natony Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 im looking at buying a damaged car (very cheap), ive done a hpi check on it and its come back as a total loss (dont really know what it means) but it doesn't say what cat it is, which i thought was strange. anyone had any experience with this ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lbm Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 Ummm. Be careful. With respect, it sounds like you don't have much experience and you're buying a write off? What are your plans chap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guigsy Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 total loss is cat A and B isnt it? I wouldnt buy that if thats the case. you will never get it on the road legaly and you would end up spending lots on it even if its a class C or D its still worth a tiny ammount when you come to sell it. For example if you buy a supe for 7k and when you come to sell it maybe its worth 6. but if you buy a cat C for 1k, spend 3k on it. when you sell it its probably still only worth 1.5k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L18msy Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 (edited) Cat A = crusher Cat B = parts can be sold off it Cat C = light structural damage, repair cost over a percentage of the vehicles agreed value Cat D = light damage easily repaired, written off due to repair cost over a percentage of the value and salvage and courtesy car fees push the price over the value. or no longer parts available for the vehicle I think thats correct, can someone correct me if im wrong. Ta. Edited August 31, 2009 by L18msy (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark newman Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Cat A = crusher Cat B = parts can be sold off it Cat C = light structural damage, repair cost over a percentage of the vehicles agreed value Cat D = light damage easily repaired, written off due to repair cost over a percentage of the value and salvage and courtesy car fees push the price over the value. or no longer parts available for the vehicle I think thats correct, can someone correct me if im wrong. Ta. Sounds correct to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benkei Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Yeh, I'd say we'd need more info on the damage on the car, and your plans for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abz Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Cat C is alright, you should be able to get it for a cheap price. Does not always mean its a shitter. I brought my missus Polo as a Cat C & all that was damaged was a headlight, bumper & slightly bent bonnet. Insurance did not want to pay out for repairs & it got written off. We brought it & she has had it for 2 years with no issues what so ever! Find out what category it is mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanBEXsupra Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 when i worked at hastings direct. i was in the theft and total loss department, from what i can remember the cats were as followed Catergory A - roof caved in, burnt out, flooded, severe damage such as run over by bus etc. to be crushed and never ever used again in any which way. Catergory B - chassis broken beyond repair, ok parts can be sold. but body frame must never be used, most are crushed. Catergory C - this is a car that can be repaired, however is un-economical to do so, IE the car is worth 4 grand, but repair costs mount up to 6 grand. you can get it repaired, but if you do so. you would have to get a specialist engineer in the car industry to completely check your car and deem it road worthy again, this can lead to getting the total loss mark removed from the car Catergory D - damage totals more than 60% of the cars value, this is the lowest and some insurance companies will give the insured the oppertunity to get a second estimate of repair costs, and are generally very lenient, it is still un-economical to repair, but on a much lesser scale than catergory C just as a warning however if the mark is still on the car after repair, it is worth considerably less to sell on to the next owner! hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanBEXsupra Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 another note, the reason insurance companies repair costs are often towards the total loss area of life, is because they have to use brand new and approved parts from the individual car manufacturer, if my car was deemed a total loss, should it ever happen, i would get a second estimate with second hand parts, that way, i could possibly have the car repaired, the insurance be happy, and me be happy. only problem is. your cars repairs are then not covered by a warranty from the insurance company. but when you weigh up the pro's and cons, keeping your car is the bigger picture in my opinion! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adnanshah247 Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 like dan has said, bear in mind that a cat C must be checked by a governing body to ensure the car is safe to be back on the road. i wouldnt by damaged car's, cat D's arent that bad but would never go for a car that has had structural problems. my experience comes from a friends traggic accident who repaired a Cat C car. he had a horrific accident and the car fell apart like cheese. my friend survived but his passenger (another close friend of mine) didnt. dont gamble your life for saving some £'s. money can be replaced but life cant. sorry for bringing such a negative mood and story but people need to know this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abz Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 As Adnan said, Structural damage would be something which you would need to avoid. Though you don't need to avoid Cat C or D cars, an example is this. My FTO is currently a Cat C, this is due to a cabbie pulling out in front of me. The insurance company had a look at the car & found the they needed to replace. Quotes from Mitsibishi in brackets. Bumper (£900) One Headlight (£400) Wing (£275) With repair labour they quoted close to £3k to have the car repaired, So they wrote the car off even though my car was driveable (Headlights working even) damage was fairly low. I got paided out for the car & repaired it in under £900 inc the resprays! I am now going to sell the car cheap because it hardly owes me anything, so someone will get a decent car for cheap! I would recommend to take someone who knows about accident cars, if this is out of your area then I would avoid it at all costs but if you know what you are doing then you can get yourself a good deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Reid Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 like dan has said, bear in mind that a cat C must be checked by a governing body to ensure the car is safe to be back on the road. i wouldnt by damaged car's, cat D's arent that bad but would never go for a car that has had structural problems. my experience comes from a friends traggic accident who repaired a Cat C car. he had a horrific accident and the car fell apart like cheese. my friend survived but his passenger (another close friend of mine) didnt. dont gamble your life for saving some £'s. money can be replaced but life cant. sorry for bringing such a negative mood and story but people need to know this. Thats not quite true as the Vosa check is only an identity check, it has nothing to do with checking the quality of repair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt H Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 The Aerotop Shell I purchased to rebuild my supra was a Cat C. There's absolutely nothing wrong with buying a Cat C or D, it's just as said before, not economical for insurers to pay out for the repairs on such cars. A or B and you won't be able to get it back on the road. So don't bother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 (edited) there plenty wrong with welding 2 cars together though Edited September 21, 2009 by Kirk (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobSheffield Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 there plenty wrong though with welding 2 cars together though Thanks for pointing that out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 there plenty wrong with welding 2 cars together though Thanks for pointing that out Didn't you know that...?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt H Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 (edited) .. Edited September 22, 2009 by Matt H whatever (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animal Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 He's bitten! Quick reel him in before he gets away. Oh, hang on, it's only a tiddler - throw him back and give him a chance to grow up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.