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Dec 20, 2021 18:58:47 GMT
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I'm looking at getting my hands on an old Mercedes & everything seems good on the car. Mot history & General maintenance all looks on par. I did my due diligence & carried out an hpi check. According to the history it was a cat c write off in 2009. The only thing the seller knows is the rear light lenses are different quality, showing one has obviously been replaced so possible rear end shunt or even just a love tap. Would such an old recorded incident put you off buying or as as it's such a while ago would you be concerned?
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Dec 20, 2021 19:07:46 GMT
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Depends if it’s cheap
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Dec 20, 2021 19:08:28 GMT
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How old is the car?
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Dec 20, 2021 20:42:58 GMT
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Wouldn't bother me as C is an "uneconomical repair" and if it's fixed correctly some one else has done the work for you. Hopefully it's under priced.
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Dec 20, 2021 21:06:27 GMT
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Cat c could be substantial damage if the car was only young when it happened in 2009.
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Dec 20, 2021 21:42:27 GMT
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It depends how old it was in 2009, but the flip side is - it's been on the road for 12 years since it was repaired.
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Dec 20, 2021 22:22:05 GMT
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Slightly more expensive to insure and in the result of any loss, the total payout would be less than normal from the insurance company.
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Thanks for the feedback. It's a 1993 mercedes 190e & yes compared to the market it's cheap. So it was 17 years old when it had the accident. Depending on car values would they have written it off for say, a rear bumper & light cluster?
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New light and bumper from Benz plus labour may well have been an uneconomical repair for the insurer at the time.
🙂
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,192
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Cat c write off.ChasR
@chasr
Club Retro Rides Member 170
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Slightly more expensive to insure and in the result of any loss, the total payout would be less than normal from the insurance company. I've insured several C and Ds and it's never been more to insure them. Yes, the payout can be less due to the marker, but that's about it. As a matter of fact, my dad is insuring a Cat S Saab 9-3 that we brought back from the insurance company. My HPI clear Merc is more to insure. New light and bumper from Benz plus labour may well have been an uneconomical repair for the insurer at the time. 🙂 We forget W124s and W201s (190Es) were cheap cars back then. All cars were cheap. A nice 190E would have been £2k on a very good day, and Cosworth were closer to double that for a nice car. Today, they are well over double that respectively for both cars. Thus, a few panels would have written it off very easily, well beyond the value of the car in the insurance's eyes. This was when they used to try and pay out trade valuations too (i.e around £800 for the W201). For me, it wouldn't bother me, assuming a few things were the case -The car was cheaper to buy. Not a problem if you plan to keep the car for a long time -The repairs look fine, and everything aligns itself If the car is sold via an auction house, they'd warn you that it would sell for less money due to the marker. On a 190E, I'd be checking for rust everywhere frankly. That would be how I'd determine if I'd buy the car.
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Dec 21, 2021 11:29:04 GMT
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in this situation it wouldn't bother me whatsoever, I don't think I've ever bought a cat C but I have/do own two that became cat C (one I bent thoroughly myself a year later...) the other I ran for another year without even fixing it, just ran it as it was with a dented wing and tweaked inner wing, just tugged the wing back out till it didn't rub on the bonnet.
other factors took that car off the road since then, 8 years later the VIC scheme is long gone so I'm not sure what will happen when I need to put it back on the road..
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Dec 21, 2021 11:35:04 GMT
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i think you just have to apply for the v5 when putting a Cat C (Now Cat S I believe) back on the road. I remember taking things for VIC, they were a pain.
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69 Plymouth Fury Convertible 75 Range Rover 2 door 82 Range Rover 4 door 84 Range Rover 4 door 78 Datsun 120Y 2 door 78 Datsun 120Y Coupe 78 Datsun 620 Pickup 81 Datsun Urvan E23 86 Datsun Vanette van 98 Electric Citroen Berlingo 00 Electric Peugeot Partner 02 Electric Citroen Berlingo 76 Honda C50 04 Berlingo Multispace petrol 07 Land Rover 130 15 Nissan E-NV200 15 Fiat Ducato
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Dec 21, 2021 13:35:08 GMT
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It's a 1993 mercedes 190e & yes compared to the market it's cheap. In that case it wouldn't bother me, at that age a litre of paint could tip it over.
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EmDee
Club Retro Rides Member
Committer of Autrocities.
Posts: 5,920
Club RR Member Number: 108
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Cat c write off.EmDee
@emdee
Club Retro Rides Member 108
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Dec 21, 2021 14:59:25 GMT
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Nobody has mentioned that a cat C (now called an S) is for structural damage, so if it was just a bumper and some taillights as above it would have been classed as a cat D instead. I daily drive a cat D and put my family in it happily, just bear in mind it would have been a considerable shunt to be classed as a C.
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,712
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Cat c write off.Dez
@dez
Club Retro Rides Member 34
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Dec 21, 2021 15:00:07 GMT
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It can effect values and make cars difficult to resell, and will undoubtedly negatively effect any agreed value if the car is worthy of such a thing.
You really need to have some paperwork to back up what was damaged and replaced. I had a b3 Passat wagon that was cat C, the car was absolutely mint, every panel was original and perfectly straight with no filler, and as far as me and a couple of professional sprayers could see, had never had paint. Every light/lens on it was genuine VW and matched in colour. No one could figure out why it was a cat C but every prospective buyer was very wary of it and tried to use it to half the price. I ended up swapping for another car in the end to get shut.
If resale value isn’t an issue then go for it, otherwise it’ll cause problems if/when you want to move it on.
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,712
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Cat c write off.Dez
@dez
Club Retro Rides Member 34
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Dec 21, 2021 15:02:58 GMT
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Nobody has mentioned that a cat C (now called an S) is for structural damage, so if it was just a bumper and some taillights as above it would have been classed as a cat D instead. I daily drive a cat D and put my family in it happily, just bear in mind it would have been a considerable shunt to be classed as a C. Not strictly true. Most insurance assessors haven’t got a bloody clue and will over categorise to cover their . A friends van was given a cat C because someone nicked the cat off it. Literally a bolt on part.
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Dec 21, 2021 15:15:01 GMT
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Is all of this still the case for the new cat N? I've been looking for a new car for the wife and seen some bargain price cat Ns. I'm not particularly concerned about resale value but would it cost more/be difficult to insure?
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67 VW Split bus 69 Beetle Cab 96 Jeep Cherokee XJ Sport
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Dec 21, 2021 15:20:25 GMT
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Most insurance assessors haven’t got a bloody clue That was certainly my experience from the only occasion I have had to deal with one. The 'report' wasn't worth the paper it was printed on as he had made up most of it.
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Last Edit: Dec 21, 2021 15:20:38 GMT by Paul H
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Dec 21, 2021 16:09:21 GMT
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Most insurance assessors haven’t got a bloody clue That was certainly my experience from the only occasion I have had to deal with one. The 'report' wasn't worth the paper it was printed on as he had made up most of it. That was definitely the case when a mate had an XR2 he'd only owned for a fortnight stolen. Despite the insurance accepting his valuation, they decided it had been a cat C after he made a claim, and reduced the payout, regardless of the fact he didn't know, and bought from a dealer....
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Dec 21, 2021 17:28:34 GMT
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Nobody has mentioned that a cat C (now called an S) is for structural damage It wasnt, it used to be for cost of repairs. My friend used to buy and sell salvage car's & loads of the older cat C stuff had daft things like a cracked bumper - which he used to fix with ductape lol. I have seen old cat C car's with cracked bumpers & 6 month old car's with the front end ripped off & engine ripped out with a cat d marker. It's why we now have cat N & S
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