From

www.raw2k.co.uk/news/what-is-a-category-x-salvage-...r

Essentially, it’s considered by some to be one of the most desirable salvage categories, but often doesn’t appear as an individual label. A Category X car has been subject to an insurance claim, but often while sustaining minimal or zero damage. Most commonly, this is because the car has been stolen, eventually causing the insurance company to pay off the owner. Stolen cars are sometimes found again after this happens, at which point they become the property of the insurance company and become Category X cars.

Not an awful lot of stolen vehicles are recovered with no damage whatsoever, but many are easily repairable, and can become perfectly roadworthy. They may have been repaired strictly in accordance with manufacturer specifications. Whatever the case, this detail is not recorded on the HPI register, so be aware there may be a gap in the vehicle’s history if you go to buy it.

Category X cars usually come from one of two sources - either directly from the manufacturer, or the insurance company who’s repossessed it.

As with the purchase of any auction car, really that’s down to you! Category X cars are relatively rare, and they’re not always strictly recorded as such, depending on who’s selling them. You might find that private vendors don’t use the term very much, and sometimes they’re known to be rebranded to Category N cars. (Whether this is legal or not depends on who’s doing the rebranding.)

The fact that they’re not HPI registered can make it more difficult to look into the history of an individual vehicle, which may hinder your research process - always an important part of buying any used, seized or salvage vehicle! However, if you’ve got mechanical knowledge and you’re confident that you can repair any problems that may arise or exist with the car - or it’s a low-risk purchase for you - then it may be worth considering. As with many of these instances, it really depends on your individual level of skill and knowledge when it comes to cars!

Edited by _ORB_ on 22/03/2021 at 15:12