Cat S

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

We're looking to buy a secondhand car with low mileage with a relatively small budget (optimistic I know).

I know what cat S means but are there any downsides to buying one (that's been repaired)?

Any thoughts appreciated

EdGasketTheSecond

The repair might look Ok but could be more damage underneath; alignment may be compromised. Cat S means structurally damaged so beware! If the repair was economically possible, it would not have been written off so someone is doing something 'on the cheap'.


Also you might struggle to get it insured and if you ever had to claim they might not pay out for a car that insurers had already written off. In general best avoided. A Cat N might be worth considering (non-structurally damaged).

Svein_Forkbeard

Cat S is the old Cat C so there will have been severe damage if you don't know what you are looking for then you might not want to go their.

If you decide to buy it you really need to keep it until it is scrapped as they can be a problem to shift.

Having said all that I only buy salvage and I am quite particular what I am happy dealing with (through bitter experience) and they all come here until the end of their days.

On a Cat S you want 30%+ off the price depending.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Thank you both, the reason for going for lower mileage is to make life easier and not have to worry so much about the car falling apart!

Sounds like cat S is out the window then, I haven't seen many cat N cars for sale, maybe they hold their value better and are outside the prices I've been looking at.

caprikid1

"Thank you both, the reason for going for lower mileage is to make life easier and not have to worry so much about the car falling apart!"


So you buy one that's been put back together by potentially a back street outfit ?

forgotmyname

Goto the auctions and buy something with a minor scrape.

AdrianC

I'd definitely be compromising on mileage WAAAAY ahead of buying a salvage-repaired write-off.


Cat S differs from the old Cat C in that C was simply a numbers game - the damage was more than the value at the time. S is Structurally damaged.


There won't be many S/N cars repaired yet, compared to C/D, simply because it's less than a year since the categorisation changed. But one thing hasn't changed - categorised write-offs are cars that the insurer decided not to repair, so sold on as damaged. They've then been bought by somebody for whom the sums add up differently, and repaired - you know no more for definite than that.

System

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head wrote: »

Thank you both, the reason for going for lower mileage is to make life easier and not have to worry so much about the car falling apart!

Err no. If anything it is likely to mean the exact opposite. Lots of short journeys around town which means more gear changes, more use of the brakes, the suspension having to work harder, the engine never getting up to full temperature so the oil suffers more, the exhaust corrodes more because it never gets chance to burn off the condensation. Everything from the doors being opened to the seatbelt mechanism to the ignition barrel to the keyfob gets used far far far more with a low mileage car than one that has done long journeys.

Take my 30 mile journey to work. I use the keyfob to open the door, I open the door and get in the car once, I put the seatbelt on once, I turn the ignition key once. 10 gear changes and four presses of the brake pedal get me out of town. Once out of town I have 5 times I need to use the brakes and 15 gear changes before I get to the end of my journey 30 miles away. I only need to use the indicators 7 times in that journey. The steering wheel barely gets moved except for roundabouts, there are no speed humps to contend with and 28 miles of the journey are smooth major A roads. The engine spends the vast majority sitting there at a constant speed of 2000 RPM and on cruise control so very little use of any of the pedals. The engine is fully up to temperature so any moisture in the oil is burned off, the exhaust is hot so any moisture in that is burned off. As a result I have a car that is on 133,000 miles still on the original and rust free exhaust, a DPF filter which has no signs of blockage, the rear brakes are only just coming up to needing replacing 80,000 miles after I replaced the first set, the front discs and pads which are the second set fitted to the car still have plenty of life 50,000 miles after I fitted them. There's no fraying of the seatbelt from being pulled out and retracted.

Now think about yhow many short journeys around town you'd do to cover 30 miles, how many times you use the brakes, the indicators, change gear, open and close doors, start the car, put the seatbelt on etc. And also think how long it would take you. I bet the time the engine is running for 30 miles around town is far more than the 35 to 45 minutes mine is running on my journey to work. I reckon if you could see how many hours an engine has been run you'd find that the car that's done 20,000 miles a year on long journeys has spent a lot less time running than a car that's done 5,000 miles around town.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

So on that basis what do you buy? A car that has done 60-70K might have only been driven around town anyway and at that mileage the car starts to need things changing.

The last two cars we brought had 100K on the clock but only cost a grand, we got our monies worth from the first one, with the one we have now MOT is due in Aug and it seems sensible to sell when it's got a full 12 months MOT but what to replace it with is the question.

Can't afford a new car and have roughly 3-5K to spend (ideally 3 but I'd go to 5 if it was worth the money long term).

Svein_Forkbeard

caprikid1 wrote: »

So you buy one that's been put back together by potentially a back street outfit ?

No, I buy the salvage at auction and then have them put back together then I know exactly what has been repaired but the difference is I source the parts secondhand.