Cat D write off repaired.............

leveller2911

My son is learning to drive and will shortly be looking for a small sensible car. He has a savings plan which matures in May and will go towards his car/insurance.

A friend of mine owns a bodyshop and has got a Suzuki Swift 1.2(2013). The damage is very minor indeed and it needs a few new parts including wing,bonnet,front grill and radiator.

My questions are:

1: Would people buy a cat D write off?.We understand the value will be reduced when when he came to sell the vehicle on but then again it won't be a premium price to buy it.

2: As my son needs a reliable,cheap to insure/maintain car that will last him at least 5 yrs would it be a good buy as long as the work has been done correctly?.We/he are not really machanically minded to service/repair our own cars so we can't buy a car to do up or an old banger to maintain.

bigjl

Damage to a 2013 car to make it a Cat D would likely be structural aswell as the outer panels.

You would need to ensure that the chassis legs where straight for a start and seeing it before repairs start is a definite.

It is easy for a car to be bent but still drivable.

Though if the bodyshop concerned is top notch and can jig it to make sure it is straight then it could be a cheap way into a 2013.

AdrianC

Cat D means the cost of repair was below the value of the vehicle, but the insurers decided not to repair. Perhaps the insured was driving around in an expensive hire car through an accident management company and there were substantial delays in parts supply. Perhaps the policy had a clause saying 65% value or more, we write it off. Perhaps the assessor was in a bad mood. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

All you can say for sure is that, on another day, with another insurance assessor, the exact same damage to the exact same car might well have been repaired by the insurance, unrecorded, and you'd never know unless the paint match was a bit off or you looked VERY closely.

leveller2911

Thanks for the replys so far. The car in question is not that expensive a car to buy new so it may well be the costs of hire car,length of time to repair and parts prices played a part in the decision to write it off.

I do know that to buy the car from a main dealer would be around £7k, £6250 from a dealer and it cost my friend £2900 to buy.

Just had a thought but as its not yet due its first MOT if its repaired before the MOT date is due will it need an MOT before it goes back on the road (if that date is before the MOT due date).

If you understand what I'm trying to say..:D

AdrianC

leveller2911 wrote: »

I do know that to buy the car from a main dealer would be around £7k, £6250 from a dealer and it cost my friend £2900 to buy.

Repaired, or unrepaired?

Just had a thought but as its not yet due its first MOT if its repaired before the MOT date is due will it need an MOT before it goes back on the road (if that date is before the MOT due date).

No, no problem there at all. There used to be a requirement for CatC cars to be identity checked (VIC test), make sure they weren't using the ID on stolen cars, but that was discontinued last month.

leveller2911

AdrianC wrote: »

Repaired, or unrepaired?

Unrepaired. He thinks materials/parts will be around £700 +labour to repair.

No, no problem there at all. There used to be a requirement for CatC cars to be identity checked (VIC test), make sure they weren't using the ID on stolen cars, but that was discontinued last month.

If we go ahead and did buy it could we get an MOT done early just to make sure its at least safe?.

I have read some good reviews on the Suziki Swifts.

Thanks for the reply btw.

AdrianC

leveller2911 wrote: »

If we go ahead and did buy it could we get an MOT done early just to make sure its at least safe?

All an MOT will tell you about the repairs, if the damage is as described, are that the lights work, point in roughly the right direction, and there's no sharp edges. You could figure that out yourself...

But, yes, you can take any car for an MOT whenever you like, even the day it rolls out the showroom, if you want.

Gryphon005

The Suzuki Swift is in a fairly low insurance group (group 9 to 11, depending on the particular model in question) according to the Parkers guide:

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/insurance/car-insurance-groups/suzuki/swift/hatchback-2010/.

However, there are plenty of cars in yet lower insurance groups (use the guide above to find them) and since the insurance cost for the first year is likely to be greater than the purchase price of the car , then your son would be wise to look for a car in a lower insurance group....particularly if he is 17yo and living in the Greater London area!

leveller2911

Gryphon005 wrote: »

The Suzuki Swift is in a fairly low insurance group (group 9 to 11, depending on the particular model in question) according to the Parkers guide:

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/insurance/car-insurance-groups/suzuki/swift/hatchback-2010/.

However, there are plenty of cars in yet lower insurance groups (use the guide above to find them) and since the insurance cost for the first year is likely to be greater than the purchase price of the car , then your son would be wise to look for a car in a lower insurance group....particularly if he is 17yo and living in the Greater London area!

I did go online and get a few ideas of insurance.As a provisional driver ,3rd Party F&T it was around £440 and as soon as he passes his test it would be up around £1,300 a year (with a black box in the car).

We will have a look at other small cars and won't jump in a buy this one without looking around.

Thanks .

AdrianC

For 17yos, the "desirability" of the car in certain circles (McD's car park!) is likely to be as much of a determinant of premium as the group. The group basically depends on the cost to repair the car. The big risk from 17yo lads is not the cost of repairing their car, but of repairing everything/everybody they take out with it.

leveller2911

AdrianC wrote: »

For 17yos, the "desirability" of the car in certain circles (McD's car park!) is likely to be as much of a determinant of premium as the group. The group basically depends on the cost to repair the car. The big risk from 17yo lads is not the cost of repairing their car, but of repairing everything/everybody they take out with it.

Yes I know exactly what you mean.

My son would happily have a brown Skoda Fabia or Suzuki .Just wants a small,cheap,reliable car for college etc.

He's not really a fashion conscious 17yr old. His hobby is 2nd world war Russian re-enactment so not really a "chavvy" type..