[dar2008]

As per title really... looking for a first car for my son and have been concentrating the search on newish Ford Fiesta’s (up to 4years), either the 1.2l petrol or 1.4tdci model.

Checking through the cars advertised on Autotrader, by far the majority (much more than half) are listed as a Cat D or Cat C.

I think in either case, the insurance has decided it was an uneconomic repair, but I find this strange on so many nearly new cars?

What am I missing, and should I steer clear of these supposed 'bargains'?

[xenon]

Owned and crashed by kids with third-party insurance. I'd avoid as they're more expensive to insure (don't know how old your son is but that might be a significant consideration) and they're difficult to sell-on, especially to p/x which would be almost impossible.

[davyk31]

Selling on is your big issue, unless they are stupidly cheap so you can sell on extremely cheap, having said that I would avoid totally.

And loads of sellers don't declare in their ads if a car is cat c or d so ALWAYS run an HPI check yourself. You can use services like Experian Autocheck, 5 searches for about £20, this will also tell you if there is outstanding finance which is also crucial information.

[djgandy]

If you sort by price lowest first of course they'll all be CAT C/D

[The_Bear_Yid]

Because they're bought as first cars and crashed.

If you don't want to see so many then up your budget as they'll usually be found at the lower end of the price range.

You save money in the initial purchase but you'll be lucky to find a CAT C that doesn't have a few niggles left over from the accident. a CAT D may not be that bad.

I've owned a CAT C back in my Saxo days, doubt I'd do it again as I'm looking at 335/M3s next and wouldn't want a CAT C M3.

[dar2008]

Thanks for the replies. The budget's not the problem, quite happy to pay what's needed, but honestly I am just shocked at the high proportion of these Cat D / C cars.

[mowflow]

With the way insurance claims go these days a brand new £8k Fiesta can be labelled "beyond economic repair" with just a light bit of damage. Insurance company pays out £7k fixes the Fiesta and sells it on as a CAT C/D minimising their loss. Those economies of scale don't work with a £30k+ car.

Don't believe for a minute that young people are any more likely to have accidents these days or that they can all afford 3-4 year old cars. Most have probably been owned by people who have been driving for years who have had light fender benders and due to the mounting cost of like for like hire replacements, the cost of repair to the other parties £40k+ BMW and the potential of a whiplash (doesn't exist) claim the car has been binned.

[dxb335d]

Originally Posted by xenon

Owned and crashed by kids with third-party insurance. I'd avoid as they're more expensive to insure (don't know how old your son is but that might be a significant consideration) and they're difficult to sell-on, especially to p/x which would be almost impossible.

If they were insured 3rd party then they couldn't be written off and can't be classed as a Catagory.

[doughboy]

Agree with moflow.

My work van was 8k new and when a young girl rear ended it at 10mph when it was a month old, it was very nearly written off, just for a new rear door, bumper and paint etc.

I turned down the hire van to help avoid a write off.