CAT N and car insurance

MidlandsGlory

I have read various articles but the advice varies,
Has anyone experience of the effect of a Cat N car has on insurance premiums?
I have seen a good buy for a teenager, the damage was little more than cosmetic so not worried about safety, but for a new driver
insurance cost is going to be ultra critical so if its going to push premiums up I will walk away.
Thanks!

AdrianC

Cat N is Non-Structural, so - yes - by definition it's merely cosmetic damage.

I wouldn't have thought it would make any difference to premiums, but will reduce what the insurer pays for the vehicle in the event of a claim.

foxy-stoat

You will find that when you punch in the details on the comparison web site you do not have an option to tick if it has been written off previously.  Some insurers dont mind cat D or N, some dont mind C or S as long as it is roadworthy and some wont cover you at all, but you just have to call them up one by one.
Unless it is stinking cheap I would buy a straight one with no drama.

forgotmyname

May not be structural but a Cat N car can still have a fair bit of damage that can be repaired on the cheap.
How many people will check to see if the crashbar is intact or even fitted?  A lot of the damage can be hidden
behind a plastic bumper.

Hope you know what your buying.

forgotmyname

Cat N. Going to cost a fair bit to do all that "properly". Or will it get fixed on the cheap?

EdGasketTheSecond

forgotmyname said:

Cat N. Going to cost a fair bit to do all that "properly". Or will it get fixed on the cheap?

A good polish with G3 should sort that out

forgotmyname

Think it probably needs a few sticks of hot melt glue and 2 or 3 self tappers to make
it all good.  With all the plastic panels on modern cars how can an MOT tester
fail anything?

If they cannot see it then it cannot fail...

MidlandsGlory

Had a look at it today, the declared damaged wing looked an OK repair to be fair, but they had not mentioned the hefty crease in the passenger door and scraped paint!  Parking it 3 inches away from another vehicle on the passenger side make it difficult to see, lucky I am fairly skinny.
I drove away, and didn't look back!