Is it worth buying a CAT S Car? (formerly known as CAT C)
Comments
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EdGasketTheSecond wrote: »If it wasn't worth the insurance company repairing it then how can the seller have repaired it and be selling it below book price and making a profit without cutting corners?
Very good point. This is why I am questioning whether is was repaired properly, the more I think about it, the more I am put off. I wish car shopping was much simplier than this.0 -
EdGasketTheSecond wrote: »If it wasn't worth the insurance company repairing it then how can the seller have repaired it and be selling it below book price and making a profit without cutting corners?
When you prang your car you expect them to put on new panels, OME new replacement parts and these can be very very expensive.
Last major part I bought was a Fiat Panda front subframe. New price £600 secondhand £70 + delivery and it was good as new.
If I buy one I will source second hand or pattern parts. I have a friend who owns a body shop and I get mates rates this normally means my job is done during slack time.
So as a rough example a £5k job for the insurance company I will get done for £1k-£2k.
So when I buy the car at auction the calculation I will do is roughly.
Car value bottom ebay rounded up, subtract 35-50% (this is mood thing and how keen I am or how quickly I need the car). I will get a quote from my mate for the job and add 50% (he always underestimates the damage or there is more hidden damage). I will price in transporting the car from wherever and auction costs. So that gives what I can afford to pay
So if the car is worth £10k (undamaged) I will hope to buy it repair it and have it on the road for hopefully under £5k.0 -
Svein_Forkbeard wrote: »When you prang your car you expect them to put on new panels, OME new replacement parts and these can be very very expensive.
Last major part I bought was a Fiat Panda front subframe. New price £600 secondhand £70 + delivery and it was good as new.
If I buy one I will source second hand or pattern parts. I have a friend who owns a body shop and I get mates rates this normally means my job is done during slack time.
So as a rough example a £5k job for the insurance company I will get done for £1k-£2k.
So when I buy the car at auction the calculation I will do is roughly.
Car value bottom ebay rounded up, subtract 35-50% (this is mood thing and how keen I am or how quickly I need the car). I will get a quote from my mate for the job and add 50% (he always underestimates the damage or there is more hidden damage). I will price in transporting the car from wherever and auction costs. So that gives what I can afford to pay
So if the car is worth £10k (undamaged) I will hope to buy it repair it and have it on the road for hopefully under £5k.
Ok, thanks for clarifying this. This is making a little more sense to me now. Definitely going to have a long think about it and see if I can get the car seen by a bodywork specialist, as I want to make sure everything has been done right as I don't want to have any issues later, that could have been avoided.
It definitely sounds like a write off is a good to to save money, if it's done right and you plan to keep the car for years to come.0 -
Very good point. This is why I am questioning whether is was repaired properly, the more I think about it, the more I am put off. I wish car shopping was much simplier than this.
You're making it complicated by considering this car. There are millions out there which have not been written off.0 -
2 year old polo matches seem to be going for over £10k. So to write it off you're in that sort of region of damage.
Just for clarification, the insurance company take in to account the salvage value of the car when writing it off.
So for example, if theres £6,000 of damage on a £10K car, however the car is worth £5,000 as salvage, then its cheaper to pay out £10K but recover £5K = £5K cost to them than pay out £6K to have it repaired.0 -
EdGasketTheSecond wrote: »If it wasn't worth the insurance company repairing it then how can the seller have repaired it and be selling it below book price and making a profit without cutting corners?
Thats ultimately the bottom line. You're not going to repair it to "insurance" standard and then sell it on and make money.
A friend of mine is a body man and he does it in his spare time. He'll put fillers in to panels that may otherwise have been replaced, use second hand parts instead of new ones where possible and if he has to buy new he'll aim to get motor factor / pattern parts instead of OEM parts.
And he IS someone i'd trust to buy a car off because hes relatively conscientious. Imagine what corners will be being cut by a less scrupulous repairer.0 -
Ok, thanks for clarifying this. This is making a little more sense to me now. Definitely going to have a long think about it and see if I can get the car seen by a bodywork specialist, as I want to make sure everything has been done right as I don't want to have any issues later, that could have been avoided.
It definitely sounds like a write off is a good to to save money, if it's done right and you plan to keep the car for years to come.
Thats the problem - you dont know and this car has had Structural damage - do you really want to take a risk with your and your families safety?0 -
Just for clarification, the insurance company take in to account the salvage value of the car when writing it off.
So for example, if theres £6,000 of damage on a £10K car, however the car is worth £5,000 as salvage, then its cheaper to pay out £10K but recover £5K = £5K cost to them than pay out £6K to have it repaired.
Just to expand on that answer you also have the problem of hidden damage and damage that does not become apparent until repairs are complete.
My first salvage buy was all repaired ready to go and it became apparent that gearbox was goosed. Made it a relatively expensive repair and for insurance companies totally unacceptable.0 -
OP don't worry about the body work, it can look great and the car could still be a death trap. You are looking for damage to chassis legs etc that if not straight can be very dangerous and/or expensive.
OP go on to Copart and start looking at photos. I saw one the other day (might have been ebay) and the description made it sound great but the last photo showed one of the back wheels at a 30 degree angle. Not in itself necessarily a problem but the photos and the description rang too many alarm bells.0 -
OP What did you decide in the end?To make money work for me
To save and do great things with the family0
This discussion has been closed.
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