Old categories C and D still matter

Both were repairable. Under the code replaced in October 2017, C meant the estimated repair cost including VAT exceeded the vehicle's value immediately before the damage. D meant the estimated repair cost including VAT did not exceed that pre-accident value, but the insurer still chose not to repair it.

The Competition and Markets Authority glossary from the 2014 motor insurance investigation records those cost-based definitions. Insurers stopped assigning the letters when the present ABI code arrived in October 2017. Vehicles already labelled C or D keep the history.

The present S and N letters divide repairable salvage by structural damage instead. C is not a historical synonym for S, and D is not a synonym for N. An old category alone does not tell you whether the original damage was structural.

Yes. Both were repairable categories. A properly repaired vehicle can still be used if it is roadworthy, taxed, insured and has a valid MOT where required.

The category remains in the insurance history. A new keeper does not get a clean record simply because the category stopped being assigned in October 2017. A private history check is how you see it.

Price the vehicle as a recorded total loss and judge the actual repair evidence. The official definitions contain no resale discount, so no fixed percentage can be justified.

Tell the insurer the old category before taking cover and get the quote before purchase. The same warning about higher premiums, unavailable cover and non-disclosure applies to older categories.

A seller says 'it would be N now'. Nobody re-runs the 2015 damage through the 2017 code. The record is C or D.

A buyer skips the engineer because the car is nine years on from the incident. Hidden structural repairs do not age out of the history check.

An insurer is told 'no write-off' because the V5C is unmarked. D is the usual reason that happens.

Myth: C and D were deleted so they no longer matter. They are no longer assigned. Existing records remain.

Myth: D means the damage was slight. D means the estimated bill did not exceed the pre-accident value.

Myth: Scotland used different letters. The ABI code and DVLA record are UK insurance-salvage practice, not a devolved alphabet.

Start with a private history check so you know which letter was recorded. Then inspect the repair as if the incident were last year. Ten years of MOTs do not prove a chassis rail was replaced, and they do not prove a D car's damage was light.

Ask for any remaining photographs, invoices and the name of the original repairer. If none exist, an independent engineer is the substitute. The Department for Transport still recommends that inspection for written-off vehicles, including ones repaired long ago.

Disclose C or D to the insurer before you buy. Some will cover it, some will not, some will charge more. There is no official premium figure. A company car with an old C on the history is still a total-loss record when the next fleet insurer asks.

Form V62 pairing C with S is a document-history footnote, not a statement that the 2015 damage was structural. Do not advertise an old C as 'would be S today' or an old D as 'would be N today'. Nobody re-ran the crash through the 2017 code.

A motorcycle with old C on a 2014 insurance file is still a total-loss record. So is a van. The CMA glossary and the ABI code do not carve those vehicles out. Tax, MOT class and insurance product will differ; the history letter will not.

If you already own the car and only just found the C or D marker on a history check, tell your insurer. Non-disclosure is about what you know and what you ought to tell, not about whether the V5C mentioned it. Then decide whether to commission an engineer before the next renewal or the next sale.

When you advertise the car, say it has an old category C or D record. A buyer who runs a history check will see it. Hiding it does not remove it from MIAFTR-derived reports, and it is the usual reason a sale falls through the week after viewing.