Cat D insurance write-off: Is it worth the risk?

tobdom

Looking for input on this. Currently in the market to upgrade to a ~2019 SEAT Alhambra.

Car advertised online, 2019 SEAT Alhambra 2.0TDI SE 150 BHP Auto DSG gearbox, 103k KM on the clock. Selling for €33k.

The seller has been very transparent, once I asked for the reg to run a check he sent me the full Cartell report. There was a Cat D insurance write off of the car in June 2023. The seller says the damage was on the rear bumper and boot lid, which has being repaired.

For it to be an insurance write off when the car would have been worth north of 30k, I'm thinking the damage must have been significant enough.

Overall I'm thinking, just don't even consider it, especially when this will be the main car ferrying our kids around. The only thing is the market is tiny for these cars and they're hard enough to come by.

Appreciate any helpful opinions/input on this. Thanks!

Rows Grower

Hugely overpriced for what it is and you'll have trouble shifting it on when you do want to change cars in the future, avoid.

chrisd2019

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058333311/cat-d-insurance-write-off-is-it-worth-the-risk

You should request more details, such as photographs ect. Also consider are you buy with the intention to hold onto until it becomes scrap due to old age ect. or trading on in a few year. What you possibly save now, you may need to pass on in the future if selling on.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121675275#Comment_121675275

If it's a cat D write off I assume that means it an English car so doubt he will be able to get pics

bazz26

Cat D (now known as Cat S) is the entry level classification of a UK insurance write off. It's generally only cosmetic damage and usually isn't something to be concerned with once it's been repaired to a high standard. The car's value needs to reflect that it was a Cat D write off however which should be cheaper than a non written off similar example.

Get the old UK registration of the car (on the logbook) and do a UK history check on it. Some UK history checks will show photos of the damage at the time it was declared a write off. You could also get luck and google the UK reg and it might find photos of the damage if the car was bought from Copart or auction at the time.

tobdom

Sorry, I should clarify a few things. This is not an imported car.

The Cat D is as classified on the Cartell report, which has the below info and states the source as MIAFTR: http://www.miaftr.ie/

Write-off categories:

- Category A: Should be crushed.

- Category B: Use for parts only.

- Category C: Badly damaged, repairable.

- Category D: Damaged repairable, the cost of repair is prohibitive or vehicle valuation post repair is questionable.

- Category S: Structural repairable, the vehicle has sustained damage to the structural frame or chassis.

- Category N: Non-structural repairable, the vehicle has not sustained damage to the structural frame or chassis.

Categories A and B should not return to the road. We recommend an engineer's inspection on all other categories to ensure the vehicle is roadworthy.

goochy

be interesting to know how long seller has had car , did they buy to sell on or are they the people who had accident ?

User1998

Only worth it if it’s significantly cheaper than other examples, and you plan on keeping it for a long time, and you are certain its been fixed to a high standard

tobdom

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121675648#Comment_121675648

The insurance write-off was June 2023, while it was owned by someone for just ~4 months at that time (Apr - Aug 2023). That in itself could seem strange, but I guess they were just unlucky having it written off by insurance due to a tip 2 months after buying it.

The current trader seems to have it since Aug, so I guess bought to repair & sell. Only advertised for the first time by this seller this week though.....

I think there's enough questions/risks to just forget about it.

goochy

Are they a proper dealer or someone buying cars on the side ?

Brian201888

Cat D can be very minor and insurers are very quick to write cars off but unless there's a huge discount you'll have to take into account that you've to convince someone else of that when you go to sell it

vandriver

Am I missing something?

A quick search on done deal shows loads below 33k

Here's an example

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/seat-alhambra-2-0tdi-150hp-se-dsg/35633937

sligopaul

If the write off happened in 2023 it was almost certainly N or S if a UK import, not up to speed on our own classifications but as mentioned above the price is not doing you any favours unless we are missing something. A benchmark to me is a classified vehicle should be approx 20-25% cheaper

Dirty Nails

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121676602#Comment_121676602

It might be a bit optimistic to expect a 25% reduction in the cars value given that depreciation due to damage is only around 10% of the estimate.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121680695#Comment_121680695

If your only saving 10% then its not worth the hassle imo. For me to consider one it would need to be closer to 25%

goochy

I saw a 2017 vw sharan . Looked like jap import. If u don't need a diesel would be a good buy

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121681048#Comment_121681048

Terrible engine in them I believe. I think they use the twin charged 1.4 which causes lots of trouble.

PukkaStukka

OP, find out first if you can get affordable insurance on that car before you consider it. Otherwise you might be in for a nasty surprise

Iguarantee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058333311/cat-d-insurance-write-off-is-it-worth-the-risk

€33k for a 5 year old car with 100k km on the odometer. Seems like a lot of money.

What's the service history like?

Sono

Car damage needs to be 66% of the value of car before it is written off. Not sure where you’re getting the north of 30k assumption for a write off

Dirty Nails

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121680987#Comment_121680987

Think you misread me. Depreciation used to be 10% of the estimate- not 10% of vehicle value. Of course that mightn't be the case anymore,it's been a while since I've done an estimate. The car had to be reassessed after repair & assessors were very strict to the point of failing it on things that weren't even damage related

tobdom

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121676250#Comment_121676250

Loads, that aren't available unfortunately. As seems to be the case, loads of dealers leave ads up (and even renew them sometimes) for cars which they no longer have available. Windsor seem to be particularly bad for this. Very frustrating.

In terms of comments about the price, the market for these cars seems to be tiny, so there's not a lot of choice and yes, they are expensive compared to others in the category (but we want the sliding doors, etc.).

Thanks for all the input. No longer considering this car mentioned in my OP. The search continues.....

rob316

I'd only consider CAT D if it was atleast 25% below the market value of an undamaged vehicle. If you are planning in running it into the ground fine, but when you come to resell it will be worth alot less. Potential issues as the car gets older in insuring it also.

mondeoman72

If it is marked as a right-off, do you need to get an engineers report to say it is roadworthy?