As Tony said above, it is only cat C cars that require a VIC check. I buy a lot of cat C and cat D cars and TBH they are only panel damaged usually.
Cat D cars aren't registered on the log books, but it will show up a s a cat D if you do a vehicle history check on it.
Cat C cars have " This car has been substantially repaired on ......... date and has had a VIC inspection carried out " or words to that effect on the logbook .
The VIC check is only to compare the chassis number with the details on the DVLA's system and not really to check the quality of the repair that has been carried out.
My own gen7 is a Cat D. I bought it that way and fixed it up. Here is what a CAT D can look like:
My own car when I bought it damaged
But on the other hand I have bought cat C cars that have hardly any damage such as this:
( Tiny dent on front wing but classed as a Cat C )
So half of the time it really does depend on the inspector at the time as to how he determins the category.