Would you let a CAT D /C put you off buying

[mcgee9t2]

whats your thoughts?

normally id say no it wouldnt bother me (if it was a cheepy car), however, the car i am looking at is a lotus elise 111S or R so looking at £15k.

got a bit of a specification i.e. colour engine year milage etc. and found one thats hit all the spots, but its a CAT D.

now before i bought it id defanitly check what damage was done and what the repair was and pay extra attention to that part of the car, but was just wondering what your thoughts were on wright offs?

proberbly wownt go for this one as im wanting to hold out for the perfect car, and although this does hit all the points i will proberbly wait for a non written off one.

[Sam]

CAT D no, CAT C potentially yes. Cat D can be put back on the road by any idiot with a spanner. CAT C requires a full VOSA inspection before it can go back on the road. Having said that, I have had a few CAT D vehicles (mainly vans tbh) and they have all been bob-on but sub £4k.

Best bet? Find an independent crash repair garage close to the area the car is in and get them to spend 15 mins ensuring that what's listed on the CAT D has been done to an acceptable standard - they will do this for a bit of cash. 

EDIT: GOT MY NO'S AND YES' THE WRONG WAY ROUND!

[Thom89]

This is actually an impossible question to answer, as every case is different,
Every repairer has different standards. And every potential owner also has their own standards,
Unless you really know your stuff, then steer clear!

Thom

[Bellend]

I bodged the absolute sh!te out of a Cat-C van once for a customer that wanted it for 6 months.

Only structural was a wishbone which was sorted properly and aligned after but the panels, some of which were split were sticks-like'd together and the lights all superglued.

Did the job fine and if I had have filled painted it, you wouldn't have known at a first glance. Van is now scrapped.

Point is, be weary!

[barrym381]

This is actually an impossible question to answer, as every case is different,
Every repairer has different standards. And every potential owner also has their own standards,
Unless you really know your stuff, then steer clear!

Thom

listen to this man not every repair place has the same standards and remember a cat-d is worth about 30% less than a non cat-d and trying to sell it on again might be harder as lots of people are put off when they hear cat-d or cat-c 

[mcgee9t2]

All of the above is re-itteratring the thoughts in my mind.

Proberbly wouldn't have gone for it. If it was a little run around I wouldn't have been bothered but +£3k I think if steer clear. Was just wondering what other peoples thoughts were.

However the cat d thing I didn't know about. I thought all had to be inspected by the dvla do cheers for that info.

[mwad gti]

I wouldn't buy either

[Wayne]

Nope would not go near it, pay the extra you will see it back upon resell with a Elise

[Chris.]

Cat D can be as little as a scratch these days.

Cat C - usually more major.  Our fiesta is a cat C (damage happened during our ownership via a corsa hitting it at 30mph on the front wheel)  I repaired it....Other than the slightly bigger panel gaps, and  couple other things (non genuine panels used) you would never know.   Drives straight as a die and I use it daily.

Why not find out what the damage was?  A lot will shock you these days.  provided the car has been repaired to a high standard using quality parts....There is no issue IMHO.

By the way.  VOSA are only interested in confirming the IDENTITY of a vehicle.  NOT the standard of repair.

[VR6_Wherry]

My VR6 was a CAT C - no problems what so ever drove straight.

My concern with yours however would be what was the damage caused for it to be so expensive to be written off?