Can anyone explain in plain English (lol...sorry!)

willing2learn_3

What a vehicle identity check is for? My car needs one apparently. I bought it during a very stressful period in my life (it's a real old banger and a friend fetched it from a small car firm locally. it was a few hundred pounds and designed just to get me by for a while. I'm not a lover of cars and no need to spend more money on them) and i'm about to dig out the paperwork on it now....but i couldn't get my tax disc the other week and when i phoned the DVLA they said i needed to apply for a vehicle identity check.

They said it needs checking because it was invovled in an accident or something. All i know is there has been no accident since i've had it.

After a long search i've found the relevant forms - but this is a huge hassle as i can't use the car til this is sorted....so naturally i want to know what it's all about now....before i get an appointment.

If anyone can explain it i'd be grateful.

Rolandtheroadie

It's to check the identity of the vehicle only. To make sure the car is the car it claims to be.
If it's really old it could have been written off for next to nothing, but a car requires a VIC check if the insurer set a VIC marker against it.

paddedjohn

before you bought it, it was written off and and it now needs an identity check to ensure that it is the same vehicle and not a ringer.

willing2learn_3

paddedjohn wrote: »

before you bought it, it was written off and and it now needs an identity check to ensure that it is the same vehicle and not a ringer.

Thanks this is where i was getting stuck....thought once written off always written off! LOL!

geordieracer

willing2learn wrote: »

Thanks this is where i was getting stuck....thought once written off always written off! LOL!

Ive said this about many women in my life but it turns out there are many kinds of write offs..

darich

willing2learn wrote: »

Thanks this is where i was getting stuck....thought once written off always written off! LOL!

Sometimes an older car worth a few hundred pounds gets into a scrape. It might be something like scraping a barrier, or even a bump in a car park, but something that involves replacing a couple of body panels and maybe a light or two, a bumper and of course painting it.
If the car is worth £750 to start with, then for it to be declared a write off the repairs would require to be around £450-500 or more. If the damage is as the example above then the costs can easily exceed the write off "threshold".

In this case the car is structurally sound, still driveable, and if no lights are damaged, may even pass an MOT with the damage not repaired. But the insurer writes it off.

As paddedjohn says, the other example could be a trashed car which has been repaired when the damage was extensive and legally should not have been repaired eg bent chassis.

I've heard of examples where a brand new car is keyed within a few weeks of purchase and the particular insurer replaces the car - effectively writing off the brand new car because of the type of policy - not because the damage exceeds a threshold.

Flyboy152

scotsman4th wrote: »

It's to check the identity of the vehicle only. To make sure the car is the car it claims to be.
If it's really old it could have been written off for next to nothing, but a car requires a VIC check if the insurer set a VIC marker against it.

As well as its category, for example, it might have been classed as a disabled vehicle, had an engine change or a VIN plate change.

Rolandtheroadie

Flyboy152 wrote: »

As well as its category, for example, it might have been classed as a disabled vehicle, had an engine change or a VIN plate change.

Just curious, who would set the VIC marker against the car if any of the above happened?

When you say disabled vehicle, do you mean one thats had disabled tax on it?

forgotmyname

Just hope its not a stolen car with the plates welded over.

Flyboy152

scotsman4th wrote: »

Just curious, who would set the VIC marker against the car if any of the above happened?

If the VIN does not match the cars identity on the DVAL database, anyone who would check that identity (MOT, VOSA etc.) would flag it as needing a VIC.

When you say disabled vehicle, do you mean one thats had disabled tax on it?

Yes. :cool:

Rolandtheroadie

My last car had disabled tax when I bought it and didnt need a VIC. Filled in a form and went to the local DVLA office, paid the money for a disc and had it issued there and then. No VIC test.

I'll ask the MOT tester tomorrow about the MOT example, but I'm sure it's only for a write off.

How a VIC marker is set

Insurers should notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) of all cars ‘written off’ within salvage categories A, B or C. This notification will set a ‘VIC marker’ against the DVLA vehicle record. While a VIC marker remains set, DVLA won’t issue a registration certificate V5C, or vehicle licence reminder V11.
The VIC marker will only be removed when the car passes a VIC.

From direct.gov
Checking a vehicle’s identity

The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) carries out the VIC. It’s designed to confirm the car’s identity and help ensure that the genuine car is returned to the road.
The VIC takes around 20 minutes to complete and involves comparing the details on the DVLA vehicle record against the car presented. The VIC is a check of identity, it doesn’t look at the quality of the repair or confirm roadworthiness. If you have any concerns regarding these aspects, you should seek the opinion of an independent expert.
Once a car has passed a VIC, the V5C issued will be annotated to show ‘substantially repaired and/or accident damaged; identity checked on dd/mm/ccyy’.