Cat C write off

[Johnny C]

Hi,

I'm looking at buying a 95 993. I ran a HPI check and it came back as having a Cat C write-off in 1998.

Checked with the insurance comany, they said it wasn't a problem with them as it's been on the road 7 years and been MOT'd in the meantime. It's been serviced by the same people (a reputable non-Porsche garage) for the last 5 years, and they it had had wing/bumper/bonnet replaced early on, they'd resprayed them as colour match wasn't perfect.

My inclination is that after 7 years back on the road it's okay. A lot of porsches have had smashes at some stage, including mine

Should I be overly concerned?

 

[Guest]

ORIGINAL: Johnny C

Should I be overly concerned?

....erm yes. There are plenty about that have't been written off.

 

[968er]

To say a car is a Cat C write off conjures up all kinds of bad images, when in actual fact the insurers have decided that they do not want to get involved in repairing it.

The thing to bear in mind is that if the car has been repaired by a reputable source everything is now sorted. There are plenty of cars out there that have had a botched job and not been reported to the insurers, so that when you get the HPI check it comes back with a clean bill of health. I know of someone who paid top money for a Porsche to only find out at the first service that it had been involved in a serious rear and front end shunt and the repairs were amatuer even to the point that the front wing was second hand and was a different colour under the respray[&:]

 

[Guest]

Its must have been quite a major ding for an insurance company not to want to repair a 3 year old 911 that must have been worth £45K at the time?

 

[Johnny C]

It passed an autolign inspection, for which I have a copy of the report saying it should be classed as 'Condition inspected'. The ding was front-end.

If I didn' know the people who have maintained it for the last 5 years, I wouldn't have considered it. The choice is a car which I know has been well repaired and well maintained since, or one that could have the sort of nasty 968er mentioned taht didn't show up until a major service.

It's up for 25K, 75K on the clock, RS bodykit. Could I get something similar for that sort of money? RS kit isn't essential, how much would I need to pay to get that on a 'standard' model of the same mileage?

 

[968er]

If it passed the Autolign inspection then it is in better shape than a lot of 'straight' cars

 

[Paul Holroyd]

Have someone look at at that knows Porsche inside out. I once purchased a 944 turbo HPI was fine and the car was in good shape but when I come to part ex it I was informed that the car was two cars welded together. Still got a good price price maybe because it was two cars for the price of one.
If your not sure walk away.

Paul Holroyd
Porsche Motorsport Artist
www.porschesport.com

 

[Johnny C]

thanks!

That's one thing I do know, it was and is one car.

 

[Guest]

I recently paid 28k for a 95 C2 with 63k at a specialist. That price included 48k service, clutch and brakes so I would say 25k sounds a little high considering the cat C. Mine had a new rear wing but no major accident damage and was hpi clear.

 

[Johnny C]

I phoned Autolign and they said their inspection should have removed the Cat C from the HPI history, so the garage is contacting HPI to get it cleared.

 

[Guest]

I did not know that the Cat C/D was cleared from the HPI register after an inspection. Seems a bit misleading to me as it hides an important part of the car's history, as a buyer I would want HPI to tell me that it had been damaged and then repaired to the correct standard so I could make an infomed choice. Anyway good luck if you decide to go ahead.

 

[huw dolphin]

I know Mark at Ninemeister in Warrington does a lot of this sort of work - write off rebuilds etc. Depending where you are I'd get him to have a look at it. If it's been repaired properly and the price is right i wouldn't be too concerned particularly if you intend keeping the car for a while.

 

[Johnny C]

Mark has worked on it for the last 5 years, and vouches for it and I trust his judgement.

My intention is to run the car to about 200K (which my current 3.2 has done without too much bother - an engine rebuild at 135K as it was a London runaround before I got it).

I realise it will be hard to sell if the worst comes to the worst, but that's a risk I'm prepared to take; it's the spec I want and the price is okay. So, decision made and I'm about to pop along with a cheque. 9M are remapping it so I should have a nice shiny 'new' car shortly...

RIP

 

[964rh]

ORIGINAL: Johnny C

I phoned Autolign and they said their inspection should have removed the Cat C from the HPI history, so the garage is contacting HPI to get it cleared.

Would this get it removed from the logbook as well? or does that stay there for good?

Rob

 

[Johnny C]

The Autolign inspection is Thatcham-approved, it's a government sponsored thing, and they want people to start using Autolign (some insurers now require it) so maybe they will. I'll see shortly.

However the HPI report will still say it was classed as Cat C, but moved off the Cat C register to 'Condition inspected'; in which case the DVLA may do something similar.

 

[964rh]

Johnny

Let me know how you get on please

If your successful I'll look getting the wives car sorted.

Rob

 

[jmspear]

A bit off topic but I looked at a 993 today (walked away) as a track day car which had been stolen, rammed a police car damaged and engine siezed and was written off by insurance company.

It had subsequently been repaired. The write off was due mainly to cost of new engine.

It had not been recorded as a write off.

The buyer was a top guy as he was completely honest about the accident and repairs, all details and also had an Experian check and HPI check. (It was agood car just not for me) They were both clear. The Experian check noted that it had been listed as stolen but nothing about the write off - it delivered a clear report. The HPI check noted NOTHING! no mention of it being stolen.

Moral of the story, get an Experian check, at least it noted that it had been stolen in the past!!

John


P.S. I have a 993 which had a similar crash at the front end (less damage and no engine damage) which I had repaired at my local OPC, no expense spared and with Porsche warranty. A comparison of the quality of the repairs was night and day. (mine was very very good) this one in comparison was frankly poor. You get what you pay for with crash repairs. It all depends who has repaired it. As has been said a good repair will cause you no worries (and very hard to tell it has been repaired).

 

[phil993]

Johnny - a 95 car that was cat 3 write off in 98 had to need £20k plus repairs which would indicate more structure than simple front side impact - probably had to be fully jigged etc. this car will be worth no more than £20k now. Check it out with Porsche approved bodyshop - particularly integrity of box sections and rust proofing. (IMHO) Please be careful - I learned the hard way.....

Phil