Cat D Write-Off

[Panders]

Hi everyone

I posted last week about whether to change my 2wd for a 4wd and having seen a lovely 2004 XT3 VVTI with mileage of 35000 am very keen to go and view it but its a Cat D write-off having allegedly had bumper damage with its first owner, current owner has had it for over a year and it has a current MOT. Should I be considering this vehicle and if so what sort of value? Is the £5000 being asked fair? It doesn't have a spare key either and I know that would mean £200!!

Thanks

Pamela

[nig.xl]

Hi everyone

I posted last week about whether to change my 2wd for a 4wd and having seen a lovely 2004 XT3 VVTI with mileage of 35000 am very keen to go and view it but its a Cat D write-off having allegedly had bumper damage with its first owner, current owner has had it for over a year and it has a current MOT. Should I be considering this vehicle and if so what sort of value? Is the £5000 being asked fair? It doesn't have a spare key either and I know that would mean £200!!

Thanks

Pamela

Hi

After owning a cat d motorbike once, if you are looking to sell the vehicle on at any time in the future you will struggle. I would also suggest that the damage would have been more serious than bumper damage due to the value of the vehicle. The car would need to be especially cheap to ever tempt me which it doesn't seem to be, regardless of mileage

[Panders]

Thanks so much for the reply! From what I can ascertain its below the Parkers valuation for a car with double the mileage, I haven't paid for the mileage adjusted valuation, how much would you think would be cheap enough to consider as I don't intend to sell it on, rather to drive it into the ground!? From the research I have done it does appear that Cat D can be cosmetic damage only but other factors cause the insurance company to write off eg the courtesy car hire or the delay in obtaining a part, but obviously I'd need to do whatever I can to establish the facts.

The 2nd hand dealers around here are selling 2004 models with 35K on the clock for £7000, which is probably why it looks a bargain!

[nig.xl]

What I would be inclined to do if you really want it is phone a couple of dealers and pretend you would like to sell that car to them for cash with the cat d declared and see what they say to you. Or maybe try we buy any car dot com.

Good luck

[Parts-King]

I can understand the reasons for wanting to buy what appears a cheap car but as mentioned above, you will struggle to sell it on. I would want it for a lot less than 5K OR buy a decent one without any dodgy history. I will bet you any money it had more than bumper damage! ;)

Kingo

[Panders]

Thanks! Does anyone know if there is anyway of finding out what damage was done?

[nig.xl]

I did a quick we buy any car on it for you with and without the cat d.

£4300 clear and only £2800 with the cat d.

Just shows you how the trade value them ;)

If you really want it make a silly offer. If it is accepted then get an RAC check done or similar, they are supposed to be quite thorough.

[Parts-King]

Also......at WBAC you might get a price of £2800 over the net but I can assure you when you take it to one of their collection centres, you will be offered a lower price. The sales people who buy the cars are paid a commission on how much they "Chip" you down in price

Kingo

[Panders]

Thanks for that, I got a Parker valuation as £6300 clear if its in good condition, but adjusted down 30% for the Cat D brings it to £ 4410 but I have decided I will go with an AA vehicle inspection if vendor willing and will make an offer based on that. My insurance want an engineers report to say roadworthy and insurable otherwise say premiums and valuation unaffected???

I dodn't know about we buy any car until you mentioned it, great source of info!

[Panders]

Just a quick update, got an RAC inspection done on the vehicle and there are a few essential repairs and some desirable ones, not knowing anything about how much these are likely to cost I'm inclined to just walk away but the good news is that there is no structural damage but evidence of extensive repair to bodypanels which suggests the reason for Cat D and keeps me somewhat interested. if I posted some of the reports findings, is there anyone on here who can give me an idea of repair costs?

Pamela

[k 12]

hi im a paint sprayer for a living. a word of warning paint can hide a lot of bad repairs,as i know from experience .i had a lexus 200 that was cheap to buy and i soon found out why.... looked a1 then rust sprouted all over the place when i stripped it back the repairs were really bad i had to repair it at work just to get rid of it, cost loads too. be warned, there are a lot of paint cowboys out there.

[Panders]

hi im a paint sprayer for a living. a word of warning paint can hide a lot of bad repairs,as i know from experience .i had a lexus 200 that was cheap to buy and i soon found out why.... looked a1 then rust sprouted all over the place when i stripped it back the repairs were really bad i had to repair it at work just to get rid of it, cost loads too. be warned, there are a lot of paint cowboys out there.

Thanks a million K12, the engineer did say that the bodywork has not been repaired to a particularly high standard but said its significance would depend what value I place on the cosmetics of the vehicle! I appreciate your input!

Pamela

[Davrav]

Just a quick update, got an RAC inspection done on the vehicle and there are a few essential repairs and some desirable ones, not knowing anything about how much these are likely to cost I'm inclined to just walk away but the good news is that there is no structural damage but evidence of extensive repair to bodypanels which suggests the reason for Cat D and keeps me somewhat interested. if I posted some of the reports findings, is there anyone on here who can give me an idea of repair costs?

Pamela

If it's had 'extensive repairs' to body panels there could be all sorts of trouble ahead - rust, poor fit, leaks, loose or ill fitting trim inside and out, poor paint match.............