looking at a cat c repaired car

[bababoom]

Found a nice little 2000 Z3 with low mileage 64k for £1500 full electrics and leather.
I like to think I'm pretty clued up on paint work and spotting, This is the only car that fooled me until the seller told me it had been written off in the past.
It don't bother me just curios as to what the damage was and if there's anyway of find out.

[Dez]

not that i know of. i once had a b3 passat that has a cat c marker on the logbook, i went all over that car and couldnt figure out what the hell had been repaired! unless you can someone get the insurance companys engineers report, i don't think there is a way to find out.

[stealthstylz]

The Uno I had off Jonny69 years ago had a description somewhere of the damaged, cant remember where though. Was a stupendous amount of repair work (both rear quarters, roof, door, tailgate). Couldn't tell it had been repaired.

[Jem45]

My Volvo estate is Cat C and there's no confirmation of the nature of the damage on either the log book or the vic check cert. The seller told me that a pair of bright sparks nicked it for a ram raid and went in front first! The quality of the repair is really good (paint match etc.) but annoyingly, the fingerprint dust on the rear quarter has left a stain which is IMPOSSIBLE to remove.

I've seen plenty of non-CAT Z3s of that vintage for about that money though.

[VIP]

On a vehicle of that sort of value, I really wouldn't be concerned about Cat C/D markers. Just have a good look to see if it's held together with duct tape or drives down the road at a funny angle.

[joem83]

I had a look at a 1999 2.8 Z3 Manual with full leather last week, no Cat marker & was bodywork was mint but needed a few bits sorting, price? £1100!
Walked away though as the spot welds for the rear diff hanger had started to crack on the boot floor.

Make sure you check they arent cracked/ripped out as it's a right effort to put it right.

Quick google will show you what to look for.

www.zroadster.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=36820

[Mercdan68]

Personally I think cat c or cat d cars at that sort of price aren't a problem, if the cars clean and you like it buy it!, I owned a five year old Capri injection back in the 80s that turned out to be a cut and shut, had a whole front end from another car , I found out two years after I bought it, removed the front windscreen pillar trims and found neat welds on both sides! Back then write offs weren't registered like they are now

[composimmonite]

Neighbour only buys Cat C & D cars for himself, family & friends / relatives. In most cases there is no noticeable mechanical or structural damage and it's simply cost of new plastic bumper, bonnet, lights, grill etc that writes them off. He repairs with good secondhand parts and you wouldn't know they had ever been damaged. HOWEVER he is forever having to sort out mechanical problems when back on the road with ALL the cars. It's as if the impact somehow shakes up components and accelerates their failure. After his experiences there is no way I'd consider a Cat C or D unless scrap money and paying the same as an otherwise undamaged car for a 2000 year model would make me uninterested in the first place.

[bababoom]

To be honest it was the colour and spec along with the low miles that drew me to the car.
I had planed on keeping it a few months and selling it on in the summer when I get my mg back on the road.
But after reading about the rear diff mounts above its sort of put me off buying one.
That and the possibility of being a hard selling when the time comes I may leave it alone.
Even through at this price its not £1000,s of pounds part of me says its £1500 the other part of me says I'm going to get stuck with it, and there not exactly a rare car when it comes to selling either.

[colnerov]

Hi, if you've got the space it will break for more than that when you're finished with it.

Colin

[ksry]

I've had several around that price range, my old Coupe was bought as Cat D (later turned out it was a Cat C), needed the boot pushing out slightly (easy DIY) and a rear tailgate, £25 later and the cost of a VIC check had saved me about £800 off list price, my current daily is a Cat D (just needed a new headlight, front bumper was repairable and just bought my sister a Cat C Corsa which just needed a new Wing, but becuase the front bumper and door were slightly scratched, it was written off, there's this one

auctions.silverlake.co.uk/vehicle-list/details/1997-bmw-z3-1895cc-normally-aspirated-petrol-manual-5-speed-2-door-2-door-cabriolet-at-asm-auto-recycling-ltd-asm-auto-recycling/292572?x=0&type=0&make=&trns=0&fuel=0&catc=0&dist=0&sort=0&srch=z3

and although the description tells you where it is, you cna't see much damage...

that being said, I've always bought having seen the damage, if the car was Cat C between 2000-2005, I'd be wary, that would have sustained a fair amount of damage

[Ryannn]

I sold my audi 80 as an unrepaired cat c last year, it had a smashed headlight and a snapped bumper, so it could be anything!