Please explain 'Cat C' damaged cars??

[wez]

Yo!

I'm looking at a cheappie runabout for work use - 9month mot, 4 months tax. a few weeks ago it was damaged (another vehicle rolled into it) just creased the door from what i can see - will simply 'pop' out.

Guy says insurance company have said its a 'Cat C'

Whats the beef if i buy this?

will i have to pay for a vic check before i get the logbook back in my name or something?

I've googled and different sites are saying different things.

So whos bought a Cat C before, and what was the crack?

thanking you - have some " it'll t-cut out " moments for your troubles:





Sunroof??

[hairnet]

www.tcdsalvage.co.uk/cars_salvage_cat.php

cat d no check mot and use

cat c needs vic check before you use

as you said

[Lankytim]

Cat C needs a new MOT too. The old one gets revoked. Shouldnt have the V5 with it either.

[wez]

hmm, cheers peoples - i shall grill the seller some more

its a cheap motor but if i gotta pay for vic, mot, logbook and possibly tax again, its deffo not worth it

[Lankytim]

The logbook is covered in the cost of the VIC check. There can be quite a waiting list to have yoiur car VIC checked and you could be a long way from your closest VIC check place. I had to wait 3 weeks, apparently thats nothing!

Buying a write off is a cheap way to a half decent motor, don't let the cost of the VIC check put you off.

[wez]

hmmm, so is a vic check an mot as well?
just its only been cat c because of dents in the door - i was just pop them back out with my hand from inside, but if its gotta be 'fully repaired' for the check

[sooty]

Feb 13, 2009 22:23:22 GMT wez said:

hmmm, so is a vic check an mot as well?

Nope, only checks to make sure its the same car and not a ringer or cut 'n' shut. You still need an MOT.

[wez]

ahh, i see

thanks folks - full of knowledge as ever

[PhoenixC]

The nearest testing place to you is the Vosa station at Gosforth.
They give the car a once over to check the engine and chassis numbers match.
Cat C is based on price to repair the car based against the cars value. So on a car that is only worth a few sheckles it can become a Cat C for a couple of very minor cosmetic bumps, that could either be knocked out or sorted with a couple of panels from a scrapyard.

The worst example I saw was a Nissan Silvia S12 at Haverton Hill salvage auctions, it had been given a Cat B rating which means it could only be bought by a vehicle dismantler and couldnt come back on the road. The only damage was a bust steering lock, the car was immaculate and ended up going for £50.

Sometimes insurance companies can get it wrong, to find out for certain if it needs a VIC check call Vosa on this number 08706060440 and give them the reg. no.
If it does need a check you will need to trailer or tow it to the test station, as far as I remember its legal to drive it to a VOSA test station if its insured and has an mot, but if it needs a VIC it cant have an MOT and you cant get an MOT without a logbook

[joe90]

Feb 13, 2009 22:07:06 GMT Lankytim said:

Cat C needs a new MOT too. The old one gets revoked. Shouldnt have the V5 with it either.

If the insurance company have left the car with the owner he will have retained the logbook, but if/when he sells the car and sends the logbook off with new keepers details the new keeper will recieve a letter telling them that the car needs a vic.
For a vic the car does have to be roadworthy and driveable.

Bryan

[bigmoose]

As far as I am aware you can get an MOT without a V5 as you need to have an MOT to register an imported car in the UK. They just MOT it on the chassis number and not the registration number. That is what happened when I bought my Gordini into the country. Having said that it may be different for a CAT C.

[benlg81]

my car was stolen and all that happened was the door lock was bust the wiring for ignition ect was wrecked and the fan belt snapped

was deemed cat c i bought it back for salvage cost and put it on the road for peanuts

had to re mot it £45
vic check £38
and the tax was cashed in by salvage yard but they sent me the cheque so re taxed it

got my vic ths wednesday actually.

All straight forward although i don't know what it will mean to insurers in the future?

[xrtrue]

My Peugeot was a Cat C, just no one told me when I bought it, I knew it was write off, but guy sold it to me for the same as the salvage (£150). Got it taxed it and insured it only when I sent for the log book did I get a note back about the need for a VIC check.

The car had been side swiped by a lorry on the M1, that is all it took for the insurers to write it off, the car, R plate 306 Xsi, one owner from new, full service history through out. All I had to do was get a wing and door, mate blew over the rear wing sorted. Did have to wait a bit for the VIC but hardly got by self a brew and he was done with it. Few days later I get a 'V5C', so far no alarms raised my the insurers, but should be fun to explain if I sell it.

[popuptoaster]

Cars get written off much more easily when the country is going through an economic down turn as the price of second hand cars falls.

[fredtransit]

Surely if more people want to hang on to their Cat C cars and repair them, they will get less common, or at least more attractive, as insurers will still end up insuring them?

[rhubarb]

Feb 13, 2009 21:50:43 GMT wez said:

Yo!

I'm looking at a cheappie runabout for work use - 9month mot, 4 months tax. a few weeks ago it was damaged (another vehicle rolled into it) just creased the door from what I can see - will simply 'pop' out.

Guy says insurance company have said its a 'Cat C'

Whats the beef if I buy this?

will I have to pay for a vic check before I get the logbook back in my name or something?

I've googled and different sites are saying different things.

So whos bought a Cat C before, and what was the crack?

thanking you - have some " it'll t-cut out " moments for your troubles:





Sunroof??

Its just a numbers check, and on the online form you explain the damage and the repairs you've carried out...

Quicker to get an appointment by sending off an online form, they phone you back to confirm, and pay by card over the phone..

Car needs to be roadworthy, insured and mot'd..

If you read the notes online, it states a valid mot, no mention of it needing a new one...

car doesn't have to be taxed, same as it doesn't to travel to an mot..

being a cat c, when it somes to sell, it'll have a mark on the V5 and will be worth 30% less than an previously undamaged version..

[garry01]

i bought a cat c astra, still had 6 months mot on it, booked the test and passed, wasn't interested in the repair, didn't even repair it as it was only a cracked bumper and small dent on tailgate, was only interested in checking the vehicle identity, the price of the logbook is included in the price of the test, easy just make sure its insured.

[wez]

ahh, sounds like it may be worth looking at further.

do insurance companies not like to insure cars that have already been written of in the past?

[garry01]

depends on the insurance company i'd guess, the insurance company didn't ask any questions about the astra, all they want is your money.