Buying a cat. C/D

[Das882]

Firstly Merry Christmas everyone, hope Santa was good to you.......obviously he did not get my letter asking for a Z4MC!!
Rather than hi-jack the damaged car register I thought I would ask the question......about people's stigma about buying a Cat C or D car, the way I see it is that it is a cheap way into owning a Z4 MC providing the car has been repaired properly it should be as good as new. There must be a lot of non recorded cars out there that has had a bump i.e. a wing or bumper replaced so apart from the 'stigma' what is the difference specially with a Cat D.
I guess that as the M cars get rarer these cars will become less undesirable? There are lots of older classic supercars that have been ravaged with rust etc that retain very few of the original panels/ bodywork that command extremely high prices.

 

[Chris_D]

The problem is the nuances of what classifies a CAT C from a D imo.
I bought a CAT D E46 M3 a number of years ago, described as having 'light panel damage only' even taking this with a pinch of salt and expecting deeper-lying issues I took the plunge and bought it, bringing it back to life and road-worthiness with the help of a couple of friends.

Turned out the deeper-lying issues I suspected it might have surfaced after a couple of hundred miles of happy motoring after trying to trace the constant smell of oil and oil consumption - a leaky main seal between engine and clutch/gearbox. Hence its' nickname 'pongo'.

The whack it had sustained had obviously been severe enough to have compromised the seal and produce or worsened a progressive oil leak. Luckily for me a replaced seal fixed the problem. Could have been much worse!
The leak could also have been there all along ofc and never divulged. I'll never know and I understand that this issue if considered as part of the damage at the time I bought it, would have constituted it being a CAT C due to the cost/severity of the required repair.
I destroyed it for good at the 'ring 3 years later.

I'd always consider buying CAT D even a C if you feel confident enough that it can be brought back as a useable and roadworthy vehicle. However, I'd only buy to keep. Buying and repairing with the intention of selling-on, being honest and clear about its' history will always be a financial loss, unless its a McLaren F1 perhaps.

 

[Paulr]

Many insurance companies don't like catigorised cars and will refuse to insure or hike up the premiums.

If yours doesn't and u know what damage the car had sustained (could be minor stuff like dented wing or broken bumper for instance) and have photos showing the damage, then it is worth a look if you have the skills to repair it.

 

[Anonymous]

As Paul said buddy
Insurers find ways just to get more money
But as said,
Like a roadside or even a car park ding
Both look seems all OK,
Get home and there's a crack in your bumper stay that's caused a crack on front chassis etc

And you walked away

That said, if only but from a main dealer or from salvage company and get it fully checked and then signed off when works done I'd be happier

Though always in mind like getting a stolen car back, you never truly know what's happened to it

But, will always loose money selling buddy
Shame we live in a throw away world

 

[srhutch]

These car are getting written off for the smallest things these days. I would buy one (cat d only) depending on what damage had occurred. Either to repair myself, or if bought repaired would want full photo documentation.

If you are repairing make sure you take photos, lots of photos. Will make selling easier when the day comes.

 

[jamiez]

My sentiments are with Steve on this one.

As long as you know what caused it to be a CAT and you have lots of pics - then you are good. The knowing is the risky bit if it's a hard hit.

I encouraged my best mate to buy a cat c e46 320d about 6 or so years ago. Picked it up for approx 5.5k and he just sold it recently with 45k more miles on and for 2k. Now that's cheap motoring and only routine work was needed.

 

[Das882]

If I do go down the Cat route I think it probably would have to be a Cat D. As some of you have intimated at least the damage is lighter so in theory the hidden damage should be less. I have found in the past once you start pulling something apart 9 times out of 10 things are always worse than than you thought!!
Anyway I might be on the track of a forum member who is selling his MC....so fingers crossed

 

[Spikey]

I think often with //M cars folks find out that they end up having to buy new parts where they thought they would pick up second hand - and this pushes the repair cost up and makes the difference between buying a non-cat and cat car less attractive - but once you are committed you have nowhere else to go!

Also Dan ( on Facebook page not sure what his tag is on here) has had nothing but running trouble after buying / repairing a Cat //M - with multiple mechanical issues needing repair after it went back on the road ( I feel his pain on this sorry tale) - suppose this comes back to how hard the hit was / what the car was doing at the time of the accident / etc.

So there appears to be a big risk going down the CAT route so need to make sure the prices match the risk you are taking