Should I buy a category S?
Discussion
Am looking to buy a car, but it's listed as category S, meaning it has been written of due to structural damage in the past, but has been repaired. My brother says I shouldn't buy it as the insurance will be expensive, and if I have an accident in it the insurance company 'might get funny about it' IE refuse to pay out as it's previously been written off.
Looking at the pics, you wouldn't know, and it's mot history looks fine.
Surely if it's been repaired and has passed its MOT it should be fine? The Insurers must have sold it to the person that repaired it so why should they have an issue? If they don't want cat s cars being repaired, they shouldn't sell them? Is there any way I can find out when it was written off? If it has been on the road years since the repair, and had multiple mot passes, surely it should be ok? What does everybody think? It's a 55 plate 2.0l saloon w <100k milage btw.
Looking at the pics, you wouldn't know, and it's mot history looks fine.
Surely if it's been repaired and has passed its MOT it should be fine? The Insurers must have sold it to the person that repaired it so why should they have an issue? If they don't want cat s cars being repaired, they shouldn't sell them? Is there any way I can find out when it was written off? If it has been on the road years since the repair, and had multiple mot passes, surely it should be ok? What does everybody think? It's a 55 plate 2.0l saloon w <100k milage btw.
Super Sonic said:
Surely if it's been repaired and has passed its MOT it should be fine?
An MOT has absolutely no correlation to the standard of any chassis repair.It could've been done perfectly, at the same time it could be a deathtrap bodge job.
I wouldn't buy a cat S without photographic evidence of the pre repaired damage.....then you know where to focus your inspection. Don't take the sellers word for anything.
If you don't know what you are doing there is a very good chance you will get stitched up.
If the car has a valid MOT and the repair has been done by a professional it'll be fine and probably save on the purchase price. The issue with them is when it comes to resale - they're very difficult to sell, most dealers won't take them as a PX and WBAC will offer at least 40% off their initial offer. If you can live with that, fill yer boots.
Many thanks scOtchland, according to vcheck it was written off 7/21 and put back on road the same month, the owner sold it 8 MTHS later and the present owner has had it for almost 4mths. It has had one mot since w minor advisories. Should I put the ad details on here? Is this a good idea /allowed?
Super Sonic said:
Am looking to buy a car, but it's listed as category S, meaning it has been written of due to structural damage in the past, but has been repaired. My brother says I shouldn't buy it as the insurance will be expensive, and if I have an accident in it the insurance company 'might get funny about it' IE refuse to pay out as it's previously been written off.
Looking at the pics, you wouldn't know, and it's mot history looks fine.
Surely if it's been repaired and has passed its MOT it should be fine? The Insurers must have sold it to the person that repaired it so why should they have an issue? If they don't want cat s cars being repaired, they shouldn't sell them? Is there any way I can find out when it was written off? If it has been on the road years since the repair, and had multiple mot passes, surely it should be ok? What does everybody think? It's a 55 plate 2.0l saloon w <100k milage btw.
The insurance really isn't an issue, as others have said do a VCheck as you'll normally find pictures of the car pre repair.Looking at the pics, you wouldn't know, and it's mot history looks fine.
Surely if it's been repaired and has passed its MOT it should be fine? The Insurers must have sold it to the person that repaired it so why should they have an issue? If they don't want cat s cars being repaired, they shouldn't sell them? Is there any way I can find out when it was written off? If it has been on the road years since the repair, and had multiple mot passes, surely it should be ok? What does everybody think? It's a 55 plate 2.0l saloon w <100k milage btw.
If it's a fair bit cheaper than a non CAT car then yes it's always worth a look.
Super Sonic said:
according to vcheck it was written off 7/21 and put back on road the same month, the owner sold it 8 MTHS later and the present owner has had it for almost 4mths. It has had one mot since w minor advisories. Should I put the ad details on here? Is this a good idea /allowed?
Two owners in quick successions since the write off. Doesn't sound goodIt looks like fairly good value for the low milage, but wbac value it at less than half the advertisers price.(I do know wbac will leave themselves room to make a profit).There are no pics on vcheck but apparently it was off the road for less than a week so damage couldn't have been severe. The fact the present owner has only had it 3mths is making me wary though.
Super Sonic said:
It looks like fairly good value for the low milage, but wbac value it at less than half the advertisers price.(I do know wbac will leave themselves room to make a profit).There are no pics on vcheck but apparently it was off the road for less than a week so damage couldn't have been severe. The fact the present owner has only had it 3mths is making me wary though.
Do you know about cars? The reason I ask is because you'll have to check everything Panel gaps use a paint depth gauge (to make sure they didn't bodge it with filler) & so on.Do your checks & ask why they're selling so soon.
maz8062 said:
...The issue with them is when it comes to resale...
Indeed. It is only worth buying a 'CAT' car if you plan on running it long enough for it to be worthless.Also. As per others suggestions, check what the damage was and also when, in pre-covid times when cars were cheaper it might have been written off for some minor cosmetic damage.
A saloon with 100k +, fairly aged, is how you describe the car you are looking at. How much price difference is there between that and a non cat car with the same kind of mileage and age? I think unless you are talking a big saving (35%+) than i'd walk away. It doesn't seem worth the hassle.
Now as a rule of thumb, Category classed cars aren't necessarily the devil. As all of the above posts say, check the history of the car, check for the auction shots showing the damage. Check where the repair was done. Have the vehicle inspected.
I mean for some cars - like a VX220 or Lotus Elise, i've seen them categorised as Cat S - for clam shell damage. Which is ultimately fibreglass. God knows why as for me that isn't structural. I've also seen them Cat S for suspension arms and struts. What you don't want to see though is chassis rail damage and things like that. If its just bolt on parts for a repair then ultimately those are wear and tear items anyway in my mind, you have to replace LCA's, Ball Joints, Suspension units etc. Over time. But its the crashes that have taken out things like the roof - stay away in my experience. Crash bars/core supports - ok can be repaired. Chassis Rails - i've met very few who can do that well over the years. I tend to stay away. Especially on performance cars where handling is key.
So for me (subjective i realise) It wholly depends on a) the type of car b) the saving you are making c) your ability to have the car inspected and understand what happened and how it was repaired and d) as others have said, if you are handy with a spanner you can sought out the leftover niggles - switches, electrical gremlins, clips, trim missing etc. Always things left to one side after a big repair job.
Go in with your eyes wide open and with as much information as you can, do your research and yes a saving can be had and it can be worth it.
FYI - right now there are a lot more Category classed cars due to the Pandemic. Assessors were not coming out to cars to inspect damage and instead were just paying out on the basis of a write off - even with minimal damage. Numerous traders i know have commented on it. So if it write off say 2020 - 2022 then you could well be getting a bargain as damage could have been minimal and it was circumstance rather than damage that caused it to be a write off.
Anyways. You buys the car you spin the die and see what you end up with . Good luck in your search/purchase.
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