structural damage or over the cost of the valuation of the car. if they value the car at £5000 and the bill comes back over that amount then it becomes a cat c. if its under the valuation and has no structural damage then it is a cat d.
if the air bags hadnt gone off when i had the accident in mine then it would have either been a cat d or it would have got repaired...
the problem is that insurance companies will only use genuine parts, and give low end estimates on car valuations, so you are seeing more and more cars written off rather than them being repaired.

 

As mentioned, there are some Cat D's, with worse damage than C's. But you only know that if you actually look at car's from the salvage yards, in the un-repaired state.
I'm sure Insurance assesors take bribes, be it cash, handjobs or whatever. The cat a written off motor is given, can affect your insurance payout. I've known people to be paid out more for the car, if its written off as a C, rather than a D.

Out of my last 7 cars, only 2 have been "straight", as I prefer to buy them damaged. The markets not so good for a bargain these days.

BTW, I probably wouldn't buy a cat C repaired myself, unless it was cheap cheap.

 

i think i understand it now d is light damage uneconomical to repair and c is more extensive damage over the value of the car.

so a cat c impreza would be heavily damaged as they are expensive cars, even though it could of just been panels

 

I have repaired damaged vehicles for 20years on & off, now there seems no definitive CAT C / D, its all down to the assesor & there recommendations,some experienced, some not so, if you look at a salvage desposale company like Copart & try & see any pattern between catergories C & D, you will find Range Rovers, Jags etc completly slaughtered but cat d, then something barely damaged & its a cat c.

For example i have a 08 VW Polo on a cat c, the car was 9 months old when bought from an insurance co, it was classed c, it only had the front wing damaged & rear quarter, no glass, lights etc, no structural damage, it had only had a lorry push past it when parked up, but because there was some of the lorry's tyre rubber on the rear alloy it was deemed to have suspension damage, which their was'nt, the car has done nearly 30,000 miles now since being repaired, still with the original rear tyres.

 

I would buy a cat c, I think they say a third of the price it should be, but for me would have to be 50% or more off. So yes, but only if cheap.

 

I bought a Cat C Mk2 Golf GTI. It had taken a knock at the rear, the bumper iron was slightly bent, no damage to the bumper itself and a couple of small dents to the rear panel. The car had been originally been up for sale for £1000 as it was quite a tidy car. I offered £400 and we agreed at £500

I never bothered getting the damage repaired as it was so minimal, got it VIC checked. Even the examiner couldn't believe it was a Cat C rather then a Cat D.

I sold the car (for a profit ) a year later as the other half had a problem driving it as it didn't have PAS.

I would have no hesitation buying another car on the Cat register, I'd just be mindful what I'm buying.

 

Cheers fellas, it's made me think a bit more

 

Definitely a cat D, Stu. Only reason maybe you thought cat C was because i got **** advice what was wrong mechanically, hence me driving round on a knackered cam belt. But do have insurance reports to prove cat D.

 

CAT C is total cost of repair is estimated at 100% or more than the current market value of the vehicle
CAT D is total cost of repair is estimated 70% - 100% of the current market value of the vehicle

and that is it. its nothing to do with structural damage etc

also, insurance assessments are just estimates (or guesstimates!), so suspected suspension damage (as said above) might not mean there is actual suspension damage

went through this whole rigmarole recently with insurance regarding my gf's clio

driving cat c (or d) wouldnt bother me in the slightest aslong as i got the car cheap, knew what the damage was & what was repaired.

 

That may well be one insurers look on things, but i have dealt with several over the years buying salvage direct, only wish it was that cut & dried.

As i stated in my previous post, just look on a big salvage site to see the irregularities in catergories.

 

Insurance write-off categories

In the UK well over 500,000 vehicles are deemed a total loss or write off by insurance companies every year. Many of these however can be safely repaired but many can end up being returned to the road in dangerous condition. The insurance loss categories are listed below and explain how they are indicated on a vehicle data check. If you have doubts or to be absolutely certain that a vehicle is in a good roadworthy condition, it may be worth considering having a vehicle inspection done by the AA or RAC or one of the other accredited providers. I will look into inspections and perhaps add a inspection compare link in the future.



Insurance Loss Categories - Quick reference

* Category A - Must be crushed. All of it.

* Category B - Vehicle may not be returned to road but parts may be sold.

* Category C - Repairable. Significant damage. Cost of the repair is more than book value of vehicle at dealer rates.

* Category D - Repairable. Probably non-structural damage. May have been economic to repair, but insurer doesn't want to.

* Category X - Repairable. Minor Damage



Insurance Loss Categories - In detail

Category AThe vehicle may not be resold it must be crushed. Severely damaged, total burnout or flood damage with no serviceable parts, or already a stripped out shell. DVLA will require a Notification of Destruction.

Category B The vehicle may not be resold. It will have been damaged beyond economical repair, usually with major structural damage. The DVLA will require Notification of Destruction but parts can be removed and sold on.

Category C Repairable salvage. Usually applies to vehicles with significant damage and where the cost of repairs exceeds the book value. It can be sold for repair but must have VIC(Vehicle Identity Check) inspection before returning to the road. V5 documents are returned to DVLA and recorded as category C vehicles. You can re-apply for registration on the original identity once the VIC inspection has been done. VIC inspection and re-registration removes the Category C classification, but evidence it was at one time Category C remains on the vehicle's record at the DVLA and so will appear on a vehicle data check.

What is a Vehicle Identity Check and how does it work?(taken from the VOSA's site) The Vehicle Identity Check (VIC) has been introduced to help reduce car crime. It is intended to deter criminals from disguising stolen cars with the identity of written off ones. When an insurance company ‘writes off’ a car, (Category A, B or C) they notify DVLA and a VIC marker is placed on the DVLA record. DVLA will not issue a Registration Certificate (V5C) or a Vehicle Licence Reminder (V11) to a car with a VIC marker against it. In order to remove the VIC marker the car needs to be inspected by VOSA to confirm its identity. When the car passes the VIC, the marker is removed. The VIC will be carried out by VOSA. It will involve comparing the car against information held by DVLA, such as the vehicle identification number, make, model, colour and engine number. The VIC will also compare the record of previous accident damage with evidence of damage repair as well as checking other components to confirm the age and identity of the car.

Will the VIC confirm that the vehicle is roadworthy? No. The VIC is designed to confirm the identity of the car and does not assess the quality of the repair. You should seek independent expert opinion as to whether the car is roadworthy. If whilst carrying out the check the inspector notices a serious defect which would make the car dangerous to drive, then they will issue a notice which prohibits the car being used. Once it has been made roadworthy the prohibition can be removed.

Note: I understand motorbikes falling into this category do not have to undergo a VIC inspection so will warrant close investigation and clarification of identity.

Category D Repairable salvage. Minimal damage, probably not structural, but insurer does not want to repair, even though it might be economic to do so. Often stolen and recovered after claim has been paid. Or it maybe a vehicle where parts are difficult to obtain so a quick repair is unlikely. Does not need VIC inspection to return to road. Notification will appear in your vehicle history check

Category X has been the subject of a claim but minor or very lightly damaged and required minimal repair work. It would not be recorded with the DVLA so would not appear in any Vehicle Data Check

not recorded - Not an official category, it simply means that there has not been an insurance claim, possibly only had third party insurance and damaged the vehicle themselves or don't know who caused the damaged so can not make a claim or may not even been insured, either way the DVLA will not know in these cases so will not be recorded and will not show on any Vehicle History Check

http://www.datachecks.co.uk/insurancelosscategories.htm

 

ooops dont say he was wrong

i await my apology

 

I brought a Subaru that was only a write off as the person who crashed it was only covered third party, I paid next to nothing for it, replaced two wings, a wishbone and a driveshaft. No structural damage (i.e chassis damage) whatsoever and mechanically great so that purchase for me was fine.
That said be careful with full on structural damage, anything that needs jig(??) work I'd avoid