scoobywrx320

hi all,
just need some advice please.

i have seen a subaru impreza rb5 for sale that has been damaged cat c.
It has been fully repaired and resprayed in sonic blue, some very nice mods and top looking scooby! its a t reg with 56k miles.damage not on log book and they want £5000 for it. the cat c damage worries me because if i bought it and go to sell it in the future i wont get much for it.

what you think?

cheers

EddScott

I've seen it and can't for the life of me why someone would want to change the colour of an RB5.

never know, might be OK or might be knackered. Personally I wouldn't bother.

turbomatt

iTrader: (1)

Dont buy it !
You wont be able to sell it on very easily.
It could have all sorts of hidden trouble.
It will always play on your mind that it has previously being damaged and there will always be telltale signs on the car too like uneven gaps in the body panels etc.Not worth it imo go out and by a legit standard scoob instead , you should get quite a decent one with 5grand
jst my opinion though

scoobywrx320

thanks for feedback guys, that has made my mind up.will be patient and wait for the right one

fabiavrs

If it's MOT and VOSA then it should be ok, but I wouldn't pay that much for a cat C impreza

GazTheHat

Changing the colour of a special edition should reduce the value, nevermind being CAT C. I wouldn't pay that for it.

shustir

Cat C is relatively heavy damage therefore you dont know what sort of shape the car was in prior to the accident. Best avoided IMO, and £5K he's having a laugh

CrisPDuk

Buying a Cat C car wouldn't bother me to be honest, my XR4x4 was the equivalent of Cat B once and has been Cat C twice (tbh that bit's not difficult on a car worth £500) yet she's still alive

I would however, baulk at paying that sort of money for something which IMO is no longer what it is claimed to be. A Sonic Blue Impreza is not an RB5, no matter what it says on the dash

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

Yeah but a scuff on the bumper writes off a £500 quid car This must have taken a fair crack. Not worth the risk with a performance vehicle and it will be recorded somewhere otherwise how do they know it is Cat C?

Good decision walking away

5t.

scoobynutta555

Personally I wouldn't buy a Cat reg car. Respraying a special edition colour is also a no no. Even if they got rid of that horrible grey colour for the better blue

fabiavrs

hmm you would have thought but the damage doesn't always follow the cat status.

My felicia was cat C and yet there was NO damage to it apart from paint work, keyed etc. Total respray cost more than the car was worth. To be it didn't bother me as I just t-cut and covered where it needed it.

Some Stolen recovered with no damaged are sometimes put as cat C's.

I know the above car in question, didn't read it was sonic blue the first time, I would stay clear of it, why would you take a special like that and respray it in blue in beyond me!

It's also worth noting when buying a car to do a HPi/vehicle check as fro personal experience not all cat status shows on the V5 even though the DVLA are meant to now days.

CrisPDuk

Not quite, but a broken bumper and ruptured fuel tank does the trick Fecking hit & run Got his reg though

It takes a fair few panels; doors, floor, sills, etc, to put a Cat B right though My own fault, deep standing water + less than perfect rear tyres

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

For some reason i read that as "got his LEG" i was thinking you've no right to complain if you did the hit and run lol

Cat B shouldn't be on the road though... officially listed as that it should be in a crusher!

Category A
A vehicle which should have been totally crushed, including all its spare parts.

Category B
A vehicle from which spare parts may be salvaged, but the bodyshell should have been crushed and the car should never return to the road.

Category C
An extensively damaged vehicle which the insurer has decided not to repair, but which could be repaired and returned to the road.

Category D
A damaged vehicle which the insurer has decided not to repair, but which could be repaired and returned to the road.

Category F
A vehicle damaged by fire, which the insurer has decided not to repair.

5t.

1168

in answer to your question nooooooooooooo

joey_turbo

iTrader: (26)

Cat C damaged vehicles will require a VIC (Vehicle Identity Check) carried out by VOSA. Once that is complete, it will show up on the front page of the Log book.
Wouldn't bother me buying a CAT C if I got it cheap enough. But as for the colour change, its not worth buying the car for that.

jaz666

iTrader: (2)

the colour change has messed that car up whether it is damaged or not.

i would only buy a damaged car while it is still damaged. so you can see what needs to be done. its better if you can do it yourself too. ive just bought a bug eye wrx for £1800.

CrisPDuk

If that list was used as a rule rather than a guide by everybody though fivetide, a significant quantity of clubmans competition cars wouldn't still be on the road doing their thing Fortunately there is a significant difference between what an insurance company deems is beyond salvage, and what a decent bodyshop can actually repair, given availability of the right parts, and right wallet of course

My accident was my fault, and I never got the insurance company involved with my repairs*, so she got towed away by a mate in the trade, spent over four months at his tender mercies, and came home shining like a new pin

It was over 6 years and 120k miles later when the tosser rammed me and split my fuel tank, right after I'd put 50 odd litres of super in too BTW I can testify that, contrary to Hollywood opinion, steel tanks don't explode when you puncture them It's now nearly 8 years later and there is still no evidence that major repairs were once undertaken on her The bodywork has now seen better days, but thanks for that are due entirely to our local council


*The Peugeot 306 whose front end I ripped clean off with it however did have to go through the ins

LegacySTi

iTrader: (13)

as said colour change is a huge no no..............

don't bother........

Izzy

[QUOTE=CrisPDuk;6656209]If that list was used as a rule rather than a guide by everybody though fivetide, a significant quantity of clubmans competition cars wouldn't still be on the road doing their thing Fortunately there is a significant difference between what an insurance company deems is beyond salvage, and what a decent bodyshop can actually repair, given availability of the right parts, and right wallet of course

QUOTE]

These, particularly catagory A & B's, are much more than rules or guidelines, it is legislation. If a salvage agent or bodyshop knowingly repair a cat A or cat B veicle for use on the road they are committing a criminal offence & can be prosecuted. Total Loss (write off) vehicles are inspected & catagorised by qualified motor engineers & assessors on behalf of the insurance companies & once so catagorised the insurers then register the detils as such with the DVLA. The whole purpose of this is to remove dangerous / unsafe cars from the road.

If, however, you have a vehicle that would overwise be a write-off but you do not involve, or claim through your insurers, then it is possible to rebuild it. However some would say there is then an obligation to carry out a full safety check on the vehicle in addition to the normal MoT to ensure it's safety.

CrisPDuk

As I said in my experience the rebuilding thing mainly applies to competition cars, and the scrutineers would quickly pick up on a dodgy rebuild

In the case of my car, I knew the abilities of the guy who rebuilt it. Every damaged panel was replaced with a brand new genuine Ford part, and no panels were 'cut and shut', all welding was done at original seams, whilst the car was sat in a jig. The rear subframe was replaced with a good second-hand one, it got brand new rear hubs, and as a treat, new Bilstein/Eibach suspension all round.

If I hadn't been happy that the car would have been safe afterwards, I would never have done it, and the fact that the car has done a further 150k+ miles subsequently with no ill effects, I think vindicates my decision. Plus as you say, because the insurance company was never notified, no laws were broken

For the record, at the time it was a £2000 car, and the rebuild cost me just over that Yes, I could have bought another one, but with this car that would be like shooting the family dog when it gets sick and getting a new one

This car to us (well me anyway), is like the sofa in Men Behaving Badly, and it has some of the same 'unique qualities' too

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

Isn't that always the problem? I know i've happily spent loads on a well loved motor whent he real fix was a match and a can of petrol!

5t.

GarethE

iTrader: (1)

Not a Cat C is Hells chance

Gareth

pjhsid

Don't touch it...

CrisPDuk

The way I look at it 5t, if I didn't spend it on cars, MrsD would only blow it on shoes anyway So it's the less of two evils

Either that or I'd become an alcoholic through boredom