No fault accident now car is a total loss

Emmalou

Hello

I am hoping to gain some advice on a recent no fault accident I was involved in. Although my 51 plate car has fairly minor damage, it has been deemed a total loss. I have two questions:

My car has been written off in category C. If the insurance company give me the write off value and allow me to buy it back for scrap value, would I have to MOT it again before it goes back on the road - or can it wait until it is due in November?

I have read about having to remove something like a PIN marker. I have no intention of selling the car, so would I even have to do this? My tax is due in June. Would I be able to tax it without this PIN marker being removed?

Some background if it helps:

Nobody was hurt and my car, I thought, had minor damage. The other party's car was fairly badly damaged.

I wasn't quite sure what to do after the accident so I called my insurance company. They took the details and passed me to their linked company who deal with no fault claims. On their instruction, I took my car to their nominated garage for assessment.

The verdict was that my car is a total write off. I was referred back to my insurance company who, I was told, would deal with it all from there.

I am still waiting to hear from the official claim handler, but as I was getting impatient, I called them yesterday. Apparently they have valued my car at 1100 and the repair was costed at 1200. They have put it in category C write off. I am still to hear from the claim handler but am left pondering my options.

Although my car is old and fairly battered (an Audi a4, 51 plate), I have had it from new and have always looked after it mechanically - even though the bodywork is a bit dodgy. Although its days were numbered, I expected to keep it for another year or two. It will be a very sad day for me when I have to part with it. It is MOTed until November and taxed until end June.

I am wondering if they will give me the write off value and let me buy it back for the scrap value, hence my questions above.

Thank you for any advice you can give me.

vaio

Emmalou wrote: »

......I have two questions:

My car has been written off in category C. If the insurance company give me the write off value and allow me to buy it back for scrap value, would I have to MOT it again before it goes back on the road - or can it wait until it is due in November?

I have read about having to remove something like a PIN marker. I have no intention of selling the car, so would I even have to do this? My tax is due in June. Would I be able to tax it without this PIN marker being removed? ........

existing MOT remains valid

VIC doesn't need to be done and go can tax as normal at PO, only thing you can't do is get a new V5 or tax reminders

Emmalou

Thanks Vaio, that is really helpful.

About the MOT. The insurance company lady said that the engineer deemed my car to be unroadworthy. This I found quite puzzling as the damage is a broken front passenger side light - not the bulb which is still working, but the glass cover. I pointed out that I was still driving it. She said this is fine and I am still covered by insurance. However, when it is all settled, does the fact that it has been deemed 'unroadworthy' effect your answer to my MOT question i.e. can it still wait until November?

Quiet_Spark

It makes no odds whether your MOT is valid or not, if your vehicle is unroadworthy and you use it on a public road then you are committing an offence for which you can receive a fine as well as points.

vaio

as above, MOT remains valid but you need to get it road worthy

Emmalou

Thank you Quiet Spark.

So, if I did buy the car back for scrap and I got the light fixed.... Could I then drive it legally, or would I need an MOT to prove its roadworthiness?

I do find it crazy that a car can be deemed unroadworthy for having a smashed light cover when the light itself is working fine.

Emmalou

Cross post with Vaio. So, as long as I get the light fixed it should be OK to drive without having to MOT again?

Aretnap

Yes. You don't need to get a new MOT every time you repair a fault which rendered your car unroadworthy - if you did you'd need a new one every time you replaced a blown bulb or a worn out tyre.

A smashed light cover would increase the danger to any pedestrian you were unfortunate enough to hit with that part of the car. It would also potentially mean that light from the headlight was being reflected at odd angles, perhaps increasing the risk of dazzling other drivers. And it would mean there's a good chance that the bulb would stop working if you drive it in a rainy night. So it makes sense that a car with a smashed headlight cover would be considered unroadworthy.

arcon5

Are you sure it's just a smashed light though and not some bent body work behind it and stuff? As if this was the case surely it would be a cat D rather than a cat C.
Personally i'd MOT it just to have its checked impartially

.

spiro

You also need to bear in mind that some insurance companies don't like insuring cat c or d cars and this is reflected in the premium. You find out soon enought when you come to insure it.

arcon5

spiro wrote: »

You also need to bear in mind that some insurance companies don't like insuring cat c or d cars and this is reflected in the premium. You find out soon enought when you come to insure it.

I've never come across an insurer that's even asked if a vehicles ever been declared a write off...