What you know about Cat C damaged cars?

[dizzydubbers_missis 0]

I just bought a mk4 tdi estate cuz i am having a baby in 8 weeks. There was nothing on the log bog about it being cat c, but we have discovered since then it is a cat c through a hpi. its a 2001 car and was damaged in 2003 so it was only 2.5 years old. Its needing a turbo a lot of tlc cuz it hasnt been looked after so today we completely stripped the inside out to clean it cuz its very very dirty and carpets need steaming. its looks very straight and there are no signs of welding or damage anywhere that we can see. It has a different tailgate and rear pass door (diff colour paint showing through some chips), and the sticker is still on the boot floor, there was a lot of broken glass under the carpets and rear seats aswell. its had a lot of paint so part of me wonders it if was vandalised rather than crashed? Anyone know if there is a way i can find out what happened to it or where i can get it checked over to make sure it is safe? It was vic checked in 2004 but obviously that doesn confirm repairs were good, i assume they are as it has been mot'd over the years. just wanna be sure really as i am putting a baby it in. It was on £580 so it was worth it really if its a safe car.

[davidwort 0]

a two and a half yr old TDI would have been around 10 grand retail in 2003, if not more, that's a hell of a lot of damage, cost, wise, to have it written off by insurance, although I guess it would have been a grand or two below that value for the insurance company to say it wasn't worth them paying to repair.

Most VW plastic parts have date stamps on them so have a good look around the car to try to work out what bits are later than 2001.

I'd imagine the insurance company would still have records but getting the info from them (if you can find who it was) might cost you even if they are prepared to do that, possibly some data protection issues too??

[Joe_60 0]

Cat C Damage - Repairable salvage. Generally applies to older vehicles. Can be sold for repair but must now have VIC inspection.

Recorded at DVLA & HPI.

 

From this information I would believe that as long as it passes the VIC (Vehicle Identity Check) then the car would be roadworthy.

 

Here is some more information about VIC checks just to put your mind at ease:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/BuyingAndSellingAVehicle/AdviceOnBuyingAndSellingAVehicle/DG_4022107

[dizzydubbers_missis 0]

thanks. I'll have a look at that as all the plastic parts possible are stripped off of it at the mo. Thing that keeps sticking in my head is that the car was full of pretty big ball bearings, under the carpet and in the seats runners, anywhere they could get really. also a few ball bearing sizes dents on the rear quaters.

[Philuk 0]

maybe it was vandalised? can they do a cat c from a car been under attack shall we say?

 

maybe it was shot at by a loon with a bb gun

[dizzydubbers_missis 0]

We strppid it apart some more yesterday and found the repair. It was the rear n/s quarter. Its hard to spot but can just see some spot welds (not quite a good as the factory ones) in the seam under the door seal and some overspray. From what we can see its had a section of the sill half the width of the back door replaced, a new rear door and bootlid. Glass is not original either. All the glass is vw tho and it wasnt enough damage to mean the boot floor need replacing. Its straight underneath and looks a pretty tidy repair. just seems the owner saved money on the paint job. Me and my dh (who i trust totally) is happy for me to use it and happy the repair is safe. Its been vic checked in 2004 and mot'd every year since. my insurance company are happy to insure it so looks like a race to get it finished now before baby arrives in 7 weeks.

Thanks guys.