive this car tomorrow. the guy holds cars for insurance companies untill claims are resolved he had this bmw for a while told me that thar the front bumper was replaced no chassis damage 38k on the clock. and would sell to me for around £3,800

extensive damage ! is it the insurance company who categorizes the car as cat c extensive damage what is deemed as extensive damage ?

Sorry, but the insurance company didnt write it off for the sake of a new bumper and no chassis damage.

Tread carefully - theres no shortage of BMWs in the world, and i wouldnt be buying anything as dull as a 318i SE.

bigjl

Aretnap wrote: »

Cat C doesn't specifically refer to the amount of damage. It means that repair is technically possible, but the cost of doing the repairs (using new parts and at the insurer's approved garage's rates) exceeded the value of the vehicle. On a 15 year old snotter. that could be something as simple as a cracked bumper or dented door. Someone buys the wreck for £100, puts on a door or bumper from a scrapyard (another £50) and the car is as good as new again - or at least as good as a 15 year old snotter. OTOH for a 5 year old BMW to be written off implies fairly significant damage, and I would want to be confident that it had been repaired properly before I parted with my hard earned money.

57 plate BMW 318 is worth around £5/6k as it's the best part of 8yrs old.

A repair bill of over £2k would see the Insurer considering not repairing it.

A mates daughter has a 2011 116i and was hit from behind, the garage told him the repairs where over £1000.

colino

How nice of this guy to hold cars until the insurance is resolved. Or is that a guy who buys any old crap from the salvage auctions and spins the best tale he can for the unsuspecting, non-trade buyer?
Plenty of good, straight BMWs around, don't buy a dull, dubious, bent one.

prowla

I previously owned a BMW CAT C repair; I bought it half repaired and completed it.

I had a go in the car prior to buying and it drove perfectly.

My insurance company (Aviva) had no issues with insuring it.

I kept it for three years and just sold it last month.

When buying one, however, you have to consider the price of the purchase plus the price of the repairs; if you are getting near to what it would be to buy a perfect one then it's not a good investment.

You also need to think about its residual value; when you come to sell it a lot of people won't be interested, regardless of how much love and care has been put in.

In my case, I bought the car for £900, spent about the same finishing off repairs (wing, paint, etc.), drove it for 3 years, and sold it for £400. From my perspective it was a good buy.

Minrich

Also cloning occurs on cars that are recorded Cat C and D . A similar car is stolen and the identity of the written off one is transferred onto the stolen one . No expense to repair the written off one which you send to the scrap yard . Sell the cloned (Also known as Rung) car to unsuspecting public .

facade

Minrich wrote: »

Also cloning occurs on cars that are recorded Cat C and D . A similar car is stolen and the identity of the written off one is transferred onto the stolen one . No expense to repair the written off one which you send to the scrap yard . Sell the cloned (Also known as Rung) car to unsuspecting public .

That is why there is a Vehicle Identity Check in place.

They look in the secret little places (that every ringer knows where they are), behind closed doors, for signs that the vehicle is a ringer. If it is good enough to pass a VIC, then no-one will know it is a ringer, without totally dismantling the car- and why would anyone do that, it only needs to pass a roadside check thereafter.

Shimrod

colino wrote: »

How nice of this guy to hold cars until the insurance is resolved. Or is that a guy who buys any old crap from the salvage auctions and spins the best tale he can for the unsuspecting, non-trade buyer?
Plenty of good, straight BMWs around, don't buy a dull, dubious, bent one.

I would suspect more than a bumper repair as well. I was rear-ended before Christmas in my 170K miles 3 series, and that was repaired (bumper replacement) under insurance.

Hintza

I'm driving a Cat C - Flood damaged. There was nothing wrong with the car apart from the fact that it had been sitting around for awhile which meant new brake cylinders on the front. I don't even think the water penetrated the cabin to any extent as there is no sign of it.

There was however a problem with the rear diff which cost about £1k to put right and I reckon the car was driven in to a water filled ditch deliberately.

The insurance company must have decided to play safe and write it off.

Minrich

facade wrote: »

That is why there is a Vehicle Identity Check in place.

They look in the secret little places (that every ringer knows where they are), behind closed doors, for signs that the vehicle is a ringer. If it is good enough to pass a VIC, then no-one will know it is a ringer, without totally dismantling the car- and why would anyone do that, it only needs to pass a roadside check thereafter.

The VIC checks are very poor and many cars are getting through the checks . A good examiner will find it , the chassis stamp will be the downfall most of the time . The Police used to be told about every Written off car returned to the road and used to examine them , but not all . Why do you think that was ?
Car thieves simply want to get cash for their stolen goods , they do very little , how many car buyers check the chassis number and how many know what it should look like ? Car ringers do not go to great lengths now due to the inefficiency of the VIC checks.

The issue is Does a buyer want to buy something that may be dodgy or buy a genuine 100% car , thats a matter for them i suppose but to think that your £x ,000's could be totally lost should be a consideration , shouldn't it ?