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Would you buy a Cat D?

dissolved

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28 Feb 2017
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There's a 997 GTS cab up for £45k @ Portiacraft, clearly listed as Cat D.

It looks stunning & only has 21k on the clock, if it wasn't crash damaged & instead say stolen & retrieved after they paid out - would you consider buying it?

If it's been crashed & repaired I think that's another conversation (I know it says it has been damaged & repaired!)

But still, it's bloody cheap compared to any other GTS available by £15k-20k

:?:
 
dissolved said:
There's a 997 GTS cab up for £45k @ Portiacraft, clearly listed as Cat D.

It looks stunning & only has 21k on the clock, if it wasn't crash damaged & instead say stolen & retrieved after they paid out - would you consider buying it?

If it's been crashed & repaired I think that's another conversation (I know it says it has been damaged & repaired!)

But still, it's bloody cheap compared to any other GTS available by £15k-20k

:?:

That's a cheap car, if its done properly and its a good saving like this is, I can't see the issue, just as long as you go into the sale knowing that when you come to sell it, it is what it is and always will be.
 
If its being offered by Portiacraft then it will have been repaired properly and the price sounds about right.

The big problem will be come resale time as not many prospective customers for a high end marque like a Porsche GTS will be interested in a Cat D, but if it is going to be a keeper, that's a different matter.

Provenance is everything with a Porsche!
 
It might be something simple like the chaps syrup getting whipped off at high speed and fouling the engine that made it Cat D.

The factors you need to work on are (1) Price. It should be roughly 2/3 the cost of a straight one and (2) Resale. Moving it on will be a load of hassle even when you price it right :what:
 
A friend once bought a Cat D 911 that had been accident repaired, it had all been expertly repaired but he said it always had a certain amount of rattles!

Ask if the airbags have been replaced a sign of a fair bit of accident damage and remember an Insurance write off will always be more difficult to sell on.

If I was looking to spend £45K I would want an accident free car.

*
*
Del.
 
I would but only if I was keeping it long term or I'd paid a price commensurate that it's going to be a ***** to shift because of the very reason you're asking the question.
 
You want to make sure that you get some photos of the car before the repair work (if applicable) so that you have a clear understanding of where the damage occurred and to what sort of extent.

In addition to the comments above regarding resale value, another cost you need to consider is Insurance costs. You will find it more difficult to insure a CAT D write-off, and this smaller pool of insurers may transpire into a higher premium.

But all costs taken into account, you will probably still get to drive a GTS at below market value. Providing everything checks out with details of the damage/repair, it wouldn't stop me. But I don't have a garage queen, I have a real car that gets 7-8000 miles a year on it.
 
cat D story

I have a cat D motorcycle Kawasaki 2004 ZRX 1200R
The damage was all cosmetic
In fact so cosmetic that I bought the salvage and repaired it with new parts myself.
Ive tried to sell it and been offered 1500 when I know a dealer will try to sell it
as a perfectly restored cosmetic repair motorcycle for 3k or more.

It is in better condition than when I bought it.
I know this and I have all the pictures to prove it.
But people are naturally sceptical and will take advantage of the
CAT D status when negociating price.
Dealers especially will absolutely nail on the price when you want to resell.
So only buy if you want to keep it long term like 10 years or so.
Offer him 30 K ! because he bought it for less than that.
 
I wouldn't buy a Cat car of that value but it does represent great value for money. I'd always expect a Cat D to be 30% cheaper than an equivalent 'straight' car so that one appears to be correctly priced.

If you take on board what others have said about future resaleability it seems like an option worth considering.

Good Luck :thumb:
 
Definitely one to consider.... that is a LOT of car for the money, and more so if you stuck a lowball offer in & let it sit there for a while.

Ultimately I'm likely to just go get a sorted 997.2 :mrgreen:

Nice to think about it though & the GTS is a beauty of motor.
 
That GTS in question was I am told sold by an OPC, who didn't check it. The new owner then found out and went rather mental at the OPC (justified!) and I think got his money back or some compensation.

A Cat D, in theory, must, absolutely must, of been repaired properly. It can't be put back on the road without it being checked out properly and officially signed off.

That car, assuming it checks out, and Portiacraft wouldn't be selling it if it didn't. is a bargain. If I was in the market for a keeper, I would be snapping it up. It's a manual GTS low mileage cab for peanuts. It would be a £70k car if it wasn't Cat D.

I wouldn't want to sell it on in a few years, so only if it's a keeper.
 
resigner said:
That GTS in question was I am told sold by an OPC, who didn't check it. The new owner then found out and went rather mental at the OPC (justified!) and I think got his money back or some compensation.

A Cat D, in theory, must, absolutely must, of been repaired properly. It can't be put back on the road without it being checked out properly and officially signed off.

That car, assuming it checks out, and Portiacraft wouldn't be selling it if it didn't. is a bargain. If I was in the market for a keeper, I would be snapping it up. It's a manual GTS low mileage cab for peanuts. It would be a £70k car if it wasn't Cat D.

I wouldn't want to sell it on in a few years, so only if it's a keeper.

This is the dilemma... I'm not sure if I'd be keeping the car forever, if I were I think I'd go for it. It is quite likely that at some point in the next 4-5 years that I'd need (or want) to sell.

Might call them & have a chat though...
 
I'd imagine as long as its kept well, Portiacraft would be keen to buy back as and when. Worth a frank conversation with them as to likely mark-down etc.
 
I'd say it's priced very well indeed at over 30% less than an equivalent hpi clear offering (which isn't a manual - the only other manual cab on autotrader is the £83k Hexagon one).

All this talk of future value is all well and good but let's not forget it is currently a cracking value GTS and therefore will always be a great value way into a GTS. If GTS values remain strong (or even appreciate) then the Cat D car will simply follow the trend. Remember, everything is relative, everything has a value and there's a bum for every seat!

Possibly a different kettle of fish but I would think similar discussions were had about Cat D 993's 10 years ago or so.

If it's true that it was sold by an OPC in its post-repair state then it must've passed muster condition-wise, so must've been repaired to an OPC-acceptable standard (panel gaps, colour match etc) and that would have included a test drive. (Although I'm not sure an OPC would take anything into stock without HPI'ing it first - they'll have an account and it will take them about 30 seconds to do the check).

At £45k if you're in the market for one then surely it's got to be worth checking out, and checking out thoroughly!!
 
thanks for the info

Hi,

lovely car just put a deposit on it!

joking.

As others have said there are three improtant things :-

1. What exactly caused the cat D - it will have been documented and only lost if it 'needed' to be lost!
2. Who repaired it and to what standard and what evidence is there to back that up?
3. You buy cheap you sell cheap no getting around that. It makes it an even more specilaist car come selling time due to being cat D significantly reduces the potential buyers pool and dealers would spank your a***e with a crap offering for trade in.
If none of the above are an issue and all checks out happy days so long as it is not a whim buy and you are intending to keep the car long term.
All other usual checks apply on purchase but you can download check lists.
Hope it checks out.

Regards
Glen
 

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