How much of your car do you need to hand over in a write off claim?

B0bbyEwing

The car is still driveable, sort of, but it certainly won't pass an MOT. 
It's not really worth much in money terms so we're not talking about big figures being paid out. Contacting the insurance will 100% result in a write off. 

If we can't get it repaired ourselves & it ends up going down that route then how much of the car do you need to hand over? 

More specific - the interior bulbs have been replaced with LEDs as I don't like standard. Not cheap LEDs either so they add up. I don't have the standards to put back in. 
Other things like spare wheel, can you do something like whip a wheel off & put the spare on? I'm thinking wheels sell (marketplace). Will only be a few quid but if it's fine to do then it's a few quid in my pocket. 

I'm not talking about stripping it to a shell. 

david29dpo

Take anything not nailed down. The insurance wont care. Been there.  

DullGreyGuy

B0bbyEwing said:

The car is still driveable, sort of, but it certainly won't pass an MOT. 
It's not really worth much in money terms so we're not talking about big figures being paid out. Contacting the insurance will 100% result in a write off. 

If we can't get it repaired ourselves & it ends up going down that route then how much of the car do you need to hand over? 

More specific - the interior bulbs have been replaced with LEDs as I don't like standard. Not cheap LEDs either so they add up. I don't have the standards to put back in. 
Other things like spare wheel, can you do something like whip a wheel off & put the spare on? I'm thinking wheels sell (marketplace). Will only be a few quid but if it's fine to do then it's a few quid in my pocket. 

I'm not talking about stripping it to a shell. 

You can talk to the engineer about retaining parts, if you dont want to retain the whole thing. They will adjust your settlement figure down to reflect the missing parts. 

paul_c123

They will certainly notice if the wheels and tyres are no longer on it, and it would make a big difference to the price. For a start, the transport price of a non-rolling car goes up a lot because its more specialised, and its salvage value will be lower.

If you had the standard set of wheels and tyres though, before you swapped them out, I'd say you'd get away with that one though.

Mildly_Miffed

They are paying the value of the car, as it was immediately before the collision.
They are taking ownership of the car, as it was immediately after the collision.

So, no, you should not be removing anything. It's not yours any more.

Whether they will notice is a different question.

david29dpo

Mildly_Miffed said:

They are paying the value of the car, as it was immediately before the collision.
They are taking ownership of the car, as it was immediately after the collision.

So, no, you should not be removing anything. It's not yours any more.

Whether they will notice is a different question.

Not forgetting the pittance the insurance will offer

Mildly_Miffed

david29dpo said:

Mildly_Miffed said:

They are paying the value of the car, as it was immediately before the collision.
They are taking ownership of the car, as it was immediately after the collision.

So, no, you should not be removing anything. It's not yours any more.

Whether they will notice is a different question.

Not forgetting the pittance the insurance will offer

You have every right to receive the full market value of it, immediately before the collision.
If you disagree with the insurer on what that value was, then you can take it up to the ombudsman.

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers/complaints-can-help/insurance/motor-insurance/vehicle-valuations-write-offs

prettyandfluffy

You can tell the insurers you want to keep the car, they will negotiate the settlement to take account of it.  I've done this and then had the car repaired and put back on the road.

jimjames

Mildly_Miffed said:

david29dpo said:

Mildly_Miffed said:

They are paying the value of the car, as it was immediately before the collision.
They are taking ownership of the car, as it was immediately after the collision.

So, no, you should not be removing anything. It's not yours any more.

Whether they will notice is a different question.

Not forgetting the pittance the insurance will offer

You have every right to receive the full market value of it, immediately before the collision.

You won't get any more for the car if it has brand new tyres than ones that are several years old and just legal. Had that happen to me and if it happened again I would definitely look to swap out to part worns instead.

DullGreyGuy

jimjames said:

Mildly_Miffed said:

david29dpo said:

Mildly_Miffed said:

They are paying the value of the car, as it was immediately before the collision.
They are taking ownership of the car, as it was immediately after the collision.

So, no, you should not be removing anything. It's not yours any more.

Whether they will notice is a different question.

Not forgetting the pittance the insurance will offer

You have every right to receive the full market value of it, immediately before the collision.

You won't get any more for the car if it has brand new tyres than ones that are several years old and just legal. Had that happen to me and if it happened again I would definitely look to swap out to part worns instead.

If you do it before the valuation you may get away with it. If you ask them and they agree after the valuation then thats fine. If you get it valued, then switch the tyres without telling them then thats fraud. 

Chances of being caught? Depends, things like if a spare tyre exists or not often is marked and considered. Consequences of having your insurance void for attempted fraud and being loaded to CIFAS? Probably vastly more than multiple sets of part warn tyres.

Arunmor

Why not buy the salvage back and repair?

LEDs in a car not built for them is not a great idea