BMW F30 - Cat D should I buy?

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pf85

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I've been offered a very low mileage (~27k miles) 320D F30 at a very low price but its been a Cat D repaired - hit to the front but the photo didnt look too bad to be fair. It should come with 12 months MOT and the fella selling it reckons there is a full dealer service history on 'the board'? I dont know enough about these cars but I take it that's the onboard computer bash..?

I'm very cautious as its lower than what I would expect to pay for a car with that mileage even with a Cat D and on the MOT 2 years ago at around 18k miles there was an advisory that the front wheels were wearing on the outside - surely this shouldn't be the case with a low milage car?

What do you guys reckon? Any advice?
 

PeteMoore

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I have no issue with Cat D personally, if anything it's a great way to get a good car with massive discount.

If you have seen the accident damage and it was very minor, then go for it
 

pf85

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I asked about error codes and he reckons there are no current codes - is there anything else I should be checking or looking out for?
 

AMG

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This is a question with no right or wrong answer, you have to weigh up the pros and cons of the car as it sits in front of you.
Generally I would never buy one if I was keeping it a short while and selling on again as they are extremely hard to shift over here again, and it's not as if there is a shortage of 320d's about.
However if I was to keep it for a long time and/or be putting high milage on it and car was cheap enough then why not!
 

pf85

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Yes if I was to buy it I would be keeping long term and clocking up the miles so its not a short term car. I'm just worried about the price being cheap - if he is trying to hide something or sell it on due to some issues it has
 

Lyons

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Not something you'll be able to answer online. Get it checked thoroughly for piece of mind, only way to know if the car is 100% or not.
 

richie_mck

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Northern Ireland don't buy cars over 100k or cat d so they are usually fairly well priced. If it comes with pics of the damage and it's a car for long term driving I wouldn't have a problem personally.
 

pf85

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The car is in England so its not overly straightforward to go and view and as its a private sale as well I'm just swaying on the side of caution
 

pablo

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Id consider an inspection by a local independent specialist. money well spent if its a lemon. I bought a cat D Audi S3 from england and didn't get a proper look at it when buying (bad weather, tight schedule) and it was a ******* dose. Some lies told too like the bulb warning light that "just came on last night" which was a result of the wrong headlights being fitted. Proper ones were super rare. Also once I got a proper look there was signs of a shoddy repair/bad paintwork etc.
 

pf85

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Rang an indie specialist and he quoted around £200 provided the seller can bring the car to his garage
 

pablo

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Id happily pay that to have a good going over on a ramp. if the seller won't do it then maybe its a sign. just bear in mind sometimes those inspections flag a little too much, so make sure to have a conversation with the place to clarify how bad some things really are.
 

Sam888

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As others have said, I'd have no problems with buying a catD car, as long as I was sure that the repair was of a good standard. Car's can be written off as cat D for minor reason, I've seen cars needing only bumpers or panels needing replaced, if you can live with it I'd buy it.
 

Sam888

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Yeah, wouldn't be the first time I've went to a breakers to buy a front bumper rather than go through the insurance, how many people on here have fitted facelift parts just to modify their car? As long as there's been no major damage to chassis ect
 

jincam

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I think im right in saying cat d doesnt even shoe up on the front of a v5 tax book either
 

Sam888

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Yeah your right @jincam, and no vehicle identification check either, as long as you stay clear of catC and can get a look around the car with someone who knows what they're at, why not.
 

zafturbo

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Is that correct that it does not show up.my friends daughter got driven into and her car needed a bumper and bonnet repair ,headlight ect and she immediately took it to trade in when repaired and the guy told her it was worthless to him and would not be interested.
 

Sam888

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If it hasn't been declared to the insurance company, and the repair work was of good quality, how would the guy know. It's something we all look out for when buying a used car, especially anything with a bit of power, I'm sure there's many a Subaru or BMW on the road that's seen the wrong side of a hedge at one time or another.
 
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