Mercedes E55 AMG 1998 - Reduced but Cat B
abecketts
MB Enthusiast
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- E280cdi, ML350, Alfa 147 GTA, Alfa 166 3.0 and tractors
a rare on the road cat B, anyone considering buying it should look carefully under the hood. An autolign inspection used to be one way of checking such vehicles out, I think they still run inspection centres.
Spin_bowler
MB Enthusiast
That was much discussed on here a year or back. Quite a spicy thread with much debate over the Cat B status IIRC.
SHAUNE55
Banned
I thought cat B could only be used for spares?
Mercman786
Active Member
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That does seem to be the case, however last year me and my brother bought a Category B C320, repaired it and put it back on the road.
The car now leads a nice life in Pakistan!
MercFanUk
MB Enthusiast
It always bugs me on these when people 'don't know' what the damage was... it's already publicly a cat b, there's no point in hiding what the damage was so long as it's been properly sorted. It'd make me much warier not knowing.
MercFanUk
MB Enthusiast
Also, sites like HPI Check (HPI Check - Glossary of Terms for the HPI Check & the motor trade) list Cat A/B as no longer allowed on the road, seems a pretty reliable source. Does the DVLA not have published list? Would stop all the forum chat about it and put a definite answer to it all lol
clever dicky
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There's plenty of good C's & D's on ebay if that's what your after.
I wouldn't risk it.
I wouldn't risk it.
SHAUNE55
Banned
I was warned off this car by people in the know whose opinions I trust and respect.
bolide
MB Enthusiast
Cynics might choose to rewrite those descriptions as:
A: Basket case
B: See A
C: See D. Possibility of "ringing" so VIN should be checked
D: Insurers cynically refuse to repair as it is cheaper for them to scrap the car
Nick Froome
A: Basket case
B: See A
C: See D. Possibility of "ringing" so VIN should be checked
D: Insurers cynically refuse to repair as it is cheaper for them to scrap the car
Nick Froome
Red C220
MB Enthusiast
Hmm, I wonder if this thread will get interesting.
Have a look at the sellers feedback, it seems the car sold once this week already.
Have a look at the sellers feedback, it seems the car sold once this week already.
SHAUNE55
Banned
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Attachments
Borys
MB Enthusiast
As long as the car has been properly sorted should be fine.Good proof is how long the current owner has it.
Also when it comes to high millage cars I would rather go for 200K miles car with one owner full service history then 80K with 5 owners and very little history.
At least the seller doesn't hide the cat,so the car can be inspected.
Great for export as in Europe you don't have categories whatsoever,they cannot be bothered.You buy check it properly
Also when it comes to high millage cars I would rather go for 200K miles car with one owner full service history then 80K with 5 owners and very little history.
At least the seller doesn't hide the cat,so the car can be inspected.
Great for export as in Europe you don't have categories whatsoever,they cannot be bothered.You buy check it properly
Red C220
MB Enthusiast
The problem comes though, when no one actually has any information as to why the car was classified.
The categorisation scheme was voluntary before a certain date and not administered by the DVLA, in so much as it was voluntary for the insurers or HPi to inform the DVLA of the insurance loss.
Even now the rules governing what happens to these vehicles is a "Code of conduct" produced by the Association of British Insurers. Here is that "Code of Conduct" in pdf form:-
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=dvla%20total%20loss%20classification&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCoQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.abi.org.uk%2FInformation%2FCodes_and_Guidance_Notes%2F40510.pdf&ei=U1HPTsunKMj28QOwgvXoDw&usg=AFQjCNEH0yUKhDQarIPFq6j3oaVFkoJ86Q&sig2=MEicEiM1foRm7bVWAAXJdw&cad=rja
It's not law.
So a vehicle written off in say 2000, or 2001 (as Cat B) could have been repaired and put back on the road without any requirement for inspections or any proof it had been repaired properly or infact any information at all about the original damage or reasons behind it's write off.
Also remember that vehicles can be written off for all sorts of odd reasons that don't involve accident damage.
A good example is flood damage with untreated sewage. The vehicle would then be Class B on health grounds. However an engineers inspection on the vehicle at a later date would turn this up as perfectly road worthy as an engineer is rather unlikely to swab for Cholera.
There are some oddities around - but as already mentioned in this post - you can buy an E55 for around £2K to £3k with no categorisation at all, so why would you bother with this one unless you were buying it as a parts car.
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Borys
MB Enthusiast
Understood,good point that cars can be categorized for stupid reasons.
I bought a c36 with cat C and it had only two panels damaged.Got it fully resprayed,one owner 66K on the clock-mint.As for the stupid cat no one wanted it,was valued at 1100£-how ridiculous is that?
I bought a c36 with cat C and it had only two panels damaged.Got it fully resprayed,one owner 66K on the clock-mint.As for the stupid cat no one wanted it,was valued at 1100£-how ridiculous is that?
