I'm looking at a 58 plate s3 but it's a cat d should I be put off by this? Waiting on seller to get back to me with more info on the damage
Cat d cars
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Hard to say. For me personally I wouldn't go near any Cat car. Although I would fix a car I already owned , having peace of mind of knowing who and where has fixed the car would make the difference
Quite often, Cat D is not something to be worried about if you are happy to repair the parts that have been damaged. Quite often these would be stolen/recovered or suffered damage due to vandalism. Quite often minor damage cars are written-off as Cat D or C simply because the cost of repairing it is higher than the value of the car, which can be the case on some older Audis as original replacement parts are expensive.
If you know exactly what kind of damage you're dealing with and are comfortable dealing with putting it right or if it has been repaired, you know it's been done to a good standard, then why not get a bargain? Obviously, you can expect the value of the car to drop faster and generally be much lower than average for that model when you come to sell it on, plus selling a Cat car is normally more work than usual for obvious reasons.
I would not go near a Cat car as I'm not sure about my abilities to properly evaluate the damage and quality of repair, but if you're comfortable with the above, then why not?
If you know exactly what kind of damage you're dealing with and are comfortable dealing with putting it right or if it has been repaired, you know it's been done to a good standard, then why not get a bargain? Obviously, you can expect the value of the car to drop faster and generally be much lower than average for that model when you come to sell it on, plus selling a Cat car is normally more work than usual for obvious reasons.
I would not go near a Cat car as I'm not sure about my abilities to properly evaluate the damage and quality of repair, but if you're comfortable with the above, then why not?
The car is repaired already and looks ok from the pictures it's a 60 plate s3 sport back black edition with loads of extras and 60,000 for £11000 seems a good price but still waiting for the seller to get back to me
Good luck with it. Ideally if it was me I would like to see detailed photos of the damage caused, and also photos throughout the repair.
If this is not possible I would probably steer clear.
I just bought a cat c a3 looked like minimal damage but turned out to have quite a lot more damage.
I have a few amazing cat d cars and they are great but I repaired them all myself.
Seeing the original damage will either make you think wow no way am I buying that or you may think ok it looks very minimal and take a chance
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If this is not possible I would probably steer clear.
I just bought a cat c a3 looked like minimal damage but turned out to have quite a lot more damage.
I have a few amazing cat d cars and they are great but I repaired them all myself.
Seeing the original damage will either make you think wow no way am I buying that or you may think ok it looks very minimal and take a chance
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Here is a pic of he a3
Looks minimal, but because the impact was above the crash bar it has smashed everything up behind the grill and needs the whole front slam panel, rads fans, air box, bumper, light, grill, but o e thing is good there is no chassis damage as this is harder to repair.
One other thing with this car is that there is also oil in one coolant pipe which is baffling me right now, I wish I did not bid on the car without seeing it first but hopefully I won't loose out.
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Looks minimal, but because the impact was above the crash bar it has smashed everything up behind the grill and needs the whole front slam panel, rads fans, air box, bumper, light, grill, but o e thing is good there is no chassis damage as this is harder to repair.
One other thing with this car is that there is also oil in one coolant pipe which is baffling me right now, I wish I did not bid on the car without seeing it first but hopefully I won't loose out.
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What you have to think is that the car has been a total loss so the damage probably exceeded 80% or more of the value of the car. On a newer premium car such as the S3 that is a lot of damage. Sure you could be lucky and the car may have been stolen, locked in a shed for 2 months and then recovered and they have just replaced the locks and some glass. More likely the car has been involved in an accident and if you don't know the extent of the damage you have no way of knowing if it was just a lot of exterior panel damage or the car you are buying is actually 2 cars welded together.
Is this the car ? . Seems to match your description.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201704134379380?
As people have already said buying a Cat C or D car is a risk, indeed buying any secondhand car you are going into the unknown but with one that has already been previously written off it can come with a lot of hidden issues.
I would pay a little more and get a similar car that hasn't been a write off.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201704134404997?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/advice/the-truth-behind-category-d-insurance-write-offs/
If you own a Cat C or D car and it's written off again because it's stolen or involved in an accident you will receive a lot less than the value of an equivalent car that wasn't a write off. This is because the insurance industry has already payed out for that car once, It's actual value will probably be a lot less than you may have paid.
Is this the car ? . Seems to match your description.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201704134379380?
As people have already said buying a Cat C or D car is a risk, indeed buying any secondhand car you are going into the unknown but with one that has already been previously written off it can come with a lot of hidden issues.
I would pay a little more and get a similar car that hasn't been a write off.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201704134404997?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/advice/the-truth-behind-category-d-insurance-write-offs/
If you own a Cat C or D car and it's written off again because it's stolen or involved in an accident you will receive a lot less than the value of an equivalent car that wasn't a write off. This is because the insurance industry has already payed out for that car once, It's actual value will probably be a lot less than you may have paid.
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The thing to remember is what it may fetch when you sell it on.
As above,personally I wouldn't touch it,and you need at least the entire history and repairs list plus a full check before even thinking about it.
Yeah that's the one, i did think on a car like the s3 it would have to be a high repair bill to be wrote off.
don't stolen cars go on to a q plate if recovered didn't know they go down as a cat d
Thanks for the input I think I will swerve it hopefully il be in this section more often soon currently have a s3 8l
don't stolen cars go on to a q plate if recovered didn't know they go down as a cat d
Thanks for the input I think I will swerve it hopefully il be in this section more often soon currently have a s3 8l
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I work in trade body repair trade and I can see where people are coming from because I wouldn't get a cat car either, but having said that just because you're buying a 'straight' car doesn't mean it's straight! Some of the repair we do for insurance is beyond belief. So just remember even though it's not a cat car doesn't mean it's not been in a heavy collision previous.
Additionally you might want to think about insurance as some providers may charge extra for a CAT car. You seem to have a decent budget and hopefully you'll find something that's accident free. Just be a bit more patience 
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Jps3290
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As mentioned above re insurance. Some insurance companies won't even touch a cat c or d car which will limit you on cover and cost more. Something else to factor in.
I looked into before and decided to avoid cat c or d cars. Also handy if you can lend a light meter tool (cant remember correct name) that reads paint depth when buying a car. You can check yourself if any panels have a paint depth above or below what's expected on car from factory.
I looked into before and decided to avoid cat c or d cars. Also handy if you can lend a light meter tool (cant remember correct name) that reads paint depth when buying a car. You can check yourself if any panels have a paint depth above or below what's expected on car from factory.
The only cat c or d cars I would consider buying is if I will track the car or run it into the ground as a daily driver to work and back, otherwise its not a worth while investment, a good car with a perfect history is bad enough in depreciation, but 11k for a cat d car, no chance, give the car 3 years and it will be worth maybe 3/4k if you can find a buyer, as a good car with agood history will still be 10/11 if you buy at 15k,
So a good car pay now save later, or a bad car now, save now pay later.
So a good car pay now save later, or a bad car now, save now pay later.
What year do the facelift sportbacks start at
Also are the rnse a straight swap if already have Bluetooth (just coding)or is a harness required aswell
Also are the rnse a straight swap if already have Bluetooth (just coding)or is a harness required aswell
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I use buy cat d cars from copart, fix them and sell them on. I was genuine in the fact I fixed everything. I drove it for a few weeks to make sure it was bang on. Not everyone is the same, so just be careful
Forgot about Copart, you can see what some Cat D light damage vechicles look like.
https://www.copart.co.uk/lot/43074126
https://www.copart.co.uk/lot/43074126
Moxy89
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I purchased my car with rear quaters a different colour, I only noticed a few days after buying it, took it to two repair shops to check for accident damage, all the parts original and has just had a blow over, like above though so many cars have been bent and repaired on the side you never know a perfect car to a bent one! I see the local Audi dealership doing smart repairs on new cars
Never heard of a cat c or d costing extra for insurance. Just bought the daughter a 2012 Clio the with 30k miles with a dent in the rear door and the rear bumper pulled off the corner. I've changed the door and bumper myself and a local guy is now painting it. She' ll be keeping it a long time so it it is worth it. Never buy a car without seeing and test driving yourself, always ends in tears.
