Buying and insuring a Cat S car?

[JOEPRO]

I am looking for a replacement daily driver at the moment. A 2015 Mercedes C class. One locally is low miles and well priced in terms of a couple grand below other examples.

Will only have the car a couple of years and know it will impact resale value in future also when I would go to sell it.

Looking up the history of it the accident happened early 2021



Car is repaired no paperwork.

Seller says he has V5 but it's not in his name..... has a current valid MOT until June 2025 something like that.

I have never bought a cat s or any category of recorded damage car before.

Is this a case of don't bother looking at it? Will the cat s impact insurance premium costs for anyone who has bought such a car in the past?

I read somewhere that a repaired car has a Q prefix on the number plate. But this car doesn't have that. It's also off the road and not insured which is what is making me wonder why is that.

 

[dan treg]

cat s will say so on v5 as wording above . cat n will not say anything on v5 . car will stay on same number plate not q plate. depending on date car should be inspected and re moted although not allways. buying maybe 2/3 of staight price pro rata when you sell it.

 

[Onoff]

I'll be watching this with interest. My 1983 2.0S Capri was Cat C. Damaged, repairable but given Cat C as it was front valance, bonnet and both wings along with grille, headlights etc. A light front end that didn't even affect the door shuts but was deemed too expensive to repair.

 

[angellonewolf]

my war was wrote off in 2021 insurance payed me out a value and took off 435 quid there or there abouts

they said its repareable but not through them as the parts and respray cost exceded the car value

as i kepted the car and repaired myself i did ask what happends if something happened again we would pay out but would be a lot less that the book price was there answer

 

[arther dailey]

the log book not in his name rings warning bells for me .

 

[AVI_8]

I’ve bought a couple of cat N cars recently, just in the process of getting a Fiat 500 back on the road for my mother in law, written off due to a small dent in the wing.
It shouldn’t affect your insurance premiums.
With regards to the V5 not in the sellers name, if you do buy the car fill in the V5C new keepers supplement online before you hand over the cash. This will ensure that the V5 he has is the latest V5 for the car.
Also I would highly recommend a vehicle check by a company which check for salvage sales, Vcheck do this and if the car went through a salvage auction it should show you the pictures of the car including the damage.
Some cat S cars are not badly damaged at all, and some are quite shocking, suspension damage can end up with a cat S category as the suspension arms etc are structural components.

 

[tom2207]

I bought a cat s a few months ago , just an Aygo as its my run about , undamaged the car would have cost 6k , mine cost 2k , one doors paint is slightly off as is the bonnet , but they are both in factory paint , so it will no doubt fade to match , its only very very slightly off , the insurance company will only pay out to its cat s value , but as thats what I paid thats grand , I wouldnt claim on the insurance if I crash it , I would just throw it away or fix it myself ,, for that saving I have no issues with it at all , it mot ed the same as anything else so I dont see the problems.

 

[JOEPRO]

The car is £8250 78k miles. There are other cars with clear history available for the same £ with higher miles so I am thinking that is a safer bet.

Good advice from all above I appreciate it and let the conversation continue regardless, just think I don't want this headache and will continue looking!

 

[AVI_8]

The car is £8250 78k miles. There are other cars with clear history available for the same £ with higher miles so I am thinking that is a safer bet.

Good advice from all above I appreciate it and let the conversation continue regardless, just think I don't want this headache and will continue looking!

Probably a good choice, cat S should be around 30% cheaper than one with clean history.

 

[ajlelectronics]

Probably a good choice, cat S should be around 30% cheaper than one with clean history.

The lack of a suitable V5 also is a big warning flag. That should be sorted BEFORE advertising.

 

[Ruffian]

Im trying to remember which website it is but there is one that saves all the images from the previous salvage auctions.

You can search the reg/vin and see what it was like.
Handy especially if in any doubt of how hard it was hit.

I would only by a repaired car if I knew what it was like prior/after.
As seen far to many dodgy repaired.

 

[AVI_8]

It was autoauctions.io but it doesn’t seem to exist any longer however Vcheck does it, it’s an hpi check with the pictures of vehicle as it was damaged at the salvage auction.

 

[jo1010]

Salvage vehicles in the past did sometimes have an accompanying v5 in the original owners name. Someone buying that salvage then would inherit the v5 from the salvage dealer - so the v5 thing mentioned isn't necessarily a red flag in itself.
I would buy a S or N if it was in damaged condition, and if I wasn't going to resell it any time soon. Understandably most buyers are very wary about previously repaired vehicles. If it's a rare or expensive vehicle with fully documented repairs (ie photos) then it might just work but resale values take a hefty knock

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Couple of thousand and I'd say take the risk however for £8250 I'd walk away and find something that wasn't previously a write off. No V5 sounds like seller has bought the vehicle to repair and make a profit rather than a previous owner taking insurance payout and getting their "pride and joy" repaired to a high standard
Do CAT S still require an inspection before DVLA issues a new V5 ?

 

[JOEPRO]

Yes I've said no to this Cat S car - too weird

I am going to look at what appears to be a good one, fingers crossed tomorrow night. All clear and no faults seller says. 122k miles 2017 year £8250 so still a good deal IMO. Mercedes C220 Bluetec. Will be economical enough and nice looking car. My current daily driver s class was a guzzler

 

[JOEPRO]

I just done a deal tonight on a really clean and very well maintained W205 C220 2017 year. 9 speed transmission and great driving car. Clear history.

The private seller had no issue with me connecting my Mercedes star dealer level diagnostic system and car had zero faults! Rare. Will post photos of it later in the week when safely home

 

[Monkey Harris]

I just done a deal tonight on a really clean and very well maintained W205 C220 2017 year. 9 speed transmission and great driving car. Clear history.

The private seller had no issue with me connecting my Mercedes star dealer level diagnostic system and car had zero faults! Rare. Will post photos of it later in the week when safely home

why does a car ned a 9 speed transmission..?

 

[bricol]

why does a car ned a 9 speed transmission..?

So it's one better than the 8 speed auto in the car next door?

I own two cars with 6 spd manual transmissions - one of them, 6th is direct 1:1 - stacks all the intermediate ratios close together for the low torque engine.

In the other, with a big V8, not exactly lacking in torque, the top two gears are over-drives - it will speed in a 30 limit at tick-over in top.

 

[JOEPRO]

why does a car ned a 9 speed transmission..?

So it's one better than the 8 speed auto in the car next door?

The 9G allows for a better power / torque band, smoother and around 10% extra fuel efficiency. Having drove cars with all types of transmissions that 9 speed car last night stood out as perfectly geared and agile too really nice to drive.

 

[Robotstar5]

why does a car ned a 9 speed transmission..?

Only 9 speeds, my old Landy had a 10 speeds, 5 in high and 5 in low range