Car issued with Cat C 'write off' - Roadworthy?

konn1ch1ha

Hey all,

New here so hope this finds people well! About a month ago, someone reversed into my side, I claimed and won. However, the insurance company has issued it a "total loss" and I retained the salvage and received the settlement (the car is still mine etc.). When the engineer inspected the car, he mentioned that the geometrics (alignment) need checking and this could lead to the car being unroadworthy. Today, I went to various garages to ask if the car was roadworthy, and then got the alignments checked at Kwik Fit. All came back ok and in the clear.

But as my car is Cat C, I now have to get it VIC'd at Vosa (I applied today for a test and awaiting a set date), am I allowed to drive it to the test site without a new MOT or repair receipts? My insurance policy is still valid and running, there is tax and previous MOT that expires in December.

I haven't done or changed anything in regards to repairing the damage as it is only superficial and investigated the 'possibilities' of it being not roadworthy today, as I explained above. Will Vosa want to see any new MOTs, repairs to prove that it's roadworthy? I have a Kwik Fit alignment result page saying it's safe.

Any feedback, advise or help would be greatly appreciative.

Cheers!

Rover_Driver

konn1ch1ha wrote: »

Hey all,

New here so hope this finds people well! About a month ago, someone reversed into my side, I claimed and won. However, the insurance company has issued it a "total loss" and I retained the salvage and received the settlement (the car is still mine etc.). When the engineer inspected the car, he mentioned that the geometrics (alignment) need checking and this could lead to the car being unroadworthy. Today, I went to various garages to ask if the car was roadworthy, and then got the alignments checked at Kwik Fit. All came back ok and in the clear.

But as my car is Cat C, I now have to get it VIC'd at Vosa (I applied today for a test and awaiting a set date), am I allowed to drive it to the test site without a new MOT or repair receipts? My insurance policy is still valid and running, there is tax and previous MOT that expires in December.

I haven't done or changed anything in regards to repairing the damage as it is only superficial and investigated the 'possibilities' of it being not roadworthy today, as I explained above. Will Vosa want to see any new MOTs, repairs to prove that it's roadworthy? I have a Kwik Fit alignment result page saying it's safe.

Any feedback, advise or help would be greatly appreciative.

Cheers!

VIC checks have nothing to do with the car being roadworthy.

It is a Vehicle Identity Check, to make sure that it is the same vehicle and not a different one with a false identity.

philgr

konn1ch1ha wrote: »

Hey all,

New here so hope this finds people well! About a month ago, someone reversed into my side, I claimed and won. However, the insurance company has issued it a "total loss" and I retained the salvage and received the settlement (the car is still mine etc.). When the engineer inspected the car, he mentioned that the geometrics (alignment) need checking and this could lead to the car being unroadworthy. Today, I went to various garages to ask if the car was roadworthy, and then got the alignments checked at Kwik Fit. All came back ok and in the clear.

But as my car is Cat C, I now have to get it VIC'd at Vosa (I applied today for a test and awaiting a set date), am I allowed to drive it to the test site without a new MOT or repair receipts? My insurance policy is still valid and running, there is tax and previous MOT that expires in December.

I haven't done or changed anything in regards to repairing the damage as it is only superficial and investigated the 'possibilities' of it being not roadworthy today, as I explained above. Will Vosa want to see any new MOTs, repairs to prove that it's roadworthy? I have a Kwik Fit alignment result page saying it's safe.

Any feedback, advise or help would be greatly appreciative.

Cheers!

5. Taking your car for a VIC test
When you take your vehicle for a Vehicle Identity Check (VIC) test the following must apply:

the car must be roadworthy and able to be driven under its own power
the car must have a valid MOT if it needs one (if you’re driving it to the VIC)
the person driving the car must be insured
the car must have front and rear number plates (if you’re driving it to the test)

I just copied that from the gov.uk website. In short, provided you meet those criteria, you should be ok.

Sorry for no link but being a newbie, I cant post them.

Phil

konn1ch1ha

philgr wrote: »

5. Taking your car for a VIC test
When you take your vehicle for a Vehicle Identity Check (VIC) test the following must apply:

the car must be roadworthy and able to be driven under its own power
the car must have a valid MOT if it needs one (if you’re driving it to the VIC)
the person driving the car must be insured
the car must have front and rear number plates (if you’re driving it to the test)

I just copied that from the gov.uk website. In short, provided you meet those criteria, you should be ok.

Sorry for no link but being a newbie, I cant post them.

Phil

the car must have a valid MOT if it needs one (if you’re driving it to the VIC)

Thanks for the post, guys. But this ^^, how do I know if I NEED one? The engineer has said that it isn't roadworthy due to being "unseen damage" and where today I have had it confirmed to be ok.

It's so confusing - some people say it's ok/legal, some insurance groups are saying it isn't. So ridiculous for a scratch.

Rolandtheroadie

Check here and see if the cars showing up as MOT'd (I suspect it will).


https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-status

colino

If it's your car and you have the MOT, it's still MOT'd. Book the car in with a reputable bodyshop that repairs heavily damaged cars. They will be able to check the car and if it really is square.
No point booking a VIC on a car that is going to crab down the road without substantial re-jigging.

Rover_Driver

konn1ch1ha wrote: »

the car must have a valid MOT if it needs one (if you’re driving it to the VIC)

Thanks for the post, guys. But this ^^, how do I know if I NEED one?

If the MOT expires in December, it is valid until then.

konn1ch1ha

colino wrote: »

If it's your car and you have the MOT, it's still MOT'd. Book the car in with a reputable bodyshop that repairs heavily damaged cars. They will be able to check the car and if it really is square.
No point booking a VIC on a car that is going to crab down the road without substantial re-jigging.

What places can you recommend? I took it to a few places today and all of the mechanics said it's ok just by looking at it. And Kwik Fit confirmed adequate alignment results? But is there somewhere I can go to get a certificate of roadworthiness with getting an MOT?!

Joe_Horner

konn1ch1ha wrote: »

What places can you recommend? I took it to a few places today and all of the mechanics said it's ok just by looking at it. And Kwik Fit confirmed adequate alignment results? But is there somewhere I can go to get a certificate of roadworthiness with getting an MOT?!

There's really no need.

Someone reversed into your side, so it won't have been a high speed collision (unless it was one of my Daf owning friends showing off the 80mph+ reverse abilities :P ).

Even without that, if the car had been bent (apart from cosmetic damage) then it would have shown up during a wheel alignment check because any collision serious enough to twist the car's chassis will alter the alignment of the wheels because (a) they're the most easily misaligned part of the car and (b) any twisting of the chassis will move the suspension mounting points and that will, by definition, mess up the wheel alignment.

If the check at Kwik Fit had shown a problem then it might have been worth looking for a more in-depth check but, because it didn't, the car is fine.

As for the MOT, they don't even check the tracking, let alone body straightness, so getting an MOt done won't show anything. Also, your current MOT is still valid.

Just take it to the VIC check, with the current MOT and your insurance details, and let them look at it.

They'll check that the chassis and engine numbers all match up with the registration and (assuming the do) pass it. All they're interested in is to make sure that you haven't bought a write-off, stolen a car of the same model, and switched the plates. Nothing more than that, so don't worry about it


eta: Incidentally, a side impact that was bad enough to bend anything important would mean you couldn't open the doors without a crowbar - I assume you can?

konn1ch1ha

Joe_Horner wrote: »

If the check at Kwik Fit had shown a problem then it might have been worth looking for a more in-depth check but, because it didn't, the car is fine.

Thanks for the info, this is what I've been thinking. The VIC is just for the legality of the ID of the car. But it's funny, at Kwik Fit, the alleged wheel that was supposedly potentially damaged was the rear driver's side wheel and it came out fine, the only wheel of the whole car that was a little out was the front driver's side wheel (but not enough to fail an MOT test or be deemed "unroadworthy"). Interesting.

Thanks for the input, all. I think my car is safe to drive around, and especially to the Vosa site.

arcon5

If 'experts' have deemed your car roadworthy and it can pass a fresh MOT then I don't see the problem. If ever pulled over and it deemed unroadworthy then i'd be surprised if your evidence wouldn't mitigate it 100%.

After all, what else can a consumer be expected to do if they cannot take the word of the professionals?