Cat C write-off question

[instructor]

can any one help ? what does it mean and how will it effect price of car insurance etc

thanks

[Chaos]

Category A
Scrap Only Ԛ—a This vehicle should be crushed. It should never appear back on the road and there are no salvageable parts. It is of value only scrap metal.


Category B
The bodyshell should be crushed. The vehicle should never reappear on the road, BUT it can be broken for spare parts plus an residual scrap metal.


Category C
Vehicle extensively damaged and insurer has decided not to repair


Category D
Vehicle damaged and insurer has decided not to repair


Category E
Vehicle damaged by fire and insurinsurer has decided not to repair (these are often recorded as Category A)

[instructor]

thanks for help but what i need to know is if im buying a bmw 325 cabriolet that was a cat c write off at a earlier time will it effect its value now?

[A1BMW325iSport]

yes it will it will be on its history, and show up on hpi check

[Simon13]

there's plenty of 325 cabs out there that have not been Cat C'ed so find one!

[instructor]

i know it will show up on hpi i guess what i really need to know is im looking at a car tomorrow should i be over worried about cat c or should i just go on condition of the vehicle as it is,hopefully you people with E30's will know thanks

[Simon13]

i would seriously check it over. eg jack it up and have a good look, cos old crunched panels rust nicely over time. I would want the car to drive perfect in a straight line for a start!

Check shut lines, paint match etc, all the usual things for a car with body work done really IMO

[paulj]

run away dude it may look fine but you never know what problems may appear in the future my advise would be keep looking

[e30dude]

simon13 is bang right u need to check it over very carefully and also remember that being a cab any major carsh would have reduced the overall stregnth my 17yr old cab never been in a crash mint but when hood down and cos of age there is certain amount of flex that can be felt

u need to ask the q how cheap is it and how long r u going to keep it for?
insurers usually rduce payout value by 25-35% if a claim is made depending on previous damage

hope this helps just letting u know from experience other zoners may beg to differ

[A1BMW325iSport]

i personally wouldn`t touch a cabriolet thats had any significant damage

[Brianmoooore]

Cat C doesn't neccessarily mean extensively damaged. It just means that the cost of repair with all new bits and a professional paint job exceeds about 60% of the value of the car, so it really depends on what the trade value of the car was when it was damaged.
As an example, I bought an imaculate fully loaded Cat C 325SE on an H last year. Only damage was a dent on the nearside rear wing, which had also crushed in the well where the jack etc. lives a little.
The suspension geometry hadn't been touched in the slightest, and the car was perfectly drivable, but cost of proper repair would still have exceeded it's value.
Best thing about the car was the brand new cylinder head and cam which had been fitted less than two weeks before it was written off.

[E30_wanna_be]

surely you wouldnt want to by a car that you already know of that the re-sale value will be poor - if you have doubts walk away!!