Car a total loss after none fault collision

Cheekybev1

Hi
I'm just looking for some advice. I bought a car 4 weeks ago from a main dealer it was 2.5 years old and after having it only 3 weeks somebody run in the back of me and it has now been declared a cat C total loss by my insurance company. My insurance company have given me the option of buying the car and having it fixed myself or selling it on. Would it be worth buying the car to sell on?

BeenThroughItAll

Cheekybev1 wrote: »

Hi
I'm just looking for some advice. I bought a car 4 weeks ago from a main dealer it was 2.5 years old and after having it only 3 weeks somebody run in the back of me and it has now been declared a cat C total loss by my insurance company. My insurance company have given me the option of buying the car and having it fixed myself or selling it on. Would it be worth buying the car to sell on?

Unless it was a very cheap car to start with (think Dacia etc), a Cat C on a two year old car (assuming it's not space-shuttle mileage or otherwise a complete wreck) will be significant damage (unless, equally, it's something special and parts are insanely expensive). If you're not experienced in fixing written off vehicles, just take a settlement and buy another car would be my advice.

Aretnap

It depends. Often if you buy back the salvage from the insurance company you can repair it yourself cheaply (eg by using second hand parts, a backstreet garage, or doing some of the work yourself) and be left with a serviceable car and money left over from the settlement. It's particularly likely to work if you have an older car which has been written off for a cracked bumper or a dented door.

However for a 2.5 year old car to be written off as cat C implies some fairly substantial damage, meaning that you would be looking at a significant repair bill to get it back on the road again, and the possibility of finding further damage once you start working on it and seeing the costs mount up. At the very least you need to be confident about what the damage is and how much it will cost to fix. Also be aware that even if the repairs are done perfectly, the fact that it has a cat C marker on it will reduce its value significantly - not an issue if you plan to keep it for a good few years, but a big issue if you want to sell it on at a profit. It's probably not a good idea unless you have a better than average understanding of car repairs, or you have a trusted mechanic friend who can give you advice.

arcon5

No. Don't bother, they don't write high value, near-new cars off for nothing

dacouch

Your Insurers should be valuing your car at the same value you recently paid the car dealer.

Have they offered you the same amount you paid or are they trying to palm you off with a lower amount? (I'm guessing the latter)