Buying a Cat D

[DVee8]

I have seen a car i quite like except it is a cat d. i have emailed the dealer for details of why it is a cat d.

 

The car in question is £3-4k less than comparable cars on autotrader. The car  is 3 years old.

 

So what are the pitfalls of cat d? Is insurance going to be a problem? I know when i come to sell it will still be worth less but that could be 6 years time.

[Dave_Q]

Personally I wouldn't care if it had been repaired properly.

 

If it's cat D the damage was probably quite minor, bumper etc.

 

Some insurance companies ask whether the car has been written off before. Cat D doesn't show on the logbook so you could plausibly deny that you knew it was a previous write off.

[Felly Magic]

It's OK if you want it to buy and keep until it's almost dead, but second hand value is a shedload less, and would ping up at trade in time

[lisbon_road]

Cat D means that the damage was economically repairable but the insurance company chose not to.  If you are planning to keep it for a while and you can check that it has been repaired decently - for all you know the damage might have been minimal - then it could be good.  I've had loads of Cat Cs.  

 

Perhaps worth bearing in mind that as it is quite young, perhaps the damage might not have been that minimal.

[Mally]

Personally I'd buy one down the line but not at 3 years old. But if you keep it 5 years its not a problem.          

There's nothing at all wrong with them but they have a stigma to many.

Some insurances can be funny for no reason other than someone has been paid out.

Ask insurance quote first telling them it's cat D.

[Alexg]

A lot of the CAT C/D cars I come across are cheaply (poorly) repaired, missing bits of trim and often sporting dubiously low mileage and no history. Research the dealer and inspect the car thoroughly before jumping in, but expect it to be worth bugger-all when you want to sell.

[DVee8]

The dealer and the car.

 

http://www.oltoncars.co.uk/used-cars/mercedes-benz-c-class-2-1-c220-cdi-se-executive-pack-7g-tronic-plus-2dr-birmingham-201608277190126

 

 

Do any of you birmingham lads know of this dealer?

[Mally]

Lovely photos.

Have they got any of the damage and repair though?

[lisbon_road]

Well good luck with that one but even being a Cat D doesn't make that Autoshite!

[Negative Creep]

May well be perfectly legit, but I think it would come back to sting you at resale time

[DVee8]

Well good luck with that one but even being a Cat D doesn't make that Autoshite!

???

 

Some of us on here do have modern cars,were are you coming from with that?

[Snipes]

I've had CAT Cs and Ds before but they were sub-£500 smokers. Not sure if I'd want a one if I were spending £10k.

[Tamworthbay]

A lot of car for the money, just bear the above in mind. I have a cat D but that is a dolomite and it only needed a wing and front panel to write it off.

[DodgeRover]

Wouldn't bother me in the slightest, Cat D is usually only minor damage, just inspect it the way you would any other vehicle.

Yes it will always be worth less than an unrecorded example but so what.

[Alexg]

I've just checked, it's a CAT D as stated - damage was in October 2015. Last keeper change was in February 2016, it's had 3 already and so you'll be the 4th. You can now pay HPI for a more detailed report of write off cars where they'll inform of where the damage was, so might be worth doing. I don't think those wheels on it are standard, so that raises a question.

[RoadworkUK]

I wouldn't personally touch a base spec W204 diesel coupe with a bargepole, but each to their own. I see that the advert states it'll have 16" wheels when sold, which would be the original spec items. I worry about how a car fitted with the big blingy aftermarket ones in the pics would have been treated by its previous owner(s).

 

Also- the advert says heated leather at the beginning, which the dashboard photos shows it doesn't have. It then later says cloth/Artico, which it does have.

[hpi_matrix]

This is the state of a Cat D ive found on ebay:

 

Spending that much on a Cat D id want before pictures of the damage and some sort of paperwork to prove its straight. At least from a dealer you get warranty.

[DVee8]

I have asked the dealer for details of why its a cat d

[hpi_matrix]

Also if you do get picture of the accident damage I think it would make it infinitely more saleable when the time comes to chop it in, as even a 9 year written off old merc is still going to be worth a couple of grand by then (I guess?).

[tapir]

Interesting and nice car, for me it would be far too much to spend on a cat d though

[r.welfare]

As others have stated if you're keeping it for a long time and are convinced the car has been looked after and repaired to a good standard then you can make a saving. To my mind it's the last handsome Mercedes (for now, as the current design language is not to my taste).

 

Personally I would be more worried about 4 owners in 3 years.

[Alexg]

For £1800 extra you could get a proper one from Merc of York. Granted it's 18 months older and 50k mileage, but it's low ownership, main dealer inspected and comes with a 12 months extendable Merc Warranty (that Cat D won't have any). Also it won't be cobbled together by some backstreet bodyshop on a tight budget. Plus this one has Comand too - http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201609027366963

[Lankytim]

Looking at the location I wouldn't want to hand over any of my hard earned for anything they had for sale.

[New POD]

It's all a bit silly isn't it.  CAT D means that if it were repaired by the overpriced insurance approved bodgers, with new parts it wouldn't make commercial sense.

So it gets sold into the back street trade, who may use a combination of new and second hand parts, and may or may not be craftsmen, of the best or worst kind. 

The stupid thing is that the same accident 6 months before might not result in a the same care taken in the rebuild. (or not) AND nobody would ever know.

I'd go for a CAT C or D car if there was pictures before and after, and if I could be sure it was safe, and if there was a financial benefit to it.

i.e. I'd be playing hardball on the price*

 

Actually I never play hardball. I make an offer I know they'll refuse and go and buy somewhere else.

 

As for Oulton.  My nan, (RIP) used to say "Oulton's not as bad as Acocks Green, but it's not really Solihull is it?"  

[Felly Magic]

3 owners in such a short life? That alone sets off alarm bells. It could have been in a pretty big shunt and still repaired at that age, deffo needs a full inspection and detailed HPi report for that money, but personally I would avoid it

[Tamworthbay]

It's all a bit silly isn't it.  CAT D means that if it were repaired by the overpriced insurance approved bodgers, with new parts it wouldn't make commercial sense.

So it gets sold into the back street trade, who may use a combination of new and second hand parts, and may or may not be craftsmen, of the best or worst kind. 

The stupid thing is that the same accident 6 months before might not result in a the same care taken in the rebuild. (or not) AND nobody would ever know.

I'd go for a CAT C or D car if there was pictures before and after, and if I could be sure it was safe, and if there was a financial benefit to it.

i.e. I'd be playing hardball on the price*

 

Actually I never play hardball. I make an offer I know they'll refuse and go and buy somewhere else.

 

As for Oulton.  My nan, (RIP) used to say "Oulton's not as bad as Acocks Green, but it's not really Solihull is it?"

 

but then Chelmsley wood IS Solihull, so...............

[Bobthebeard]

My MG ZT is a Cat C write off. You wouldn't know by inspecting it. Had a replacement rear bumper and boot lid. Nothing else is damaged or bent. Cat C or D cars can be bargains if resale value isn't an issue.

[purplebargeken]

It really does take feck all nowadays to make a car into a Cat C/D. Have a look at the Copart site!

 

You could always get an AA or RAC inspection done.

[New POD]

but then Chelmsley wood IS Solihull, so...............

 

Ah, there's the Borough of Solihull, which includes some less desirable suburbs and the TOWN of Solihull.  As my Nan (RIP) only too willing to point out "Them Houses over the Road (Dovehouse Lane), are in Oulton. Our side of the Road is Solihull."

[rainagain]

As mentioned before Cat D on an older car can be very light damage, but Cat D on a newer car is normally quite serious damage. My OH's Stilo was a Cat D, I fixed if for £45 which was the cost of a second hand wing the same colour and a head lamp. If you can't get any pictures of the damage why not find a place near the garage that offers four wheel alignment. Work out a price you're happy with the dealer on the basis it passes an alignment check, then take it along for one, worse case you're out of pocket ~£90 for the check but you're not stuck with a bent car.