Cat D Car

motorguy

Joe_Horner wrote: »

That wasn't the impression I meant to give. My point was simply that, unlike a cat C where the market value gives at least some idea of how severe the damage might have been, with a cat D there's simply no way to know - it could be as the photos you posted or it could be a no damage, stolen with keys from a burglary.

Agreed

Joe_Horner wrote: »

If you're not confident / competent / don't have the chance to judge the condition yourself then they're best avoided unless you have someone else to assess them for you - although strictly speaking that holds true of any car purchase! But the whole "don't touch with a barge pole no matter what" attitude which seems so popular around here sometimes is simply wrong!

Absolutely and totally agree. Its worth remembering though that the vast majority of people reading MSE forums ARENT going to be confident or competent in judging the condition of a Cat C or Cat D and are therefore more likely to accept the "it just needed a bumper and a wing" spiel from the seller. Hence why we need to be careful of the "come on in, the waters lovely" type approach just because some of us ARE confident / competent and comfortable with buying a previously salvage car.

Its also worth remembering that a lot of the Cat C or Cat D salvage cars that have been repaired and necessarily as cheap as they should be, relative to their future resale value, or relative to how much less an insurance company will pay out should it be subject to (another) major accident.

EdGasket

In the past I've had my car written off twice for superficial damage (one bonnet and grill and the other a wing). Repaired it myself both times by just hammering out the damage and had insurance payouts totalling more than what I paid for the car. Result!

A new wing and respray now comes in at not far short of £1000 so it doesn't take much to write-off an older car.

motorguy

EdGasket wrote: »

A new wing and respray now comes in at not far short of £1000 so it doesn't take much to write-off an older car.

Agreed

I'd a new wing put on a 3 month old Passat and that came to nearly £1,000. :eek:

But how much does it take to write off a car worth maybe £12,000 to £15,000? (rhetorical question!)

19lottie82

A bit of digging did expose this seller as a trader, but as a private seller, you're not under any legal obligation to tell potential customers that a car is a cat c/d. Is that correct?

scotty1971

19lottie82 wrote: »

A bit of digging did expose this seller as a trader, but as a private seller, you're not under any legal obligation to tell potential customers that a car is a cat c/d. Is that correct?

Not too sure about that,but i suppose you would need to tell your insurance company if you bought it.

motorguy

19lottie82 wrote: »

A bit of digging did expose this seller as a trader, but as a private seller, you're not under any legal obligation to tell potential customers that a car is a cat c/d. Is that correct?

I "think" you're only obliged to tell them if they ask. You dont have to declare it.

Cat D isnt on the v5c so its not necessarily easily picked up.

I'd always strongly recommend getting a full HPI check done on a car before anyone hands over their hard earned to a complete stranger - whether that be a trader or a private individual

Joe_Horner

19lottie82 wrote: »

[...] as a private seller, you're not under any legal obligation to tell potential customers that a car is a cat c/d. Is that correct?

Yes, that's right. A private seller is only obliged to answer truthfully to any questions asked. And if the questions are too specific - which they often are because people try to nail things down too tight - then a truthful answer, even if you know it's not what the buyer's getting at, is fine.

Say, for example, those stolen/ recovered cat D's mentioned earlier. If you ask the buyer "has it had any accident damage?" then you think you're being specific to include not only cat C / D but any smaller claims. But they can honestly say no without drawing attention to the fact it was a write-off for theft - or the extensive repairs after the owner's ex took a sledgehammer to it (not accidentally!)

Or, you ask about any problems with the engine or gearbox. There aren't, but they don't have to volunteer the completely shagged driveshaft bearing and CV joints.

prowla

(Though probably not in this case) it could even be that the seller didn't know whether the car was a Cat C/D, so it's best to check for yourself.

BeenThroughItAll

scotty1971 wrote: »

Not too sure about that,but i suppose you would need to tell your insurance company if you bought it.

No you wouldn't. Only if they ask.