Category D salvage

Just bought this as a category D salvage, it's a 54 plate 9-3 Vector TDi with 30,000 miles. Apart from the damage you see it is extremely clean. I will try to post regular reports and pic's of the repair process to show what is involved. When it is back on the road it will have cost me around £5,200 in total, a massive saving against what they go for at the moment.
 

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Well I found this forum for all the wrong reasons, but I'll get involved in the AV side later!! (I love my gadgets anyway).

I've learnt a lot from this thread. My car unfortunately caught fire yesterday, being a '91 Supra, it's not worth all that much so it will be a write-off - but the damage is quite localised and the fire brigade was nice and prompt (in rush hour, too!) I'm thinking a Cat D.

I reckon I could do the repair work myself with a few hundred quid, so my options are:
1. Ask the insurance company if they would be so kind as to give me the maximum amount they would spend on repair, and not write it off.
2. Let them write it off and buy from the salvage company.

Is option '1' even possible? It would save them money so I can't see why not. Also, is there absolutely any way to get rid of that Cat D 'status' once repaired?

Oh well, I'd better get my mind off it all now by taking a look at your AV threads! Thanks for your time!

G
 
Just bought this as a category D salvage, it's a 54 plate 9-3 Vector TDi with 30,000 miles. Apart from the damage you see it is extremely clean. I will try to post regular reports and pic's of the repair process to show what is involved. When it is back on the road it will have cost me around £5,200 in total, a massive saving against what they go for at the moment.

£5,200 including the repairs?
how much was the car?
what was quoted for the repairs?

looks over £3,000 in repairs to me, but im no expert :suicide:
 
Well I found this forum for all the wrong reasons, but I'll get involved in the AV side later!! (I love my gadgets anyway).

I've learnt a lot from this thread. My car unfortunately caught fire yesterday, being a '91 Supra, it's not worth all that much so it will be a write-off - but the damage is quite localised and the fire brigade was nice and prompt (in rush hour, too!) I'm thinking a Cat D.

I reckon I could do the repair work myself with a few hundred quid, so my options are:
1. Ask the insurance company if they would be so kind as to give me the maximum amount they would spend on repair, and not write it off.
2. Let them write it off and buy from the salvage company.

Is option '1' even possible? It would save them money so I can't see why not. Also, is there absolutely any way to get rid of that Cat D 'status' once repaired?

Oh well, I'd better get my mind off it all now by taking a look at your AV threads! Thanks for your time!

G

It is possible that the insurance company will pay out and then let you keep the car. They might also deem the car repairable in an economical fashion depending upon the estimate, in which case they will send you a cheque and tell you to repair it.

The most likely scenario is that they write it off and give you a cheque, then have the car collected. It will be very difficult for you to buy it back in this instance unless you ask them...nay, beg them. It's not usually what they do these days, they used to, but not so much now.
 
£5,200 including the repairs?
how much was the car?
what was quoted for the repairs?

looks over £3,000 in repairs to me, but im no expert :suicide:

Yes, including the repairs. I own a bodyshop so don't have to pay anyone for the hours it will take to repair. The car itself cost me just over £4,000 and I can use 2nd hand parts to replace the broken bits (I found a same model Saab with rear end damage so can recycle it's front end for the parts I need).
 
Yes, including the repairs. I own a bodyshop so don't have to pay anyone for the hours it will take to repair. The car itself cost me just over £4,000 and I can use 2nd hand parts to replace the broken bits (I found a same model Saab with rear end damage so can recycle it's front end for the parts I need).


I knew you had your own shop from earlier posts so this would be a piece of proverbial for you, you should update the pics later!

Liam:)
 
Regarding the Mazda6, is it a Black Diesel estate? Trying to find info on it the moment.
 
I am struggling to see what you are referring to here?
 
I used to buy salvage cars, fix them up, run them for about a year then sell them on (usually at a slight profit) and use the proceeds to buy my next car. This way I slowly got a newer and newer car. The cars I bought were usually Stolen and recovered, missing the seats, trim, door locks and minor scratches.

However, a couple of years ago, between jobs (and the company car I'd become used to) I bought a Cat 'C' Vectra. The damage was far less than your Cat 'D' examples, but of course the car was much older even at that time. I thought I'd bartered the seller down well, but I by the time I'd bought the bits needed to fix it (including a secondhand bonnet in the right colour to avoid having to get my old spray gun out;)) I reckon I could have bought one from a small dealer. Trouble is that I'd overlooked the stuff that you would normally look at on any used car, tyres, MOT bushes and cambelt, so this ate into any profit I was going to make. Then I got offered a job with a company car, so I sold it on. Of course being Cat 'C' it had this recorded on the log book and I had trouble selling it, eventually making a slight loss.

Yesterday we collected a 52 plate Corsa diesel for my Missus. It came from a small dealer and is HPI clear and not be damaged (as far as I could tell;)). TBH I couldn't find any salvage that was worth my time and effort, despite the thoughts of getting her something newer/better for the same money. Maybe you have to be 'in the trade' to get them at the right price, but most Salvage I Googled up was way over priced. But given the minor damage that I've repaired over the years, I don't think there is anything wrong with it. It's just some of the stuff really shouldn't go back on the road, especially when you've got airbags, seat belt tensioners, etc that all need to be replaced if the job is being done properly.

One of my cars was inspected by the RAC before the new owner completed the sale: It was a (then) 3 year old Sierra 2.0 GLSi that I got with no bonnet, lights, locks, seats and door cards. I had to respray the whole offside due to key scratches. The RAC guy told me that the car was in good condition, but had a 'high quality' respray (he spotted a small bit of overspray on one back light). It's a shame I couldn't have a copy of his report as it was a feather in my cap (unbeknown to him).:devil:

Pictures of the Vectra FYI.
 

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Categories run from A to F iirc, F being fire damaged.

WRT the comments about repaired cars being worse than old worn out ones, my brother used to be a panel beater / vehicle body repairer, I've seen vehicles he has rebuilt with better panel fit and gaps, measurably straighter chassis (new vehicles are not put on an alignment jig!) and generally better condition than an old worn out example the same age without parts being replaced.....
 
I will try to get some pictures of the Saab sorted this weekend...I forgot all about the in-progress ones but it is almost finished now.
 
Hi. Know someone who buys d& c also cat x thats stolen/recovered category cars,repairs them & tells me he puts them into auction & makes a tidy profit! Would like advice particularly from anyone who does this also is there a profit this way or would it have to be via the retail market?ie (decadence) & have sent you e`mail already.) as am thinking of doing the same myself! very interested! Thanks phil in south east
 
What is the Category for a stolen recovery car that had damage but fixed? Is that just categorised as "Stolen recovery"?
 
Dont know still learning myself! think their cat x if their slightly damaged more than that i dont know!
 
Some Cat X cars have a little damage on them where the scum has driven them through a hedge or generally bashed them about but it's usually not too bad.
 
What is the Category for a stolen recovery car that had damage but fixed? Is that just categorised as "Stolen recovery"?

When the cars come up for auction the damage is usually not fixed so they'll be Cat X with a description of damage.
 
Hi. Know someone who buys d& c also cat x thats stolen/recovered category cars,repairs them & tells me he puts them into auction & makes a tidy profit! Would like advice particularly from anyone who does this also is there a profit this way or would it have to be via the retail market?ie (decadence) & have sent you e`mail already.) as am thinking of doing the same myself! very interested! Thanks phil in south east

You need a few licenses to be able to go into business doing it because of the waste produced in the repair process (paint tins, plastic panels, etc) but if you can get through enough cars it can be profitable, yes...
 
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Thank. phil . Any more you an tell me? guess its better to buy newish cars then lack of service history is less of a problem proof of mileage etc?
 
If you have a large variety of tools, space for storage, good mechanical and body skills, a well lit spacious garage and lots of free time then it's a no brainer.

If you are missing one of these then it becomes a bit more difficult, I have thought about it but only to do one car and then keep it.

Liam
 
Some salvage is easy to fix, some is a total pain...you definitely need to know what you're doing.
 
Hi. I'm currently thinking about buying a car that has been stolen recovered. The seller says it will need a vic check. Is that the case and how do I go about doing that.
Thought it would be ok if I just replaced the parts :confused:
 
The VIC check is usually reserved for Cat C cars...I didn't think Cat X (Stolen) would need one? I'll double check tomorrow. It means you need to take it to a special test centre for a more thorough going over. You have to book it quite far in advance because there's usually a long waiting list...it's the same place you'd take a Japanese Import to to get it on the road in the UK.
 
The great thing about taking it for a proper check, is that it ceases to be recorded as written off after it's been inspected, iirc.... looked into it all when I was shopping around for a car, but the nugget selling the writeoff wanted a disproportionate amount of money for it as compared with a higher mileage undamaged car....
 
The great thing about taking it for a proper check, is that it ceases to be recorded as written off after it's been inspected, iirc

After a Cat C car has had a VIC test it does not get taken off the HPI register but I think you can pay to have it removed if you want.
 
Here is an example of my cat D write off. Three weeks ago some one stole my bike. It was recovered the next day but had a low speed crash. After the insurance wrote it off as a cat D, I then went to view the bike as the yard it was taken to was local to me. With not much damage apart from the wires pulled out of the ignition and the fairings on the off side cracked I managed to buy it back of the insurance for just £280, I stand to make around a £700 to £800 profit on this deal because I can buy second hand panels cheap from ebay when they come up. I have no idea why insurance write them off so easily but when I was at the yard there was a huge amount of bikes cars and vans with very little damage like this. I would have no problems buying a cat D vehicle.
IMG_1088.jpg

Notice the scratches at the headlight and on the middle panel,the indicator also needs replaced, but thats it, I can ride this until the parts come up and repair when I want.
 

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