Would you buy a Cat D motorhome?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Teutone
  • Start date Start date
There are plenty of vehicles around that will have been repaired, good or bad, that wont even be on the insurance register:eek:
 
i still have body straightening equipment here and do occasionally help friends straighten there kids cars etc
just about all will never be on the register as there is no claim . put the car on the jig pull it this way and that . get it back in line . its amazing how crumpled metal does come back to its right shape . mind ten ton pulling it it as no chance .
fit new wings etc . only the body shop workers would ever know .
look for marks on the sills where a car as been clamped on the jig .
but if its on the register the price is noticeably different .
one of my lads first cars was a skoda estelle f reg only 13000 miles and two years old . new wings front panel and bumper(second hand came with the car) a day on the jig . what 17 yr old wouldnt want it . yes some laughed but it was a great car. got it from a local salvage yard at the time for 100 quid and do a head gasket on their golf caddy.
served him well for years .
 
my current insurer won't insure a Cat D. As tempting as it might be, decided to stay clear of it.
Even if I could buy it for a Cat D value, it's still a big chunk of money to invest.

Don't think the current seller will lower the price to a reasonable level, they all wait for that one fool to make them rich.

The whole thing just doesn't sound right "Cat D due some MINOR hail stone damage" How can a £40k Motorhome written off with "minor" damage?
 
Teutone said:
The whole thing just doesn't sound right "Cat D due some MINOR hail stone damage" How can a £40k Motorhome written off with "minor" damage?
Click to expand...

I agree it doesn't sound right. If in doubt walk away.
 
Teutone said:
my current insurer won't insure a Cat D. As tempting as it might be, decided to stay clear of it.
Even if I could buy it for a Cat D value, it's still a big chunk of money to invest.

Don't think the current seller will lower the price to a reasonable level, they all wait for that one fool to make them rich.

The whole thing just doesn't sound right "Cat D due some MINOR hail stone damage" How can a £40k Motorhome written off with "minor" damage?
Click to expand...

The time and cost of repair remove the broken roof panel and get new ones fitted means it's not worth while for the insurance company so they write it off and make a pay out. Don't forget most insurance promises manufacturer approved parts... in the case of a motorhome roof that's a special order from the main manufacturer (even though it's probably just a roll of ali :( ) - minus the excess (which could be thousands on something like that). They don't waste money and the owner gets a lump sum to go and by something else.... in this case looks like they got their lump sum and bought back the motorhome from insurance too, hoping to sell it on to raise more cash towards their replacement.

If it's Cat D insurers will always charge more, in some cases the little bit more per years offsets against the cheaper purchase price, in others it just rapes your wallet :(
 
Teutone said:
my current insurer won't insure a Cat D. As tempting as it might be, decided to stay clear of it.
Even if I could buy it for a Cat D value, it's still a big chunk of money to invest.

Don't think the current seller will lower the price to a reasonable level, they all wait for that one fool to make them rich.

The whole thing just doesn't sound right "Cat D due some MINOR hail stone damage" How can a £40k Motorhome written off with "minor" damage?
Click to expand...



Think of Cat D like this example:

A car is worth £6,000, but sustains some minor cosmetic damage.

The damage will cost £2,500 for an (inflated price) insurance repair that includes the cost of a courtesy car for the owner while the repair takes place.

But the insurer can sell the car off as it is for £4,000.

So the insurer 'writes it off' as a Cat D, saving itself £500, even though the car may be perfectly drivable and suffers only cosmetic damage.

Alternatively, a car worth £10,000 is in a crash which is not the owner's fault and sustains some repairable damage.

The damage will cost £2,500 to repair. But the owner gets involvbed with an accident management company and it put into a credit hire car at a daily rate of £250 until his car is repaired.

There is a dealy in obtaining some of the parts to repair the car, escalating the period it will be under preppair and the period the driver is in the £250 a day credit hire car.

So the insurer writes the car off as a Cat D (repairable) and settles.
 
vwalan said:
i still have body straightening equipment here and do occasionally help friends straighten there kids cars etc
just about all will never be on the register as there is no claim . put the car on the jig pull it this way and that . get it back in line . its amazing how crumpled metal does come back to its right shape . mind ten ton pulling it it as no chance .
fit new wings etc . only the body shop workers would ever know .
look for marks on the sills where a car as been clamped on the jig .
but if its on the register the price is noticeably different .
one of my lads first cars was a skoda estelle f reg only 13000 miles and two years old . new wings front panel and bumper(second hand came with the car) a day on the jig . what 17 yr old wouldnt want it . yes some laughed but it was a great car. got it from a local salvage yard at the time for 100 quid and do a head gasket on their golf caddy.
served him well for years .
Click to expand...

best cars ever built i still have 5 of them.
 
trevskoda said:
best cars ever built i still have 5 of them.
Click to expand...


i prefered the vw of course . but only the aircooled really.
mind we have had several 2cv,s here and they are alright .
but a 1500 notchback vw is my favourite .
mind i had them when you could buy one for 30quid .
think a schwimwagon is about the only aircooled vw i havent had .
 
frontslide said:
Think of Cat D like this example:

A car is worth £6,000, but sustains some minor cosmetic damage.

The damage will cost £2,500 for an (inflated price) insurance repair that includes the cost of a courtesy car for the owner while the repair takes place.

But the insurer can sell the car off as it is for £4,000.

So the insurer 'writes it off' as a Cat D, saving itself £500, even though the car may be perfectly drivable and suffers only cosmetic damage.

Alternatively, a car worth £10,000 is in a crash which is not the owner's fault and sustains some repairable damage.

The damage will cost £2,500 to repair. But the owner gets involvbed with an accident management company and it put into a credit hire car at a daily rate of £250 until his car is repaired.

There is a dealy in obtaining some of the parts to repair the car, escalating the period it will be under preppair and the period the driver is in the £250 a day credit hire car.

So the insurer writes the car off as a Cat D (repairable) and settles.
Click to expand...

I do undertand all this, but I want to see the calculations of a 40k-45k motorhome written off due to some "minor" hail damage on the roof. Sure it won't make a difference how many dimples or how deep they are.
If the roof skin needs replacing, it needs replacing. Just curious how the numbers worked out.
 
No idea why the insurance company would know it's a Cat-D, this is not a question they ask when taking on new business. My current fleet includes a Cat-C and a Cat-D. It is quite possible that you could buy a Cat-D without knowing unless you did a HPI check in any case. The insurance would of course pay out a much reduced price if it was written off.
 
271 said:
No idea why the insurance company would know it's a Cat-D, this is not a question they ask when taking on new business. My current fleet includes a Cat-C and a Cat-D. It is quite possible that you could buy a Cat-D without knowing unless you did a HPI check in any case. The insurance would of course pay out a much reduced price if it was written off.
Click to expand...

so you are saying that I don't need to tell my insurer that's a Cat D when taking out insurance?
 
If it was important they would ask, after all it is insurance companies who sell the salvage. If repaired vehicles could not be insured they would be worthless, at the end of the day all that insurance companies are interested in is making money.
 
Omit any thing to your insurer at your own risk
If they can find a get out they will
You may save a few £s. Getting a cat D
It may cost you if it is involved in an accident in the first few years you own it.
 
"Personally I am not bothered about Cat D or not, just don't want to have the insurers making me running around every year at renewal time.
Also resell value doens't concern me. You buy cheap, you sell cheap."

You answered your own question in your original post as far as buying one.
Re insurance, as has been stated, when getting a quote you are never asked the question but in the event of a claim you will get a reduced payout "You buy cheap, you sell cheap." same thing really.
 
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I would be very surprised it they don't check this. I don't want to get caught out in the event of a claim. "Sorry Sir but you haven't declared bla bla bla..."
 
Most insurance companies will authorise to repair a vehicle up to 60% of the market value of the vehicle, that is how they decide the cut-off point between repair and write off.
 
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