What does category's mean on a car?

Asked by: Dr. Cecil Paucek Jr.  |  Last update: December 23, 2025
Score: 4.8/5 (65 votes)

Cat A – Car has suffered severe structural damage and cannot be repaired. Cat B – Car cannot be repaired, but it can be stripped for parts to use on other cars. Cat S – Structural damage that can be repaired. Cat N – Non-structural damage that can be repaired.

What does category mean on a car?

Cat A. The car cannot be repaired, will never be driven again, and cannot be divided into parts. The car is broken down and discarded in an approved treatment facility, or ATF. Cat B. The car is beyond repair and won't be driven again, but some of its components, like the gearbox, might be disassembled and sold.

Is category N better than S?

In some cases, the damage will be minimal enough that a write-off car can be safely and legally repaired and returned to the road. In order to prevent any future buyers from being misled, these cars will forever be labelled as Category S if the damage is structural, or Category N if the damage is purely cosmetic.

What is a category C or D car?

Cat C cars are what insurers call a repairable total loss: the cost of repairing them is greater than the car's value. That's unlike a Cat D car, where the cost of repairing the car is less than the vehicle's pre-accident value. All vehicles classed as Cat C have been damaged.

What is an example of the category of a car?

Sedan, wagon, and SUV are different examples of car categories.

Buying Category S Salvage Insurance Write-off and what can happen

22 related questions found

What is categorized as a vehicle?

The term "vehicle" typically refers to land vehicles such as human-powered vehicles (e.g. bicycles, tricycles, velomobiles), animal-powered transports (e.g. horse-drawn carriages/wagons, ox carts, dog sleds), motor vehicles (e.g. motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters) and railed vehicles (trains, trams ...

What is a category N?

Category N: cars with non-structural damage

Although the structural integrity of a Cat N car will still be intact, it might not be driveable, and some safety-critical parts, such as brakes, steering or suspension components, might need to be replaced.

What is a category S?

What is Cat S? Cat S refers to a vehicle that has sustained structural damage but can be repaired and safely returned to the road. It stands for “Category S”, indicating that the car has been written off by the insurer but can be fixed and re-registered.

What is Type C in cars?

USB-C can transfer data at much higher rates, providing better telematics and smartphone projection for in-car infotainment systems. In addition to being faster, USB-C ports don't need to be inserted in a specific direction like a USB-A plug, making them much more user friendly.

What is a Type D car?

Most D-segment cars are sedans/saloons or wagons/estates but hatchbacks, and coupes have been common. Pricing and specification of D-segment cars can vary greatly, from basic low-cost transport to more luxurious and expensive models. As of 2021 the typical D-segment category size span from approx. 4.6m to 4.8m.

What does category D mean?

'Cat D' refers to a car that has been deemed beyond economical repair by an insurance provider. This usually means that the total repair costs would be more than 50% of the car's value. Cat D cars have been written off due to repair costs rather than how much damage they have sustained.

What does N vs S mean?

Sensing (S) vs. Intuition (N): People who prefer sensing are practical, detail-oriented, and prefer to focus on the present, while those who prefer intuition are imaginative, abstract, and prefer to focus on the future.

What is structural damage on a car?

“Structural damage” is defined as any damage which affects a vehicle's chassis or underlying structure, such as a unibody frame. Essentially, structural damage runs deeper than mere car panel damage, affecting the car's skeleton.

What is vehicle category code?

Car codes are created by assigning one character from each column and combining them into a four-character car code: 1st character denotes the vehicle category – based on size, cost, power and luxury factor. 2nd character defines the vehicle type – chassis type (van, SUV, wagon, convertible….)

What does category value mean?

Categorical values are those that represent a category or group of data, in contrast to numerical values, which represent quantities. In machine learning, categorical values are important because many algorithms require data to be represented numerically.

How many category of cars are there?

“Vehicles including passenger cars and a truck-based SUV can be broken into 10 vehicle types that range from sedans to hatchbacks to pickup trucks. ”

What is C type car?

In practice, C-segment cars have been described as having a length of approximately 4.5 metres (15 ft). As of 2021 C-segment category sizes span from approximately 4.2m to 4.6m.

What is the H and C on a car?

H And C Meaning In A Car

C stands for cold temperature and H for hot temperature. H and C are the ends of the temperature gauge, which indicates the temperature of the coolant in the engine. Overheating the temperature makes the needle move towards H, and the engine's cooling moves towards C.

What does Category C mean on a car?

If a car is 'Cat C', it means that the vehicle has been involved in a collision, and the damage sustained in the incident would cost more to repair than the current market value of the vehicle, meaning the owner's insurance company would not have paid for the damage to be repaired.

What does Category A mean?

It's the highest and most serious grade a damaged car can be given. It means the car is totally unrepairable and deemed never to be driven again, it also can't be sold as parts because the damage is so severe. Category A cars are almost always crushed and destroyed.

What is a class S vehicle?

The SAE Class "S" well clearance is a common requirement on newer cars, especially if after-market wider, low-profile, or larger tires and/or wheels are fitted. The classes are defined as follows: SAE Class S: Regular (non-reinforced) passenger tire traction devices for vehicles with restricted wheel well clearance.

What is cat y?

What is a Category Y write-off: The vehicle has been reported stolen and is unrecovered. Therefore at this time there is no Category Loss damage associated with the reported theft.

What is a cat C?

A Cat C vehicle will have suffered significant damage in the past, probably in an accident. The insurance company that handled the claim decided that repairing the vehicle would have cost more than replacing it. Insurers often sell Cat C vehicles on for salvage. Many are safely repaired and returned to the road.

What is a Class A and B vehicle?

A class A license is considered the “universal” CDL, providing the opportunity to drive multiple types of commercial trucks and tractor trailers. A class B license also allows the operation of different types of vehicles such as straight trucks and dump trucks, but it is more limiting than a class A CDL.