[Closed] Cat C write offs ?

Cat C has to go through an inspection. We bought a Cat D from the people who'd repaired it. You do have to mention to your insurers (it's usually in their T&Cs that insurance is invalid if you've not told them this prior) - ours just asked for copies of the invoices from the repair folks, so I'd imagine that they'd ask for similar proof of the inspection having been carried out. Price to insure was no different for us, but that was Cat D.

The other thing to bear in mind is that it has a knock on effect on the resale, in terms of appeal and the price you can get. You'll be paying less in the first instance though.

After a cat c you have to get the vehicle MOT'ed. This should have already been done, if not then find out why or dont touch it.

make sure you get a very cheap deal on it if you buy it, as simonbowns says you're likely to get hammered if you ever want to sell it again.

I would be looking for intricate detail of exactly what has been repaired and how

I've seen a car that I like

Find something else that you like, there are plenty of cars on sale that aren't repaired

So only some cat c cars require a VIC check (not all) and this check is simply to check that the identity of the vehicle is that which it claims - so essentially to make sure stolen cars aren't being replated as write offs to move them on.
In theory cat c cars are more damaged than cat d ones but it doesn't always work like that, there are always anomalies. Ideally you want to know what damage it had repaired (with photos in a perfect world)and have a good look over it. If the repairs are decent then as long as the price is right got for it. It should be 2/3 of the price of a normal one as a guide though.

As I understand it all Cat C need as VIC, reason as steveh says., and it's a legal requirement. An MoT is only needed if the insurers want proof of roadworthyness, assuming the pre-crash MoT hasn't expired. The level of damage depends on the value when it was damaged - if it's a 2 year old BMW and Cat C, it's had a bad shunt, if it's an 8 year old high milage Focus (as mine was) it may have only had cosmetic damage. But you must declare it to your insurance - they'll know already so it won't cost you to declare, just invalidate it if you don't.

I had to get my car tested at a VOSA place and get it MOT'd after even though the current one hadn't expired.

I didn't buy Damitamit's Cat C write off Mitsubishi FTO and have regretted it every day, ever since.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/should-i-buy-my-mates-mitsubishi-fto

I did buy my other mate's Volvo S80D and it's fine. That's the best thing I can say about it 😥

edhornby - Member

and it's been in a crash big enough to need an insurance company being involved

That doesn't have to mean an awful lot of damage though these days. I helped fix up a mate's cat c motorbike, it cost us £30 to put it back on the road safely, and a few hundred quid to get it back to good condtion as new with refurbed/used parts, but the price of new parts would have been huge.

for the stigma attached to catagory write offs - it would have to be cheap or nearing the end of its serviable life heading to scrappies in the next couple of MOT periods and hence cheap.

my mate bought a cheap shogun that was cat C

on the whole it looked like a good buy when he viewed it , tidy motor that had been repaired well after a couple of months of living with it alot of faults started to rear their heads - namely it would overheat and the inner arch liner kept falling down , paint on the bumper was poor and the door card kept coming off.

it had been in a collision to the front wing/door area.

Could be that it was uneconomical to repair properly. My 10 year old van has just been written off after a light front-ender. I've decided to buy it back, there's a slight kink in the bonnet and a small dent in one wing. A new bumper and it'll be good enough for me! Doesn't even need an inspection as it's classed as a commercial vehicle

One of our car's is a cat C.
Bought back from the insurance company as salvage and we've not spent a penny getting it repaired. The boot floor is bent so you can't get the spare wheel out, but from the outside there's just a bit of cosmetic damage.

All we had to do was get a VIC check (we were told you can't re-tax without it). Been through a couple of MOTS and used for 2 years since the accident - no problems (until we have a puncture....!)

and it's been in a crash big enough to need an insurance company being involved

No, its been in an accident that the owner has used their insurance to try and get fixed. Theres a stat out there about the number of cars that have been involved in accidents that have never been declared to insurance companies, just fixed, probably on the cheap and are back out there on the roads - no VIC check etc.

As mentioned, if its cheap enough, has all the relevant documentation and ideally has photographic evidence of just how bad/minor the damage was prior to it getting fixed and has been fixed by a reputable company it might be worth a punt.

It is what the Cat C as declared for - minor but costly damage or something more structural. Eitherway it should have been repaired to the level necessary to pass a VIC Test and MoT.

I've bought lots of motorcycles that have been like this. Although different it has always been fine.

But its gotta be cheap, like a big chunk cheaper than you could buy the same car for. The reduction is for the stigma and uncertainty attached to a Cat C write off.

PS If it was cosmetic and uneconomic to repair and was just made safe enough to pass the tests it doesn't have to have had all the cosmetic work done. If this is the case it needs to be really really really cheap!

CAT C is a graded insurance write off in which the cost of repair was deemed to be greater than the worth of the vehicle. CAT C doesn't mean it has been in an accident it could simply have been flooded or some such. CAT C isn't all that different from CAT D as they are both economic write-offs which are deemed to have endured only cosmetic damage.

CAT C vehicles only require a VIC if not being retained by the current owner. VIC = Vehicle Identity Check it is not a certificate of roadworthyness or repair standard.

CAT C can represent a great bargain, but the circumstances of the CAT C grade are critical.

I bought an E61 5 Series Touring as a CAT C write-off as it had ingested water into the engine and the engine was valued at £15k. I replaced two bent conrods at a cost of £95 and 4 days of my time. The car was 65% under book.

The boot floor is bent so you can't get the spare wheel out, but from the outside there's just a bit of cosmetic damage.

Get the jack in there and spread the cavity open. You will need that spare some time.