I've recently upgraded my car from a fabia VRS I've owned for over 4 years to a 2010 Octavia VRS DSG

I'm waiting for my private reg (E9SBY) which is also for sale to go onto retention before I put it up for sale. Thing is I don't know how much it's worth.

2006/56

50,000 miles

6 months MOT. Will probably put a year on

4 months tax

1 key

Recent engine rebuild after cambelt snapped

Unfortunately it's a CAT C

Car is in excellent condition, I've had it serviced every MOT which included oil and filters.

Recently had alloys fully refurbed/powder coated in two tone mirrored black.

I was hoping to get £3k for the car - does this sound about right?

Probably £5k if it's was straight and true but seeing as it's a cat c you are probably close with £3k if it has paper work to prove repairs done properly.

Also if you have pictures of original damage it is very helpful and more likely to attract a serious buyer

No... Way out.

Cat C is not looked upon that favourably when it comes to cost. If you ask trader what they would pay for a cat c almost 7-8 year old skoda, you'd expect £1300 tops in immaculate condition(buying from the auction for example). Massive wad of history... £2k-£2.5 for the buyers market. My 56 reg with full leather & cruise was £3100 3 months ago. I worked long enough in the car game to understand valuations.

Very, very important to be able to prove your mileage, however you were due a belt change soon so that may affect pricing in some buyers opinion, although its changed after the "accident". Belt snapping so young,hmmm... I'd be very suspicious of that mileage unless you prove it otherwise. To be honest, you have to really try hard to sell cat c and put it above other examples so it's impossible to ignore.

All subjective anyway, and pricing "guesses" from us can offend. Prove us wrong and get £3k for it, that's what you should do :-) there's been enough complaining recently about the Fabia market being a bit slow selling with silly low offers from would be buyers. The no-frills label dont help when selling, never mind being written off.

Edited 11 May, 201412 yr by fabialousvrs

I have the last 5 years of mots to prove mileage of car. I bought it with 18k miles on the clock.

We buy any car value it at £2500 obviously they will deduct their usual.

The belt snapping so young was due to an incorrect belt being fitted 2 years ago by a garage which has shut down now. Cost me £1400 to fix in January

Cat C and rebuild are two things that will put a lot of people off on a private sale and trade. In short I think your valuation is high.

Rebuilds have a tendency to rear their ugly head you see, rarely will you ever get the same tolerances from the factory with rebuilds, much better with a used engine instead but there's never always one available with the right mileage. Tart the car up best you can, make it shine and really show it off with as much effort as possible. It's mainly a young fellas car so I'm sure you'll move it on with a bit of elbow grease and bling.

We buy any car won't take it if it's a cat C, they value it at £2,500 as a straight car with a clear history.

I'd value it at around £2,500 anyway mostly due to low mileage.

Yup I'd go between £2500 & £3000

Thanks for all your advice.

You will probably see this on eBay and gumtree in the near future, just waiting for reg transfer to come through.

The car is really tidy, so hopefully won't stay for sale for long

Probably not what you want to hear but I agree with fabialousvrs. It's a buyers market out there and there are plenty to choose from which won't help with your hopes of getting ~£3000 for it. Be prepared for some low offers, especially on places like eBay where everyone wants a bargain! GLWTS though you never know you may get that one buyer who really wants your car.

I am told a lot of insurance companies aren't willing to insure category C cars?

I may have been told incorrectly.

But could be another reason if people aren't showing much interest.

JRJG

I am told a lot of insurance companies aren't willing to insure category C cars?

I may have been told incorrectly.

But could be another reason if people aren't showing much interest.

JRJG

 

Yes and no, some underwriters prefer not to insure write off's or price accordingly, some will insist on an IER etc. Others just don't care.

Edited 12 May, 201412 yr by Avalon

Yes and no, some underwriters prefer not to insure write off's or price accordingly, some will insist on an IER etc. Others just don't care.

I am also told that a Cat D is not relevant or a problem to most insurers, due to it being cosmetic, is that true?

An IER : I assume that is a repair that is checked by VOSA/Dvla?

JRJG

I've never had problems insurance wise, this year is the cheapest it had been, £287 fully comp.

I am also told that a Cat D is not relevant or a problem to most insurers, due to it being cosmetic, is that true?

An IER : I assume that is a repair that is checked by VOSA/Dvla?

JRJG

 

That depends on the underwriter. Norwich Union as was (Aviva now) are for example the insurer of last resort, they will underwrite pretty much anything but they charge a premium above and beyond what's normal for that privilege if it's an unusual case. Others are more fickle, for example I found one that wouldn't re-insure a car (or in my case bike) they'd paid out for and written off (Cat C or D - stolen, paid out, recovered, but because it was paid out on became a CAT C automatically). Also in the event of a claim on a car that's a Cat C/D expect a greatly reduced pay out as they will flatly refuse to pay anything close to market value.

 

The IER is an Independent Engineers Report and is in addition to a VOSA VIC you may require, again some insurers will insist on this being provided prior to cover commencing, you'll also find some who frankly don't care one way or another. A friend of the family used to buy damaged cars that had been written off and repair them, he always made a point of giving the new owners a file with photo's of before/during and after, a full breakdown of what had been done/parts used, VIC, MOT and IER for everything as while most insurers were OK some could be a total PITA.

 

It's the same with points, some insurers ignore 3 points, others will start to hike premiums at 3 points, others will refuse a certain combination of points and claims etc. it's all down to how each chooses to conduct business.

Edited 12 May, 201412 yr by Avalon

Managed to sell for £2500 which I was happy about, didn't even have to advertise was more word of mouth which was a bonus

Sorry to drag this back to the top.

Spoke to the bloke who I sold the car to. Still going strong, says its a flying machine and he's added 15k miles in 9 months of problem free driving.

He's a VRS convert