How Bad is a Cat D ?

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Sat 18 Aug 2007 22:49
How Bad is a Cat D ? - 007
A car which I am interested in is described on dealers website as being 'Cat d repaired'. I am not familiar with this description. How bad is 'Cat d' ?
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Sat 18 Aug 2007 23:29
How Bad is a Cat D ? - PoloGirl
There's A,B,C and D. They all mean the car's been written off at some point. A's the worst.

A means it was fit only to be destroyed.
B means (i think) it can be broken down and sold as parts
C and D mean it's been written off as not economical to repair, but if someone wanted to, they could repair it and put it back on the road.

So although D is the least severe, it's still been written off at some point and you'd need to know why.



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Sun 19 Aug 2007 00:02
How Bad is a Cat D ? - 007
Thanks for that reply PG.
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Sun 19 Aug 2007 00:03
How Bad is a Cat D ? - Dynamic Dave
Defintions below.

195.82.120.34/cleaves/abicodes.lasso

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Sun 19 Aug 2007 00:28
How Bad is a Cat D ? - Honestjohn
From the FAQ answers on this site:-

18. When is an Insurance Damage 'Write Off' not written off?

VCAR was the old name for an Insurance Damage Write-off.

A 'write off' is a colloquial term for a vehicle which has been declared a total loss by an insurer, either following accident damage or theft. There are some 450,000 accident-related write-offs every year and another 150,000 insurance thefts, many of which are subsequently recovered damaged and re-classified. Many write-offs are legitimately allowed back on the roads following a repair; the safest ones to buy are those which have passed an independent vehicle inspection, such as those on HPI's Condition Inspected register. However, almost half of all write-offs are so badly damaged that qualified insurance inspectors determine that they should never go back on the road. To assist the industry and the used car buyer, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has since 1997 provided the following classification of damage to vehicles that have been deemed an insurance write-off:

o Category A:

Scrap only - this vehicle should have been crushed. It should never reappear on the road and there are no economically salvageable parts. It is of value only for scrap metal - e.g. a totally burnt-out vehicle.

o Category B:

The bodyshell should have been crushed. The vehicle should never reappear on the road, but it can be broken for spare parts plus any residual scrap metal.

o Category C:

Vehicle extensively damaged and insurer has decided not to repair. May be repaired and put back on the road. Has to pass an inspection costing £36 (2007 price) to be re-registered as damaged repaired.

o Category D:

Vehicle damaged and insurer has decided not to repair. When fixed can be re-registered as damaged repaired.

Think of Cat D like this:

A car is worth £6,000, but sustains some minor cosmetic damage.

The damage will cost £2,500 for an (inflated price) insurance repair that includes the cost of a courtesy car for the owner while the repair takes place.

But the insurer can sell the car off as it is for £4,000.

So the insurer 'writes it off' as a Cat D, saving itself £500, even though the car may be perfectly drivable and suffers only cosmetic damage.

o Category F:

Vehicle damaged by fire and insurer has decided not to repair. When fixed can be re-registered as damaged repaired.

Check if the car you are looking at is on one of these registers by visiting www.hpicheck.com
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Sun 19 Aug 2007 11:31
How Bad is a Cat D ? - martint123
Not forgetting Cat X - the insurance company fiddle to maximise salvage value as no one will know.

"X - Repairable salvage. Not recorded on any registers such as HPI. Limited or very light damage, or vehicle is new or less than 12 months old.
Usually requires minimal repair work.
NOT Recorded with HPI."
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Sun 19 Aug 2007 13:10
How Bad is a Cat D ? - the_bandit
Whether its Cat C or Cat D, what is important is the quality of the repair. Try and contact the previous owner to ascertain exactly what happened to it. Don't take the dealers word for it.

Also the price. I would pay more than bottom trade price for any insurance repaired car. They are marked for life and will never achieve "normal" retail values.

Best scenario is to buy one these cars that has been repaired to a high standard for a good price and keep it until it's dead.
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Sun 19 Aug 2007 19:08
How Bad is a Cat D ? - Aprilia
Somes years back I actually purchased some Cat D salvage and repaired it (for a modest profit) - not worth it nowadays though, because decent used cars are so cheap.

One thing to keep in mind is that a fair number of Cat D's will be 'stolen recovered' and may have mechanical/suspension damage in addition to the obvious (usually 'light') body damage. This can throw the unsuspecting buyer, especially since salvage is generally bought 'static' (i.e. you don't see it being driven to the block).

Remember also that salvage sales often include some trade entrants (in addition to insurance co's). A little 'trade secret' if you have a knackered car (head blown, autotranny faulty) is to purposely bump a corner of the car to put a bit of very light damage on the car and then enter it as salvage. The punters all assume its in the sale because of the damage and don't think about the mechanical condition - nice bit of psychology in action there - and the trader gets a lot more for the car.
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Sun 19 Aug 2007 19:11
How Bad is a Cat D ? - Pugugly {P}
"nice bit of psychology in action there"

Yes - the psychology of deception !
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Sun 19 Aug 2007 19:16
How Bad is a Cat D ? - Aprilia
I wouldn't really call it 'deception' - the car is not mis-described. Buyers just jump to the conclusion that the car is in the sale due to the body damage and don't look beyond the obvious damage. I hasten to add that I don't get involved in such things - but I'm aware of others doing it...
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Sun 19 Aug 2007 22:51
How Bad is a Cat D ? - 007
Thanks again for all those interesting replies and my apologies, HJ, for not having checked the FAQ's first.
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Fri 9 Sep 2011 00:45
How Bad is a Cat D ? - DAVIE JONES

I have been working for XXXX for 26 years which is a company working for insurance firms when vehicles are damaged in collisions basically we assess the damage and if damage is worth more than car value to repair we categorise them in to B, C, D, X

B is break only 40% damage

C is 30% damage reqiures V.I.C check just to comfirm vehicle has not been ringed.

D is 15% damage should be £3000 cheaper than actual value safe to have nothing wrong with buying a cat D

X is 10% damage, stolen recovered & hpi clear price no diffrence.

these days insurance companys are repairing vehicles which have sustained damage equable to Cat B & C just to save a large fraction of money

so expect that to happen you make claim and companys say we want to take it to approved body shop.

The bodyshops all want to repair vehicles because they just want to make money there dont care about the damge they will repair any thing most people dont have clue about this scam

Its better buying some thing you know it has damage in past

also really minor damaged vehicles end up as cat d due to replacement hire car & legal costs

(Edit - sorry, no free advertising on this forum.)

Edited by Avant on 09/09/2011 at 00:49

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Fri 9 Sep 2011 00:46
How Bad is a Cat D ? - jamie745

Avant's going to have some jolly good fun with you.

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Fri 9 Sep 2011 14:22
How Bad is a Cat D ? - martint123

Avant's going to have some jolly good fun with you.

But he missed the other one ;)

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Fri 9 Sep 2011 14:44
How Bad is a Cat D ? - madf

"

The bodyshops all want to repair vehicles because they just want to make money there dont care about the damge they will repair any thing most people dont have clue about this scam

"

Bodhshops exist to reapir cars: the clue is in their name..

Most pointless post of the year apart from the arrogant one about "I've passed my test and that's all that matters.."

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Sat 10 Sep 2011 00:01
How Bad is a Cat D ? - Avant

"But he missed the other one ;)"

Thanks - I hid it on the other thread but I've now looked again and saw that he posted it twice. Gone now!

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