Cat D car

[KennyT]

The car you linked to says Cat D in 2001 when only 18months old, therefore the value of the car would have been much higher and if the insurers deemed it not financially viable for repair then there must have been a lot of repair needing done. Compared to if the car was Cat D last year there would likely be a lot less damage to cause a write off.
I know the price and availability of parts will have improved in the years but still I'd stay away form a car written off while it was new and expensive.

[Mikie711]

Likely it was written off because of damage tot he clam, which in 2001 would probably have had months of lead time. Clam, crash structure, radiator, etc would add up to a fair chunk of cash from Lotus coupled with associated labour and re-paint not surprised they wrote it off. If the policy holder had a hire car attached to their policy it's just another added expense and soon becomes too expensive to continue for the insurance company. Just have it independently checked focusing on the front end. Cheap for a 160.
Just because it was new doesn't necessarily mean the damage was extensive, I've seen cars written off for surprising little damage. New Golf written off, stolen recovered and only lock damage. Don't assume it had loads of damage and remember the Elise is very good in a straight on frontal impact and subsequently fairly simple to repair, just not cheap to fix because so much parts at the front are sacrificial, so to speak.

[woody]

Probably not in my interest to say, but it looks pricey for a Cat D 160 IMHO. It's been for sale a couple of other times over the years and has generally been slow to move IIRC. What's always bugged me about it is if the write off was so early it must have been a big one... if they can't get the basics like the indicators right (they should be smoked on a 160 at the front) what else is wrong/

[rossybee]

/watching this thread closely

[campbell]

/watching this thread closely

Scheming something, Ross?!

[rossybee]

/watching this thread closely

Scheming something, Ross?!

Yes indeedy