Category C and Category D Registered Cars

What are category C and category D registered cars?

Insurance companies use five categories to describe cars which have suffered damage due to accidents. The five categories are A, B, C, D and F. A-D categories are on a scale, with category A being the most damage and D being the least serious. Category F relates to fire damage.

Category C and D cars are vehicles which have been written off, not because they cannot be repaired, but because it would not be economical for insurance companies to pay for the repairs. Generally category C and D cars can be repaired, however a category C write-off costs more to repair than the value of the car, and a category D car will incur repair costs of more than 60% (but less than 100%) of the car’s value.

Buying  a category C or D car

Though there is no rule of thumb for how much you should pay when buying category C or D cars, anywhere between 25% and 40% less than the normal price is reasonable. However, some insurance companies do not insure cat C or D cars, so this will need to be taken into consideration when looking for an insurer.

An HPI check will be able to tell you if a vehicle you are considering buying has been written off by an insurance company. Category A, B and C cars will have a ‘VIC marker’ put against them by the DVLA. VIC stands for Vehicle Identity Check, and unless the vehicle has passed a VIC test the DVLA will not issue a V5 for it. If a car requires or has passed a VIC test, this will be noted on the V5. An HPI check will show the results of previous VIC tests. Cat D cars will not have a VIC marker against them.

Selling a cat C or D car

There are many misconceptions regarding category C and D cars, which can lead to buyers hesitating to buy them. Common misconceptions include “these cars are too dangerous to drive”, “you will lose money if you buy one”, or “they cannot be insured”. However, if the car is priced appropriately you should still be able to sell it.

VIC tests also need to be taken into consideration when selling a cat C car, as you cannot sell a car without a V5 so a VIC test will have to take place.