Strange CAT A write off question

Evening All,

I have found a Cabby i quite like the look of, did a online car check and it says its been wrote off in 2005 Cat A for fire damage, The Reg Is .K568 JMY, does anyone recognise this registration? The owner wasn't aware of this write off, but surely if it was a CAT A, he would not of been able to insure it and get a new logbook?

Can anyone shed any light on this?

Thanks

John

If you are looking to buy it and you are sure it shows up as a category A write off, walk away and find another one, it's not worth the headache when you come to sell it.
Very strange the way it's still on the road and has a current MOT?
You would need to check the VIN number matches the log book and MOT details…

Cheers Mark,

I have walked away from it, it has a current MOT and has been MOT'd and insured every year since it was supposedly wrote off which is strange.

Thanks for the reply

John

My Squareback was written off as a Cat B with fire damage and not allowed back on the road and I received it back to break down for parts. I did however retain the registration as a cherished transfer. I was on the understanding Cat  A should not be allowed back out on the road and crushed.

Categories started with A, B, C  and D…….

A - crush , V5 deleted
B - break only , V5 deleted
C - salvageable, repair estimate equalled greater value than the market value of the vehicle
D - salvageable, repair estimate not as much as the market value of the vehicle

Today, A and B are the same, but C and D are now S and N

S - salvageable, damage was structural
N - salvageable, damage was non structural.

Both cat C and cat S also result in a statement  permanently printed on the V5  for the rest of the life of the vehicle.

It's all a bit of a nonsense, and worries people who are  not in the know.

It' was all brought about by the idiots and crims who wouldn't repair the salvage vehicles properly, or used stolen parts and stolen vehicles for "ringing".

My mrs just had her car written off, it'll be a cat N - we bought it back and will replace the bumper with a used genuine item , that's all it needs.
However , if we wanted to sell it and it gets HPi checked it will be recorded and scare people away, the stigma will be with the car forever.

classics such as our golfs, go through a value circle where they depreciate to a point where they are near worthless, and then as time goes by they become desirable again and the value comes back. If a Mk1 golf had a little bump at a low point in the circle, a bent bumper can cause it to be categorised……

Anyone buying an old car /classic without any knowledge would be a fool not to pay for an inspection  by a qualified auto engineer first.
Many of us are diy restorers and can/do completely ruin the job,  again it's an inspection by an auto engineer who can spot the difference, and could reveal a world of pain, in many cases categorised cars are a better buy than a badly restored one

I would certainly give this one a miss.

CAT A & B are total losses and should never be put on road - I guess it would be illegal to do so despite how good it may look.

I've an BMW Alpina Estate that is a CAT D from about 10 years ago when a van backed into it in a car park creasing the rear quarter panel and breaking rear side glass. Got assessed as any "old" 11 year old BM and written off - but easy non structural repair for a body shop.

Could have been incorrectly categorised,  i brought one of the 1st mk4 1.8T's in around 2000, was a Cat C brought from Hewitt's salvage Wombourne, now Copart Wolverhampton, repaired the car as it was a 99 S reg and had climate control and recaros and low miles, it also had a tracker installed, ran it for a good 5 years, my Bro had it off me then i had it back again, i then went to sell it on some 8 years later turns out it was a Cat B on the register not Cat C!
everyone asked why i didnt check it, but when you buy and repair salvage why would you spend the £39 back then on a report? Had to give it away in the end, was Jabba mapped Miltec Sports cat into R32 exhaust, genuine R32 kit and wheels Ko3s forge intercooler but worthless, V5 wasnt a problem though.