Category C problem

IIRC the car needs an inspection to be returned to the road to say that it is safe. I'm quite sure an inquiry at your local DVLA will put you in the right direction. Apart from that the car will only ever be worth 70 to 80% of an non Cat C's value. Hope you didn't pay over the odds.

Thanks, I have indeed contacted DVLA who are going to send me details of who had the car at the date of the VIN so hopefully I can get details from them as to what went on.

I have been under the car again today and can find no trace of repair so this is very puzzling.

By coincidence there was a news item on BBC today saying that cat C's are to be awarded a kite mark to clear up such problems.

Not really. A good repair is an unseen one.

Depending on what car it is there may have been little damage. A front bumper, couple of fog lights, a grille, 2x headlight, 2x indicators, slam panel & a bonnet may result in a write-off.

If you bought the car from a dealer I believe they have a legal responsibility to inform you that it was a Cat C. They are liable for up to 6 years so I would suggest you take it back to them. If it was private they do not have to tell you, but would be liable if you asked the question & they said NO.

I am intrigued as to why you cannot tell your insurance company & why it was not declared on their MIAFTA database (think that is the acronym). The other answer which I have experienced is where the actual vehicle was not written off by the insurance company but DVLA had it written off. That was a key input error, my registration was R86 *** & the vehicle that should have been written off was R88 *** it took an amazing long time to get it sorted.

Absolutely. But I normally find some trace however small of a repair especially one that claims to have been so vast as to write a car off.

In this case I really cannot see anything at all. If it has been repaired it has been done extremely well and I have no doubt whatsoever the car is perfectly safe. In fact I thought that the makers might have rebuilt it but they say no.

I'm not too worried about losing a few quid on the book price but I know if I tell them that the insurance company will ask for proof of the repair which I don't have which is where my problem lies.

You should have seen the arguments we had over clearing up what colour our car was from new. "Its listed as X" yes i know but it has never been X, its Y. "no, it must have been sprayed" ...no, not unless they bare-metal'd it within 3 years of its birth...

=============================== It's possible that it was vandalised rather than accident damaged. It might have had all the glass replaced although it would have to be very expensive glass to write off a 4 year old car, I think.

Perhaps someone can confirm that a car can be a Cat C in these circumstances?

Cic.

Thanks that is the other idea that I am looking at that it is a DVLA error. I'll try the MIAFTA database.

I can't tell my insurers as they will almost certainly want it in writing that it has been repaired and by whom.

If I was an insurer I'd be reading this newsgroup...

But then I'd probably not insure anyone called Soggy matches anyway :-)

Tony

It's possible it's not actually safe though, damage to safety features in the slightest way can mean they need replaced, and this may not have been done. Remember, you can't visibly see most of that type of damage.

Hopefuly it'll be fine though, Cat C doesn't usually mean too many issues.

At least it's not 'Soggy Biscuit'. I found out what that rather weird game you English created means recently. Christ, really bored were we?

You have to tell your insurers or you probably won't be insured...

I prefer to dip mine in my tea (the biscuit!).

Tony

If you bought it last year, and insured it, it's the insurance Co's problem, they have a database of such things, they should have checked.

If they ask you for an engineers report, tell them that they can have their engineer inspect it, but you're not paying for the inspection as it would be cheaper to change your insurance.

Steve

Except for the contract between "Soggy matches" and his insurance company. It most probably does not specify that the insurance company must check the status of the car on any database prior to issuing a certificate. It certainly DOES specify that failure to disclose any material facts about the driver or car will result in any insurance policy being null and void (to the extent permitted by law, i.e., they may be forced to pay out for 3rd party claims, then recover their costs from the "insured" by suing them).

Then the insurance company may well decide it is cheaper for them to lose his business, than to pay for the report themselves, or indeed insure the car without a report.

AIUI the phrase "was gutted to recently learn that it is cat' C." means that when he insured the car he acted in good faith.

Maybe he should disclose it now, but if the boot was on the other foot, and he'd disclosed it as Cat C, and the Co. later discovered that it was a mistake, would they tell him? I don't think so.

Steve

I had an A3 repaired a while ago, and the bodyshop were excellent (unusual IME). The only sign was the vehicle data sticker (the one that shows engine codes and fitted options) was missing from the boot.

You could well be right -- they might not tell him. It doesn't change the fact that if HE doesn't tell THEM something that THEY can show he knew, they can refuse to pay out (or attempt to recover their costs).