MichaelG

Morning peeps

I have been looking for a new toy since selling on my Series 1.

Came across a few options, but nothing that really stands out, been looking at getting back into Japanese again, but theres just not a lot out there for sale just now.

Anyways, one of my mates asked me why i dont consider buying a Cat D damaged repairable car, as i can get them cheaper than the majority of cars market value, and then just spend a wong on performance bits seeing as i am saving on the car value.

The only thing is:--

I havent ever bought a car with previous accident damage before, well not anything recorded that i know of....

Stupid question, but i know Cat A (should be crushed) Cat D (insurer decided not to repair, possibly light damage but not repaired for various reasons) what these mean....

What i am wondering though, is, would or has anyone bought a Cat D car before and what are the basics of doing this ? What to look for, pitfalls, plus points etc...

Money or cost isnt really that important, but he seems to think i should try and find some mental motor thats been Cat D as there is nothing wrong with it if its been fixed right, and instead spend a load making it quick...

Has anyone any experience of buying a Cat D car ? Or would you steer clear ? Just an option i have never thought about before.

Cheers

Michael

Rhys

IT will be harder to sell on after, so any money making it quick would be lost worse than if a HPI clear car.

Some people dont mind, but i tend to stay clear tbh..

GazzaG

Nope, i wouldent buy one to keep and sell on after, i'd end up breaking it

AlexD

iTrader: (3)

TBH if its a light bump or it has been stolen recovered, Then it would not
bother me tbh.

Some CAT D cars are often better than a normal cars of the same age.

And if its a fun car who cares..

Al..

bullsrs

i used to buy write offs and any cat c or d car could be smashed to bits or just lock damaged, it depends on the economical cost of the repair, against the value of the car. i work for a dealer parts dept which charges Ł3+ for a single cable tie when it comes to insurance work or warranty work, which makes it more understandable why cars with little damage get wrote off.
pitfalls: yes a lot are listed on hpi register,but not all, more than likely you will need a v.i.c. check,(the date of passing the check will be on your v5 after this) but you can ring vosa to find out if the car will need this,
i preferred to buy light panel damaged cars rather than stolen recovered as you know the car was more than likely running when the accident happened, whereas a twoc`ed car will have been thrashed to death and probably have a buggered engine at least(been caught a few times like this, and once after messing on gettin an engine and new chip key made i got pulled and locked up cos the police hadn`t took the car off pnc when it was recovered, they thought i stole it and took it from me for a week to check it was the same car, so they said, i think it was more like they wanted any reason to keep the car, rather than give an apology)
look for your nearest salvage auction site as they wont pull panels out to mask more serious damage, like some breakers that i know of.
alternatively if you are looking at a car that is already repaired, check that the work has been done to a good standard

Porkie

iTrader: (1)

Someone paid Ł184,000 for this CAT D....

http://www.chpltd.com/911_porsche_world/salvage.html

STUCOS

iTrader: (8)

Bought loads of wright off's and repaired them,advertised and sold no problem,also bought a few already repaired,big savings to be had,most ppl who say they wouldnt,dont know much about the motor trade,as how many cars are repaired and payed for by the owner after an accident,as they have only 3rd party insurance,so car will never be on the hit list,



cheeRS stu

ps there's a certain escort on here that would have been a total loss,but i dont see that boathering any body know it's been reshelled

Rhys

Porkie.. Says the cars minder done that too

JjCoDeX75

Funny one this.

If you had asked me 2 years ago, I would have said yup, no worries. As long as it is proerly repaired there shouldnt be a worry as long as you go in with your eyes open. But now, I am going to offer you another point of view.

I bought a BMW 7 series a couple of years ago - E38 on a 99 plate. It appeared to be in good order, and generally it was. It was not Cat D (nor had it been), but it had suffered an accident to the front corner, that I was not fully aware of when I purchased the vehicle.

It was only when I got it on the ramp that I understood what had been done - basically, new wing, light, indicator, strut and a couple of other bits. Not a big deal overall, and appeared to have been repaired by BMW (given that every single panel had BMW stamps on).

Other than kicking myself for not noticing (not that you would without a ramp), I wasnt particularly worried as the repairs appeared satisfactory.

BUT

I have had E38s before this one, and they are very good, and this one had issues that I simply have never had on the cars.

1. Heater blew only hot air out of top vents irrespective of rest of car and settings! - Turned out to be stripped wiring earthed - probably related to repair after accident. An absolute bitch to diagnose and repair.

2. Lower cross member needed to be completely replaced due to a fracture adjacent to the power steering pulley - Tenuous, but to my mind the metal may have been fatigued by the unnatural impact caused by the accident. I have never ever had a cross member fail in this place on any of my cars - uinlikely to be coincidnece.

3. Passenger side light never successfully adjusted to pass an MOT propertly. An absolute nightmare to deal with for such a minor issue.

4. Paint stone chips to corner excessive (paint never goes off like it does in the factory)

5. Transmission failure. Now this I admit is tenuous. But as stated, I have had several of these, and the auto boxes almost never ever ever go wrong! Paranoi creeping in? Possibly, but the failure was described by the repairing mechanic as 'wierd', and possibly related to a sudden impact?

6. Other wiring gremlins.


Now it is easy to state that the repairs were not carried out to a satisfactory standard, but how can you possibly repair non-emergent defects (eg transmission). I have totally changed my view on it now, and having spoken to other friends who deal with repairs, it would appear that there is more to this than paranoia.

My advice - Get a car that you can be reasonably satisfied hasnt been in an accident. Why take the chance?

JJ

STUCOS

iTrader: (8)

JJ you state your car was not registered ,this is what im saying,that at least if car is on the hit list you know the correct history



cheeRS stu

JjCoDeX75

I dont disagree with you.

To be honest, my problem was with the latent defects, rather than the easiliy identifyable defects. So in this case, the wing and the shock absorber and the indicator (light notwithstanding) were fixed correctly, and there was no evidence of issue. The rest of the things that went wrong you would never expect anyone to look for to a degree.

I dont think that the Cat D status makes much difference over any car that has been accident repaired on the latent defects.

JJ

Benni

If the car was repaired to It's original state it would not bother me.