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Cardiff99

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 Cardiff
Had a search but there isn't much discussion about salvage Z4s coming through. Please move thread if better somewhere else.

Not everyone's cup of tea but I bought my E86 through Copart so I thought there might be some interest in posting an occasional car for discussion. Previous owners may even be on the forum and able to advise about condition/maintenance history.

Personally more interested in the Cat N Running and Driving cars with a bit of body work damage as I've not got a garage/driveway so Cat S would be a faf.

Thought I'd start us off with a Manual 2009 Z4 30I SDRIVE with N52 and 70k Miles going through today (24/8/26). If I get a chance to watch it go through later I'll update with a sold price. Screenshot 2026-08-24 at 08.38.37.png
 
A cautionary tale. I had an accident in my old day car and although it only appeared to be the wing and a headlight when I delved under the car there was substantial damage to subframe and suspension parts. Insurance company rightly declared it a complete write off and it was towed away by co part. The next thing I see it was at a copart auction declared as light accident damage which exceeded cars value but repairable. It was sold and about a month later was road taxed and back on the road. I dread to think how safe the car might or might not be.
 
YouTube and Covid have crashed this market, cars are selling for far more than they are worth as people think they can make a fast buck from them, loads on Marketplace when buyers realise they have bitten off far more than they can chew.
 
So nearly £5k for a CAT car that needs a new bumper and bootlid as a minimum.

When a similar, undamaged, car is worth around £7k? And a repaired CAT car is worth £5k max?

Seems massively overpriced to me. I would say about £2k is it's value as it stands.
 
That does seem strong money, but 30i models do seem to be pretty rare. That sort of damage wouldn't worry me too much, but then my 330i became a Cat N a few years ago when it only needed a new rear bumper cover!
 
Mr Tidy said:
That sort of damage wouldn't worry me too much, but then my 330i became a Cat N a few years ago when it only needed a new rear bumper cover!
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But that E89 needs a new bumper (£1,000 plus paint) and a new bootlid (must be more than a £1k plus paint). It could also have damaged the roof mechanism from the bootlid damage. The car is 17 years old, so new paint could be mismatched to the [faded] old.

And even though 'CAT' cars seem to be all the rage at the minute, it still kills the resale value.

It's a £2k car. Chances are a scrap dealer has bought it who has a breaker in stock to swap the panels over and hoping to make £1k on it.

I found out this week that my daughter's boyfriend's new car (2016 Scirocco) was a CAT S. He (well his dad) bought it really cheap. He keeps telling me it "shouldn't have been a CAT S as there was only minor damage". Sorry but I ain't going to take the word of a kid (or his dad) over that of a professional insurance assessor. Would anyone??
 
Pondy said:
I found out this week that my daughter's boyfriend's new car (2016 Scirocco) was a CAT S. He (well his dad) bought it really cheap. He keeps telling me it "shouldn't have been a CAT S as there was only minor damage". Sorry but I ain't going to take the word of a kid (or his dad) over that of a professional insurance assessor. Would anyone??
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When I was handling motor claims back in the 80s/90s every potential total loss was inspected by an experienced motor engineer.

These days that is no longer the case. Back in 2018 my nephew sent his insurer a few photos he took on his phone and based on that they decided it was a Cat S. They didn't send anyone to look at it, if they had they wouldn't have found any structural damage. He kept it, bought a used bonnet and a pattern front wing on Ebay and got it repaired for less than they paid him.

I took my E90 to a bodyshop recommended by the insurer of the car that hit it and they padded their estimate up with nonsense like potential hidden damage, blending paint into the rear wings and bootlid, etc. and the insurer relied entirely on that.

So I'd be surprised if the insurer sent anyone to look at the car so your daughter's boyfriend's dad's opinion is probably more valid than the call centre monkey who handled the claim!

Rant over. :LOL:
 
Mr Tidy said:
When I was handling motor claims back in the 80s/90s every potential total loss was inspected by an experienced motor engineer.

These days that is no longer the case. Back in 2018 my nephew sent his insurer a few photos he took on his phone and based on that they decided it was a Cat S. They didn't send anyone to look at it, if they had they wouldn't have found any structural damage. He kept it, bought a used bonnet and a pattern front wing on Ebay and got it repaired for less than they paid him.

I took my E90 to a bodyshop recommended by the insurer of the car that hit it and they padded their estimate up with nonsense like potential hidden damage, blending paint into the rear wings and bootlid, etc. and the insurer relied entirely on that.

So I'd be surprised if the insurer sent anyone to look at the car so your daughter's boyfriend's dad's opinion is probably more valid than the call centre monkey who handled the claim!

Rant over. :LOL:
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Fair enough and TBH it shouldn't surprise me. I hope you are right, as I don't like the idea of my only (living) child driving around in a death trap!!
 
Pondy said:
But that E89 needs a new bumper (£1,000 plus paint) and a new bootlid (must be more than a £1k plus paint). It could also have damaged the roof mechanism from the bootlid damage. The car is 17 years old, so new paint could be mismatched to the [faded] old.

And even though 'CAT' cars seem to be all the rage at the minute, it still kills the resale value.

It's a £2k car. Chances are a scrap dealer has bought it who has a breaker in stock to swap the panels over and hoping to make £1k on it.

I found out this week that my daughter's boyfriend's new car (2016 Scirocco) was a CAT S. He (well his dad) bought it really cheap. He keeps telling me it "shouldn't have been a CAT S as there was only minor damage". Sorry but I ain't going to take the word of a kid (or his dad) over that of a professional insurance assessor. Would anyone??
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Indeed. If you buy poorly and pay for someone else to paint and fit new parts it won’t make financial sense. I don’t think anyone private or business is doing this. There is a degree of risk involved. It has been romanticised by YouTube.

I’ll keep an eye out for another interesting car!
 
I do wonder if this 'rise' in CAT cars being repaired and put back on the road is an offshoot of used cars being so expensive since Covid?

I am sure a few years ago it was really difficult to get insurance on a CAT car put back on the road? Not now seemingly?

If I had my way (which I rarely do) all 'write offs' would be crushed or sold for parts only. I will never buy a CAT car, as I was brought up to believe they were written off for a reason, not just financial or 'easy' ones.

It does seem like my views are out of date (as with many things) but old habits die hard.
 
I think it is more about the cost, or possibly more often availability, of parts that resulted in so many cars getting CAT markers.

All my insurer wanted after my E90 became a Cat N was sight of a post-accident MOT certificate.

But you do spout some shite at times! :poke:

How would crushing my E90 help the planet with "damage" like this?

Left Crack 190523.jpg

Right Crack 190523.jpg

I'd be amazed if you could find another 18 year old E90 that didn't have similar damage!
 
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