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Author: Subject: Cat n write off
matty h

posted on 20/2/19 at 08:27 PM Reply With Quote
Cat n write off

Been offered a car back from insurance company that is cat n. What is required to put it back on the road damage is purely cosmetic. Does it need a fresh mot as was moted until September.
Matty

[Edited on 20/2/19 by matty h]

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steve m

posted on 21/2/19 at 07:46 AM Reply With Quote
It may need an Mot to get back on the road, and your insurance company will advise

Ive put a few Cat c a few years ago, back on the road, and only two required an MOT, one of them, and my current car was only 11 months and needed an mot, and all for panel damage

steve





Thats was probably spelt wrong, or had some grammer, that the "grammer police have to have a moan at




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Mr Whippy

posted on 21/2/19 at 08:27 AM Reply With Quote
I've sorted out a few cat C (what the cat N use to be) right offs including the wife's volvo. tbh unless you are offered a dreadful amount and the car is sold back to you for utter peanuts I'd not really recommend buying it back as the value will always take a very hefty knock being recorded as a write off and it's something you will never be able to hide or remove.

I'd only recommend doing so if you intended on never selling the car and could not buy the equivalent with the offer from the insurance company. Again another reason to have GAP insurance if you had finance on the car, something I wish we'd have had on the wife's car and I would never hesitated to buy another car rather than buy back & repair hers.

I'd think very carefully about taking it back, it may seem a great deal but you may well be putting money into something that will never be worth that much and if circumstances change and you need to sell it, you might be disappointed at it's value.

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ianhurley20

posted on 21/2/19 at 08:44 AM Reply With Quote
First catorgories - they used to be Cat A - destroy car, Cat B - break for parts only, Cat C - strucural damage and potentially costly to repair, Cat D - cosmetic damage but beyond economic repair. The new catorgories - Cat A and B are unchanged, Cat S replaces Cat C and Cat N replaces Cat D.
They have graded your car as a Cat N so it should be an easy repair and some of them get written off for very little damage. I have bought and repaired lots of them and if you intend to use them for a long time any reduced value from having Cat N recorded against the car will not affect you much. Yes it will never fetch top book price and many traders will not allow part exchange with a car so recorded. I have never needed an MOT where one already existed, only if it had expired and if you fix it properly then there is no reson to worry about getting an MOT anyway.
I have used such cars since the mid 1980's and would have no hesitation in doing so again






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cliftyhanger

posted on 21/2/19 at 03:41 PM Reply With Quote
Can I also add, take and keep photos of the damage, and records of what is repaired etc.

I once enquired about a 2 year old car, to be told it was a write-off that had been repaired, but it was only scratches and a broken window. I immediately backed out, as that damage would obviously NOT write a 2 year old car off. However, if they could have shown me pictures of the damage, that would have reassured me. Plenty of little cars with CAT n running about, often a few bolt-on panels is all it takes on a 2-5K car. Which I still don't get, but appears to be true.

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MikeRJ

posted on 21/2/19 at 05:26 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by ianhurley20
First catorgories - they used to be Cat A - destroy car, Cat B - break for parts only, Cat C - strucural damage and potentially costly to repair, Cat D - cosmetic damage but beyond economic repair.


Cat C and D never represented the type or extent of damage, it was purely based on cost to repair vs value of the car e.g. cosmetic damage could be a Cat C on an old, low value car.

[Edited on 21/2/19 by MikeRJ]

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coyoteboy

posted on 22/2/19 at 12:19 AM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
I've sorted out a few cat C (what the cat N use to be) right offs including the wife's volvo. tbh unless you are offered a dreadful amount and the car is sold back to you for utter peanuts I'd not really recommend buying it back as the value will always take a very hefty knock being recorded as a write off and it's something you will never be able to hide or remove.


Not sure I agree with that. Generally they sell it back at 10% of the market value and give you the remaining 90% in cash. Every time I've seen it, the repair cost has been buttons and who cares if the car has a knock on the value - you have the car back AND ~70% of the value in cash.






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coyoteboy

posted on 22/2/19 at 12:21 AM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by MikeRJ
quote:
Originally posted by ianhurley20
First catorgories - they used to be Cat A - destroy car, Cat B - break for parts only, Cat C - strucural damage and potentially costly to repair, Cat D - cosmetic damage but beyond economic repair.


Cat C and D never represented the type or extent of damage, it was purely based on cost to repair vs value of the car e.g. cosmetic damage could be a Cat C on an old, low value car.

[Edited on 21/2/19 by MikeRJ]


If that was the case, surely C and D would be identical - if it had nothing to do with type or extent, both are just "uneconomical". My understading was always the same as ian's






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wonderfulweasel

posted on 22/2/19 at 08:35 AM Reply With Quote
Id always thought the same as Mike RJ. See the below from a confused.com guide to write offs:

Cat D cars are allowed to be repaired and put back on the road. The cost to repair the car is expected to be less than the car’s value before the accident.

Cat C cars are similar to those in category D. The difference is that the repairs required to put them back on the road are expected to exceed their pre-accident value.

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coyoteboy

posted on 23/2/19 at 12:29 PM Reply With Quote
Since a write-off is something which is sufficiently damaged/missing/impaired as to be financially nonviable for recovering (IIRC it's about 75% of market value?) - I don't understand what the point in differentiating them would be. This one's damaged and not worth us recovering. This one's also damaged, a little more, and not worth us recovering. The new system makes far more sense TBH.

As explained by the RAC website:
quote:

Category S (formerly Category C)
The new Category S means the vehicle has suffered structural damage.

This could include a bent or twisted chassis, or a crumple zone that has collapsed in a crash.

Category S damage is more than just cosmetic, therefore, and the vehicle will need to be professionally repaired.

Also, it won’t be safe to drive until then.

Read more

Category N (formerly Category D)
Vehicles graded accordingly haven’t sustained structural damage, so the issue may be cosmetic, or a problem with the electrics that isn’t economical to repair.

Don’t assume such vehicles are drivable, however; non-structural faults may include brakes, steering or other safety-related parts.





[Edited on 23/2/19 by coyoteboy]






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MikeRJ

posted on 18/3/19 at 09:36 AM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by coyoteboy
If that was the case, surely C and D would be identical - if it had nothing to do with type or extent, both are just "uneconomical". My understading was always the same as ian's


The difference is purely financial. Mark Allanson, a long time member of LCB is(was?) an insurance assessor and explained the difference between Cat C and D.

quote:
Originally posted by Mark Allanson
I would like to clear up the confusion about categories

Cat A - Absolute total loss, burn out etc

Cat B - Severe damage where it would be unsafe for that chassis to go back onto the road, break only

Cat C - The repair costs exceeded the value of the car (no more, no less. A £90 car with car cracked headlamp costing £100 would be Cat C)

Cat D - The repair costs exceeded the value of the car less the salvage value. ( A £500 car with a £350 repair, but the Insurer would get £200 salvage, so it would cost them £300 to total loss rather than £350 to repair)

25 years as a bodyshop estimator/manager and Insurance Company Motor Assessor

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Simon

posted on 18/3/19 at 04:37 PM Reply With Quote
As an aside I do find this whole "write off" thing a farce. My dad had a sierra which got hit hard enough to spin him onto some posts. Every panel had damage, car was repaired yet there is no record on v5!

[Edited on 18/3/19 by Simon]

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