To buy a write-off car (cat C or D)

[Crispedoff]

Just that really, AIBU to buy a cat C or cat D car?

It would only be for 3k to run into the ground for 4 years and then sell on cheap/give to you get family member/scrap.

What do you think?

One of the cars I'm considering is cat S, 2014, 30k miles for 3k

Following as always wondered this!

How much would the insurance be?

Nope. How do you know the work was done well to fix it? I wouldn't trust them even if they had receipts to prove the work. Plus your insurance will be higher.

There are better options out there than buying a car with any insurance category defect.

You have to really know what you are doing with cars that have any category to buy a defective vehicle. e.g. it's not easy to spot a twisted chassis from any impact.
It will be more expensive on Insurance.
Low mileage(under 50K) older vehicles with full service history, clean mot history, are a better option IMO and IME.

Plus your insurance will be higher.

Not necessarily true. Some insurers will charge more for a cat, but IMO, the majority don’t.

I would consider a car that had been previously written off, yes. Especially if you’re planning on running it into the ground, as the biggest hassle I’ve found is selling them on.

It doesn’t take a lot for an insurer to write off a car these days, BUT I would avoid a cat S as this means it was written off due to structural damage, rather than just cosmetic.

I’ve had a cat D car before - it was a complete runaround (we had two other cars at the time) and was fine..
It’s more that it’s hard to sell on as no one can get credit on them which makes them very unappealing.

Buying a cat car can be a great way to get a car at a bargain price but it’s really important to do your research first and would be worth paying the AA to do a pre purchase check before committing.

Depends on the backstory of the car but I guess that's hard to find out. Cars can be a technical write off for the most minute damage. I'd buy one of those in your situation. But it's hard to find out.

If you know how too or have a good friend who can work on the car then yeah its a good deal. However I imagine paying for all the work will make it expensive

The lady has sent me all of the pics from before it was repaired, as her hubby owns a body shop repair company and the car was bought for their daughter last year, who is now moving to uni, so hopefully means a decent standard of repair. Most of the damage was around the passenger rear side. I'd definitely get it shocked out first, but 3k for a car with 34k miles is so tempting.
The insurance is my biggest concern with hidden costs

It will need to be declared each year to insurers which means you can’t just go on a price comparison website.
I work for an insurance broker who deals with about 35 underwriters. 50% won’t touch them. 25% will load the premium and the other 25% quote as normal. Most of the underwriters will ask to see a valid mot certificate and the original engineers report for the repairs. It’s a pita and I don’t get why people buy them. I understand retaining your own car after a write off if the settlement is too low to buy an alternative. But buying a new car to you that’s a write off just doesn’t make sense to me

But buying a new car to you that’s a write off just doesn’t make sense to me

Because they’re a lot cheaper, that’s the reason.

Unless I was buying from someone I absolutely trusted to be honest and competent (which is close family only), I don't think I would. I don't know enough about cars to know whether a Cat C/D/S/N is OK or a deathtrap.

Thanks for the replies, I don't k ow enough myself but have a close family friend who is a mechanic that specialises in body shop work so I've sent pics and info over to him. I will update the post with what he says, because I'm sure lots of people do wonder.

The car I'm looking at has already been repaired and would be 2.5k+ more to buy without cat s status.

PP comment about insurance is interesting, my insurers do deal with cat S/N cars, I'm going to ring up tomorrow to get a quote and see if it will increase the premium!

For £3k you can get a car that will last you 4 years that has never been a right off, why not just do that?

I bought a cat c for £2200, only had 16k on clock, I did another 10k before writing it off myself! Got back £2500 from insurance. And my premiums were no higher even though it was a cat c.

I paid £400 for a car with 70k miles on it, it was a get us out of a hole run around that we got to tide us over (try looking for a new car and van when both die within a week of each other!l and now I bloody love that liitle car and wont be parting with it.

Oh and it wasn't a write off either

I've had one and it was fine. They have to be inspected before they can go back on the road. Cars can be written off for the slightest little thing. It won't have much resale value but of you are happy to drive it till it dies that won't be a problem for you

My dh owns a body shop/crash repairs garage, I've never had a car bought from a garage, all cars I drive are cat cars,

His Mantra is once there is no chronic chasis damage, they can be fixed and made road safe for a few hundred quid, I'm currently driving a little sports car bought for 600 quid, cost 60 to fix and I could sell it tomorrow for 3k easy!

My car was a write off (can’t remember if it was cat c or d) that had been repaired. After reading things on the internet I asked the insurers if they needed to know it had been written off and they said it didn’t make a difference. When you get a quote for insurance they never ask if it’s been written off (not sure if they can check with the reg number) and I’m sure if they were bothered they would ask.

It's really interesting reading these replies, good to know people have had good experiences with cat cars.
3k is a bargain for this car
@bunnybigears , maybe but not likely a 64 reg car with only 30k miles in perfect cosmetic condition, that's what makes it so tempting.

It's the safety aspect that is the real worry, but PP is hopefully correct in saying that they have to be inspected to be declared roadworthy any way.

My last 6 or 7 cars have been write offs. My DH has bought the parts and fixed them himself. I’m not sure if the Cat, but the repairs have been minimal. He avoids structurally damaged ones.
My insurance has never been more expensive so people saying that are wrong.