just found out i driving a cat b write off

lady fifi

bought my 2006 gt golf 2 years ago paid 12000 privatly for it ,and have had a lot of things go wrong with it .. over the 2 years , but knowing a few mechanics have got it fixed bit by bit ! last straw was the crank goin , had to get new engine after spending about 3500 so far , now engine was going to cost another 2000 but car only worth 250 without engine,, got it fixed decided to sell it on , thought aution in dublin was easiest way to go try get money i spent on it back at least , only to be told it cat b write off , from england and should not be on road ... yes should have done full check on it before i bought ,but didnt ,:( dont need to be told that , need to kno where to go from NOW on ,any info please help !!! how can this happen?? it passed nct , it insured , makes no sense ..

Atlantic Dawn

lady fifi wrote: »

only to be told it cat b write off , from england and should not be on road ... yes should have done full check on it before i bought ,but didnt ,:( dont need to be told that , need to kno where to go from NOW on ,any info please help !!! how can this happen?? it passed nct , it insured , makes no sense ..

Did you check the history of the car since you were told this or are you simply going on someone else's word, perhaps someone trying to get the car cheaper from you?

If you have not got a history check yourself you should have one done, easiest way is to HPI check the car using it's UK reg number, this may be etched in the windows. Did it pass an NCT that your put it through or previous owner only?

TestTransmission

I've moved your thread OP as it's not a DIY matter

MugMugs

DDid you buy this vehicle from a Garage?

gb153

MugMugs wrote: »

DDid you buy this vehicle from a Garage?

...

lady fifi wrote: »

paid 12000 privatly for it

MugMugs

OP run a check on the former reg. It's buyer beware to be honest so if your check shows it to be a CAT B then I'd highly suggest you remove the vehicle from the road. It's a serious liability...

lomb

Could have been flooded though so the CAT B may mean nothing.
If it passed an NCT, drives straight and is not a cut and shut Id consider driving it for another few years after some budget repairs.

MugMugs

Cat b means not fit for use. Illegal to drive on a road.

Senna

A CAT B car isn't allowed back on the road, the DVLA wont reissue a V5. Seen the CAT B is flagged on the system, the DVLA will have that information also.
It might just be a CAT C/D and the person who told you is bluffing.

A is for burn outs and gutted vehicles. Only value is in the baled weight at a metal recyclers.

Cat B is where the vehicle is no longer safe to put back on the road and must be broken or crushed. These can only be sold to registered dismantlers with an EPA waste licence. They are actually sold as parts and are no longer considered as a vehicle. There is no economic consideration involved, purely a safety one. Vehicles that have been flooded are normally written off as a cat B.

Cat C is where the car is repairable but is not economic to do so. Think older cars and or ones where the chassis needs jigging.

Cat D is where the vehicle is repairable and would be economic to do so (cost of salvage + cost of repairs < Pre accident value) but the insurance company has decided not to repair the vehicle. This could be due to excessive storage or recovery costs, etc.

MugMugs

MugMugs wrote: »

OP run a check on the former reg. It's buyer beware to be honest so if your check shows it to be a CAT B then I'd highly suggest you remove the vehicle from the road. It's a serious liability...

Do this OP, it will establish the factual situation for you, at least you'll than know the story and it may well be not as bad as what you are currently looking at.

L-M

Senna wrote: »

A CAT B car isn't allowed back on the road, the DVLA wont reissue a V5.

If the DVLA won't issue a V5 (I haven't a clue about English imports) and I thought the V5 was required to register it here, so how is it even registered here?

Henry Ford III

Limerick man wrote: »

If the DVLA won't issue a V5 (I haven't a clue about English imports) and I thought the V5 was required to register it here, so how is it even registered here?

Dodgy docs?

L-M

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Dodgy docs?

I fail to see how dodgey documents would get it out of a cat b registered state and re registered over here.

If that's possible, it's a disgrace.

George Dalton

Limerick man wrote: »

I fail to see how dodgey documents would get it out of a cat b registered state and re registered over here.

If that's possible, it's a disgrace.

Just thinking about the possibilities it would probably be easy enough to do. I doubt the civil servant in the VRT office would have been too adept at spotting a fake V5 cert?

L-M

George Dalton wrote: »

Just thinking about the possibilities it would probably be easy enough to do. I doubt the civil servant in the VRT office would have been too adept at spotting a fake V5 cert?

I'm honestly confused.

That means the car technically didn't exist as a "vehicle" when it entered the country. In that case, someone could rob a car, pretend it was a UK import, create a fake v5 and registered it as a car?

Baffling.

George Dalton

I don't know I'm just speculating really.

Nforce

Apparently it may be possible to have a vehicle reclassified from Cat B to Cat C following a written assessor's report.

L-M

Nforce wrote: »

Apparently it may be possible to have a vehicle reclassified from Cat B to Cat C following a written assessor's report.

But wouldn't it then be classified as a Cat C rather than a B?

Nforce

Limerick man wrote: »

But wouldn't it then be classified as a Cat C rather than a B?

Should be,yes...though I'd imagine the car's history will still flag it as having been a Cat B?

lady fifi

car was brought into ireland ,re reg it has irish plates , have rang few places to see about trade in and have been told same story from all garages cat b write off from england full insurance pay out on car there fore it not even insuranced although i pay insurance ,dont kno how it got here or re reg , seems it a reg thing from people i spoke to but normally with a c or d cat , they can't understand how it happened !!!:mad:

mickdw

Im not sure here but I think the dvla used to actually issue certificates of export for all forms of write off even though they wouldnt issue reg cert. That would then allow registration here.

lady fifi

i just want to kno how i can insure my car, pay tax, nct it, and it a illegal car not to driven .. where do i go from here if i hav accident insurance wont pay out because car should not be on road .. i guessin ..dont have any defo ans ..

JAMES VTI S

i drive a cat c and bought it with the knowledge of knowing that

i looked at it and its a grate car never missed a beat

Divorce Referendum

mickdw wrote: »

Im not sure here but I think the dvla used to actually issue certificates of export for all forms of write off wvwn though they wouldnt issue reg cert. That would then allow registration here.

Spot on there that definitely used to happen and most likely what happened here. It would have been easy to register the car here then under the old system (pre nct) with the certificate of permanent export.

Divorce Referendum

lady fifi wrote: »

i just want to kno how i can insure my car, pay tax, nct it, and it a illegal car not to driven .. where do i go from here if i hav accident insurance wont pay out because car should not be on road .. i guessin ..dont have any defo ans ..

To be honest if you have already have insured the car and it has an nct then there shouldnt be a problem but dont quote me on that its very complex. However driving a car that is a cat b write off i would be wary of the safety of the car. How do feel about this issue yourself? Maybe have it checked over by a compotent engineer for peace of mind.

lady fifi

it a 2006 dont think that pre nct for mine ?? i kno now how foolish i was nerver happen again , but who do you turn to for ans on what to do with car now can i have it tested and cat b removed ???the car is a beauty ..

lomb

I drive a Cat D write off, never checked it on the UK register though took the seller at his word it was only a D. Every panel looks like it has been sprayed if one looks very very closely(repaired very professionally though.)
Great car, maintained almost regardless of cost by previous owners and drives nicer,tighter and straighter than any 9 year old car I have ever driven.
Doesn't bother me in the slightest. Many high performance cars are written off early in their life making them economic writeoffs at main dealers.

lomb

lomb wrote: »

I drive a Cat D write off....

Thread is about a CatB though

Divorce Referendum

lady fifi wrote: »

it a 2006 dont think that pre nct for mine ?? i kno now how foolish i was nerver happen again , but who do you turn to for ans on what to do with car now can i have it tested and cat b removed ???the car is a beauty ..

Depends on when the car was brought into the country. The nct started to check cars last year for vrt payment. If you think the car is perfect than maybe the cat b is a mistake on the hpi check websites. I remember when motorcheck posted on here he said it can happen from time to time. If the car is correctly classified as a cat b then it cant be removed unfortunately.

L-M

It wouldn't bother me either, but the case at hand is that how something that would be considered only for parts in the UK is actually registered, tax'd and nct'd over here?

mickdw

Id contact a motor engineer. See what they say. I specifically remember an Engineer telling me that some of his work was 'writing cars back onto the road' so maybe a full inspection by an Engineer would allow you to be 100% legal although cat B should be a breaker only.