What's Your View Of Cat C/cat D Cars?

[ToraToraTora]

I tend to think that if the insurer thought they where not worth fixing then anyone fixing them up is going to do do a less than perfect job probably with inferior parts. Take this example, it's a Cat C but probably 15k cheaper than it would be otherwise.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nissan-GT-R-/182154039762?hash=item2a693a11d2:g:mEAAAOSwMNxXTssL

With this post I hope to gain some informed opinions hopefully going some way to invalidating my own, I hope not to induce an trolling, thanks.

[EDDIE51]

cat C just means the insurance company decided it was not economic to repair not that it was un-repairable. Someone could have restored it as a project rather than it being done through insurance.

[tonyav]

Obviously the older the car ( depending on the the make and model ) the less the damage it takes to write it off.
In the case of that Nissan GT-R it must have had some pretty expensive damage to write it off.
I wouldn't say that it has been fixed using inferior parts though ( most likely genuine Nissan parts ).
Personally I would never touch a car that has been a write off purely because it wouldn't be easy to resell when you want rid of it.

[ToraToraTora]

good point Tony must have been pranged up badly to have been written off.

[tonyav]

It would be interesting to see a few photo's of it before it was repaired.

[Mamyalynne]

I was going to add that very point, though he may have those and should be happy to share details of the pre repair condition.

As you say it's a good way to buy a car you really want but a bad investment really when thinking of resale.

[ladybirder]

TTT I asked a similar question years ago on here and got some useful answers from NOX. Here's the thread.
http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Motoring/Cars/Question1075184.html#answer-7061882

[alavahalf]

Someone sat next to me was invited to join a very select team of six and rebuild a road going sports car in total secrecy. . the car had been in an accident and had hit a tree. The engine was found in a nearby field. The value of the car at the time of the incident was in excess of £2M.
After approx 3 months constant work a chassis was rolled out on a trolley. The car was returned to the manufacturers who then fitted it out and returned it to the owner. All of this done behind closed doors with constant 24 hour security.
It seems that the excessive costs of the rebuild were less than the payout for the £2M write off...
The end result was a brand new 10 year old car ... it recently changed hands for £8M
Who say's crashed cars loose value ?

[ToraToraTora]

I asked for information about the damage, you'll not be surprised that none was forthcoming! Thanks all.

[tonyav]

Yep, no surprise there TTT.

[alavahalf]

Come on boys .. before the question was listed, the answer was alreàdy known. If you pay peanuts, you know what you get. But it is entirely wrong to assume that all people that repair cars are cutting corners... back to that old saying ... You get what you pay for.

[tonyav]

I'm not assuming that corners have been cut regarding the repairs, but I know that the Nissan must have had substantial damage for a car of that value to have been an insurance write off.

[EDDIE51]

Reading the sale notes I still think this has been restored as a project by an enthusiast rather than someone who is out to make a 'fast buck'
People do do such things, put a lot of time into it and take pride in doing it right with profit as a secondary motive.
Many 'Cat Cs' are a bodge but this one looks 'right' to me.

[ToraToraTora]

fair enough eddie but I'm worried that to write this off the damage must have been huge.

[EDDIE51]

Too late now , the item has been removed as 'no longer available'.