Fire Damage to my Car

joseph21_2

I have had a car seat set on fire, roof lining, damage to steering area. It smells etc and the insureance says it will be a class B wright off. I think it should be a class D, as all the parts can be replaced and all will be well.


What do you think????????

goldspanners

rather than going through your insurance you should have just replaced the parts then.

if its going to cost more to buy and get the parts fitted than what your car is worth they will write it off.
you could buy it back from them and repair it yourself.

joseph21_2

Do both of them exsit and the insurance co said that class D is not a DVLA code dispite it be on Department for Transport.

mcjordi

CAT A = crush only
CAT B = can be used for parts only nothing structural can be used
CAT C = repairable but cost of parts and labour costs more than the PAV of the car
CAT D= repairable but other factors such as hire cars etc bring claim up to PAV of vehicle

your cat b means the structure of the vehicle has been damaged.

they are ABI ratings not DVLA

Conor_3

No it is definitely CAT B. This is because there will have been electronic modules in the vehicle that have been on fire. When I worked in a scrappies, we got a notification through from Health and Safety Inspectorate specifically about car electronic modules that had been on fire. Basically, they become carcinogenic - i.e handling them, coming into contact or breathing any fumes from them can lead to you getting cancer.

In addition to that, the heat from the fire WILL have warped the metal bodywork and structure. If you were to put it on a jig, you'd find it well out.

So CAT B is the correct category to be assigned.

joseph21_2

Many thanks for all your comments but it is only the seat and the roof linning that has burnt.


The seat is the main cause of the smell but this can be replaced. The roof linning can taken down and something put up at a later stage. There is no damage near the dash etc so no damage to any electrics did not happen.

Conor_3

But the heat can still have warped the shell.

Hintza

I'm slightly surprised as well and Conor is probably correct. The insurance company would much prefer to write it off as CAT D as obviously it would be worth more to them.

OP you just need to get full value from the insurance company and move on.