Cat D cars? And advice sought re second car

[RattlerRattler]

Hi, I'm looking for a family/ work car to do the day to day donkey work and keep the mileage and Winter crud off the SL. I'd plan to have it for a few years, effectively run it into the ground. I need to travel to customer's sites, so it needs to look decent. ( I've a private plate I can stick on it to disguise age if required)

I'm looking to get the best car I can for my buck.

I've got a budget of circa £6k and need a half decent looking car, with sub 100 k mileage and decent reliability. My searching says I can get a reasonable car for this budget, if they're well spec'd then the mileage is higher etc, etc.... I've got a view of getting something similar to BMW 3 or 5 series, touring or not.

Some q's which I'd appreciate some advice on;

- anyone know of a decent car in this bracket that perhaps doesn't attract the higher price tag of a BMW that could fit the bill here? audis?
- there are Cat D cars for lower costs ( obviously) but what are the risks with these? Higher insurance? Or just poor resell value (unlikely to be an issue)
- if these are higher mileage, is petrol or diesel best for longevity / reliability?
- I'm tempted with an auction purchase, but new to that, any "buying cars at auction" guides that are recommended?

Thanks in advance
Tim

 

[davidjpowell]

we bought a 3 year old 520d that had done 110k, FSH, new tyres etc... Cost 6.5k with buyers premium at BCA Derby

Worked well for us.

 

[RattlerRattler]

Thanks for the response .
Practically I'm looking at an estate / touring car, and I fancy either a Beemer 5 series or an Audi A8.

For my budget it's likely it be high mileage 100k plus, or a cat D option, similar spec, but lower mileage.

I fancy a punt at an auction but my lack of experience is shying me away.

So my options may be;

- higher mileage, decent spec touring 5 series or a6/a8
- as above mid mileage , cat d
- as above, but not cat d from auction?


Option 3 really isn't viable ( too risky )

So if cat d is ok ( vosa report?) that might make sense?

Thanks

Tim

 

[bolide]

£6k will get you a decent E61 Touring or a very nice E39 Touring & £2k change. The E46 Touring is pretty small inside but is a decent car. The 330 D is remarkable

Nick Froome

 

[Deleted member 37751]

For reliability and a very good car, £6k will buy you a 2009-2010 Skoda Superb 1.9tdi which is far more reliable than the other cars you are thinking of.

You obviously take a bit of a knock on the 'prestige' thing but if you want old fashioned German reliability without the price tag, Skoda is the way to go.

 

[Major774]

A good S211 would be excellent... huge amount of space.

 

[SamW]

For your budget I would steer clear of cat D's, there's no need to consider them really.

My friend just bought a lovely (but boring) VW Passat estate, nice spec, fvwsh, 2 owner, 57 plate, 80oddK, for under £6k

 

[zenman63]

Theres no problem with Cat D cars if they are done right, some are so minor, its the hire car expenses that all add up to right a car off.

 

[DSM10000]

Theres no problem with Cat D cars if they are done right, some are so minor, its the hire car expenses that all add up to right a car off.

I used this to my advantage once. I had an Audi A6 Avant that was hit from behind by a Citroen Xantia, the Audi had a dented tailgate, damaged bumper and rear panel, the Citroen came off somewhat worse!.

Total cost of repairs was £3800 including re-spraying the rear of the car.

I received a call from the body shop (a Ford dealer) who told me my courtesy car was being delivered the next day. I asked what it was only to be told it was a Ka!

The Audi was 8 years old and the repairs and re-spray would likely be noticeable and reduce the cars future value therefore I was keen to get it written of so I called the insurance company and rejected the Ka and asked for a car that was equivalent, a quick chat with the loss adjuster and a calculation of the cost of providing me with an equivalent Audi, BMW or Mercedes and I had a cheque on my doormat in 3 days and I kept the Audi

 

[flango]

For reliability and a very good car, £6k will buy you a 2009-2010 Skoda Superb 1.9tdi which is far more reliable than the other cars you are thinking of.

You obviously take a bit of a knock on the 'prestige' thing but if you want old fashioned German reliability without the price tag, Skoda is the way to go.

 

[kingdave]

Read a fair bit of this...
Best Smoker Barges 1-5 large [Vol 6] - PistonHeads=

It's a very long running thread on pistonheads that though heavily merc biassed will tell you all about running cars in your price bracket. A8 and estates are well covered.

 

[janner]

For your budget I would steer clear of cat D's, there's no need to consider them really...

Absolutely.
They can be okay if you know exactly what the damge was (most sellers will tell you stolen/recovered or dented bumper) but at your budget I think you should avoid Cat Ds.

Here's a couple of Cat Ds currently at a salvage auction with more than a scratch...
HBC Auctions - Auction Image Gallery
HBC Auctions - Auction Image Gallery

A regular auction might be a good idea but best if you buy a three year old car direct from a finance company. Most other cars are there because they have problems are are not worth the risk IMHO.

 

[keastygtir]

you could buy my W203 270 cdi!!!

 

[Will]

Not sure I'd go of specifically looking for a cat-D car to be honest. Sometimes you come across a damaged/repaired car and they are fine (and can be good value).

For me one of the key points is when they were 'written off' - obviously on older cars, it doesn't take so much damage for repairs to be uneconomical. If a newish car is written off it's more likely to have sustained more serious damage.

For £6k though you've no need to be a scraping the barrel. My only concern with prestige cars at this price point is that they're not effectively in the 'bangernomics' category. They'll still need servicing/repairs/MOT/taxing/tyres etc etc. They'll still develop faults and need money spent on them.

I'd either spend less - a couple of £k tops, or look at newer/less expensive to run cars. £6k modern high mileage diesel prestige cars - especially 'cheap' ones from auction/write offs etc can quickly empty your wallet when they go wrong.

What's your annual mileage likely to be? Maybe consider sticking the £6k in the bank and running a 'bargain' new car on lease if you need it for work etc?

 

[Ginger55k]

For reliability and a very good car, £6k will buy you a 2009-2010 Skoda Superb 1.9tdi which is far more reliable than the other cars you are thinking of.

You obviously take a bit of a knock on the 'prestige' thing but if you want old fashioned German reliability without the price tag, Skoda is the way to go.

Had an Octavia for 8 years and have to agree, very reliable, all it needed was fuel air and water, nothing ever went wrong with it, the Superb has acres of space inside, lot of car for the money.

And check out your local taxi rank, taxi drivers find them very popular because of the German reliability.

 

[jamesfuller]

I cant argue that a Skoda is reliable, the 1.9 pd engine is probably the only modern diesel I would think about owning. I just don't think I could bring myself to own a skoda (ex works rally cars excepted) or even a modern golf for that matter.

 

[Ginger55k]

I cant argue that a Skoda is reliable, the 1.9 pd engine is probably the only modern diesel I would think about owning. I just don't think I could bring myself to own a skoda (ex works rally cars excepted) or even a modern golf for that matter.

When i did own the Octavia dad had a VW Passat the only difference between them was the skin, oh and 8 grand, horses for courses i suppose but if i was looking for something as the OP describes in that budget area then the Skoda cannot be discounted.

Its funny really when i first moved from a skoda to a merc I had more comments from people thinking i was now flush with money, badge snobbery maybe.

Anyway what do you call a skoda without wheels...........a skip.

 

[John Jones Jr]

Nothing wrong with a Skoda, but 6k should get you a low mileage 2006/7 2.0/2.4 man or auto Honda Accord. Certainly worth considering if nothing else.

 

[Piff]

If it's a cat d, you need to check it very thoroughly.
We've owned one as a "learner" car for our boys. Went through disputes with Glojo about the rights & wrongs.
The car suited our needs but corners had been cut by the repairer. Things like the fog lights held in by tape rather than replacement lights with proper mountings. Cooling fan not replaced correctly leading to engine overheating under extreme circumstances.
Tread carefully.

 

[DSB SL AMG]

Also second Skoda Superb...VW / Audi running gear, I think its the old A6 platform...