Scoobylambo

Also what does the Cat A,B,C,D mean...???
And what is V listed...??
thanks for any help..
steve

leonpoole

they all mean a car has been wrote off at some point just some worse than others, A being the worst. Personally I wouldn't touch any car that has been in a smash

KIPS

Hello steve ive just brought a cat c scooby came with a heap of goodies on it i would of spent just as much getting the goodies as i did buying the car.
this might help you on the cat listings
Question: What is the ABI Category?

Answer: The ABI Category is an indication of the level of damage to a vehicle.

There are four categories A, B, C & D (also some vehicles may be labeled category U to indicate Unclassified, or X to denote "unrecorded").

Category A indicates the most severe level of damage. This type of vehicle is crushed and not sold at auction. An example would be a "burn out".
Category B vehicles must be broken for spares. These vehicles must not be repaired. HBC only sell such vehicles to licensed & approved vehicle dismantlers.
Category C vehicles may be repaired (although they are uneconomic for the Insurance Company to have repaired).
Category D vehicles covers all other repairable vehicles.
Category U indicates that the vehicle is uncategorised by the provider of the item to HBC.
Category X indicates that the vehicle is unrecorded these vehicles not recorded as accident damaged. Normally these vehicles are stolen recovered, or have slight damage.
TOP
You do need to check the cars yourself as you can come up with a lot of hidden problems
regards kip

nik52wrx

I wouldn't buy any car thats listed.
Main reasons being:
1. Insurance costs (assume it will be higher, don't know why)
2. Selling the car on. Your market will be limited and traders probably wont do a part exchange.
3. Too many good cars out there at reasonable prices.
Nik.

phelpsa

If you can get it really cheap it might be worth it depending on the reason it was written off.

Adam

DShox

Personally I wouldnt buy a Cat C for one reason only (getting a great price aside) - the Chassis is most critical to your car, especially a powerful car where much power is transferred through it. I mildly bent chassis will magnify over time and you may find that you cant get the tracking right no matter how many wheel alignments you have. When something gets bent, it'll worsen over time.

Swen6

Classification does not mean they have all been 'Wrote off', classification means the car has been involved in a claim to the insurance company, which they have paid out on and they then sell the car to the salvage.

A lot of Stolen Recovereds get classed as Cat D, some have parts missing etc. Cat C is beyond economical repair, these are the Body shop favorites as they repair at a fraction of a quote to joe public and sell on to still make there money.

Also there is a new thing where you can reject for new, went to look at a Mini Cooper for my mum a year back, only had a scape on the rear quarter, which was repaired, the car was a Cat D, because the original lady owner took the above option and got a new car.

The above option though is forcing the industry to re-evaluate the category system because their loosing money, cause as mentioned as soon as a car is on the register it's value drops by just under a 3rd.

andythejock01wrx

Cat A and Cat B should never go on the road again. Cat C and Cat D are repairable (C is not economic to repair as cost of dealer repairs exceed the value of the vehicle, whereas Cat D is only uneconomic taking into account the repair value and salvage value versus the vehicle value.

Basically, Cat C and Cat D are ok to buy as long as long as you note you will obtain a lower value on resale !

Andy

Ps Hope you followed that - I'd drunk both wine and whisky !!

Scoobylambo

thanks for the help, just wanted to know, Not going to buy one though.

Del mar

I have bought two Cat "C" bikes, and have had no probs with them, genuine parts are expesive but there are lots of breakers out there.

Bikes are easier to look at than cars as the chassis (frame) is visible for obvious damage, I do not really know enough about cars to know what to look for.

Del

SamUK

iTrader: (1)

I bought a CAT C Porsche Boxster once (now sold)...was very low milleage...Car was in great condition and it had a proper lookover before the purchase. Think i paid near £4k less then you would pick up a similar right hand drive with 25K on the clock..

The car was sold for the same amout that i bought it for.. (also was a Left Hand drive)