Keeping a write-off?

nm8553

We had a rear end shunt today - a lorry behind us forgot to stop at a traffic island.

The damage is visually quite minor - the bumper and skirt and the hatchback door (which is jammed shut) will need replacing but no bodywork is touching the wheels and the exhaust appears ok. It seems to drive ok (no odd noises yet anyway).

The insurance company said that because it is an old car (N-reg but with only 40K miles on the clock) it will probably be written off. They asked would we want to keep it?

I have no idea what that means in terms of an insurance claim. Does it reduce any compensation offered? The car is only worth £750

molerat

When my son was involved in a similar incident the other insurers paid him the full value, £650, and let him keep the car. The car was not officially written off and his insurance continued. He spent about £100 on fixing it up and a new MOT and kept it for another year. As he only paid £350 for the car he was quite happy.

nm8553

Thank you

That almost sounds like a promising end to a horrid day

raskazz

If you deal directly with the third party insurers then they will let you keep the salvage at no cost as long as it is not category A or B.

If you claim through your own insurance then they usually deduct the salvage value from the settlement if you want to retain the salvage.

[Deleted User]

I had a very similar experience. My motorbike was written off as a result of vandalism - I'd paid £500 for it but the book value was £1,000, so that's what I got. They kept trying to arrange to take away my bike, but they could only come during working hours, and I was only free evenings/weekends, so eventually they got bored and said I could keep it. It was a bit of a hassle really.