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Hive-mind....
Eldest might be heading to college after summer and regrettably a cheap car might need to be had.
A friend's wife had a bump in her car, a 10 year old Micra, earlier this year- the damage was external and fairly minor though, mainly just the front bumper and a headlight. A claim was made and the ins co wrote it off due to the age of the car and its approx value, which was only £1500. Said friend bought it back, got a bumper, fitted a light, got it painted, and its driving around happily with a long MOT.
Friend's wife is now shopping for an electric car and has offered me the Micra. It looks perfect, drives perfect too, and I know the work that went into it at the time and how minor it was. But: insurance. Its going to be for a new driver as said at the start. I've rung a couple of insurers up and the general gist is- if its roadworthy then crack on.
But this worries me. I'm sure its roadworthy. But if daughter takes it, insures it, drives it, and then crashes it- can I prove it?
its driving around happily with a long MOT.
The government have tested it to ensure it met the minimum required standard on one day.
That seems to be good enough for everyone. Get it tested again before she drives it and crack on.
to be honest, its no difference from any other 10 year old car. Most of them will have probably had some work, whether the value was low enough at the time is the only thing that would write it off (could have had a much larger accident at a year old and be completely unrecorded). It makes no difference
I wouldn't worry about the crash damage (cat N is classed as non structural) however a youngster will pay enough to get a car insure dand some insurance companies can be reluctant to insure a cat n car.
Thanks all-
My missus's daily driver is a Cat N. I replaced the side doors myself and it's every bit as solid and reliable as it was before a little old lady in a giant SUV drove into the side of it. Insurance company aren't bothered either.
A lot of insurers don't care in terms of insuring them, they will just adjust the payout at the claim accordingly to factor in its worth less than a non cat car.
So be prepared to pay a non cat car rate but a cat car payout.
Our 55 plate 330d touring was economically written off last year after a minor rear shunt.
The insurers paid out about £4.5k and we bought it back for £1k, I found a replacement tailgate for £30 and paid a local mobile mechanic £100 to swap it over.
Absolutely no affect on the recent insurance renewal cost.
I'd say go for it.
This might concern me if the car had a more severe accident and say a front end rebuild. But it would be the possible compromised strength that would bother me.
Regarding roadworthiness of a cat N (or any apparently undamaged car), you just need to do your normal checks;
Valid MOT
Competent DIY servicing and checks according to the maintenance schedule, or regular servicing.
Basic regular checks by your eldest...lights, tyres, does it stop, does it go etc.
The fact that you know the owner and history of the car puts it a step ahead of anything else you buy...there will be heaps of cars out there with more serious accident repairs that are not recorded, as people that are a bit savvy will get their car repaired without informing their insurance.
I'd also try and get a look down the front of the engine (or pop the bumper off) to check the deform-able crash beam/structure is intact, its common to get squashed and then a few fixings are left off the bumper where it doesn't reach! We had a fairly small impact on the back of our car and once the bumper was off the beam was squashed. This is more for minor injuries such as whiplash rather than any purpose in a big accident...half the time you replace them with strong steel beam when you fit a towbar anyway so they are not essential.
Just don't pay too much for it, its Cat N and that will be reflected in the resale value.
Go for it, I've had loads of cat C, D and N cars no insurer has ever batted an eyelid.
Its not different from a car that was repaired by the insurer, and in that case no one would ever know.
Remember writing off is a financial decision, nothing to do with how bad the damage is.
If you do damage the car again, expect the insurance company to give you a low figure. So make sure you buy it 20% less than equivalent.
If it's passed MOT, then all should be good. I have 2 Cat D write offs (previous category N) and they've proven to be superb buys. I've not had trouble with insuring, but have made sure to mention it. No difference to premiums that I've seen, but it would make a difference in a payout.
Son's car was written off when a motorcycle hit the passenger door. Insurance companies policy was if it's over 10 years old they don't even view it. They gave us £800+ and because it would have cost them to collect it they gave us the car. Found a door in the correct colour online, 6 bolts to change it and back on the road for £125 including MOT.
2 years later it was hit by a Polish lorry driver with no driving licence and properly written off this time - fortunately the police proved the lorry owner was insured and we got £725 for it.
Never any mention of Cat N being an issue and if I remember correctly it was Admiral in both cases.
I've been insured on Cat C and D cars with Admiral, Esure, Churchill and Chris Knott. None of them are arsed about it being Cat C or D provided there was an MOT (even, in one case, where the car was less then three years old). It won't make a difference how old the driver is.
The only issue I had was when one of them was crashed into - it's insured as a previously written off car and they lop 20% off the value. So long as you're aware of that then crack on.