Buying a Cat C vehicle

Marvel1

Had my car since Febraury, love it, expect the fuel capless system, had enough now.

So looking for a replacement, have seen some on Autotrader, some Cat C roughly 2012/2013 year. Any risks buying a Cat C, I know the value is lower and I must declare when selling it in the future.

While I am here, since I want the same make/model of my current car (expect for trim and without fuel capless system). Anyone know any sites I can compare the trim varitions on one site with my current one so I know what I want for my other car. If this makes sense?

motorguy

cjdavies wrote: »

Had my car since Febraury, love it, expect the fuel capless system, had enough now.

So looking for a replacement, have seen some on Autotrader, some Cat C roughly 2012/2013 year. Any risks buying a Cat C, I know the value is lower and I must declare when selling it in the future.

The risks are you have no idea what you're buying and how well it has been repaired. The ONLY way it is economically viable to put a Cat C car back on the road is by using second hand parts from a scrapper, straightening parts instead of replacing them, using spurious parts not manufacturer ones, not fixing / replacing bits you cant see, and sticking a bit of fillers in a panel that should be replaced.

The seller will tell you it was just "panel damage", but when pressed very few will be willing to show you pre accident damage.

Heres a pic of a (granted extreme) Cat D car that is no doubt back on the road by now by hook or by crook

Johnmcl7

cjdavies wrote: »

While I am here, since I want the same make/model of my current car (expect for trim and without fuel capless system). Anyone know any sites I can compare the trim varitions on one site with my current one so I know what I want for my other car. If this makes sense?

Parkers have tables showing the difference in specs for cars:

http://www.parkers.co.uk

However I'd recommend trying to get a hold of the brochure for the years you're looking at as they should be more accurate and should have a comparison table comparing the different features for each spec.

John

Marvel1

motorguy wrote: »

The risks are you have no idea what you're buying and how well it has been repaired. The ONLY way it is economically viable to put a Cat C car back on the road is by using second hand parts from a scrapper, straightening parts instead of replacing them, using spurious parts not manufacturer ones, not fixing / replacing bits you cant see, and sticking a bit of fillers in a panel that should be replaced.

The seller will tell you it was just "panel damage", but when pressed very few will be willing to show you pre accident damage.

Heres a pic of a (granted extreme) Cat D car that is no doubt back on the road by now by hook or by crook

Thanks, best avoid then, shame I cannot filter out that option on Autotrader, see a nice price and then see Cat C

Nobbie1967

Older cars that are cat C/D can be a good buy as it doesn't take much to write them off, so it may just be a bit of panel damage. If it's a more recent car the the damage will have to be more substantial and so there is more scope for a poor repair. You could easily find the alignment has been affected and you only find out once your tyres start wearing unevenly. As you'll have to declare when you sell, it's not worth it unless you intend to keep the car for a fair while.

The advantage of going for the same model is that at least you'll know how the car should feel to drive, which may highlight some potential problems.

bigjl

Let's not forget that some Cat C cars can be repaired very well with used parts.

A very minor rear ended damage to some cars can total them.

You can then cut panels of an I damaged rear ended and reuse them perfectly well, but the same panel new would be several thousand pounds, same with bumpers, rear lights and bootlids.

It depends how skilled the repairer is most of the time.

I would rather a car was repaired with Used OE parts instead of new pattern parts that won't fit as well.

A skilled repaired can even jig a car or pull it on a dozer and you will be none the wiser.

But the caveat is you need to know what you are looking at unless you want to buy a shiny turd full of blob that drives sideways.

straighttalker

What's capless fuel and why do you hate it so?

facade

Something ford invented that is "simple" and "easier" to use (=cheaper to make)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLdBEtaSaSk

Some people end up having to saw through the fuel pump hosepipe to move the car as they "easily" push the nozzle in too far and it "simply" jams completely :rotfl::rotfl:

Marvel1

straighttalker wrote: »

What's capless fuel and why do you hate it so?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLdBEtaSaSk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe_rwMazFqA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zs-6Jpozec

http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/general-technical-chat/317341-capless-fuel-filler-warning.html

http://www.revbase.com/BBBMOTOR/TSb/DownloadPdf?id=186074

http://www.f150ecoboost.net/forum/31-f150-ecoboost-problems/8119-cap-less-fuel-fill-stuck-shut.html

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4010325

My problem is getting the nozzle out, always stuck and needs a good pull, e.g this morning I thought lets get it right, pushed in slowly, press fuel handle, nothing, push in a little bit further and nothing, push little bit further and works (not all the way in to the end. Comes to taking out nozzle and surprise surprise it's not easy to pull back back out, had enough.

May part ex though as with private buyer (even thought get more for it) I don't want them coming back to me.

motorguy

bigjl wrote: »

Let's not forget that some Cat C cars can be repaired very well with used parts.

A very minor rear ended damage to some cars can total them.

You can then cut panels of an I damaged rear ended and reuse them perfectly well, but the same panel new would be several thousand pounds, same with bumpers, rear lights and bootlids.

It depends how skilled the repairer is most of the time.

I would rather a car was repaired with Used OE parts instead of new pattern parts that won't fit as well.

A skilled repaired can even jig a car or pull it on a dozer and you will be none the wiser.

But the caveat is you need to know what you are looking at unless you want to buy a shiny turd full of blob that drives sideways.

Therein lies the problem - if someone has bought a car with a review to repair and profit, you've no idea what corners have been cut.

Different if you can see whats happening every step of the way but thats rarely the case.

prowla

I had a Cat C repaired car and it was a very good buy; it drove perfectly but I had to do a bit of work on it to finish off the job.

(I don't believe that picture above was a Cat D, though - looks like chassis damage, which would make it a C!).