Car deemed a "write-off" but it's completely driveable

Robertf

Good advice on here! Cat D cars can be brilliant value but make sure you do the sums and make sure you keep in mind that a cat d will always be worth about 25% less than a pukka equivalent.

Insurance companies have to give you the option to buy back, so if you want to repair it you should ask.

matty1

does anybody know where to sell a car thats been in an acciedent? (insurance dont know for obvious reasons)

engine works fine its all just body work but i dont have the time

citreon xsara 2002 1.4 if ur wondering

omen666

what's a dint?

computershack

matty1 wrote: »

does anybody know where to sell a car thats been in an acciedent? (insurance dont know for obvious reasons)

engine works fine its all just body work but i dont have the time

citreon xsara 2002 1.4 if ur wondering

Scrap yard or punt it on Ebay as accident damaged repairable.

marmitedog

mrwibble wrote: »

Pukeko, Usually £2000 is when write-offs start to be automatic - by the way did you quibble the payout ? Its not your fault so you should not be put into a worse situation - surely you should get value + costs incurred.

May I ask what you are basing this on?

The general formula is that a vehicle is a financial write off when the cost of repair plus hire car is greater than the pre accident value less salvage costs.

Cars worth 5 figure sums can easily be written off for relatively minor damage.

OP - if the towbar has moved, then the chassis must be damaged? You'll need an inspection to put a cat C back on the road and they'll want to know the chassis is straight.

dizziblonde

OP is a very old post - but in answer to the questions. My beloved little car was written off on economic grounds a few years ago, took the settlement, less the bit they reckoned I'd get at the scrapyard - got it fixed up and the insurers wanted some official documentation from a garage that it was repaired to a standard before reactivating my policy... minimal fuss to keep a car that I knew the entire service history of as it had been in the family from new and I knew it was well maintained. Keeping it running when we had that knowledge about the past was why we fixed it up rather than replaced it.

Keep seeing it out and about when I'm up at my parents now - it's the car that will not die. Was a canny little run around - I just got it replaced when my parents handed another car down to me and we passed it on to someone else.

gsmmad

I havent got time to read the other post, so i will just give you the answer to your problem....

The reason your car is written off is mainly because of the value of your car, considering certain dealers will charge like 120+VAT just for an hour of labor. So the inspector has written off the car, once you get paid out with the HPI the car will be a write off.

The insurance may take your mot and V5 and ask you to apply for a new V5 if this is the case then the new V5 will say car has sustained damage at X date, on the v5. Any cars written off need to have a new MOT done, im not sure if this applies for cat D but does for cat C. So you will need to MOT the car, as the gov want to make sure that the car is road worthy. Also you will need a Vehicle Identity Check, all cat C cars need this before going back onto the road. As far as this goes its just to check that the chassis legs and Vin number and number plates all match up and its a very easy test to pass especially if no major repair is needed, such as in your case.

So for you just take the cheque from the TP and MOT+VIC the car and drive it. It should be fine, there is no need to tell your insurance. If the car is ever written off again and they need to pay you for the car they will devalue the car about 20% and pay you out. If the damage is very little or you dont mind it, just leave it and pocket the money. OW also the insurance may ask for proof of the repair to the car.

If you feel you dont want the car, just sell it on ebay you will get a lot more than the £100 you brought it back for.

As far as HPI goes there is a massive chance it may not be reported to the DVLA and they probably wont ask for your V5, so it probably wont go on that the car has ever been written off. Happens quiet a bit these days.

merlin34

Hi all,


This may not be the relevant place but I didn't want to start a new thread as my query is similar to the previous one.


My daughter and I were involved in a collision with a Spanish lorry on the M40 earlier this month (August). My insurance company have said that despite exchanging insurance details the Spanish lorry did not have a UK based insurance company to act on their behalf so need to go to the Motor Insurance Bureau.
As no witnesses came forward, and unless they accept it was their fault,
I was unable to hire a car at their expense, so I had to buy a second hand car to get me home.
My insurers say that the car is a write off although the engine wasn't damaged only the near side doors and wing plus the wishbone was bent, he veered into me and pushed me sideways down the motorway!
The assessor has made an offer, but what can I base this figure on to see if it's reasonable? Is it trade price, private sale price, auction price or part ex?
Also as I had to purchase another car at short notice I was unable to spend time to shop arround and do due diligence, in fact if there was ever a way not to buy a used car it was how I did it.
Also if I but the car back off the insurance company for 9% of their offer would I be able to sell it on to a company who specialise in Category C or D write offs?
Thanks,
PS: The car in question was an S reg Golf GTi T 20 valve 150bhp 5 door hatchback with leather recaro seats, if anyone is interested lol.

marlot

Do you still intend to tow your caravan with it? If so, then the damage you say (towbar pushed in) is pretty serious. I wouldn't like to tow a tonne or so of caravan on the back of a cracked towbar.

andy111

marlot wrote: »

Do you still intend to tow your caravan with it? If so, then the damage you say (towbar pushed in) is pretty serious. I wouldn't like to tow a tonne or so of caravan on the back of a cracked towbar.

Please note the original post is 5 years old now - they may be sorted now.... or not.