total loss classic cars,
Discussion
its about a car being recorded as a total insurance loss and how much this affects its value.... i was trying to make a point about replacing rusty panels or damaged panels, whats the difference ? if a car has had panel only damage then i dont think it should affect its value that much, with classic cars anyway, im not interested in any comments about later cars, its classics only please .
DAVEPRICE said:
its about a car being recorded as a total insurance loss and how much this affects its value.... i was trying to make a point about replacing rusty panels or damaged panels, whats the difference ? if a car has had panel only damage then i dont think it should affect its value that much, with classic cars anyway, im not interested in any comments about later cars, its classics only please .
op, you'll need to be more specific. what car is it and what damage is there to the car in order for the car to be an insurance loss. there's a big difference, for example, between an mgb, an e-type jaguar, and an aston martin db5.there are many ph'ers who can help answer your question but you need to be specific as to vehicle make & model, and, full damage to car. posting photos will also help.
ok, a 69H , MINI Cooper, genuine low owners/miles, had very light rear damage in 2006, been in the owners garage until ealier in the year when it was rescued and repaired, its a cat c loss, the owner had a claim and kept the car , the car is for sale in essex 8995 ono, it looks very nice and has photos of all repairs and of the actual damage before the repair that looked fairly minimal and dont warrant being a cat c to me,
i dont know how to post the link of the car om PH, its advertised on car and classic , red with black roof and 38000 miles .
i dont know how to post the link of the car om PH, its advertised on car and classic , red with black roof and 38000 miles .
DAVEPRICE said:
ok, a 69H , MINI Cooper, genuine low owners/miles, had very light rear damage in 2006, been in the owners garage until ealier in the year when it was rescued and repaired, its a cat c loss, the owner had a claim and kept the car , the car is for sale in essex 8995 ono, it looks very nice and has photos of all repairs and of the actual damage before the repair that looked fairly minimal and dont warrant being a cat c to me,
i dont know how to post the link of the car om PH, its advertised on car and classic , red with black roof and 38000 miles .
dave, have looked at car and advert description. my initial thought is always caveat emptor; and that's with any car irrespective of history. however, if the car has been repaired correctly, the car should be fine. as for price, i'm no mini expert. so if you're unsure as to repair calibre and price, why not contact the mini club and ask for one of their regional guys to view the car with you? the advertiser states there's photographic history of the repair work. you should also check if its got mtching numbers etc,. you can do this via the club or through british motor heritage. at the very worst, the car's a duffer and you walk away. if it's good and you like the car, buy it and enjoy the car. good luck.i dont know how to post the link of the car om PH, its advertised on car and classic , red with black roof and 38000 miles .
Indeed, be careful.
http://www.bmh-ltd.com/minishell.htm
Buying one of these and modifying it to look like a period car would likely be cheaper if the damage was severe, as all the panels are available.
http://www.bmh-ltd.com/minishell.htm
Buying one of these and modifying it to look like a period car would likely be cheaper if the damage was severe, as all the panels are available.
Thanks for advice, the car has a heritage certificate, is matching numbers, lots of old mots, 3 owners from new and the last two owners for well over 20 years between them,
ive had some photos of the car showing the damage emailed over, it really does not look to bad, boot lid, valance, bumper, the guy told me that the boot floor was slightly kinked and could have been repaired but they opted to put in a complete floor, they emailed me photos of the car at various stages of repair, chained to a hydraulic jig, all done at an approved body shop, i am tempted to put in an offer !!
ive had some photos of the car showing the damage emailed over, it really does not look to bad, boot lid, valance, bumper, the guy told me that the boot floor was slightly kinked and could have been repaired but they opted to put in a complete floor, they emailed me photos of the car at various stages of repair, chained to a hydraulic jig, all done at an approved body shop, i am tempted to put in an offer !!
The 'write off' tag has connertations. In the old days this implied a total wreck, putting a potential buyer off a repaired example. Quite right too probably.
These days however, insurance companies 'write off' cars with often very minimal damage, purely on economic grounds.
I have just bought a classic mini for my son that was one of these economic 'write offs'. The car had a very minor front end shunt some years ago. The 'wreck'
was purchased back by the owner and repaired by a Mini specialist. It had absolutley no structural damage, had 2 new front wings, front panel, grill, bumper etc fitted; followed by an excellent paint job.
The car has the cat 'd' stigma (totally unfounded in my view) but cost me approx 40% less to buy than a non cat d example.
I fail to see how this car differs from a similar car, that had had a rusty front end that was then restored with the same range of panels
When I purchased the car, I did my homework and was not deterred by the history or its apparent stigma.
These days however, insurance companies 'write off' cars with often very minimal damage, purely on economic grounds.
- Category C - Repairable. Significant damage. Cost of the repair is more than book value of vehicle at dealer rates.
- Category D - Repairable. Probably non-structural damage. May have been economic to repair, but insurer doesn't want to.
- Category X - Repairable. Minor Damage
I have just bought a classic mini for my son that was one of these economic 'write offs'. The car had a very minor front end shunt some years ago. The 'wreck'
was purchased back by the owner and repaired by a Mini specialist. It had absolutley no structural damage, had 2 new front wings, front panel, grill, bumper etc fitted; followed by an excellent paint job. The car has the cat 'd' stigma (totally unfounded in my view) but cost me approx 40% less to buy than a non cat d example.
I fail to see how this car differs from a similar car, that had had a rusty front end that was then restored with the same range of panels
When I purchased the car, I did my homework and was not deterred by the history or its apparent stigma.
Setch993 said:
The 'write off' tag has connertations. In the old days this implied a total wreck, putting a potential buyer off a repaired example. Quite right too probably.
These days however, insurance companies 'write off' cars with often very minimal damage, purely on economic grounds.
I have just bought a classic mini for my son that was one of these economic 'write offs'. The car had a very minor front end shunt some years ago. The 'wreck' was purchased back by the owner and repaired by a Mini specialist. It had absolutley no structural damage, had 2 new front wings, front panel, grill, bumper etc fitted; followed by an excellent paint job.
The car has the cat 'd' stigma (totally unfounded in my view) but cost me approx 40% less to buy than a non cat d example.
I fail to see how this car differs from a similar car, that had had a rusty front end that was then restored with the same range of panels
When I purchased the car, I did my homework and was not deterred by the history or its apparent stigma.
May have some affect to value of the car if insurance co get involved in any repairs, be it economical or notThese days however, insurance companies 'write off' cars with often very minimal damage, purely on economic grounds.
- Category C - Repairable. Significant damage. Cost of the repair is more than book value of vehicle at dealer rates.
- Category D - Repairable. Probably non-structural damage. May have been economic to repair, but insurer doesn't want to.
- Category X - Repairable. Minor Damage
I have just bought a classic mini for my son that was one of these economic 'write offs'. The car had a very minor front end shunt some years ago. The 'wreck'
was purchased back by the owner and repaired by a Mini specialist. It had absolutley no structural damage, had 2 new front wings, front panel, grill, bumper etc fitted; followed by an excellent paint job. The car has the cat 'd' stigma (totally unfounded in my view) but cost me approx 40% less to buy than a non cat d example.
I fail to see how this car differs from a similar car, that had had a rusty front end that was then restored with the same range of panels
When I purchased the car, I did my homework and was not deterred by the history or its apparent stigma.
I was having this conversation with a dealer a while last week.
I'm looking at selling my E30 and we were talking about other cars on the market and I mentioned that I'd never touch a another Cat C or D car having owned one years ago.
He didn't seam to think on the pre 80's cars it made a whole lot of difference to price although may put a few people off especially cars that had been rebuilt since.
I'm looking at selling my E30 and we were talking about other cars on the market and I mentioned that I'd never touch a another Cat C or D car having owned one years ago.
He didn't seam to think on the pre 80's cars it made a whole lot of difference to price although may put a few people off especially cars that had been rebuilt since.
Setch993 said:
The 'write off' tag has connertations. In the old days this implied a total wreck, putting a potential buyer off a repaired example. Quite right too probably.
These days however, insurance companies 'write off' cars with often very minimal damage, purely on economic grounds.
It can be ridiculously easy to take the cost of repair beyond the perceived economic write off point. A rear bumper of my XJ is £1500, it is designed to be sacrificial, to take knocks to protect the main body of the car. An X300 has a chrome strip that runs right along the top of the bumper, so any small knock will bend this strip and you then need a new bumper. For the X308 Jaguar switched to the cheaper just put chrome at the corners to get around this, but if you have any minor touch on an X300 now and get your insurance company involved you are looking at a write off.These days however, insurance companies 'write off' cars with often very minimal damage, purely on economic grounds.
- Category C - Repairable. Significant damage. Cost of the repair is more than book value of vehicle at dealer rates.
- Category D - Repairable. Probably non-structural damage. May have been economic to repair, but insurer doesn't want to.
- Category X - Repairable. Minor Damage
The whole "write-off for a small damage" thing is a rip-off, really...Can't understand why insurance companies won't do what any owner who has to repair their own vehicle would do...
Any car worth less than a couple of thousand doesn't warrant new parts for a minor damage...either a second hand part or a repair using best efforts would suffice...I'm sure it would keep the cost of premiums down and more older, but perfectly serviceable, cars on the road.
Any car worth less than a couple of thousand doesn't warrant new parts for a minor damage...either a second hand part or a repair using best efforts would suffice...I'm sure it would keep the cost of premiums down and more older, but perfectly serviceable, cars on the road.
fushion julz said:
The whole "write-off for a small damage" thing is a rip-off, really...Can't understand why insurance companies won't do what any owner who has to repair their own vehicle would do...
Any car worth less than a couple of thousand doesn't warrant new parts for a minor damage...either a second hand part or a repair using best efforts would suffice...I'm sure it would keep the cost of premiums down and more older, but perfectly serviceable, cars on the road.
I suspect in the majority of cases it is the labour cost that would make the repair uneconomical from the insurance companies point of view.Any car worth less than a couple of thousand doesn't warrant new parts for a minor damage...either a second hand part or a repair using best efforts would suffice...I'm sure it would keep the cost of premiums down and more older, but perfectly serviceable, cars on the road.
in the case of the X300 mentioned above the bumper is £1500, the car worth perhaps £2k but fitting a bumper is only a couple of hours at most, I suspect...
If the insurance company would use s/h reclaimed/salvage parts there may even be no paint cost if one can be sourced in the correct colour...
s/h bumper say £150, postage/carriage £25 fitting £150...total cost is very reasonable compared with a factory supplied part in primer!
If the insurance company would use s/h reclaimed/salvage parts there may even be no paint cost if one can be sourced in the correct colour...
s/h bumper say £150, postage/carriage £25 fitting £150...total cost is very reasonable compared with a factory supplied part in primer!
fushion julz said:
The whole "write-off for a small damage" thing is a rip-off, really...Can't understand why insurance companies won't do what any owner who has to repair their own vehicle would do...
Any car worth less than a couple of thousand doesn't warrant new parts for a minor damage...either a second hand part or a repair using best efforts would suffice...I'm sure it would keep the cost of premiums down and more older, but perfectly serviceable, cars on the road.
Insurance companies tried that back in mid/late 90's as i recall. the problems arose with sourcing secondhand parts in usable condition in the part of the country they were needed. Then repairers charging insurance companies to repair secondhand panels. Any car worth less than a couple of thousand doesn't warrant new parts for a minor damage...either a second hand part or a repair using best efforts would suffice...I'm sure it would keep the cost of premiums down and more older, but perfectly serviceable, cars on the road.
They soon gave up on that
fushion julz said:
in the case of the X300 mentioned above the bumper is £1500, the car worth perhaps £2k but fitting a bumper is only a couple of hours at most, I suspect...
If the insurance company would use s/h reclaimed/salvage parts there may even be no paint cost if one can be sourced in the correct colour...
s/h bumper say £150, postage/carriage £25 fitting £150...total cost is very reasonable compared with a factory supplied part in primer!
Again all down to logistics. who do you get to source parts? the chance of getting a boot lid for instance in a certain colour, undamaged , in your part of the country is pretty slim. Then insurance companies have to trust repairers that it doesnt require paintingIf the insurance company would use s/h reclaimed/salvage parts there may even be no paint cost if one can be sourced in the correct colour...
s/h bumper say £150, postage/carriage £25 fitting £150...total cost is very reasonable compared with a factory supplied part in primer!
I'n early 2003 I bought my first 91 a 79 SC in Ultra Rare Black Metalic , probably The Best 911 Colour . ( She was a California Car from new ) as an insurance write off. The previous owner had moved to the UK and loved this car so much he bought her with him. She was parked near Liverpool Street Station one eve when some young yobs smashed a quarter light , opened the front lid, pulled out the carpet and set light to it . Fortuneately the fire only burnt the front Lid, front wings and the front top section of the O side door.
I took both wings off , had them sand blasted , welded up a small hole I'n the top if the inner wing ( Yes on a California car ) and smoked her around for a few months. I loved that car, should have kept her . SGK 608V where are You now ???
I took both wings off , had them sand blasted , welded up a small hole I'n the top if the inner wing ( Yes on a California car ) and smoked her around for a few months. I loved that car, should have kept her . SGK 608V where are You now ???
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