What defines if car is a write off?
Comments
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You are wrong. See my post above.I am fairly sure that it is mandatory for companies to register for VAT if their turnover is more than £85,000 so ANY insurance company will be registered for VAT and would indeed be able to reclaim the VAT on repairs. The fact that IPT instead of VAT is added onto premiums is irrelevant. Most insurance companies will likely also be involved in other financial activities that probably do incur VAT but I don't think this is relevant.0 -
Depends on the insurance company but if the cost of repairs is 60-70% of the value of the vehicle it is written off.
The repair estimate will include every single nut, bolt, washer, part, paint and labour. Everything will be new, they do not put used parts on.
As others have said you may have the option of having your car back from the insurance company, what they will do is deduct the excess (recoverable from the TP ins co) and scrap value return from the write off value and give you the difference.
You can repair it with used parts from the scrappy, repaint it yourself/your mate/a garage (that is the expensive part), re MOT it (it will be a requirement of your insurance company for a new MOT due to it being deemed a total loss) and then you are back on the road.
If your car is involved in another collision, fault or non fault, your car will be valued lower as it was previously written off.Mortgage started 2020, aiming to clear it in 2026.0 -
Can anyone tell me what is the legal position about when an insurance company can insist on writing a car off or not? Our 8 year old car was recently hit from behind while we were stationary. The other driver admitted he was at fault and his insurance company have agreed to pay for damage. The insurance company are insisting that cost of repair is much more than value of car and so want to pay us a lump sum to write it off. On inspection they were not comparing like with like as the garage estimate includes VAT which they would obviously be able to reclaim while if they pay us a lump sum they would not reclaim any VAT. So in reality if VAT ignored the repair estimate and car value are about equal !!!8211; I think car value very slightly more than repair cost but not much in it.
It seems irresponsible to send a car to landfill unnecessarily especially if repair is very slightly cheaper than car value. Are there any industry rules about ratio of repair amount against value before it is scrapped? I would like the insurance company to repair car as it is in excellent condition and likely to last me at least another 5 or 6 years and I don!!!8217;t want the inconvenience of having to test drive cars to find a replacement.
The car is still safe to drive and I understand I have the option to retain the car although they would then reduce the scrappage value by £600. I suspect I could get an independent garage to repair using 2nd hand parts but I am worried that if car is officially labelled as having been a write-off it will be more difficult / expensive to insure in the future and will also be more difficult to eventually sell.
I did ask the insurance company to provide a copy of the full garage report as I wanted to know exactly why the price quoted was much higher than I would expect. But they are refusing to do so claiming confidentially reasons !!!8211; apparently the garage give them a special discount which is confidential. They are only telling me the total price quoted by the garage and have listed parts they would replace but there is no itemised price list or breakdown of what is involved. Can insurance company with hold full garage report?
Unfortunately my own insurance is with the same company as the at fault driver so I cannot get my insurance to organise repair and then bill the at fault company.
Your not factoring in :-- Salvage value
- Incidental costs - hire car, etc.
The car wont go to "landfill" - it'll be resold to a salvage yard, bought and put back on the road.
Its not up to you to scrutinise the repair bill to see if its line with "what you expect" - the car has to be put back on the road to a specific standard which their approved repairers will meet. Not up to you to question or have input in to that.
They're offering you the opportunity to buy it, so why not just buy it and have the repairs done?0 -
You are wrong. See my post above.
In saw your post and you clearly know nothing about how VAT works. Any company with a turnover of over £85000 has to register for VAT. If they get an invoice with VAT on it they can reclaim it even if they are the end customer. If for example I have a VAT registered business and I pay out more VAT than I charge then HMRC refund me the difference between the VAT paid over VAT charged. A VAT registered business might at the point of settling pay VAT on an invoice but in reality they don't actually pay any VAT at all because it is recouped at the end of the current VAT period.0 -
The car is still safe to drive and I understand I have the option to retain the car although they would then reduce the scrappage value by £600. I suspect I could get an independent garage to repair using 2nd hand parts but I am worried that if car is officially labelled as having been a write-off it will be more difficult / expensive to insure in the future and will also be more difficult to eventually sell.
Some insurers do not want to insure a car after write-off and repair, but for others it isn't a problem.
I had my insurer telling me this, but in the end we arranged they paid me in lieu of the repairs (which were only cosmetic) and did not write it off.0 -
Having been VAT registered for the past 25 odd years I'd say I do know how VAT works. There are specific rules for Insurance companies and VAT, something you clearly have no knowledge off!In saw your post and you clearly know nothing about how VAT works. Any company with a turnover of over £85000 has to register for VAT. If they get an invoice with VAT on it they can reclaim it even if they are the end customer. If for example I have a VAT registered business and I pay out more VAT than I charge then HMRC refund me the difference between the VAT paid over VAT charged. A VAT registered business might at the point of settling pay VAT on an invoice but in reality they don't actually pay any VAT at all because it is recouped at the end of the current VAT period.
And it's not just a turnover of over £85,000 pa, it's VAT Taxable turnover, which can be two different things.0 -
Visit a few bodyshops to get repair quotes, explain you will be paying and not an insurer. Ask the insurers what category it will be when written off, this will affect insurance quotes and resale value.The car is still safe to drive and I understand I have the option to retain the car although they would then reduce the scrappage value by £600. I suspect I could get an independent garage to repair using 2nd hand parts but I am worried that if car is officially labelled as having been a write-off it will be more difficult / expensive to insure in the future and will also be more difficult to eventually sell.
What car is it and what was the pre accident value?0
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