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Car insurance write off rip off, can I do anything?

2

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  • sheramber
    sheramber Posts: 22,693 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts I've been Money Tipped! Name Dropper
    When our car was written off my husband asked if he could take the tow bar off.

    He was told he could take anything he wanted as it was going to be scrapped. 
  • MyRealNameToo
    MyRealNameToo Posts: 653 Forumite
    500 Posts Name Dropper
    Calamityjane10 said:
    One final thing, can I ask about what happens if I accept an interim payment?They're saying that I can keep on negotiating, or go to ombudsman. 
    I've never heard of this and citizens advice couldn't help either.
    Is that right, that an interim payment doesn't mean I've accepted their offer?
    Interim payments are normal. 

    Even if you dont accept it they will point out to the Ombudsman that you refused the interim payment and therefore the interest applied by the ombudsman would only apply to any uplift above what they have offered rather than you gaming the system and hoping to get 8% interest on the whole lot by refusing to accept the interim payment. 
  • MyRealNameToo
    MyRealNameToo Posts: 653 Forumite
    500 Posts Name Dropper
    sheramber said:
    When our car was written off my husband asked if he could take the tow bar off.

    He was told he could take anything he wanted as it was going to be scrapped. 
    A tow bar is often argued to devalue a vehicle not add value so it's not going to make any difference. A scrap merchant thats paid 66% of the value of the vehicle is going to have issues if it turns up with no engine etc. 
  • Mildly_Miffed
    Mildly_Miffed Posts: 1,635 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Fourth Anniversary Name Dropper
    sheramber said:
    When our car was written off my husband asked if he could take the tow bar off.

    He was told he could take anything he wanted as it was going to be scrapped. 
    A tow bar is often argued to devalue a vehicle not add value so it's not going to make any difference. A scrap merchant thats paid 66% of the value of the vehicle is going to have issues if it turns up with no engine etc. 
    Agreed.

    If there's a non-negligible salvage value, then they're expecting a good return from the Copart auction. It needs to be complete.

    Any accessories (especially undeclared...) may be fair game, as would be swapping freshly refurb'd alloys with new tyres for scruffier standard-fit with legal tyres. But I rather suspect the car is not in the OP's actual possession at the moment, but has been removed following the collision for assessment etc. It's probably already with Copart - and that means the likelihood of further damage, bits having gone missing, etc.

    Given we're talking about an impact into a parked car that's caused sub-skin damage with "welding torn", it's going to be a non-trivial repair.

    Given the number of total losses that are dealt with without viewing the vehicle simply because any damage to a 20 year old family car is going to exceed its worth you'd have to question how accurate the categories are. 
    So back to the old Cat C/D?

    C = damage exceeds the pre-collision value of the vehicle
    D = damage below the pre-collision value, but insurance chose not to repair

    Their problem was that they said nothing about the actual damage.
    S/N (is the damage structural or bolt-on?) make much more sense, especially in the context of low-value vehicles and the supply of new parts only where used ones may be perfectly appropriate, taken together with trying to avoid high charges for rental cars while repairs are underway.

    No one-letter binary categorisation is going to be authoritative - which is why you really need to see pictures of pre-repair damage to get a good idea of what actually happened. Even then, there's a lot that you have to take guesses at. Yes, you can see there's suspension damage -  but are the pickup points on the shell damaged, or is it just the arms?
  • MyRealNameToo
    MyRealNameToo Posts: 653 Forumite
    500 Posts Name Dropper

    Given the number of total losses that are dealt with without viewing the vehicle simply because any damage to a 20 year old family car is going to exceed its worth you'd have to question how accurate the categories are. 
    So back to the old Cat C/D?

    C = damage exceeds the pre-collision value of the vehicle
    D = damage below the pre-collision value, but insurance chose not to repair

    Their problem was that they said nothing about the actual damage.
    S/N (is the damage structural or bolt-on?) make much more sense, especially in the context of low-value vehicles and the supply of new parts only where used ones may be perfectly appropriate, taken together with trying to avoid high charges for rental cars while repairs are underway.

    No one-letter binary categorisation is going to be authoritative - which is why you really need to see pictures of pre-repair damage to get a good idea of what actually happened. Even then, there's a lot that you have to take guesses at. Yes, you can see there's suspension damage -  but are the pickup points on the shell damaged, or is it just the arms?
    D = minor/modest damage deemed uneconomical to repair
    C = serious damage deemed uneconomical to repair

    D/C and N/S are not really that different other than its in theory slightly less subjective of when something moves up the scale but still without an in person inspection its still going to have edge cases where damage may or may not be structural which can't be determined from the 3 photos submitted. 


  • Mildly_Miffed
    Mildly_Miffed Posts: 1,635 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Fourth Anniversary Name Dropper

    Given the number of total losses that are dealt with without viewing the vehicle simply because any damage to a 20 year old family car is going to exceed its worth you'd have to question how accurate the categories are. 
    So back to the old Cat C/D?

    C = damage exceeds the pre-collision value of the vehicle
    D = damage below the pre-collision value, but insurance chose not to repair

    Their problem was that they said nothing about the actual damage.
    S/N (is the damage structural or bolt-on?) make much more sense, especially in the context of low-value vehicles and the supply of new parts only where used ones may be perfectly appropriate, taken together with trying to avoid high charges for rental cars while repairs are underway.

    No one-letter binary categorisation is going to be authoritative - which is why you really need to see pictures of pre-repair damage to get a good idea of what actually happened. Even then, there's a lot that you have to take guesses at. Yes, you can see there's suspension damage -  but are the pickup points on the shell damaged, or is it just the arms?
    D = minor/modest damage deemed uneconomical to repair
    C = serious damage deemed uneconomical to repair
    No, the difference between C and D was literally just cost to repair relative to the pre-damage value.
    https://www.autotrader.co.uk/content/advice/what-s-a-category-c-or-category-d-car#CatCCatD

    "What were Category C and Category D cars?
    Category C and Category D cars are no longer used to classify write-offs. Cat S replaced Cat C, and Cat N replaced Cat D in October 2017.
    The new Cat S and Cat N categories focus more on the condition of the car rather than the cost of repairing it, according to The Association of British Insurers (ABI). Categories C and D used to be decided by the insurance-estimated cost of repair:
    • Category C meant the vehicle’s repair costs were more than the car’s value
    • Category D meant the vehicle was less expensive to repair than replace."

    The same damage to the same car would go either way depending on a year or two of age reducing the value.
    D/C and N/S are not really that different other than its in theory slightly less subjective of when something moves up the scale but still without an in person inspection its still going to have edge cases where damage may or may not be structural which can't be determined from the 3 photos submitted. 
    The difference is that N and S actually tell you something about the damage.
    N - just bolt-on.
    S - bodyshell has structural damage.

    They aren't foolproof - they're the assessor's opinion without stripping and, in a lot of cases, based on photos alone.

    And, yes, of course value still comes into it - because a car that's cheaper to repair than write off will still be repaired and unrecorded...
  • MyRealNameToo
    MyRealNameToo Posts: 653 Forumite
    500 Posts Name Dropper

    Given the number of total losses that are dealt with without viewing the vehicle simply because any damage to a 20 year old family car is going to exceed its worth you'd have to question how accurate the categories are. 
    So back to the old Cat C/D?

    C = damage exceeds the pre-collision value of the vehicle
    D = damage below the pre-collision value, but insurance chose not to repair

    Their problem was that they said nothing about the actual damage.
    S/N (is the damage structural or bolt-on?) make much more sense, especially in the context of low-value vehicles and the supply of new parts only where used ones may be perfectly appropriate, taken together with trying to avoid high charges for rental cars while repairs are underway.

    No one-letter binary categorisation is going to be authoritative - which is why you really need to see pictures of pre-repair damage to get a good idea of what actually happened. Even then, there's a lot that you have to take guesses at. Yes, you can see there's suspension damage -  but are the pickup points on the shell damaged, or is it just the arms?
    D = minor/modest damage deemed uneconomical to repair
    C = serious damage deemed uneconomical to repair
    No, the difference between C and D was literally just cost to repair relative to the pre-damage value.
    https://www.autotrader.co.uk/content/advice/what-s-a-category-c-or-category-d-car#CatCCatD

    "What were Category C and Category D cars?
    Category C and Category D cars are no longer used to classify write-offs. Cat S replaced Cat C, and Cat N replaced Cat D in October 2017.
    The new Cat S and Cat N categories focus more on the condition of the car rather than the cost of repairing it, according to The Association of British Insurers (ABI). Categories C and D used to be decided by the insurance-estimated cost of repair:
    • Category C meant the vehicle’s repair costs were more than the car’s value
    • Category D meant the vehicle was less expensive to repair than replace."

    The same damage to the same car would go either way depending on a year or two of age reducing the value.
    D/C and N/S are not really that different other than its in theory slightly less subjective of when something moves up the scale but still without an in person inspection its still going to have edge cases where damage may or may not be structural which can't be determined from the 3 photos submitted. 
    The difference is that N and S actually tell you something about the damage.
    N - just bolt-on.
    S - bodyshell has structural damage.

    They aren't foolproof - they're the assessor's opinion without stripping and, in a lot of cases, based on photos alone.

    And, yes, of course value still comes into it - because a car that's cheaper to repair than write off will still be repaired and unrecorded...
    The current code is https://www.abi.org.uk/globalassets/files/publications/public/motor/2025/codepracticecategorisationmotorisedvehiclesalvagemay2025.pdf

    What is N and S technically vary depending on if its collision damage, fire damage etc but it does contain an exploded view of a car and saying which bits are considered "structural" and which bits are "non-structural". 

    Some non-structural elements will be welded on not just bolted. 
  • sheramber
    sheramber Posts: 22,693 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts I've been Money Tipped! Name Dropper
    sheramber said:
    When our car was written off my husband asked if he could take the tow bar off.

    He was told he could take anything he wanted as it was going to be scrapped. 
    A tow bar is often argued to devalue a vehicle not add value so it's not going to make any difference. A scrap merchant thats paid 66% of the value of the vehicle is going to have issues if it turns up with no engine etc. 
    Also took spare wheel

    The car was going to be crushed.
  • MyRealNameToo
    MyRealNameToo Posts: 653 Forumite
    500 Posts Name Dropper
    sheramber said:
    sheramber said:
    When our car was written off my husband asked if he could take the tow bar off.

    He was told he could take anything he wanted as it was going to be scrapped. 
    A tow bar is often argued to devalue a vehicle not add value so it's not going to make any difference. A scrap merchant thats paid 66% of the value of the vehicle is going to have issues if it turns up with no engine etc. 
    Also took spare wheel

    The car was going to be crushed.
    As in it was a Cat A total loss or you are assuming it was going to be crushed?

    Only cat As I ever dealt with were fire damage but then most won't be walking away from a cat A causing accident so would have exceeded my claim handling limit on bodily injury
  • caprikid1
    caprikid1 Posts: 2,455 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    What insurance company is it ? Some are a lot worse than others to deal with.

    I've had two dealings with Direct Line on household and motor and would never willingly buy from them, second time was the Thirdparty insured with them. Dealt with many insurance companies over the years DL were the worst.
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