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Thread: Buying a cat S car ?

  1. #1

    Buying a cat S car ?

    Hi all. Went to view a Peugeot 208 2019 this morning for my son. it’s a cat s. The seller said it was front end damage.
    Would you buy a cat s ? Is there anyway of finding out what the damage was ? He wants £7000. They go for around £11000 non cat s
    Cheers

  2. #2
    Craftsman
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    Have you tried to get an insurance quote, it’s more expensive and not so freely available for cat s

  3. #3
    Master Paneraiseeker's Avatar
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    Have a look at car vertical. Sometimes there are photos of the damage.

  4. #4
    Cheers. No insurance quote yet. Just viewing a few cars local today.

  5. #5
    Master Harry Smith's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by lenlec View Post
    Cheers. No insurance quote yet. Just viewing a few cars local today.
    Insurance won't be any different cost with a categorised car. But if it gets written off again insurance payout will be 25-30% less than an equivalent un-cat car, to reflect the fact that you've paid (hopefully) much less in the first place. I would not buy one unless you have pics/report of the original damage and know something of the repair centre that fixed it.

  6. #6
    Personally I wouldn’t. A Cat S means that the damage was structural. The lesser Car N means that it would have been non structural ie merely cosmetic.

    A repaired Cat S may not be rebuilt to the same standard as factory. Perhaps some crash bars or chassis legs were re welded but may not have either the same strength to withstand a second impact or alternatively, won’t have the right level of give to absorb an impact.

  7. #7
    Master
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    High Peak Autos has this subject on You Tube. Talks about checking the history. Watch the vlog. Only about 15 mins. Some of the examples are scary.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0fAmpPShkI
    Last edited by mrushton; 13th June 2022 at 09:49.

  8. #8
    Master
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    I'm not in the trade but I'd be steering clear of a structurally damaged car for my family or myself. I'd prefer an older car knowing it's structural integrity should be sound and less likely to have electrical gremlins or similar that can come with categorised cars.

  9. #9
    Master TKH's Avatar
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    Nope

    In trade we avoided any ‘Cat’ cars you never know the full story and should anything happen in the future such as another accident and it didn’t do its job as intended by the manufacturer then you would be left questioning your own judgment.

    And when it comes to move it on any potential buyer will also be having the same doubts you are now.

    There’s a reason you asked the question.

  10. #10
    Craftsman Linocut's Avatar
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    If it was me I wouldn’t because I wouldn’t want to compromise my son’s safety. If the budgets 7k, I’d get a good 7k car.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  11. #11
    Master
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    Most new drivers have at least a scrape in the first 12 months

    If they were any good they wouldn’t be 35% cheaper

    Buy him a ‘straight’ car for 7K

    Or, risk spending the rest of your living days…. How lucky do you feel?

  12. #12
    Master yumma's Avatar
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    Personally no, as mentioned a cat S means it had structural damage. I would never trust it fully.

  13. #13
    Master
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    Lots of very reasonable advice already.

    You used to be able to do a google image search for the reg + copart to get pre repair damage images.

    A light front end could be just that or could be significantly different.

    You really want to talk to the seller and get quality images of pre repair damage, during and post including receipts for parts and any professional services like jigging / painting, etc.

    A reluctance to provide these, well, buy the seller not the car.

    That said is it special enough to buy, after all if your boy doesn’t run it into the ground then the next buyer is going to ask all the same questions.

  14. #14
    Thanks all. Some excellent advice and tips.

  15. #15
    I think if it is Cat S, but has been inspected and signed-off by one of the couple of approved UK assessors - AutoLIGN for example - it should have been thoroughly checked and confirmed roadworthy.
    It will also have been downgraded on the HPI register as a result.

    If you can get the history, evidence of the repairs, and see an approved re-assessment, then I think you could consider it.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

  16. #16
    i would not bother when spending that much, regardless of any damage that was done the doubts you have now are the same for anyone else, making getting rid of it in the future more of a pain unless you give it away.

  17. #17
    Master
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    I used to buy Cat N's to repair and re-sale, but I always took photos of the damage to pass on to buyers

    If no photos are available, I wouldn't touch one, and I'd never go for a Cat S

  18. #18
    Grand Master oldoakknives's Avatar
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    Not a chance. I would rather have an older/cheaper car that hadn’t been in a smash. Would you put your life in the hands of whoever it was that repaired it?
    Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.

  19. #19
    Master
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    OP: if you sign up to Vcheck you can find out a lot about any car that you are looking at. It will cost you £10 a time so I only use it when I'm really interested but it will usualy have links to pictures that show the state of the car before repair.

    https://www.vcheck.uk/

  20. #20
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by demonloop View Post
    I used to buy Cat N's to repair and re-sale, but I always took photos of the damage to pass on to buyers

    If no photos are available, I wouldn't touch one, and I'd never go for a Cat S
    Sound advice there


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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