Dangers of Cat D insurance write off

[JonnyB]

Hi,

I am hoping to purchase a Z4 3.0 coupe over the next few weeks/ months. I have been reading the forum for a while and have gained lots of valuable advice off of everyone so thanks for that.

I was hoping you could provide some advice/ help concerning Cat D insurance write offs for Z4's. I know some car's write off easier than others but how much damage would have to be done to a Z4 coupe before they are written off? How much less than market value should i be looking to pay if i consider buying a Z4 that has been a Cat D? Is this something that you guys would consider or do you think it is better to wait?

I have been looking on and off for the last few months and feel like now is the right time to buy although the winter months could be a bit interesting (i've never owned a rear wheel drive car before!) how do Z4's cope with the snow?

Thanks in advance!

 

[GP06Roadster]

I would run a mile from a write off, what you save now you just lose down the line when you sell. Save your money for a straight car with a good history

I've never driven my Z in the snow, rear drive, fat rubber, takes a light right foot

 

[Darren Slone]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Not too sure how severe a cat D is tbh, but wouldn't it be worth waiting for a car that's not had an accident?

 

[Carsonking]

I thought about it but was talked out of it by friends, glad they did.

 

[mr wilks]

30% less than a grade A example or not worth the hassle of potential mechanical faults & finding you have the equivalent of dog 5hit on your hands when it comes time to sell it on

 

[DPG]

My Golf GTI was stolen and declared a Cat D.

Nothing wrong with it when the police recovered it.

 

[srhutch]

Then there are the cars that are still on the road, but if that had had the accident now would have been written off.

Lucy's a prime example that I would not touch.

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12668&hilit=accident#p190520

 

[Adamski]

The problem is the unknown. There's a huge difference between a good cat D and a bad cat D. You'll never know the full history.

However, Paza3 had a cat D M Coupe which turned out to be a good motor, as far as I know.

The more you know about the car, the more you'll have to make an informed choice

 

[GP06Roadster]

My Golf GTI was stolen and declared a Cat D.

Nothing wrong with it when the police recovered it.

Ah, what about the severe ragging the thieving scrote gave it first though?

 

[srhutch]

My Golf GTI was stolen and declared a Cat D.

Nothing wrong with it when the police recovered it.

Ah, what about the severe ragging the thieving scrote gave it first though?

Could be no worse than the previous owner.

As Adamski said it all depends what is known about the car, and how cheap it is as there are plenty of non CAT cars to choose from, although they could be like Lucy's

 

[JonnyB]

Thanks guys,

Think i will leave it for now then. Ideally i would buy early next year anyway as going away in December so need to save some pennies for that!

 

[edd_jedi]

It really depends on the damage done and how it was repaired. An insurance write off could be something trivial like keying on every panel that would require a complete respray. On the other hand one of my first cars was a Cat D and it had suffered a front end collision which was poorly repaired, so you just need to look over it closely. In theory there's nothing wrong with a car that's been repaired.

 

[Simon_P]

I would buy one. I would have to know the nature of the accident, the repairs needed and where they were carried out. Photos of before and during rebuild and then a price to reflect the Cat status. I would also look at length of time I was looking to own the vehicle, short term probably wouldn't work. The main problem is resale as others will have the same thoughts as you when buying.

 

[Sim_Simma]

There are plenty of cars out there that have had bumps and been repaired that would have been written off otherwise. Tbh the 2 most honest cars ive had I bought written off (to repair myself) but then again the worst one was a badly repaired cat d. Really you need to be wary of any car you look at whether it be written off or not. I bought my M written off and will be keeping a portfolio of everything done in the repair to reassure any potential buyer in the future

 

[Stug]

At least a 1/3rd below retail. You are unlikely to ever find out the full extent of the damage, we've all seen the ' just needed a new wing' sellers storys. Check with your insurance about if they will insure it and about what they will pay out if you write it off again. They are also a nightmare to sell on in the future. Other than that go for it lol.

 

[Sim_Simma]

At least a 1/3rd below retail. You are unlikely to ever find out the full extent of the damage, we've all seen the ' just needed a new wing' sellers storys. Check with your insurance about if they will insure it and about what they will pay out if you write it off again. They are also a nightmare to sell on in the future. Other than that go for it lol.

A car being a write off doesn't affect insurance at all

 

[Nova2k7]

The problem is the unknown. There's a huge difference between a good cat D and a bad cat D. You'll never know the full history.

However, Paza3 had a cat D M Coupe which turned out to be a good motor, as far as I know.

The more you know about the car, the more you'll have to make an informed choice

yeah and the E85 3.0 he sold me was a CAT D (which he never mentioned)

 

[Simon_P]

The problem is the unknown. There's a huge difference between a good cat D and a bad cat D. You'll never know the full history.

However, Paza3 had a cat D M Coupe which turned out to be a good motor, as far as I know.

The more you know about the car, the more you'll have to make an informed choice

yeah and the E85 3.0 he sold me was a CAT D (which he never mentioned)

Did he know? Thats a bit naughty if he did, I hope you got it for the correct money.

 

[Nova2k7]

The problem is the unknown. There's a huge difference between a good cat D and a bad cat D. You'll never know the full history.

However, Paza3 had a cat D M Coupe which turned out to be a good motor, as far as I know.

The more you know about the car, the more you'll have to make an informed choice

yeah and the E85 3.0 he sold me was a CAT D (which he never mentioned)

Did he know? Thats a bit naughty if he did, I hope you got it for the correct money.

ill be honest im not sure if he knew or not, suppose its hard to tell. what i do know is that i paid full price lol!

 

[BMWZ4MC]

It should be recorded on the reissued V5 iirc...