Insurance write offs
Discussion
How many categories are there now? Some sites say 4 - A, B, N & S. Some say 6 - A, B, C, D, N & S. Which is correct? I ask as my s
troen C2 was attacked by a no. 54 bus this morning. Scrapes and dents to the rear offside wing. The car was parked unattended at the time.
It's low mileage (under 60,000 miles) and (was) in good condition. However, it's 13 years old. The bus company have admitted liability and will deal with my claim. I'm afraid the cost of repair could exceed the current value.
troen C2 was attacked by a no. 54 bus this morning. Scrapes and dents to the rear offside wing. The car was parked unattended at the time.It's low mileage (under 60,000 miles) and (was) in good condition. However, it's 13 years old. The bus company have admitted liability and will deal with my claim. I'm afraid the cost of repair could exceed the current value.
Mr Tidy said:
Since 2017 there have been 4 categories.
Code A: Scrap
Code B: Break (so for parts only)
Code S: Repairable - Structural
Code N: Repairable - Non-Structural
But as has been said you can opt to keep the car, although it will always have the damage "marker" recorded.
The Government quote 6 categories, because they still quote the old Cat D and Cat C categories, alongside Cat N and Cat S ( From: https://www.gov.uk/scrapped-and-written-off-vehicl... ) :Code A: Scrap
Code B: Break (so for parts only)
Code S: Repairable - Structural
Code N: Repairable - Non-Structural
But as has been said you can opt to keep the car, although it will always have the damage "marker" recorded.
Cat A: Cannot be repaired - Entire vehicle has to be crushed.
Cat B: Cannot be repaired - Body shell has to be crushed, but you can salvage other parts from it.
Cat C: Can be repaired, but it would cost more than the vehicle’s worth - You can use the vehicle again if it’s repaired to a roadworthy condition.
Cat D: Can be repaired and would cost less than the vehicle’s worth, but other costs (such as transporting your vehicle) take it over the vehicle’s value - You can use the vehicle again if it’s repaired to a roadworthy condition.
Cat N: Can be repaired following non-structural damage - You can use the vehicle again if it’s repaired to a roadworthy condition.
Cat S: Can be repaired following structural damage - You can use the vehicle again if it’s repaired to a roadworthy condition.
Some companies also quote a 5th/7th category: Cat X , for vehicles such as "stolen/recovered", that have no damage.
https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/answer/157405/a...
https://www.trents.co.uk/motor-salvage/cat-x-aucti...
https://www.raw2k.co.uk/news/what-is-a-category-x-...
piddy44 said:
Howard- said:
piddy44 said:
It's your car & they can't write it off if you don't want.
Well, they can. You're allowed to buy it back and use it if it's repairable though.https://classics.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/answer/639...
Edited by KungFuPanda on Saturday 30th July 12:13
matchmaker said:
How many categories are there now? Some sites say 4 - A, B, N & S. Some say 6 - A, B, C, D, N & S. Which is correct? I ask as my stroen C2 was attacked by a no. 54 bus this morning. Scrapes and dents to the rear offside wing. The car was parked unattended at the time.
It's low mileage (under 60,000 miles) and (was) in good condition. However, it's 13 years old. The bus company have admitted liability and will deal with my claim. I'm afraid the cost of repair could exceed the current value.
Bus & haulage companies often have very large excess's on their insurance.troen C2 was attacked by a no. 54 bus this morning. Scrapes and dents to the rear offside wing. The car was parked unattended at the time.It's low mileage (under 60,000 miles) and (was) in good condition. However, it's 13 years old. The bus company have admitted liability and will deal with my claim. I'm afraid the cost of repair could exceed the current value.
Maybe they'll just tell you to get a quote/valuation and just pay you directly with out going through insurance?
Then there'll be no markers on your car?
KungFuPanda said:
Surely there is a duty placed on the insurer to apply a writeoff marker on a car that has had sustained serious damage in order that future buyers are protected from unknowingly buying a crash repaired car?!?!
They do put a marker on the car if it is one of the categories listed. Even if it is repaired the marker stays in place and will come up if you do an HPI check on it (or will show if you advertise it on sites like Autotrader).Edited by KungFuPanda on Saturday 30th July 12:13
piddy44 said:
Howard- said:
piddy44 said:
It's your car & they can't write it off if you don't want.
Well, they can. You're allowed to buy it back and use it if it's repairable though.https://classics.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/answer/639...
arse repaired wrecks on the road having been sold on as undamaged vehicles.
Unless it's very minor damage ie bolt on parts ill never understand why anyone would want to go to all the grief of repairing a damaged car , just take the payout and buy another, there's millions out there...
Get an estimate for repairing it.
Decide what the car was worth, you need a value that's credible to insurance companies, so what does WBAC say for the car in immaculate condition?
If the repair costs are in the same league as the value, I'd suggest buying something else and moving on. Extract what you can from the other party/their insurers, sell the damaged car.
If the repair costs are relatively small, get it repaired and get the other party to pay.
Alternatively, if the car is still driveable and capable of passing an MOT, extract what cash you can in settlement and drive/sell the car as a shed.
Really, if the damage has any hint of being more than cosmetic, I'd want to get a nice high quote for fixing it and take the money.
What ever you do, you may be superficially out of pocket, but it was always going to cost money to move on to your next car anyway.
IMHO, the outcome to avoid is a lot of grief getting it repaired, then keeping it for a few years and finding it's 'never the same again'. Repaired paint fades, it creaks or rattles, breaks out in rust or finds some other way to declare itself a shed. Often better to move on.
Decide what the car was worth, you need a value that's credible to insurance companies, so what does WBAC say for the car in immaculate condition?
If the repair costs are in the same league as the value, I'd suggest buying something else and moving on. Extract what you can from the other party/their insurers, sell the damaged car.
If the repair costs are relatively small, get it repaired and get the other party to pay.
Alternatively, if the car is still driveable and capable of passing an MOT, extract what cash you can in settlement and drive/sell the car as a shed.
Really, if the damage has any hint of being more than cosmetic, I'd want to get a nice high quote for fixing it and take the money.
What ever you do, you may be superficially out of pocket, but it was always going to cost money to move on to your next car anyway.
IMHO, the outcome to avoid is a lot of grief getting it repaired, then keeping it for a few years and finding it's 'never the same again'. Repaired paint fades, it creaks or rattles, breaks out in rust or finds some other way to declare itself a shed. Often better to move on.
OutInTheShed said:
Get an estimate for repairing it.
Decide what the car was worth, you need a value that's credible to insurance companies, so what does WBAC say for the car in immaculate condition?
If the repair costs are in the same league as the value, I'd suggest buying something else and moving on. Extract what you can from the other party/their insurers, sell the damaged car.
If the repair costs are relatively small, get it repaired and get the other party to pay.
Alternatively, if the car is still driveable and capable of passing an MOT, extract what cash you can in settlement and drive/sell the car as a shed.
Really, if the damage has any hint of being more than cosmetic, I'd want to get a nice high quote for fixing it and take the money.
What ever you do, you may be superficially out of pocket, but it was always going to cost money to move on to your next car anyway.
IMHO, the outcome to avoid is a lot of grief getting it repaired, then keeping it for a few years and finding it's 'never the same again'. Repaired paint fades, it creaks or rattles, breaks out in rust or finds some other way to declare itself a shed. Often better to move on.
It doesnt quite work like this.Decide what the car was worth, you need a value that's credible to insurance companies, so what does WBAC say for the car in immaculate condition?
If the repair costs are in the same league as the value, I'd suggest buying something else and moving on. Extract what you can from the other party/their insurers, sell the damaged car.
If the repair costs are relatively small, get it repaired and get the other party to pay.
Alternatively, if the car is still driveable and capable of passing an MOT, extract what cash you can in settlement and drive/sell the car as a shed.
Really, if the damage has any hint of being more than cosmetic, I'd want to get a nice high quote for fixing it and take the money.
What ever you do, you may be superficially out of pocket, but it was always going to cost money to move on to your next car anyway.
IMHO, the outcome to avoid is a lot of grief getting it repaired, then keeping it for a few years and finding it's 'never the same again'. Repaired paint fades, it creaks or rattles, breaks out in rust or finds some other way to declare itself a shed. Often better to move on.
The insurance company will value the vehicle, getting a quote for an immaculate vehicle, isnt realistic unless your vehicle was immaculate in the first place, I cant imagine WBAC would be accepted by the insurers, as the price they quote is unseen, and unlikely to be what they pay out.
The OP needs to have a look through Autotrader, and find cars the same, age, mileage and spec as his, and that will give him an idea of what its worth, he also needs to take a realistic value from their as well, so if there are 10 for sale for £1500, and one advertised for £5000, he cant argue the car is worth £5000, the insurers will pay a realistic value to put him back in the position he was prior to the accident.
The OP has a couple of options, he either lets the other insurers deal with the repairs and provide him with a replacement vehicle until the car is either, repaired, or the total loss value has been paid, if the latter, he may have the option to buy the vehicle back.
He could choose his own repairer and get a quote for the repairs, but this will then be sent to an engineer, who will determine if the costs are reasonable, so he cant just find somewhere that will charge an extortionate amount to repair and be quids in, as if the engineer deems these unreasonable, they wont pay it, the high repair costs will also possibly push it to be a write off.
The insurers will work to a repair value of around 66% of the value of the vehicle, before writing the car off.
The other option is a cash in lieu of repairs, this means that the OP can get a quote, and ask the other insurers to just pay him the value, but again, this will be reviewed by the engineer.
As the car is quite old and probably not of great value, the insurers may just be able to write the car off from images of the damage, if its a £1500 car, and you can see from the photos it needs 2 door skins, a wing and rear quarter, then they will know its a write off.
The bus company will be self insured, so they are their own insurance company for claims up to a certain value, so they will do most things the same way an insurance company would.
Also, most repairers that insurers use, will come with a warranty on the work, so if it was being repaired and it started rusting or bubbling, the OP would be able to get it sorted by the repairer, or if they are no longer in business, by the other insurers.
Edited by Smurfsarepeopletoo on Sunday 31st July 05:57
Smurfsarepeopletoo said:
It doesnt quite work like this.
The insurance company will value the vehicle, getting a quote for an immaculate vehicle, isnt realistic unless your vehicle was immaculate in the first place, I cant imagine WBAC would be accepted by the insurers, as the price they quote is unseen, and unlikely to be what they pay out.
The OP needs to have a look through Autotrader, and find cars the same, age, mileage and spec as his, and that will give him an idea of what its worth, he also needs to take a realistic value from their as well, so if there are 10 for sale for £1500, and one advertised for £5000, he cant argue the car is worth £5000, the insurers will pay a realistic value to put him back in the position he was prior to the accident.
The OP has a couple of options, he either lets the other insurers deal with the repairs and provide him with a replacement vehicle until the car is either, repaired, or the total loss value has been paid, if the latter, he may have the option to buy the vehicle back.
He could choose his own repairer and get a quote for the repairs, but this will then be sent to an engineer, who will determine if the costs are reasonable, so he cant just find somewhere that will charge an extortionate amount to repair and be quids in, as if the engineer deems these unreasonable, they wont pay it, the high repair costs will also possibly push it to be a write off.
The insurers will work to a repair value of around 66% of the value of the vehicle, before writing the car off.
The other option is a cash in lieu of repairs, this means that the OP can get a quote, and ask the other insurers to just pay him the value, but again, this will be reviewed by the engineer.
As the car is quite old and probably not of great value, the insurers may just be able to write the car off from images of the damage, if its a £1500 car, and you can see from the photos it needs 2 door skins, a wing and rear quarter, then they will know its a write off.
The bus company will be self insured, so they are their own insurance company for claims up to a certain value, so they will do most things the same way an insurance company would.
Also, most repairers that insurers use, will come with a warranty on the work, so if it was being repaired and it started rusting or bubbling, the OP would be able to get it sorted by the repairer, or if they are no longer in business, by the other insurers.
It's a C2. They are about £3k on Autotrader.The insurance company will value the vehicle, getting a quote for an immaculate vehicle, isnt realistic unless your vehicle was immaculate in the first place, I cant imagine WBAC would be accepted by the insurers, as the price they quote is unseen, and unlikely to be what they pay out.
The OP needs to have a look through Autotrader, and find cars the same, age, mileage and spec as his, and that will give him an idea of what its worth, he also needs to take a realistic value from their as well, so if there are 10 for sale for £1500, and one advertised for £5000, he cant argue the car is worth £5000, the insurers will pay a realistic value to put him back in the position he was prior to the accident.
The OP has a couple of options, he either lets the other insurers deal with the repairs and provide him with a replacement vehicle until the car is either, repaired, or the total loss value has been paid, if the latter, he may have the option to buy the vehicle back.
He could choose his own repairer and get a quote for the repairs, but this will then be sent to an engineer, who will determine if the costs are reasonable, so he cant just find somewhere that will charge an extortionate amount to repair and be quids in, as if the engineer deems these unreasonable, they wont pay it, the high repair costs will also possibly push it to be a write off.
The insurers will work to a repair value of around 66% of the value of the vehicle, before writing the car off.
The other option is a cash in lieu of repairs, this means that the OP can get a quote, and ask the other insurers to just pay him the value, but again, this will be reviewed by the engineer.
As the car is quite old and probably not of great value, the insurers may just be able to write the car off from images of the damage, if its a £1500 car, and you can see from the photos it needs 2 door skins, a wing and rear quarter, then they will know its a write off.
The bus company will be self insured, so they are their own insurance company for claims up to a certain value, so they will do most things the same way an insurance company would.
Also, most repairers that insurers use, will come with a warranty on the work, so if it was being repaired and it started rusting or bubbling, the OP would be able to get it sorted by the repairer, or if they are no longer in business, by the other insurers.
Edited by Smurfsarepeopletoo on Sunday 31st July 05:57
The best thing IMHO is for the OP to be pro-active and decide what's reasonable and what he wants.
Short circuit the process as much as you can.
If you offer the other party a fair and reasonable figure to settle, they may well view it favourably as it saves them an awful lot of work.
In the scheme of things, it's a small claim, they don't want to spending hours organising 'engineers' and then paying for that, they will want to sort the matter and get on with their jobs. Your own insurance company may be your worst enemy in timewasting IBA.
Hopefully it's either a simple couple of hundred quid to a body shop or a clear write off.
Very often once you speak to the person with the authority to write you a cheque and ask for what's fair, they write the cheque.
Draxindustries1 said:
piddy44 said:
Howard- said:
piddy44 said:
It's your car & they can't write it off if you don't want.
Well, they can. You're allowed to buy it back and use it if it's repairable though.https://classics.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/answer/639...
arse repaired wrecks on the road having been sold on as undamaged vehicles.
This is why services such as Vcheck exist, and the "Dodgy cars" Facebook page publicises a lot of results from this.
Draxindustries1 said:
Ref WBAC, never value a car from their site. They're an auction house and will value low.
Something like Autotrader is more realistic.
Autotrader isn't offering to buy your car, it's a list of adverts of (mostly) traders offering to sell you similar cars.Something like Autotrader is more realistic.
Those prices are selling prices, including a margin to cover the trader's possible liability should a fault be found etc.
The price is also negotiable and might include the option to trade in.
A 'fair' value of a car would be somewhere between an AT price and a WBAC price. Gather the information that's readily available.
If my car got written off tomorrow, I doubt I'd get a payout enough to replace it like for like. But sometimes you just have to take the view that I was going to sell it at a loss at some point and buy something better. I wouldn't want to replace it 'like for like', I'm only driving such an old high mileage car because it's the one I know and it's not been causing me any grief. I'd be cautious of buying something superficially similar that someone else had decided to sell. What made them sell?
My car might appear to have a replacement value of £3k, but it could fail the MOT on a few months and be approximately worthless. Bloke I know is in that position, shiny car, failing MOT on emissions....
Forums | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff