If a vehicle is referred to as Insurance Category D has it been written off?
I'm looking to buy a vehicle with Cat D damage (now repaired) and I'm trying to work out where I stand. Essentially I don't want to buy something that I later have trouble selling on a couple of years down the line because of its reputation.
I'm in the UK if it makes a difference.
Thanks folks.
Answers:
Category A: Total burnout. No value left in the vehicle
Category B: Break only. Value lies in salvage
Category C: Damage to car is more than total value of car
Category D: Repair would cost almost as much as the vehicle is worth. Better to write off than repair. No comebacks for the insurers.
So basically, a Cat D car was been written off by an insurer. It has then probably been bought of the salvage company and 'repaired' on the cheap. In order for a repaired car to be put back on the road it has to be inspected by a DVLA engineer, who will write a report stating if the car is safe for use, or not. I the engineers report states its safe, you can then put it back on the road, and you then have the option of paying to have it removed from the Insurers database of write offs.
Can be a pain to sell off.
The extent to which it will affect the current value depends entirely on the age of the vehicle and what it is.
A Category D is a car that is repairable but it is not economic to do so because of the insurance company's policies or at the rates they would be expected to pay. These can then be bought at auction and repaired by people who will then sell them on at a profit. To a certain extent, you are taking a chance on the quality of the work that they do and the parts that they use - although that's not to say that the work done isn't very good.
As a rough guide, a 25-30% reduction is the minimum you should be looking at, plus the cost of getting it inspected. You'll also have difficulty selling it on or trading it in as it will always fail an HPI check. Certainly don't look at it as a way of making a quick buck or avoiding depreciation - if there was money to be made on it, the guy selling would be making it.
I work at a scrap yard and vehicles are catagorised in 4 levels
A) is completely written off and can't even be used for parts
B) can be used for parts but not put back on the road
C)Can be repaired and put back on the road but you have to obtain a new log book
D) is the same as C above but slightly less damaged
I hope this helps
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