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Old 23-12-2016, 13:45
Reserved
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My last car was a piece of crap - always had some sort of problem and it was a miserable experience to drive it (my first and only car).
Looking for a new car but only have £2,500 tops to spend. Found a decent (from my limited car knowledge) Toyota Yaris that was recommended by a friend for £2,500 (was £3,000 but my friend got 'mates rates' as he knows the seller). My friend knows a lot more about cars and has said it's brilliant for the price, but because they know each other I'm a little sceptical. I trust my friend which makes me want to move forward with the deal but there's a little niggle of doubt.

Went to look at it yesterday, only the seller (who owns a garage) mentioned it was Cat D which is where the doubt comes from.

Only spoke with him for a minute or so as it was a last minute thing and he was locking up so didn't have the chance to ask what happened/why it's Cat D.

I know this is like asking how long's a piece of string but just looking for general tips/advice as I'm pretty clueless about cars - I just want something that will be reliable and get me from A to B and can handle long/motorway journeys, nothing else comes into my decision making, really...
... except insurance! Reading up about Cat D cars, it seems some insurers won't even entertain the idea and the rest will have sky high prices.

Not got the reg to the car so can't look at some quotes, hence this thread. Is it worth going back to the garage to get more details and a test drive or not? Would you buy a Cat D car?

The garage is quite a journey so can't be bothered to hassle someone to take me there if the knowledgeable people of DS don't think it's worth it

Thanks, and Merry Christmas
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Old 23-12-2016, 14:00
KennedyC
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Why don't you buy a low mileage car that is getting on a bit. Around the £1500 mark and then use the £1000 left over to pay for a good service, new tyres, new exhaust and new brakes. You should then have a 6 to 8 year old car with 5 years of low bills.
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Old 23-12-2016, 14:31
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Why don't you buy a low mileage car that is getting on a bit. Around the £1500 mark and then use the £1000 left over to pay for a good service, new tyres, new exhaust and new brakes. You should then have a 6 to 8 year old car with 5 years of low bills.
The Toyota Yaris has 36,000 miles on it and is 2010 reg. Friend has assured me it'll have a long life (5+ years) and will, for the most part, be reliable and should just need servicing every year (the odd tyre might need changing etc.)

So does the Cat D label really outweigh the above that I should take your advice? If so, it answers my question perfectly...
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Old 23-12-2016, 15:39
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A lot depends on when it was Cat D'd.
Early in it's life and it would have needed quite a tidy shunt to have written it off.
Fairly recently and not so much.
I bought a Cat D once and we used it for a fair number of years with no problems
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Old 23-12-2016, 22:45
Jimmy Connors
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I've had a few Cat D cars. One - an elderly Honda Civic - was a really nice reliable car. It was Cat D due to needing a rear bumper. Quite low miles and drove like new. I put very high miles on that car and it never let me down.

Another Cat D I had was a recovered car that had been stolen. The original owner had been paid, so the car was just without any keys. Absolutely nothing wrong with it once the keys were sorted (by the seller)

Had some very good bargains. Just look them over very closely, and be prepared to walk away. If the panels do not line up, or the paint looks different on the panels, walk away. Plenty more to see.

I do tell my insurance they're Car D's but my insurance company are not interested and tell me it makes no difference to them.

I'd never touch a Cat C car.
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Old 23-12-2016, 23:02
Roush
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I'd never touch a Cat C car.
I've owned a couple of cat C's. The same principles apply. A decent inspection will tell you what you need to know.

The difference between C and D is only the ratio of the repair cost to the car's value. They do not denote a different severity of damage.

I've seen a car end up as a cat C purely because it needed manufacturer-only parts that cost a fortune. I could have gone to a breakers yard and bought the parts in good condition for about 5-10% of what the manufacturer charged for new ones.
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Old 23-12-2016, 23:06
Jimmy Connors
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I've owned a couple of cat C's. The same principles apply. A decent inspection will tell you what you need to know.

The difference between C and D is only the ratio of the repair cost to the car's value. Neither C nor D are a measure of the severity of the damage.

I've seen a car end up as a cat C purely because it needed manufacturer-only parts that cost a fortune. I could have gone to a breakers yard and bought the parts in good condition for about 5-10% of what the manufacturer charged for new ones.
That's interesting thank you.

I was just going by my insurance company, who refuse to insure Cat C's, yet do not even batter an eyelid about Cat D's.
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Old 23-12-2016, 23:16
blueisthecolour
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I have a cat D car, so does my mum and brother.

All it means is that you're taking a slightly bigger gamble than normal. There are no guarantees with cars (even buying brand new with a warrant doesn't prevent non-warranty issues costing you money). You can get a cat D car that is perfectly ok, you can get one that has a few issues that might be bigger problems down the line.
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Old 23-12-2016, 23:19
Roush
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That's interesting thank you.

I was just going by my insurance company, who refuse to insure Cat C's, yet do not even batter an eyelid about Cat D's.
Yeah some insurers do seem to be funny about it.
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Old 23-12-2016, 23:26
Gregory Shape
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I've had a Cat C and a Cat D car. Ironically the Cat C was far more reliable and I had considerably less trouble selling it!

As other posters have mentioned, a Cat D classification can be made for unbelievably trivial reasons. My advice would be to find out what the issue was before you go any further. Get it inspected if necessary, but I'd say 8 or 9 times out of 10 it's usually very little to worry about.
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Old 23-12-2016, 23:53
soap-lea
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The Toyota Yaris has 36,000 miles on it and is 2010 reg. Friend has assured me it'll have a long life (5+ years) and will, for the most part, be reliable and should just need servicing every year (the odd tyre might need changing etc.)

So does the Cat D label really outweigh the above that I should take your advice? If so, it answers my question perfectly...
Go on autotrader and search for toyota yaris's of a similar age and mileage and see what they are selling for.

Might give you an indication of whether the cat d has affected the price or not. It should have and by a long chalk.

Some insurers might ask to see a report detailing the adequacy of the report. Cant remember the correct name sorry!

Personally I wouldn't buy one, what if it was a cowboy mechanic that "fixed" it
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Old 24-12-2016, 04:01
Smufter
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Go on autotrader and search for toyota yaris's of a similar age and mileage and see what they are selling for.
Might give you an indication of whether the cat d has affected the price or not. It should have and by a long chalk.
Good advice.
Make sure you buy it cheap because despite what you might be told, you will receive a hefty kick in the gonads when you come to sell it on again.
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Old 24-12-2016, 08:41
David (2)
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This must be an earlier shape Yaris, one of the little ones.....series 1 and 2.
I personally wouldn't be happy driving one, especially on the motorway a lot. Even with the larger 1.3 petrol engine, they are not relaxing or particularly comfy. The series 1 doesn't feel planted on the road that well to me. Especially unplesent to drive in traffic.

Golf, Astra, focus would be my choice.
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Old 24-12-2016, 11:12
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Discovering the exact details of why an insurance company wrote-off a cat-c/d car can be a very difficult task for a prospective buyer;…even the task of finding out if a non cat-c/d car has suffered previous extensive accident damage/repair (paid for by insurance) is well nigh impossible for any prospective buyer.

A full HPI report will only tell you if the car was written-off as cat-d or cat-c,…no other specific details.

Buying a cat-d is is a leap of faith to be honest, and a cat-c is a definite no-no, IMHO;…however, opinions vary.

It may be worth noting that ‘car dealers’ are forced by law to disclose ‘cat c/d’ information on any advertisement;...however, what actually constitutes a ‘car dealer’ in the eyes of the law and the DVLA I really have no idea.

Private sellers DO NOT need to disclose ‘cat c/d’ information when advertising; however, they must disclose the info if you specifically ask the pertinent questions.

Bear in mind, regardless of the law, both private and trade sellers can sometimes be less than ‘upfront’.
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Old 24-12-2016, 13:08
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OP I personally wouldn't be too concerned with whether a car is Cat D. It's only an "uneconomical to repair" and not to do with safety. A lot depends on the value of the car at the time of the accident.

Think of it this way, I had an accident in a car that was under a year old. The front end was seriously smashed in, but it wasn't written off because it was nearly new.

A few years earlier than that, I had an accident in a 10 year old car, and it was written off despite only having a dented door.
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Old 24-12-2016, 13:20
Galaxy266
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Many Cat D cars are stolen/recovered and the insurance company have paid-out for a total loss before the car has been found.

Some may-well have absolutely nothing wrong with them but, there again, of course, if they've been really thrashed whilst in the hands of the their there's no telling what damage could have been caused. This wouldn't necessarily be visible or detectable.
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Old 24-12-2016, 14:06
bri160356
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I've had a few Cat D cars. One - an elderly Honda Civic - was a really nice reliable car. It was Cat D due to needing a rear bumper. Quite low miles and drove like new. I put very high miles on that car and it never let me down.

Another Cat D I had was a recovered car that had been stolen. The original owner had been paid, so the car was just without any keys. Absolutely nothing wrong with it once the keys were sorted (by the seller)

Had some very good bargains. Just look them over very closely, and be prepared to walk away. If the panels do not line up, or the paint looks different on the panels, walk away. Plenty more to see.

I do tell my insurance they're Car D's but my insurance company are not interested and tell me it makes no difference to them.

I'd never touch a Cat C car.
I’ve never needed (or wanted!) to insure a cat-c/d car but I’m very surprised by that comment;… I’m not doubting what you say is true, but it flies in the face of most of the info that is available from many websites regarding this issue;

…just curious, but can you let us know the name of your insurance company that takes such a seemingly relaxed attitude;…it may be worth storing in the memory-banks for future use!
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Old 24-12-2016, 20:11
Jimmy Connors
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I’ve never needed (or wanted!) to insure a cat-c/d car but I’m very surprised by that comment;… I’m not doubting what you say is true, but it flies in the face of most of the info that is available from many websites regarding this issue;

…just curious, but can you let us know the name of your insurance company that takes such a seemingly relaxed attitude;…it may be worth storing in the memory-banks for future use!
Yes indeed I can. It was Hastings Direct. Not with them any longer but I specifically recall the phone call where they told me a Cat D car is not an issue. My Cat D Honda was insured with them for a few years until I passed it on. I always mentioned it at renewal time, but they always said everything was in order.

My car's been declared a category C or category D write off, will you insure it?

Yes, as long as it means [sic] our normal policy conditions. It's your responsibility to take all reasonable steps to make sure your vehicle's safe, roadworthy and has a valid MOT (if one's required by law).
https://www.hastingsdirect.com/help/
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Old 24-12-2016, 22:15
Galaxy266
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Some years ago my father bought back his car from the insurance company after it had been written off in an accident. They had declared it a Cat D.

I repaired the car for him, which, basically, meant unbolting some parts and bolting on replacement parts, all of which were purchased cheaply from a scrapyard.

When it came to reinsuring the car after the necessary repairs the only thing the insurance company insisted on was that the car passed a new MOT test. Once this had been done there were no problems insuring it whatsoever.

Sorry, I can't remember who the insurance company was - it's far too long ago!
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Old 24-12-2016, 23:23
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Thanks the advice. Still not sure what to do...

I got the reg and got some insurance quotes. £300 less than I paid last year which was surprising but the comparison sites didn't specifically ask about it being a Cat D so I'm guessing I'd have to phone to inform them if I was gonna go ahead? Which may up the price (or maybe not).

Not sure if comparison websites are accurate when it comes to giving you a price on what the car's worth but it said it was worth approx. £2,200? If that's for an 'original', why is a Cat D version being sold for £300 more (originally £800 more but got 'mates rates')?

This must be an earlier shape Yaris, one of the little ones.....series 1 and 2.
I personally wouldn't be happy driving one, especially on the motorway a lot. Even with the larger 1.3 petrol engine, they are not relaxing or particularly comfy. The series 1 doesn't feel planted on the road that well to me. Especially unplesent to drive in traffic.

Golf, Astra, focus would be my choice.
It's the "middle" one, apparently? He tried explaining it to me, but it went over my head - all I got from it was that it wasn't the old shape, but it isn't the new one either.

It looked a bit like this (I think) but in black:
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=To...WfK8Vy1Gc1M%3A

It's a 1.0 engine (or 998cc). I don't know if there's a difference

The only reason I'm keen to buy this one is because it was recommended. I'm clueless so no idea what I'm suppose to be looking for; my first car (which I bought by myself) was a nightmare, so I really don't trust myself to make a good decision, hence leaving it up to my mate - who said the exact opposite to you - but it's my money and I'm the one who will be forking out for any problems and having a miserable time driving again if it's the wrong choice.

He told me Yaris' are good for motorways / long journeys.

Since I've only got £2,500 to spend, considering what I've already looked at, it does seem this might be one of the better options... I'm just worried about the pitfalls of it being a Cat D.

I wish the opinions here were more one-sided it would've made my decision a lot easier
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Old 24-12-2016, 23:44
David (2)
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Thanks the advice. Still not sure what to do...

I got the reg and got some insurance quotes. £300 less than I paid last year which was surprising but the comparison sites didn't specifically ask about it being a Cat D so I'm guessing I'd have to phone to inform them if I was gonna go ahead? Which may up the price (or maybe not).

Not sure if comparison websites are accurate when it comes to giving you a price on what the car's worth but it said it was worth approx. £2,200? If that's for an 'original', why is a Cat D version being sold for £300 more (originally £800 more but got 'mates rates')?



It's the "middle" one, apparently? He tried explaining it to me, but it went over my head - all I got from it was that it wasn't the old shape, but it isn't the new one either.

It looked a bit like this (I think) but in black:
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=To...WfK8Vy1Gc1M%3A

It's a 1.0 engine (or 998cc). I don't know if there's a difference

The only reason I'm keen to buy this one is because it was recommended. I'm clueless so no idea what I'm suppose to be looking for; my first car (which I bought by myself) was a nightmare, so I really don't trust myself to make a good decision, hence leaving it up to my mate - who said the exact opposite to you - but it's my money and I'm the one who will be forking out for any problems and having a miserable time driving again if it's the wrong choice.

He told me Yaris' are good for motorways / long journeys.

Since I've only got £2,500 to spend, considering what I've already looked at, it does seem this might be one of the better options... I'm just worried about the pitfalls of it being a Cat D.

I wish the opinions here were more one-sided it would've made my decision a lot easier

The original and the middle aged Yaris are not great drives (the pic is a middle one, series 2). If you do a lot of miles it will be like hard work. A friend of ours lent me her series 1 (2002) 1.3 petrol Yaris - and I also driven a 1.0 (998cc -'same thing, they just round the numbers up). Heavy to drive, which is odd because it's so light. My new shape polo with a larger 1.4 engine, bigger wheels, bigger body, heavier, is light as a feather to drive by comparison, especially around town (I can park it using about 3 fingers on the wheel) and more comfy for longer journeys. My stopping power (brakes, and all the modern electronics with discs front and back) are a whole different ball park to the older Yaris - and this recently saved my life.......stopping from 60 to zero as a big truck pulled out in front of me.....I stopped with inches to spare...,if I had been driving the earlier/middle Yaris I would now be dead, and my head would have been like a football rolling down the road.

One of the "tricks" the Yaris plays on you is that when idling, the engine is effectively silent....impressive, but you try pulling away in it....u have to work the engine, Rev it up to do anything and work the gears a lot. You have to drive strictly like a driving lesson. The dinky side mirrors don't help. And around town, it doesn't make much difference if you got the 1.0 or bigger 1.3 engine.

And on the older/middle Yaris, they put the instruments in the wrong place (centre mounted). A minor annoyance - corrected in the 3rd gen Yaris.

The only thing going for it, is that they appear very reliable. Our friends series 1 had only one fault since they bought it new in 2002 (tho they had it serviced by Toyota every year).
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Old 25-12-2016, 04:45
Smufter
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Not sure if comparison websites are accurate when it comes to giving you a price on what the car's worth but it said it was worth approx. £2,200? If that's for an 'original', why is a Cat D version being sold for £300 more (originally £800 more but got 'mates rates)
It doesn't sound like you are being offered a fantastic deal, and I would be tempted to walk away.
Personally, I have seen the trade value of a Ford Focus drop from £2,750.00 to £1,000.00 as soon as it became apparent (via an HP check) that it had been cat D'd.
Girl in question had purchased the car from a "dealer" on the outskirts of London about a year prior to this and had not been informed that the car had been written off.
She had been happy with the car, had not experienced any problems with it at all, but was devastated to find out she had been tucked up.
Her Mum & Dad were with her and they tried to contact the garage for recompense... guess what? "Under new ownership".
One of the harsh realities of the motor trade unfortunately.
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Old 25-12-2016, 12:06
soap-lea
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Thanks the advice. Still not sure what to do...

I got the reg and got some insurance quotes. £300 less than I paid last year which was surprising but the comparison sites didn't specifically ask about it being a Cat D so I'm guessing I'd have to phone to inform them if I was gonna go ahead? Which may up the price (or maybe not).

Not sure if comparison websites are accurate when it comes to giving you a price on what the car's worth but it said it was worth approx. £2,200? If that's for an 'original', why is a Cat D version being sold for £300 more (originally £800 more but got 'mates rates')?



It's the "middle" one, apparently? He tried explaining it to me, but it went over my head - all I got from it was that it wasn't the old shape, but it isn't the new one either.

It looked a bit like this (I think) but in black:
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=To...WfK8Vy1Gc1M%3A

It's a 1.0 engine (or 998cc). I don't know if there's a difference

The only reason I'm keen to buy this one is because it was recommended. I'm clueless so no idea what I'm suppose to be looking for; my first car (which I bought by myself) was a nightmare, so I really don't trust myself to make a good decision, hence leaving it up to my mate - who said the exact opposite to you - but it's my money and I'm the one who will be forking out for any problems and having a miserable time driving again if it's the wrong choice.

He told me Yaris' are good for motorways / long journeys.

Since I've only got £2,500 to spend, considering what I've already looked at, it does seem this might be one of the better options... I'm just worried about the pitfalls of it being a Cat D.

I wish the opinions here were more one-sided it would've made my decision a lot easier

I don't think it is one of the better options to be honest.
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Old 25-12-2016, 23:59
Chris Frost
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Good advice.
Make sure you buy it cheap because despite what you might be told, you will receive a hefty kick in the gonads when you come to sell it on again.
That's been my experience too.

As long as you do the due diligence then Cat D is fine if you intend to run the car until it is scrapped. But if you ever hope to sell it on then be prepared for quite a bit of financial pain.
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