im in the same situation octy vrs on a 54 low miles fssh, but cat d... apparently only had a rear quarter? done hpi just says its a cat d and was recorded on oct 6th 2006.

any thoughts?? sorry for jumping in on your thread.

if its significantly cheaper than buying one private then go for it, if not I'd buy one private (with all the relevant checks, hpi etc) Chances are if it has been nicked, its gonna have its rear end cained off it.

it wasnt knicked and its cheap. everything looks good.:confused:

ignore me iv put it in octy2. meant to put it in mark1!!

it wasnt knicked and its cheap. everything looks good.:confused:

it was nicked???

Lets have some more details of the car, age, year, miles, how much etc please

im in a dilemma, found a vrs 54 plate, 40,000, fsh, tnt, but its cat d... spoke to the bloke selling it, apparently it only had a rear quarter? it looks a good motor, checked the hpi all it says is it was recorded on oct 6th 2006. anyone had any dealings with a cat d?

Buy mine

its wasnt nicked. its a 54 plate octy vrs mk1. 40000, fsh, tnt, black, was recorded cat d. spoke to the bloke he said it had a rear quarter...

how much is yours??

The thread is getting very confusing,

glynn, I am going to split the thread and put your part in the octy1 forum.

Split to the MK1 forum.

Glynn,

if the previous owner has some picture of the damage then take a look at those, also check for the quality of the repair paying attention to the likely places where the panels have been welded together. A properly repaired car should look like it just left the factory, if its been done badly then walk otherwise as long as you are happy with the price then go for it.

im going to ask him if he has any pics... like you just make sure everything lines up... its 3400 but it is due a belt change on age aswell, but he knows that, so there is another bargaining point, if its any good.

Just to add to what mannyo has said, I would pay particular attention to the section between the top of the rear door and the roof, if you stand back you should be able to see any signs of poor alignment, and the same on the sill/wheel arch. also, check under the boot carpet and rear seats for any repair signs or kinks. I would also check inside the arch for any signs of rust, particularly if there's no paperwork showing that a genuine panel was used.

Be picky. There are a fair few vRS's about so you can afford to walk away from one which isn't up to scratch. That said, it wouldn't take much to write a Mk1 off these days, so if it's just panel damage and it's been repaired properly then it could be an opportunity to save some cash!

you know when something seems to good to be true..

will have a really good look round it. im planning on keep the car for a few years whether i buy this one or another one. like you said there enough about to walk away.

I assume it has an MOT. After being repaired from salvage it needs a new MOT before it can go back on the road. Make sure any MOT is after the repairs were completed.

You need to tell your insurer that it was a Cat D writeoff.

Dealers will not take it as a trade in.

Ideally, what you really need is a copy of the insurance accessor's report or declined repair quotation as well as all the invoices for the work carried out.

(Category D - most likely to be nonstructural damage and should be relatively easily repairable. In this case the vehicle may have been economical to repair but for other reasons it was written off. For example where the insurer have to provide a courtesy car the time taken to repair the vehicle would mean that the courtesy car cost together with the repair cost would be excessive. In a category D scenario it is more likely that the insurer did not wish to repair.)

As far as I understand if a car nees a rear quater it can't be a cat d. cat d is monor bolt on parts. a weld in rear quater would put it in cat c with the amount of labour and work involved.

In fact, unless it has been determined that there is no structural damage it would be Cat C (note 'possible' in definition).

Category C - possible structural damage but the vehicle is repairable. The cost of the damage would have been more than the book value of the car if that repairs were carried out at garage prices and official manufacturers parts.

I bought a cat d 03 plate vrs estate last Christmas with 28,000 miles for £4k - perfect nick. A good bit of business there!

I thought CAT D was repairable but not done on the basis of cost and CAT C was repairable but damage was significant enough that the car would have to be tested before being permitted back on the road.

Obviously then CAT A destroy only; CAT B parts may be taken, but otherwise destroy and CAT F - Fire (one I only found out about when talking to a loss adjuster)

Hi Glynn,

I guess you are still wondering what to do. Here is my advice for what it's worth...

Many people buy Cat D writeoffs with no problems. There is a problem with the system that may allow a car that should be a Cat C to be classified as Cat D and you need to be aware of this. If the rules are followed to the letter, then unless the possibility of structural damage has been ruled out, it should be Cat C. However, sometimes structural damage can be found when repairing a Cat D. There is no process for updating the mistake on the HPI and even if a process did exist, what repairer would report this.

There is only one way to be sure. It needs to be inspected.

If it is inspected by a Thatcham approved inspector and it passes, then the HPI will be changed to 'Condition Inspected'. Unfortunately, this does not come cheap. Companies such as Autolign want the thick end of £200 for such an inspection.

Teller the seller if he gets the Thatcham approved inspection done and if it passes you will buy. Otherwise I would walk away. There is no shortage of good used examples at very reasonable prices.

maybe it wasnt a new quarter?:confused:

i spoke to the chap again today, asked him about any invoices or insurance paper work he said he would look, he is sending me some pics of boot floor sill and inner door aperture. was going to speak to the aa about the vehicle checks they do but its 180 quid!!

Hi Glynn,

I guess you are still wondering what to do. Here is my advice for what it's worth...

Many people buy Cat D writeoffs with no problems. There is a problem with the system that may allow a car that should be a Cat C to be classified as Cat D and you need to be aware of this. If the rules are followed to the letter, then unless the possibility of structural damage has been ruled out, it should be Cat C. However, sometimes structural damage can be found when repairing a Cat D. There is no process for updating the mistake on the HPI and even if a process did exist, what repairer would report this.

There is only one way to be sure. It needs to be inspected.

If it is inspected by a Thatcham approved inspector and it passes, then the HPI will be changed to 'Condition Inspected'. Unfortunately, this does not come cheap. Companies such as Autolign want the thick end of £200 for such an inspection.

Teller the seller if he gets the Thatcham approved inspection done and if it passes you will buy. Otherwise I would walk away. There is no shortage of good used examples at very reasonable prices.

were would i find out about getting this done?

here is the hpi report.

Information

Make & Model Skoda Octavia Rs

VIN Check You have not performed a VIN check yet. Engine Size 1781cc

Engine Number AUQ 092997AUQ

First Registered 30 Sep 2004

Year Manufactured 2004

Former Keepers 3

Last Keeper Change The last recorded change of keeper occurred on 16 Apr 2008

Mileage No mileages available for this VRM Body 5 Door Hatchback

Colour Black

Finance Protection To enable finance protection please download and complete the purchaser receipt.

Vehicle Checks

Colour changes There is no record of this registration being subject to a colour change.

Plate Transfer There is no record of this registration being involved in a plate transfer.

Scrapped There is no record of this registration being scrapped.

Exported There is no record of this registration being exported.

Stolen There is no record of this registration being stolen. Stolen & Recovered There is no record of this registration being stolen & recovered. Insurance Write-off This registration was recorded as a Category D write-off on 9 Oct 2006.

Vehicle I.D. Check There is no record of this registration being subject to a Vehicle Identification Check. Valuation

Sorry, we do not have any valuation information for this vehicle.