26 replies to this topic

[Martynf]

As above.....

[Di3sel]

Answer is budget dependent. 1.5 year ago I was looking for a non-cat model, but in the same time, I was willing to pay for a non-cat car.

 

If your budget is tight and/or if you don't care about its future resale price, cat N/S can be a good option. 

 

Obviously, you will need to make sure it was properly mended, but that's pretty standard I guess.

[C8RKH]

My car was a Cat C in 2007. I bought it in 2016 and have loved every minute of owning it and using it with no issues.  She's now supercharged and getting fettled for a full summer of activity. 

 

About 15 months ago Joe and Vocky added the supercharger and the clams came off and went back on sweet as anything.

[fatwomble]

Yes, doesn't take much to write one off, especially when you through in a hire car and the resale of damaged car, doesn't mean that it will be a bad car.

[mbes2]

yes

[mbes2]

no

[aquilaproejct]

Maybe?

[rabbidog]

Yes if there was history/photographic evidence of why it was Cat C written off, if not, maybe... if i could take someone with me that knows these cars better than I do. 

 

Im sure there are some good examples out there of "cat" cars that were written off due to relatively minor damage due to the cost of new clams etc, but equally ive heard stories of cars that have sustained more serious structural damage and the owner was only made aware once the car was bought and they took it to a specialist for a service.

 

All that said, Id certainly feel better buying an insurance write off from a respected specialist or forum owner.

Edited by rabbidog, 23 February 2019 - 06:30 AM.

[DanGT]

Wouldn't say photos are needed to buy a Cat car. Obviously easier to identify where the damage might have been but you would still want to check the entire car.

Fibreglass repairs can be difficult and reappear over time. Also if the tub is damaged at all I wouldn't buy it. Its easy to check the sides of the tub and front suspension. Some people repair front wishbone pick up points but that would make me nervous if it hasn't been done properly.

I would buy one and have, but satisfied myself it was a good car with minimal damage. As said it doesn't take much write one off, and insurance companies don't want to repair them due to places not being any good with fibreglass anymore, and cracks re-appearing. Therefore they have to repair it again.

Go in with eyes open, and I wouldnt dismiss a good car due to the Cat stigma, don't forget there are some non Cat cars which may have been involved in more serious incidents just not claimed via insurance!

[vocky]

Avoid any cars with previous chassis damage, if the chassis been welded run away.

 

Other than that most Cat C vx220s are due to fibreglass bodywork damage or damaged suspension (see above)

[C8RKH]

Yes if there was history/photographic evidence of why it was Cat C written off, if not, maybe... if i could take someone with me that knows these cars better than I do. 

 

Im sure there are some good examples out there of "cat" cars that were written off due to relatively minor damage due to the cost of new clams etc, but equally ive heard stories of cars that have sustained more serious structural damage and the owner was only made aware once the car was bought and they took it to a specialist for a service.

 

All that said, Id certainly feel better buying an insurance write off from a respected specialist or forum owner.

 

I've said this before and so will say it again, and again, and again. There are plenty of cars out there, with no CAT or HPI marker but that have had some pretty serious damage. For a variety of reasons, usually if no-one else was involved, they do not always get reported to the insurance etc.

 

Surely the best advice is to buy based on inspection and condition. These are now 15-20 year old performance cars and if you don't know what your doing / what to look for, then take along and expert and get them to check it over.  I was a clueless knob when I bought my car. However, even though I am still a clueless knob I am very happy with my care as it was checked over and recommended by Craig Moncrieff, a respected Lotus/VX specialist in Edinburgh before I purchased it and she has not let me down.

 

To re-iterate, if you think no CAT/HPI marker equals no chance of a nasty surprise then you'd be a bigger knob than me (not hard to be, according to the missus!)

[C8RKH]

 

Yes if there was history/photographic evidence of why it was Cat C written off, if not, maybe... if i could take someone with me that knows these cars better than I do. 

 

Im sure there are some good examples out there of "cat" cars that were written off due to relatively minor damage due to the cost of new clams etc, but equally ive heard stories of cars that have sustained more serious structural damage and the owner was only made aware once the car was bought and they took it to a specialist for a service.

 

All that said, Id certainly feel better buying an insurance write off from a respected specialist or forum owner.

 

I've said this before and so will say it again, and again, and again. There are plenty of cars out there, with no CAT or HPI marker but that have had some pretty serious damage. For a variety of reasons, usually if no-one else was involved, they do not always get reported to the insurance etc.

 

Surely the best advice is to buy based on inspection and condition. These are now 15-20 year old performance cars and if you don't know what your doing / what to look for, then take along and expert and get them to check it over.  I was a clueless knob when I bought my car. However, even though I am still a clueless knob I am very happy with my car as it was checked over and recommended by Craig Moncrieff, a respected Lotus/VX specialist in Edinburgh before I purchased it and she has not let me down.

 

To re-iterate, if you think no CAT/HPI marker equals no chance of a nasty surprise then you'd be a bigger knob than me (not hard to be, according to the missus!)

 

Good job your not spending £20m on a nice Fezza GTO with FIA Historic papers, a few of them have been in some pretty horrific accidents that does not seem to put prospective new owners off, indeed, it would seem the patina of the accidents only adds to the value!

 

 

[rabbidog]

 

Yes if there was history/photographic evidence of why it was Cat C written off, if not, maybe... if i could take someone with me that knows these cars better than I do. 

 

Im sure there are some good examples out there of "cat" cars that were written off due to relatively minor damage due to the cost of new clams etc, but equally ive heard stories of cars that have sustained more serious structural damage and the owner was only made aware once the car was bought and they took it to a specialist for a service.

 

All that said, Id certainly feel better buying an insurance write off from a respected specialist or forum owner.

 

I've said this before and so will say it again, and again, and again. There are plenty of cars out there, with no CAT or HPI marker but that have had some pretty serious damage. For a variety of reasons, usually if no-one else was involved, they do not always get reported to the insurance etc.

 

Surely the best advice is to buy based on inspection and condition. These are now 15-20 year old performance cars and if you don't know what your doing / what to look for, then take along and expert and get them to check it over.  I was a clueless knob when I bought my car. However, even though I am still a clueless knob I am very happy with my care as it was checked over and recommended by Craig Moncrieff, a respected Lotus/VX specialist in Edinburgh before I purchased it and she has not let me down.

 

To re-iterate, if you think no CAT/HPI marker equals no chance of a nasty surprise then you'd be a bigger knob than me (not hard to be, according to the missus!)

 

 

I agree with you, yes there plenty of cars out there without CAT markers that have had serious damage and you would be a fool if you thought otherwise. I was just answering the OP's question on would you buy a Cat C VX.

 

There was one particular VX Turbo I looked at that wasn't a recorded CAT car, following some research I found out from one of the previous 8 owners after viewing it, that it had sustained some serious damage on a track day. I then found out 6 months later, when I happened to be speaking to a specialist about that car, that it had had some poor repairs to the tub in its early years.

 

I looked at plenty of VX's before buying mine all in differing condition.  I didnt have a chance to organise a specialist to look at the car I eventually bought, as soon as the car was posted in the forum 'for sale' section I had arranged a viewing for the next day. He had had a lot of interest so I carried out as thourough an examination as I could, with test drive, took a mate with me to double check and placed a deposit.

 

I have bought many cars privately in the past inc Evos, RS's etc and you can tell alot about the car by the seller....This may sound as ridculous to you as it does to me now im typing it, especially at 1am; The seller seemed very honest, genuine and was a thoroughly nice guy and a real enthusiast who was active on this forum years ago. It was a one owner car, has had no expense spared on it with a folder full of invoices, was sat next to a porsche 911 S in the garage and was being replaced by Ferrari 458 all in grey.  He certainly wouldnt budge on the asking price and clearly had the means to hide it away in storage as stated in the ad so he was not desperate to sell it.  I did a bit of prior research on the forum to see if anything came up, which it didnt and rang courtenays, because it was quite heavily modified, who remembered the car and the owner. If im honest the test drive and the smile I got from it probably ended up clouding alot of judgement so;

 

Before the criticism starts, I would like to re-iterate that none of the above is a substitute for getting expert advice if thats possible. I was still slightly worried Id bought a shitt*r in hiding until I got the thumbs up from Jez at its next service.

Edited by rabbidog, 24 February 2019 - 01:06 AM.

[TazN]

No reason not to buy a cat c, provided you check it over or get someone who knows the cars to.

Will it be worth less going forward? Most definitely, but you'll likely be paying less for it now.

[FLD]

How has the Imran thread not been mentioned yet?

[ChrisS1]

How has the Imran thread not been mentioned yet?

Because theyre all too new to remember/know about it

[FLD]

Pffft. These young uns.

[Martynf]

Whats the imran thread? Very curious.

[FLD]

Some time ago a chap called imran repaired a VERY badly damaged VXR and advertised it for sale. It was unrecorded and was advertised as never damaged. A witch hunt ensued. It’s quite an amusing read unless you unknowingly bought the car. It does highlight that the cat system is farsical. You could claim a cat car is ‘honest’. Mine was cat C based on damaged clam light and rad surround. Minor stuff really. The cat depends on the assessor. I’ve seen c’s with minor body damage and d’s with chassis damage. My thought would be to take each car on it’s merits regardless of cat or not. Buy a car knowing about it’s state.

[peterk]

Whats the imran thread? Very curious.

VXR220 #16. I read somewhere on the forum that it was stolen from Imran.