Should You Buy a DAMAGE REPAIRED Car?
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
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Today we're discussing buying an accident damaged car: should you buy one?
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Mat Armstrong just entered the chat
😂
Had to check the comments to make sure someone had posted this.
Best comment
If Mat hadn't' taken off he'd be broke by now. Those early cars weren't exactly money makers.
He is good at what he does. A content producer on you tube. I doubt many or any of those cars will be on the open market.
I've been completely shafted recently. My Ford Focus was written off after hitting a deer on a country road back in March. I was under pressure to get a replacement so I did my due diligence and did the VCheck thing and paid £6K cash for a Ford C-Max. I noticed that the cam-belt hadn't been done (75K and 10 years) so got the Dealer to do that (we agreed 50/50 split on costs) before I would drive it away.
Within a fortnight of picking it up and with the brief advent of warmer weather, I noticed the aircon didn't work. The Dealer booked it into a local garage. Warranty wouldn't cover it and Dealer wouldn't pay out even though it wasn't fit for purpose (needed new condenser plus re-gas) further £260.00 shelled out by your's truly. About 3 weeks ago I was hoovering the car out prior to what was going to be a few days down in Devon and on lifting the driver's mat noticed it was completely sodden underneath. I booked it into my garage this time for a check over. Transpired the heating management system had been completely bodged with jubilee clips etc and coolant was seeping into the car. Again warranty wouldn't cover it and Dealer refused to pay. Tried to get hold of Trading Standards but you have to go through Citizens Advice. They said I might have a case but it would take a long time to sort out.
In the end I traded in the C-Max for a Peugeot 2008 (2018 plate) from my trusted local garage. It would have cost me near enough £1k to repair the C-Max. I have lost about £3K in this deal. My garage have given me 6 months warranty but told me quite honestly that I have been treated appallingly by the other local dealer. They said anything goes wrong and we'll just sort it whether the warranty covers it or not because our reputation matters. This is why some people have good experiences and others don't and I don't know what I could have done other than been without a car for months while I went through a legal process to recoup the costs. The C-Max I traded in they will put to auction because they just wouldn't sell it to one of their customers. Has left a pretty sour taste in my mouth, especially as I opted to use a local dealer rather than one of the larger more impersonal car warehouses.
Interested to know your take on my sad and sorry saga Matt....should I have got the Ford Focus repaired first and then traded it or would I have been better to have gone more upmarket and taken a loan in the first place to negate the bad experience with the C-Max?
Consumer rights are, to all practical intents and purposes, theoretical. I had a similar experience to you where I was actually lied to about the car's condition, but it was down to me to prove it. I didn't have the time or money to go to court so just had to swallow it. You only have the dealer's morals to rely on if you want problems solved. Citizen's advice were utterly useless and I had to hang up on one of them before I said something offensive on one call. I haven't bought a used car from a dealer in over 10 years. I would now but I understand that I have no protection or peace of mind over a private sale.
Crikey, some of those examples are astounding. I have bought older cars, like MB W124s that were Cat D, but the notional value was so low that even a new headlight and fitting from MB would write it off, whereas I would have bought a secondhand unit from Ebay. However, that Ferrari, jeepers...
It's a strangely satisfying process, you get the satisfaction of fixing a good car. You search for 2nd hand panels get them sprayed and away you go. Don't go near a car that's been structurely hit unless you know your way around a jig. Plenty of back street garages that fix bent chassis legs without going anywhere near a jig. I used to fix cat C cars just for a hobby years ago. Recently bought a Merc C class wagon C250 cgi amg spec, 43k miles, light front corner panel damage for 2 grand, cost me a grand in parts and paint. Drives lovely for a fraction of the price!
Had a customer who was insurance assessor. Showed me his laptop. Every car with most common fixes and prices repair garages would get to fix it, fixed costs insurance would pay out.. I could see how easy they write off cars.
I've been following Salvage Rebuilds UK Channel since day one and these guys repair some right broke up auto's to an amazing standard . Your channel and theirs are my favourite you should try doing a video together it would be really interesting if you bought and sold a car from them just as an exercise be good content.
Would be more than happy to buy from them, as you can see exactly what they have done to get the vehicle back on the road. It's all there on video to see. I do skip through the Car Vertical advert, and some of the time lapse sections, and didn't care for the trip to Car Vertical HQ, but otherwise fritter away an hour or so each week watching their handiwork.
I think there's quite a distance between them though - Chris and Rob are based in Kent, so they're not exactly on Matt's doorstep. Would be interesting to see if Matt could get a higher price than Rob though...
*Buying a car that's been written off can be a perfect way to get the car of your dreams for a far more reasonable price. These days insurance companies will write off a car for the smallest things like a wing but for them its major because they've to buy the parts from the dealer were a normal person doesn't have to and can shop around for those parts write offs just have a bad stigma*
no the stigma is most come from Birmingham
@@longbar2344 planning on buying a cat s MG ZS from Birmingham right now 😂 what do you mean by that?
@bobbyprice9855 how do u know know this???????
@@bobbyprice9855 I'd avoid Cat S TBH. Lots more risk of badly repaired / cobbled repairs having a massive effect on the car's safety.
@@bobbyprice9855 well?
I’d rather buy a “written off” car with minor damage and fix it up rather than get a dealership trade in where it’s quite possible that they’re only trading it in knowing that it has a hidden fault waiting to happen. I don’t understand why people would part exchange their car for a below value price to a dealer unless they know something’s about to go wrong with it.
Very useful .
My RCZ was damaged a few weeks ago whilst parked. The most minor of scrapes to the front bumper , things could easily have been much worse. Luckily the driver of the other vehicle owned up. The local body shop quoted about £600 to remove / prepare /paint / refit the whole front bumper panel . That quote nearly doubled when insurers got involved. To my amazement the other driver’s insurers accepted the higher quote even though they had seen the cheaper quote .
I’ll be interested to do a car vertical check on my car to see what comes up.
And,unlike me , don’t forget to check your dash cam if your car is hit.
Nice video Matt. It would be a laugh to send the crash damage picture to the eBay seller and offer him half of what he was asking for it.
This is a very good video. I would never touch a cat S car but it's interesting and horrifying to see the damage some cars have received. Maybe a cat N with light damage will be a best option for a cheap everyday car that you will keep until it doesn't go on anymore
I bought a Cat D Grand C-Max almost 5 years ago, the front passenger side corner had been damaged and repaired. Price wise, it was about 50% cheaper than a non Cat car. It's been spot on for over 60k miles, and it will just get run into the ground, or by the time we sell it, it will be worth so little the Cat will hardly matter
Thats the right mentality imo
Sponsorship bullshit. Used carvertical 10 times.. never had photo's shown and never had an detailed and accurate damage description. Once they put 10000e damage written on the car, and I had the invoice of the repaired damage on 800e. That was the last time I used carvertical. Total and expensive bs.
Flood Damage - best to avoid as most cars will have suffer damage to electronics and that can be difficult to remedy. Cars are designed to resist rainwater but flood damage can be tricky to tell what has been affected.
I watch, or used to watch because he doesn’t seem to do videos now, a Russian guy who rebuilds Ferraris, Lambos, McLarens etc. He would not touch anything that had been in salt water because of the extra corrosion. But Sergei at Real Life Exotics will have a go at anything, including non salt flood damage 😀
I've bought some cars from Copart with a very minimal damage like side scratch or damaged wing etc. Never had any issues with them and they sold fine.
Like you said all depends on the price.
That’s true
Where i work we used to do bodywork for Fiat main dealer and we used to get tons of brand new cars with less than 50 miles on the clock in for paint like dents on wings ,bumpers and doors, most still had foam blocks on the doors and plastic everywhere, so even buying new from dealer you never know.
I've owned a few damaged cars in the past but I have never had a problem getting insurance on any of them, one of my first cars was a cat C fiesta when i was 20 and the insurance was like £2500 but that was also the same price as a none damaged version of the car.
Really enjoyed this video.
Interesting piece. I have purchased 4 cat N cars and have never had problems insuring any of them on fully comp. In all 4 cases, the cars were damaged when I got them and they have all gone on to give good service. I have a Hyundai IX20 which I repaired and has been in my 'fleet' for 3 years and is an absolute gem. One thing that is an anomaly (in my view) is if I were to have a newish car that I damaged, there is a good chance that the insurer will have it repaired and it will not be categorised thus when it comes to resale, leaving those who are not in the know with a car which does have a past! The thing that does really annoy me is the requirement for insurers to fit all new parts following damage. My partners Astra was recently written off as cat N because they decided that to replace the tailgate would cost £5,500. We bought the car back and found a replacement tailgate in colour which was fitted for £350 - crazy!
I've had a cat D car before... it had been keyed all down one side. estimate was probably to repaint the entire car from a high end bodyshop so it was an easy right off. The paint was perfect and I knew it was basically no worse than any car that had had some random scratch//stonechip repair so was a no brainer really.
At the right price and managing the expectations of resale value (if it’s not a forever car) you can get a right deal, using a decent vehicle history checker is key.
i have a cat c , 8j , that i spend £5k on it 4 years ago (on quite a bargain) and still runs absolutely fine. Do not really get why people afraid of them so much. if you have a small idea about cars a drive and an inspection will let you know if you want to buy it or not
Some years ago, my sister and her husband bought a Vauxhall that turned out to be two cars welded together. A history check would definitely have been wise. Three years ago, I bought a motorbike from a dealer that had been written off with cosmetic damage. I bought it at a great price, he even knocked a further £500 off without any prompting from me. A great dealership.
If you are looking for a car to use and keep for a while then cat n is a great way to go if you are on a budget.
The most I've paid for a car is my current 2006 C180 kompressor. I paid £1650 five years ago. Before that (in the late nineties) I bought a G reg Sierra LX (my first car with electric windows).
I do tend to run my cars into the ground and would definitely (based on this video) consider a Cat N (maybe even an S).
As mentioned, the issue may be getting insurance
Great video as always Matt - always worth mentioning that uninsured cars (including high-end ones) are crashed and repaired all the time and won’t appear on ANY car history ‘checking’ website…..my advice, if you are spending more than say £8-£10k is to get the car professionally inspected….if the private seller or dealer resists this, walk away
@@user-ci2se2lj1t 🤣
I will buy a salvage car, if it's crashed already I will not lose money when I wreck it myself - Barry 22, rolled 3 cars in the past 12 Months
😂 Fair enough
If the car is priced right and it’s been repaired properly by people who know what they are doing then they are bargains. I don’t mind a salvage car cat N or cat S doesn’t matter to me as long as it’s cheap!
I run a Cat D car. I saw photos of it after its accident. The repairer showed me his shop and the certifications of his body work team. It had 13,000 miles on it and its now done 67,000 miles after five years and is maintained as if it were a new car. Have there been any glitches that I could put down to the bash it had and the repair. The honest answer is one or two for definite, but nothing insurmountable or super critical. As a car it's been great. Has it washed it's face financially ? Well I think so.....just. The longer I run it the closer the residual becomes to an unwritten off car, so if I keep it eight years the relative values won't be that different. It had a new sill, a new B pillar and front and rear doors. Critically the roof was undamaged so the shell integrity was good enough to repair. Did I have misgivings..yes. Has it been a good car..yes.
This explains the reason why people save a tidy sum, for a deposit and buy themselves a shining new Skoda or Renault Clio. Good review by the way.
My low mileage MG TF was written off when I swerved into a ditch to avoid an idiot approaching on my side of the road. The insurance company gave me a fair price - £2000 - then after talking to their engineer I bought it back for £430 (delivered to my local garage) who charged a further £400 to repair it (new anti roll bar and minor scrapes and paint). The insurance company would not repair it as new parts are not available. As soon as it was repaired and passed a new MoT with no advisories, it was back on fully comp insurance. A very good insurance company - Direct Line.
Good one, Matt - I've often thought about buying a written off car, but haven't had the courage... But, as you say, at around £5k, it could be worth it if I was going to run it into the ground in a few years... 👍
No I wouldn't bother
@@mattlawton4715 why
@@yowhaatsup I have my reasons.
Interesting story i heard a few years ago. Lady in America bought a brand new car from a premium dealer then after a year or so bumped it resulting in a new wing. When she went to collect it she was asked when she'd bumped it before as it had previously had the wing repaired. Turns out it had been bumped on the ship from Germany and been fixed by the American dealer. She sued, and was awarded.....................................25 million dollars. Judge ordered that the dealer should have not sold her an inferior product.
I bought an Aston Martin without checking its history. I found out later that only the front end was an Aston. Turns out it was two cars welded together. The back end was a Transit van. I never thought to have a look at the back when I bought it but when I checked the rear barn doors gave it away. Someone also pointed out later that the front was silver and the rear was red. Another tell tale sign. You have to be vigilant.
Thanks for the insightful review of such purchases. I was very much interested but now know the threshold to let go on such bargains.
The biggest mistake folk make these days is buying cars unseen online.
(unless it's a reputable dealer)
They think it's cool and time saving just to tap a few keystrokes and get it delivered and get down the pub ASAP.
View the car in person !!!
I take a powerful torch and a carry mat to view the car underneath before even opening any doors or test driving it.
I might get some strange looks but I've had the last laugh over the 40 years of buying and selling cars by not buying a total lemon/basket case.
The underside is a total giveaway where accident repairs are concerned.
If you don't know what to look for on a viewing my advice is to take a knowledgeable person with you or pay for a professional inspection.
It may save you £1000's long term.
I know someone who makes a living buying unrecorded write offs, doing them up and selling them on. So be aware that there are many cars on the road that have undergone major repairs but won't show up on these reports.
That’s true
Forget my last, you just answered my cost of insurance question !
Great content and very informative 👍👍
Matt, should we be doing a Vehicle History Check on a new car as well? I ask this based on the example you gave on the batch of new £120k cars.
Well if its brand new then there's no need, a one or two year old car isn't really necessary to do one but if you want to be safe then go for it
Quick answer: If you are savvy with cars in general, go for it with careful inspection.
If not, it is a pure gamble.
Have you every watched Matt Armstrong's channel? This is what he does and creates a lot of content from the restoration process. With most of his projects, he cleverly raffles them off. I guess he makes a good money from this and has none of the issues moving them on. its interesting to watch, but I'd wouldn't put my family in anything thats been put back on the road this way. Anyways... All good stuff Matt.
How do you know the next car you buy hasn't had an insurance approved repair ? The difference between one of those and a write off is often only money.
@@timhancock6626 Hi, I guess the answer to your question is 'I wouldn't knowingly buy one' The best thing about buying a new car is the looking , searching, pricing, test driving, checking out the back-story, talking to colleges, giving them a good coat of looking over and paying the market value. Its all part of 'due diligence' and if the worst was to happen then I can sleep at night knowing that I didn't cut corners. Its the same for tyres and brakes etc. And as you refere to its often only money well theirs the biggest clue, after rebuilding several cars and many motorcycles. The cost to restore them to OEM is not financially viable, so you have to make choices. There is no 'Quality Assurance' from the guy on the drive or back street garage out for a few quid. Anyways stay safe my friend.
Thanks Matt, great vid and lots of detail. Personally anything involved in a significant collision, even if it were cheap I would avoid. As you rightly say, cheap is different to value, and just because something is cheap doesn’t mean it’s good.
I would not go there even at the lower end. Work done a few years ago comes back and bites you; rust appearing on split joints or bodges. Paint on panels peeling, misting or fading. Then you have all the safety features even on an older car, did they replace the airbags properly or leave the old ones and cheat the wiring?
Look at crash test videos, the whole car flexes on impact. Easy to have a bent subframe, or something throwing the alignment out. Had it myself and the car chewed up tyres in no time.
The downside is too much given you cannot make on it on resale.
Probably also encourages trade in non-recorded repairs being done.
Mat Armstrong would disagree with you Matt...
Written off cars often get a bad rep as there are some shocking ones out there. However, there are also some amazing bargains. You need to do your checks and just ask the seller. If they don't know hopefully sites like vcheck will show something. If not... Get it checked from head to toe. I've had Cat D cars before. I also had a Cat X which was stolen recovered and was fine. Looking to buy another. Hit in the front wing. Wing damaged, light might be broken and the wheel looks like the wishbone may have gone. Its a cat N. It's a risk but that's where you have to make sure you are not paying over the odds as at the moment people are paying stupid prices even for Salvage cars which makes no sense. If all goes well I'll have the car fixed and on the road for 75% of the actual cost of what the same Cat N/S cars are going for. Versus a non crashed car its potentially a 65-70% saving. So I think its worth it. If after a year Im not a fan of it Ill just sell it and maybe make a small profit or even break even.
Brilliant video thank you. 😀
This is interesting because I'm looking at a 330I E92 for 4.8k CAT S, and for the spec and year they're typically 10k...
It’s not worth the aggro.
Rusty bolts. Bad panel gaps. Odd wind noises at speed, electrical gremlins.
Best get off getting the newest that you can afford, but on condition.
I was looking for a new car myself a few weeks ago.
I still see the ones we viewed still for sale because, they were tatty or badly presented, odd tyres, missing history
Always depends upon who you buy it from - I watch a channel called salvage rebuilds uk, and I would not hesitate to buy a damage repaired car from them.
Their rebuilds are about as close to factory fresh as you could hope to get, and the fact that they show pretty much everything they do to each car on their channel is a credit to them. (I think Rob's Ferrari is a salvage rebuild he did, so he's not afraid to trust his own handiwork on a high-end car.)
@@Stormy177 Totaly agree. Their repairs are to a very high standard - Chris is highly skilled in all types of bodywork repairs. I think you could buy with confidence from them.
Love em!
Would be more than happy to buy from them, as you can see exactly what they have done to get the vehicle back on the road. It's all there on video to see. I do skip through the Car Vertical advert, and some of the time lapse sections, and didn't care for the trip to Car Vertical HQ, but otherwise fritter away an hour or so each week watching their handiwork.
Absolutely , I wouldn't hesitate to buy one from them.
Take a paint thickness gauge it will give you a good idea if it’s been painted and if it’s also had filler. Saved me a few times.
"Who's going to spend 65 grand on a car that's been rolled?"......my mate Jeff. He's a bell end.
Very interesting video, I never realised a private buyer didn't have to disclose a previous CAT designation.
Good advice. In my opinion, Cat S cars can be tricky in that, even when seemingly well repaired, it is possible that there is underlying structural weakness that just won't be revealed except if the vehicle is involved in another shunt and you might not want to be onboard for that event. The Cat Ns are, at the right price point and if repaired by a good repairer, an excellent value proposition that allows you to seriously upgrade your car choice and is all but indistinguishable from a perfect excample.
My own 3 series I used as an example at the end was recorded as a Cat S which was mad
@@HighPeakAutos Seems rather harsh unless a chassis rail or a structural boot floor pan was turned into a pretzel.
I wouldn't have them in your portfolio. Don't do it
You didn’t mention ”stolen / recovered”…. These listed as old cat D / new N…. Cars taken with remote cloning will have no damage to wiring or body and so could be a good a buy. Indeed, I think they need a different category as provenance is tarnished needlessly
Stolen/recovered is Cat X on salvage sites (and Cat X doesn't appear on a vehicle's history/paperwork I believe, unlike Cat N/S).
A couple of other things to factor in when looking at damage repaired cars, quite often you find they don’t come with any service history, and they only have one key, this is because they get taken away after an accident and just come with whatever was with the car at the time.
Good point,, my daughters golf gti was written off, but could have been repaired, wing,light, bonnet,, I've still got the spare key, full vw service book,and all receipts,, if I knew where it ended up I'd send it all over👍
Interesting video, I recently bought a Jag XF V8 with 49k miles on it that is a "salvage title car" although it was never categorized or anything it just got sold through a salvage auction because it has a scratch on the door. Anyway, It cost me £5300 and I am now daily driving it, it needs a new rocker cover gasket and a full service which I'm having done at a specialist which I assume will cost about £1k is worst case and then I'm left with a low mileage portfolio spec jag for £6k because it had a scratch on the door and scruffy alloys, feels like a good tradeoff for a daily you'd struggle to beat that budget wise I think.
The only thing I have noticed that is a pain is that even though my car isn't categorized or written off (clean v5c), because it has gone through a salvage auction for some reason at some point you are unable to sell it through the likes of motorway or carwow and webuyanycar would give you you nothing for it when the car is essentially undamaged which is mental.
I bought a category N 3 series. I can't complain - 2/3 of the retail price plus a freshly painted front bumper and wing 😁
If you think about it, you're probably more likely to get a mechanically sound car if you buy one that's just been written off and repaired, because it wouldn't have been a case of the previous owner trading it in because things were starting to go wrong with it
That’s a good point actually. I hadn’t thought about that
Well said clearly know your stuff
Is insurance high on cat N cars?
Yes but then there's the electronic gremlins after a crash and repair... Sometime they take a while to surface
@@Diongreco No, I own two cars that have at some point been writen off 9not by me), never had problems with insurance, had insurance with Admiral, Coop, Sage, currently with M&S.
Just bought a Mini Cooper on a 64 plate with 37k miles for £3900. Non Cat D is 9 to 10k with the same miles. (As of today). Well happy. It's been looked after full mini service history.
Keeping it for 2y then just auction it. Or scrap. Thanks Matt. Your advice is gold as always.
I crashed a brand new at the time VW Polo into the towbar on the back of a Freelander. Due to the age of the car it was fully repaired. Needed a lot of front end repairs including a radiator, intercooler, horn, bumper and maybe some engine work. Ran its reg and its still being used by a new owner.
I recently bought a cat S. E92 335d. Poorly repaired and quite neglected. But i have been restoring it to its former glory and will keep forever.
I run my own car body repair and paint business and it wouldn't put me off buying a car for my self. I bought a Vauxhall Vectra SRI that was a cat D and had a damaged bumper and busted headlight. Fixed it with a bumper and light off ebay and I kept it for about 5 years
Your in an ideal position there Dan.
This price thing is madnes I am selling a 10 year old car that is in really really good condition not even a car park dent no curbed wheels etc etc etc I have now had 3 people round and have said the same thing I can get one cheaper elsewhere but then they tell you the other car has done more milage is probably in not ass good condition
and it is a few miles away but its £500 cheaper with less M.O.T. what do they want me to say ???
I totally agree with you
I have repaired salvage. Gave up due to all the RUclips wannabe copart victims that are totally clueless pushing the prices up. The last car I repaired, CAT S 2.5 years ago and still have it and should have been CAT N I crashed it last year and my insurance repaired it no issues and the damage was far worse than when I bought it. The VW/Audi stuff ends up in Yorkshire and the cars seem to have the alloys refurbished in black, stupid red brake calipers, stupid tinted windows and wind deflectors and are basically scrap as who would buy that messed up look
buying a written off car is like LTR'ing a single mother
I own/run a car salvage yard you would be surprised at some of the car that come in that are written off, absolutely nothing wrong with them and most parts are readily available so bolt parts on especially with same colour you're onto a winner!
There's a channel called UK salvage rebuilds and they do amazing work on damaged cars
Great advise, agree with all of what you said having bought several damaged cars at the start of my driving career. My first few cars I bought damaged and got local bodyshops to repair them, being in N.ireland labour is a bit cheaper than in England, and at one time you could put a car back on the road for less than half price but they always had niggly faults, quite often electrical. Now I'm spending a bit more on cars I tend to stay clear. Car vertical has saved me from a few mistakes though, so cheers Mat.
Moral of the story; buy a Range Rover??!
Absolutely adore bangers. If I want a nice car I'll hire it
BE CAREFUL ABOUT ANY DAMAGE WHATSOEVER! I had a concrete lorry back into one of my cars. The bumper was pushed in but immediately popped back out. Minor damage to the front edge of the bonnet was the biggest visable damage. But when I raised the bonnet, the radiator had been pushed into the engine block. The car was fixed and paid for by the concrete lorry's insurance company. Subsequently, I have had ongoing headaches related to this accident, and have spent maybe as much a GBP5k on related under-bonnet repairs. More than the car is worth. And it's still not really fixed. With hindsight, I should have done things differently. I wouldn't want to buy a car that had similar damage. Therefore, only the most minor damage that hasn't come into contact with key components should be considered. It's not just structural damage you need to consider. Most of these damaged cars look WAY worse than my car, yet my car has not only cost a small fortune, and caused unnecessary stress, but has also consumed a lot of unnecessary time. AVOID. DO NOT BE TEMPTED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
I remember, one day, maybe in 1987. First snow in Oslo, I was driving a 123 series 300D. A woman crashed into my car. I was able to drive slowly to the repair shop. It was a Friday, very late, and they let me in. The car was really damaged, but it was drivably. Two hours later, it had a new wing, new lights, and it could go for the weekend duties.
This is essentially a 16 minute car vertical advert
AKA a sponsored video
Not sure why your car vertical report looks a damn sight better than mine my purchase was a cat N but shows no photos and simply says unknown for damage and nothing else . Rather disaponting really ? Though must admit i was not aware of the Cat N i am at least aware now .
I watch a lot of UK car repair videos and a significant minority of the cars needing repair were described as "Clean title". Personally I have bought Cat N but would avoid Cat S unless there was an exceptional justification. Example, apparently Aygo etc. cars with a dented rear quarter cannot be repaired since no repair panel is available. That might be OK if you can live with the dent/damage yourself - left unrepaired and it is nowhere near suspension etc.
Absolutely - either live with it (get a new MOT for piece of mind) or get it repaired and then MOT'd. With the construction method for some cars, a minor rear corner bash could be considered a write off (however minor the damage) simply because the insurer would insist on a complete panel (which could be huge part of the bodyshell.....) replacement - wich makes the labour costs, hire car costs, parts etc. huge.
Great video. Personally I wouldn’t touch a damaged car with a barge pole. Too much grief with insurance, in life problems and resale value. I would rather pay a premium and get one with no issues. As you say ‘buying on value’ not ‘on price’. I suspect a large portion of the write off / repair market operates on the basis of daft customers not doing vehicle checks and getting duped by the unscrupulous private and retail sellers. A very valuable video, you will no doubt save save some unsuspecting purchaser from getting stroked. 👍
Great video! I totally get it why people are tempted for the lower price, horses for courses. I doubt loan companies would lend on CAT vehicles?
Thanks for the advice, Matt. Is it easier to insure a CAT N as opposed to CAT D?
There’s no difference
Hey Matt do you recommend any body shops in the midlands for my 05 accord type s (purchased after your video on them)
In relation to high-end cars, 25% less could mean the difference between driving your dream car and having to settle for something else, so I can see the appeal. As you say, you'll have to price it with a similar discount when you sell it on, but at least by then you might have had the chance to say "I owned a Ferrari" rather than "I have never owned a Ferrari because I couldn't afford a clean one, although I could afford a salvage repaired one".
I've little doubt that you'll be successful enough to own pretty much any car you fancy at some point, but not everyone achieves their ambitions so they have to consider compromises instead...
Fantastic video!!!!
Good advice. Thx
very informative ,,could you tell me when you purchase a carvertical lot ,,of think it was 5 reports ? is there a time limit you have to use them ,,? i have asked them with no response ,,
Thanks for giving a clear opinion. It's always tempting to get more car for your money, however the price is set for a reason.
8:40 I used to know someone who imported brand new pick-ups to the UK with a rear passenger bench and sold them. One of them was stolen, joy-ridden and trashed. They repaired the truck and sold it as new. Apparently it's legal, but it was a real eye-opener for me.
Good video Matt. The key for me is how well the repair has been done.. and you’ll seldom have the answer to that. Behind the paint where have corners been cut? As you said unless very very light damage then avoid BUT how many cars are not recorded on the register, eg third party or no claim made and they’re even more worrying!
All I'd say is a vehicle history check doesn't tell you if it's been involved in an accident. It tells you if it's been written off. You could buy a vehicle with a 'clean history' which has been involved in a heavier incident than a 'written off vehicle'.
Well said excellent point. So many cars sold through big dealers as legit and have a shady past
Matt, could do you do a video on the first time driver market? Maybe include 4 or 5 cars that you’d suggest are A reliable B good to drive C cheap enough to insure .. etc etc
I’m just about to jump into this market for my eldest son and I want to help him .. issue is I had very little knowledge on ‘hair dryers’ 😂
Cheers mate 👏
Hi There. Matt did a video in Feb this year on the subject. "Top 10 Best First Cars Under £3,000". Hope this helps.
@@normanstephens5391 cheers Norman .. appreciate that
Hi mat
The cat C and D was dropped because it didn’t give the consumer a transparent idea of the history . The C and D refererred only to the economics of the claim so an old car could be a cat c for bumper damage etc
The idea behind s and and n is non structural ( bolt on ) and structural for anything welded on . S appears on the v5 and N doesn’t , cars sold on auto trader should show the cat as it’s displayed by the auto trader computer and can’t be removed by the seller - although some sellers use a different reg no when placing the ad to hood wink the computer .
If the customer is looking for a cheap car or van a cat vehicle can get them a much newer vehicle at a better budget point possibly 50 % off it’s true value
Hope that helps
That makes sense
Dealers don't like category cars cus they can't put finance on them
Many years ago a friend of a friend ran a body shop. We were there having a brew and a chin wag when a transporter turned up bearing new vehicles from a main manufacturer. A couple of cars were rolled off into the workshop for body repairs before they went to the dealer’s showroom for sale to the unsuspecting public. Apparently a regular source of business for the body shop. It happened back then and I’d be very surprised if it doesn’t still go on today.
Brand new mclarens get delivered a mile from me to get touch ups before they go to the buyer, one of the workers blew the clutch on one and it went up in my flames lol
It happens inside the factories too. No names but where I used to work had a section called rectification where damage caused on the main production line, or when the vehicles were being moved about in storage, was, well, rectified. So some people got cars straight from the factory which already had filler and paint. I would not be surprised if this was replicated at every large manufacturer. Because they're not going to recycle a vehicle just for a dent or scrape.
@@Haawser years ago, I worked as a Saturday boy for a local rover main dealer. It was normal to fill dints or make raised bumps into dints to fill an paint. These were brand new cars, we once swopped all the bits that were useable off a car that fell off the top of the transporter onto its roof, rover sent up a new body shell with the same chassis number and me an the other Saturday boy did the parts swop cos it was school holidays! We must have done a good job because I don't remember it coming back.
Before VW took over Skoda I had a visit to their import and preparation depot which used to be in Kings Lynn. Of course they did rectifications to cars with minor transit damage and they had proper paint and bodywork facilities. All manufacturers do the same, and always have.
Cars are written off for very minor knocks my friend buys lots of them. Even 2 year old low mileage cars, lots of cars are been sold through auction as unrecorded by the insurance company to get more money, I have owned probably 25 damaged repaired cars and never had a problem
Interesting stuff. I`m much more cautious these days. Some 30 years ago I bought a VW Beetle from a dealer in Clayton, 9 months later when I took it in for an MOT it failed miserably as they said the whole floor pans front and back were fibreglass and even the seatbelt anchorages were mounted to this. The dealer was fined but it took 18 months to get him to court. I had to sell the car to a VW enthusiast who was going to re-build it with new floors, but I lost out after having to store the car for two years. So beware fibreglass floors and sills.
Cat A/B cars can technically be put back on the road, it happens with extremely high valued cars/exotics, where they essentially go through a complete monocoque rebuild/replace and its really the identity that is put back on the road, rather than the car... There are some very specialist insurers for these categories.
Matt turns on the car salesman hard sell for “car vertical “ must have a target 🎯 and he’s riding for the commission !😂😂
Would you like a paint protection coating for your car made from three sir ? 😂😂😂
Yes sir it’s a special edition buy one made from three !😂😂
No. Only hail/cosmetical damage. If there is strucual damage it could be dangerous if you crash it again.
Very informative. I’d say it’s all common sense really but as you mentioned Matt, people buy cars with their 👀 or their ❤️.. often not their 🧠 ! I’m summary, if paying cash and under £5k and keeping til it dies then def a good idea. Other than that I’d avoid
What a great video Matt, clear, logical and really informative. Thank you!!
I always think about the other components electronics etc in the car after an accident...imagine the jolt they must have got. Now imagine chucking your laptop down the stairs; even if it's still working, there's a good chance there are now areas of weakness which are more likely to fail
Buying potential trouble, proper dealers avoid like the plague. The backstreet bodger prevails. Third world crap! Places like Bradford thrive on such crap, buyer beware.
Have bought 3 cars with N or S cat for myself and family over the past 4 years. No issues insuring them...no noticeable hike in premiums over the norm.
I bought a cat N hot hatch and wouldn't recommend it unless you know you're gona keep it for a while. Like Matt said when you come to sell you're gona take a hefty loss. Even if they look too good to be true think long term. I'm unexpected things can happen where you may need to sell the car quickly and then you'll get stung. Save up and buy a normal car is my advice. Wish I had but never again. I'm surprised those cars were repaired as they looked totalled and uneconomical to repair but hats off to the ppl who did it.