While looking for used cars online you are likely to notice that some of them are listed at ‘Cat D’ or ‘Cat C’, and that the cost of these vehicles is significantly lower than other models with similar age and mileage, and there’s a good reason why.

There are four main categories used by insurance companies to define the level of damage sustained by cars involved in collisions and accidents. The four categories are labelled A, B, C and D.

If a car is ‘Cat C’, it means that the vehicle has been involved in a collision, and the damage sustained in the incident would cost more to repair than the current market value of the vehicle, meaning the owner’s insurance company would not have paid for the damage to be repaired.

While this doesn’t necessarily mean the car is un-drivable, it simply means that the car either currently has a degree of damage that most insurers will refuse to cover the repair for, or the damage has been repaired and paid for by the previous owner.

As you can imagine, selling a Cat C car can be considerably more difficult than selling a ‘regular’ vehicle. Private buyers are often more reluctant to buy cars with a Cat C or Cat D classification, as many of them see the purchase as a risk.

You must also consider the substantial loss of value a car sees when it sustains enough damage to be categorised as Cat C, in many cases as much as 50%. This is due to the cost of outstanding repairs and inspections the vehicle may require, as well as the perceived ‘risk’ involved with driving a car that is either currently or was previously categorised as Cat C.

Both of these factors can make selling a Cat C car privately considerably difficult and long winded process.

How much is my ‘Cat C’ Car worth?