saw This on auto Trader and was wondering would this be a good buy or a good bye.

it looks ok from here. obviously a view in the flesh would probably be much better.

CAT D so definately a view in the flesh required to make sure all body panels look the same colour etc. Make sure its got all the relevant paperwork too!

That AE plate says ex rental to me, though I could be wrong. The console trim between the radio console and the centre console is out of place. Why a CAT D? - water/flood damage?

Cat D means that there was (usually) no structial damage, the car could have been repaired but the insurers decided not to. This could be because the work and parts involved would make up a good proportion of the cars cost, or (in very few cases) when the owners have seriously argued with the insurer and pretty much refused to drive it even if repaired.

Got a Cat D myself 6 months ago, was involved in a low-speed accident but at an angle. Front bumper, headlight, foglight, bonnet and drivers door all had to be replaced due to scratches and dents. Insurer decided not to, sold car off which was repaired by a mechanic in his free time for a bit of extra cash.

Looks and drives perfectly, wouldn't have been able to tell the difference if I wasn't told and it didn't show up on the HPI check and it's cheaper to buy! (Unfortunately you get less back also, but oh well!)

That AE plate says ex rental to me, though I could be wrong. The console trim between the radio console and the centre console is out of place. Why a CAT D? - water/flood damage?

Good spot. Could be something as innocent as an attempted rattle repair, or its had some sort of handsfree kit fitted? Worth finding out though for sure.

I'd definitely want to know why it was a cat d. It certainly is the right sort of money though imho.

Same about the CAT D... you want to know why.?

But they are good cars... I have the elegance in the same trim, just with the 1.9tdi.

Mine has changed a bit now...

But they are good cars.

For the money that is very good, but only if the reason for being a CAT D isnt too bad.?!?

Michael

why does being peterborough registered make it a rental car?

It's near me so I might go and check it out.

Or it may have had an aftermarket steroeo fitted and when putting the OEM one back it wasn't done properly.

I dunno whether its the photos but if look on the bonnet lines one side looks like slightly wider panel gaps.

Edited 7 August, 200817 yr by Captain Sisko

why does being peterborough registered make it a rental car?

Its the same as ones from Vindis Skoda Cambridge, they are all AE or AF registered.They are a Skoda Business centre and register fleet cars for up and down the country.Same as OU and OY being used a lot on press Skodas, as well as KU/KX/KR/KY etc - most are ex fleet cars registered by Skoda Business centres.There are also the privately registered ones too with those prefixes.

Mine was KV and that was a fleet car for Bently... but the guy who drove it got sacked, and I then brought the car.! Had only done 10,000.! SCORE.!

Michael

Hi,

I didn't know that CAT D related to crash damage or a stolen and recoverd vehicle. I thought it indicated the Tax band

Here is a link to another webiste Stupid Question? What is a V car: Motoring Discussion forum

Where some else asked the same question.

why does being peterborough registered make it a rental car?

There is a company based in that region called Inchcape Automotive, they basically take care of the logistics for fleets. Transporting cars for car rental companies, PDIing and registering vehicles that are going onto the fleet, looking after the documents and spare keys, re furbishing the cars coming off the fleets and storing these until the contracted fleet time has elapsed.

The major rental companies will renew their fleets between two and three times a year which is 20 to 30000 cars per company. The old Europcar ones used to have Inchcape Automotive on the number plates. I have recently seen some rental cars showing numbers beginning with AM08.

My car is an AE registration, and is indeed ex-rental, this is however disguised on the V5C, because the cars previous keeper is listed as a holding company owned by alamo car hire in my case. They only used the car for rental for 3 months, and I purchased it not long afterwards. The PDI stamp in the service book is indeed inchcape.

Ex rental isnt bad, I have owned mine for 2 years, it has nearly 60K miles on the clock now and has never let me down.

National purchased Alamo, they all had Provincial Securities on the log books.

There is a company based in that region called Inchcape Automotive, they basically take care of the logistics for fleets. Transporting cars for car rental companies, PDIing and registering vehicles that are going onto the fleet, looking after the documents and spare keys, re furbishing the cars coming off the fleets and storing these until the contracted fleet time has elapsed.

The major rental companies will renew their fleets between two and three times a year which is 20 to 30000 cars per company. The old Europcar ones used to have Inchcape Automotive on the number plates. I have recently seen some rental cars showing numbers beginning with AM08.

My point was its a bit of a sweeping statment as most areas of the uk have big fleet registration areas. The only way to tell for sure is to check the v5c.

National purchased Alamo, they all had Provincial Securities on the log books.

As indeed my logbook does for the previous keeper.

My point was its a bit of a sweeping statment as most areas of the uk have big fleet registration areas. The only way to tell for sure is to check the v5c.

I agree there, hence I said that I could be wrong. But if it's enough to get you suspicious of a car in the first place, you can ask more relevant questions and be in a better position to get a bit off the price. The giveaway is when you see cars advertised with the same area codes which are well away from their area of registration. Typically the cars are contracted to be kept for 6 months or 12 - 14000 miles, if that mileage is clocked up in 3 months the rental company have to park it up for 3 months before they are allowed to hand it back, we had a Punto that clocked up 18000 miles in 7 weeks - the excess mileage charge was horrendous. Usually they are not released to the dealers (approved used cars) until they are around a year old, so they have 6 months in storage.

Looking at the photos, the interior fabric/peddles/trim etc look exceptionally tatty for the mileage. The fact that the photos were taken in some kind of industrial location rather than at someone's house also rings alarm bells for me. Would the engine cover not have 1.4 16v on it or was the mpi dropped by then so that there's no need to differentiate between the 8v/16v? It does look like a good price for what you are getting, but I'd want to get a proper engineering check done first - either one of those AA/RAC type things or take a mechanic friend with you.