↓ Advertise on Defender2 ↓

Home > Off Topic > First car understanding Cat s and cat n
Post Reply  Down to end
Page 1 of 1
Print this entire topic · 
barbel jim



Member Since: 12 Dec 2012
Location: Northants
Posts: 1423

United Kingdom 2005 Defender 90 Td5 HT Tonga Green
First car understanding Cat s and cat n
Just wondering if someone could advise. Insurance has changed massively over the years…. Everything is over complicated and or extra. I’m currently looking for daughters first car, as unable to teach her in a defender as insurance is a big no go ( thankfully in a way ). I’m doing the usual searches for small engine first cars. The market seems flooded with cat s or n cars, cheaper yes, but nobody seems able to give an opinion on extra costs for insurance etc. my head says steer clear, however, cars get written off for 1 panel due to the repair costs. Was just wondering if others have had the same dilemma or better knowledge? I have asked my insurance broker who were basically unable to comment
Post #969406 30th Oct 2022 11:29am
View user's profile Send private message View poster's gallery Reply with quote
rallysteve



Member Since: 10 Feb 2014
Location: Cumbria
Posts: 2230

United Kingdom 2002 Defender 110 Td5 DCPU Keswick Green
I bought a Cat S Volvo about 18months ago knowing very little about it like you. Rang around a few insurance companies before i bought it to see what the implications would be.

To my surprise they didnt care. As long as it had an MOT that was all they were interested in. No additional premium, just a lower value in the event of a claim.

I ran a full vehicle check through totalcarcheck which is my go to (not too expensive) which highlighted the insurance writeoff and even provided a link to the salvage auction it was sold at with all the photos. As i bough it already repaired then this was great to have an idea on the extent of the damage and areas to have a close look at when i viewed it.

Steve 02' 110 TD5 Double Cab Rebuild Thread
Post #969411 30th Oct 2022 12:16pm
View user's profile Send private message View poster's gallery Reply with quote
andy2111



Member Since: 17 Oct 2021
Location: Kent
Posts: 365

United Kingdom 2002 Defender 110 Td5 HT Bonatti Grey
This is a helpful guide to the categories. https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/know-ho...write-off/

For the more serious structural repairs, knowing who did the repair and whether they are a reputable garage will be very important before you buy anything. Make sure you can see the full repair bill otherwise I'd stay well clear.
Post #969415 30th Oct 2022 1:17pm
View user's profile Send private message View poster's gallery Reply with quote
barbel jim



Member Since: 12 Dec 2012
Location: Northants
Posts: 1423

United Kingdom 2005 Defender 90 Td5 HT Tonga Green
Thanks for the information. And a better understanding. Just shows what a throw away society we have become…… 60% of the cars value, and uneconomical to repair Whistle and then we have the glue ourselves to the Road brigade Rolling Eyes
Post #969690 1st Nov 2022 7:55pm
View user's profile Send private message View poster's gallery Reply with quote
Dave12345



Member Since: 04 Jun 2022
Location: North West
Posts: 87

United Kingdom 1989 Defender 90 300 Tdi PU Keswick Green
Hi,

Be careful of the old adage of being written off for a panel, this is only if it’s written off whilst very old and worthless really, where the hire car costs + repair would exceed the value of the car. Those cars might be old and worthless now perhaps but they weren’t always.

My old ST took a huge sideswipe, £7k of damage, and didn’t even get a Cat N marker as it was worth about £10k at the time and hire car costs were covered by the third party (who ran the red light because he was late picking up the MIL from the station!).

I’ve had a colleague aquaplane their almost new merc on the motorway and fold it in half around the barrier, the insurance company wanted to effectively rebody the car before writing it off, as it was still new and worth enough. It was eventually declared a cat S after a long dispute and will likely now be back on the road somehow. An older car would never have been sold off to be repaired in that state. Should have been a Cat B but it was worth too much.

This wouldn’t totally put me off a Category car but I’d want to see photos of the damage (despite rarely being indicative of the true extent of the damage unfortunately) and/or the engineers report, know who repaired it, and it would have to be hugely cheaper to cover for the lost value and difficulty to sell when sold on. The last bit is most significant to me probably.

I’d recommend sticking the car reg into V-check. If it’s been written off it’s likely to have been through a salvage auction and the photos of it pre-repair should appear on V-check.

Dave
Post #969767 2nd Nov 2022 7:01pm
View user's profile Send private message View poster's gallery Reply with quote
barbel jim



Member Since: 12 Dec 2012
Location: Northants
Posts: 1423

United Kingdom 2005 Defender 90 Td5 HT Tonga Green
Don’t worry, my head still says stay clear Laughing
Its staggering how many there are. I’d never really herd of it before, and needed to get my head around it as much as anything. I’m looking for my daughter, so a high value commodity Laughing Laughing Laughing I wouldn’t choose an accident damaged car knowingly, but was curious as to what all the classifications were and why so many.
Post #969884 3rd Nov 2022 8:40pm
View user's profile Send private message View poster's gallery Reply with quote
Dave12345



Member Since: 04 Jun 2022
Location: North West
Posts: 87

United Kingdom 1989 Defender 90 300 Tdi PU Keswick Green
Yeah it’s a minefield.

In reality the N/S markers mean very little.

The lack of a marker means even less! It’s simply a ratio of cost:value that determines whether a crashed car gets a marker.

Crazy to think how many people have bought previously damaged cars without realising. Not an issue if repaired properly of course but how can you ever be sure?
Post #969885 3rd Nov 2022 8:45pm
View user's profile Send private message View poster's gallery Reply with quote
spudfan



Member Since: 10 Sep 2007
Location: Co Donegal
Posts: 4679

Ireland 
What age is your daughteR? We bought our daughter her first car three years when she was 26 years old. We bought her a 300 tdi Land Rover 90. She lives in Northern Ireland so a U.K. address. She had a provisional licence and she could only get insurance quotes on a station wagon vehicle, i.e. windows and seats. She could not get a quote for a hard top 90. As far as I know her insurance and tax is about £1000 per year. It was dearer for her first insurance on the provisional licence. Anyway she tows a horse box and loads up the back with all types of stuff but like I said she could not get quotes on a hard top 90. It's her every day transport, work, college, horsey stuff....
She sent these photos the other day.


Click image to enlarge



Click image to enlarge
 1982 88" 2.25 diesel
1992 110 200tdi csw -Zikali
2008 110 2.4 tdci csw-Zulu
2011 110 2.4 tdci csw-Masai
Post #970043 5th Nov 2022 4:08pm
View user's profile Send private message View poster's gallery Reply with quote
Procta



Member Since: 03 Dec 2016
Location: Sunderland
Posts: 5180

United Kingdom 
Re: First car understanding Cat s and cat n
barbel jim wrote:
Just wondering if someone could advise. Insurance has changed massively over the years…. Everything is over complicated and or extra. I’m currently looking for daughters first car, as unable to teach her in a defender as insurance is a big no go ( thankfully in a way ). I’m doing the usual searches for small engine first cars. The market seems flooded with cat s or n cars, cheaper yes, but nobody seems able to give an opinion on extra costs for insurance etc. my head says steer clear, however, cars get written off for 1 panel due to the repair costs. Was just wondering if others have had the same dilemma or better knowledge? I have asked my insurance broker who were basically unable to comment


Best thing to do is look at larger cars like the astra, because those could be cheaper to insure than the corsa. I found this out with a Rover metro 1.1c to a peugeot 306 Dturbo. ( Peugeot was 200 quid cheaper) Defender TD5 90 ---/--- Peugeot 306 HDI hatch back

Success is 90% Inspiration and 4 minutes Preparation # you can make it!
Post #970087 6th Nov 2022 1:06am
View user's profile Send private message View poster's gallery Reply with quote
s55shh



Member Since: 30 Dec 2019
Location: staffs
Posts: 193

United Kingdom 
I buy a few salvage cars and some of the current fleet are recorded.
Skoda Citigo Cat N needed front bumper, bonnet grille and airbags/dash. It had done 1800 miles and that was 5 years ago.
Skoda Yeti Cat N needed a repair to front wing. Honestly not had to buy any parts apart from a spare key.
Alfa Giulia Cat N needed two bumpers, tail lamp and a headlamp, since done 15000 miles in it and its been great.
2015 Defender USW 110 Cat S because it had rolled over off roading. Needed a roof, wing and drivers door and a windscreen frame. The side step has left the tiniest dent in the chassis rail (hence Cat S) but it doesn't warrant repair.

I prefer to buy them damaged so I know that they haven't been bodged and I like a bargain. Saved approx £30k on the purchase price of the above list by buying salvage and I tend to keep my cars for long enough that depreciation makes more of a difference than Cat N or S.

Click image to enlarge
Post #1045870 15th Sep 2024 2:51pm
View user's profile Send private message View poster's gallery Reply with quote
GAT



Member Since: 19 Apr 2013
Location: Kent
Posts: 112

United Kingdom 
I bought my Daughter her first car as seen below as a CAT S. It only had 800 miles on the clock and was almost brand new. Had it repaired locally and cost a fraction of the price of a new one.
I’ve had loads of Cat C/D and now CAT S/N. They are tin boxes with replaceable parts and panels so I don’t see the issue at all. I’ve never had any issues regarding insurance either but just bear in mind that if you were to be paid out it would obviously be at a lower price.


Click image to enlarge



Click image to enlarge
 First Edition 90 in Pangea Green. (Gone)
P400 110 in Tasman Blue.
Post #1045878 15th Sep 2024 4:56pm
View user's profile Send private message View poster's gallery Post Reply
Post Reply  Back to top
Page 1 of 1
All times are GMT

Jump to  
Previous Topic | Next Topic >
Posting Rules
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum



Site Copyright © 2006-2024 Futuranet Ltd & Martin Lewis
DEFENDER2.NET RSS Feed - All Forums