I'm thinking of buying a car which the seller tells me is on the v register, cat c.
what does this mean ?
I suspect there are some well repaired, honest, well repaired bargains out there if you have cash in hand
If i pay 30 odd quid to one of these checking agencies what do they tell me, just that it has been damaged , or a description of the damage.
would a 100 quid AA check be worthwhile ?
Do they identify the damage & evaluate repair, and advise on value of car or simply say avoid this vehicle if it has been damaged.
any web sites out there which describe the register and what cat c might mean ?
Thanks
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A Category C "write off" is one where the vehicle in question is repairable, but the repair costs exceeded the pre accident value at the time of the incident. This basically means that whatever happened to the vehicle, it didn't sustain damage that would lead it be be unsafe no matter how well it was repaired, in order to go back onto the road again.
Obviously the type of damage and amount of damage that was done can vary tremendously depending on the type of vehicle, the age of the vehicle at the time and value of it. For example a car that was worth £20,000 and written off would have a lot more damage than a car that was worth £1,000 and written off. The damage that the vehicle could have sustained could be accident damage, theft damage, flood damage, vandalism or anything else.
The £30 checking agencies will most probably not be able to tell you what damage the vehicle has had. Only when it written off. The best thing you can do is ask the seller to see what they say. They may know, they may not know or they may lie through their teeth.
You are right about there being some well repaired, honest bargains out there. I have repaired one myself to sell on after it had been fixed. (This was when I was a panel beater/painter). It was one of those opportunites of being in the right place at the right time, buying the car for next to nothing and sourcing the panels and parts for as little cash as possible.
Don't be immediately put off about buying an accident damaged car. One of my current motors had been accident damaged and repaired before I bought it and another one of my current cars had been stolen/recovered when it belonged to its last owner before me.
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My mate's car was recently written off as uneconomic but safe to repair. He only had to give the insurance company £150 to get the car back.
It's almost all cosmetic damage so he's just driving quite happily in a car that is written off. I wouldn;t hesitate to buy it off him if I needed a cheap car, plus, a repair would only cost about £600. The car's pre-accident value was £1400.
Unfortunately someone crashed into the rear n/side door yesterday whilst it was parked and has left a huge scrape in the door and flattened the metal... adds a fair bit to the repai bill, but then it would with any car.
Blue
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Reminds me of an Auto Trader ad I saw once -
Ford Escort XR3i, total closure alarm, Thatcham immobiliser, stolen/recovered.
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