Cat D write off cars. - The Liverpool Way

by dirty_sanchez

I'm looking for a new car and have found a good example which is listed as a Cat D write off, which has been fully repaired. As I understand it, Category D means that the car was written off by an insurance company because it had superficial damage which lead them to believe that the cost of the claim was going to exceed the value of the car. Insurance companies declare cars a write off if the repair cost is approx 70% of the pre accident value - its all about economics - once re-registered on the road after being repaired & passing an mot -the car should be ok. If the car was in an another accident & was a write off again the M.I.A.F.T.R (motor insurers anti theft & fraud register) would note it was a previous write off and Insurers will take this into consideration when making you a settlement offer. You get what you pay for with a Cat D car. It really depends on how old the car is and what mileage was on it when the damage occurred. For example, if a 52 plate Fiesta with 60k on it needed a door and a wing, plus labour and paint, it would probably be written off, because the car is worth less than £2000 and the repair, done properly at a reputable bodyshop, would cost more than half the value of the car. An 07 Astra wouldnt. If you can, steer clear of cars on the hit list. Remember, its your nearest and dearest driving them and cars, like people, are never the same after an accident. Unless you're in the trade and are not paying for the labour then there's certainly no easy cash to be made. I have seen a few on autotrader when once you pay proper bodyshop repairs you aren't saving yourself much if anything which then begs the question well why not just buy a decent one to start with. But if you get a cheap one and get it properly repaired and properly checked then I wouldn't be concerned about driving a death trap.

Source: Cat D write off cars. - The Liverpool Way

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