26 replies to this topic

[Kieronb]

Ok, I'm getting a Mini as a present for doing well in GCSE's (provided I do..). The one I have been looking at is a 1275 with crash damage, it has a 'cat C'. If i'm honest I know what i'm doing with cars a fair bit etc but what is a Cat C? Also could someone tell em the basics of what to look for when I go look at this car, it's from a mate but He's likely to try rip me off.

[gceclifton]

Cat C is refering to an insurance writeoff... repairable but still written off... there are others on here that know a lot more than me about these things... they will be along shortly!

[Jordie]

Cat C is repairable.

What damage is there, if its in good condition and the insurance didnt want to pay out, they may be more damage then the eye can see. Give it a good inspection

[Neon]

I think Cat C is the uneconomical to repair catorgory (sp). It will have damage that would cost more for the insurance company to get repaired than what they value the car at. It will retain this status for life when HPI checks are carried out. You may need to put it through a Vehicle Identity Check (VIC) at your local DVLA centre when its sorted, and a new MOT.
This could be all wrong though, so I'll wait for someone who knows their stuff to confirm it.

[Neon]

Dam...I was too slow!

[liam_italian]

All I know is a Cat C does require a VIC check!

[Dan]

It will always be a Cat-C, even if fully reshelled or repaired. That means it will generally cost you more to insure and you will never be able to claim full market value for it from the insurance if you ever need to. Ultimately the car is devalued by the damage and the fact that the original owner didn't fight with the insurance company long enough or hard enough to preserve the car.

[Kieronb]

Ok, I'm not too fussed about resale value as i'd probs be getting mega cheap as it is, along the lines of £200-300 so thats no problem. Afecting insurance is abit of a problem as I was going to be using it as a first car. Any idea how much it will push that up?

[outcast]

I have always bought cat c salvage and it has not made the insurance cost anymore.

[A KIRK]

Some mate if he is going to rip you off

[Kieronb]

I'm not saying he's trying, I havent spoke to him yet about it really, just said that I'd be interested and take a look at it in 3 weeks or so once GCSE's are over. I'll likely get it for a bargain anyway but yeh, i'll get pics etc when i'm over there and osme info etc to post back here to say whats up. Anything else I need to know about Cat C? Seems like its just a bad resale value but surely if I'm buying it cheap it wont matter, which, even if I do come to sell it i'd probably strip all my parts out for a new mini or something along those lines.

[Major Burkenshaw]

It will always be a Cat-C, even if fully reshelled or repaired. That means it will generally cost you more to insure and you will never be able to claim full market value for it from the insurance if you ever need to. Ultimately the car is devalued by the damage and the fact that the original owner didn't fight with the insurance company long enough or hard enough to preserve the car.

Not meaning to be rude, but thats complete rubish. After getting our mini repaired after the first time it was declared Cat C, the insurance cost did not alter in anyway. If the damage is repaired well, why would it alter the re-sale value??? When it was declared Cat C after the second accident, we actually got more money from the insurance company!

As for not fighting hard/long enough, we spent 3 months sorting out the final value. Do you think we should have spent longer

I'm not saying he's trying, I havent spoke to him yet about it really, just said that I'd be interested and take a look at it in 3 weeks or so once GCSE's are over. I'll likely get it for a bargain anyway but yeh, i'll get pics etc when i'm over there and osme info etc to post back here to say whats up. Anything else I need to know about Cat C? Seems like its just a bad resale value but surely if I'm buying it cheap it wont matter, which, even if I do come to sell it i'd probably strip all my parts out for a new mini or something along those lines.

To get the car back on the road it will have to pass an MOT and a VIC check. The VIC check just confirms that the details of the car on record match the car itself i.e engine number.

You will not be able to apply for the log book or car tax until you have completed the above.

Edited by Major Burkenshaw, 26 May 2007 - 08:23 PM.

[Kieronb]

Alright man cheers. This is all sounds mighty fine now, look forward to getting this car checked out.

[Dan]

Not meaning to be rude, but thats complete rubish.

Every crash, every car, every insurance company and every case is different. Just because it worked out well for you doesn't mean it will for everyone. In general, it will affect a car's value and its economic future to have a write off recorded against it. That's why I said generally. Were you using a Mini specialist insurer or a classic policy? Were you using an agreed value policy? General policies normally won't like a write off any more than they do a roll cage. A lot depends on how recently the write off was recorded, the longer a car has been safely on the road after a write off and the more times it has been MOT'd the lower the difference in perceived value. Some insurers will require an engineers inspection to insure a cat C, as a VIC and MOT don't really check the car over fully. Cat C would cover a very wide range of damage, if the car was quite old when it was written off and didn't have agreed value it could be written off by a badly mashed wing as Minis don't have bolt on bodywork and they need actual work done to fix them. Then again it could be in need of a reshell. As I said, every case is different.

[Barnett]

it's from a mate but He's likely to try rip me off.

that quote has made my weeekend!!

...And good luck with the purchase!!