Can I buy back a written off lease car?
Discussion
Hi, recently I got into a bad accident (which wasnt by fault) that led to my insurer writing off the car. I had the car for about 14 months and it was given to me by the company I work for and it was on a business lease for 3 years. I was resposible to make sure the car was insured but gladly, my employer had gap insurance for the car so I dont have to worry about the leasing company, or my employer, chasing me for any money.
From my understanding, even though the insurance policy was in my name, the payout for the car would go directly to the leasing company since they actually own the car (or am I wrong) but what if I want to buy the car back off the insurance company as a Cat S? The insurance was in my name so would I be eligible to buy it back or would it only be the leasing company who could buy it back because they actually owned the car in the first place?
I spoke to someone from my insurance company about this and they didnt even know what I was talking about or didnt care, they just told me that an engineer is doing a valuation of the car currently so all I could do was wait.
Does anyone have any knowledge with this scenario because I was really hoping I could buy the car back because I really loved driving it and dont mind getting it repaired.
From my understanding, even though the insurance policy was in my name, the payout for the car would go directly to the leasing company since they actually own the car (or am I wrong) but what if I want to buy the car back off the insurance company as a Cat S? The insurance was in my name so would I be eligible to buy it back or would it only be the leasing company who could buy it back because they actually owned the car in the first place?
I spoke to someone from my insurance company about this and they didnt even know what I was talking about or didnt care, they just told me that an engineer is doing a valuation of the car currently so all I could do was wait.
Does anyone have any knowledge with this scenario because I was really hoping I could buy the car back because I really loved driving it and dont mind getting it repaired.
Unless the V5 is in your name, you will probably have to buy it back through whatever auction site it goes to. You won't get the first refusal that you would normally get as the registered keeper/owner of the car.
If the car is written off and Cat S, then it has structural damage, unless you have friends in the business or can do some of the repairs yourself, it could work out very expensive.
What was the car out of interest? Can't you buy a similar one that hasn't been written off?
If the car is written off and Cat S, then it has structural damage, unless you have friends in the business or can do some of the repairs yourself, it could work out very expensive.
What was the car out of interest? Can't you buy a similar one that hasn't been written off?
Edited by Olivergt on Monday 19th September 15:28
To add; when the time comes to get rid of it places like WBAC or Cazoo (if still in business by then) won't buy it off you. You'll have to auction it or go through the pain of selling it privately and declare it as a Cat S, since it's too easy for anyone to check for free these days by putting the reg into WBAC or Cazoo. 
EDIT: Many years ago I used to buy lightly damaged cars, usually stolen/recovered that needed locks and minor paintwork, or sometimes interior bits replacing. I never made any money on them. At best I ran them for a while and broke even. As soon as I had to pay someone else for part of the work I was out of pocket and might as well have bought an undamaged one privately or at auction.
EDIT: Many years ago I used to buy lightly damaged cars, usually stolen/recovered that needed locks and minor paintwork, or sometimes interior bits replacing. I never made any money on them. At best I ran them for a while and broke even. As soon as I had to pay someone else for part of the work I was out of pocket and might as well have bought an undamaged one privately or at auction.
Edited by OldSkoolRS on Monday 19th September 16:03
Why would your employer take out GAP insurance on a car that your individually insuring yourself...?The car was just a perk for working for their company. Most of the time I use it for my own personal errands etc and only time I use it for work is commuting to and from the office, which is why they tell us we're responsible to insure it so I believe that is fair no?
Anyway i'm not really worried the car being harder to sell or fix because I know some people who would be able to repair the car.
Honestly I kind of grew attatched to it and I know to get it back on the road would still be way cheaper that buying a used one which is why I want to know if I could buy it back. Does anyone know if I would be given to option to buy it even though it was actually owned by the leasing company? - struggling to find an answer to that question anywhere.
Anyway i'm not really worried the car being harder to sell or fix because I know some people who would be able to repair the car.
Honestly I kind of grew attatched to it and I know to get it back on the road would still be way cheaper that buying a used one which is why I want to know if I could buy it back. Does anyone know if I would be given to option to buy it even though it was actually owned by the leasing company? - struggling to find an answer to that question anywhere.
I think the only way you'll find out is to discuss it with the Lease company and your insurers as we can only guess, since it's a pretty unusual situation.
I will however repeat that even when I did the work myself in the past I never really saved any money. Your friends may find extra things that are needed too, which was usually what happened to me (plus MOT work I'd always overlook since they were slightly older cars usually). Honestly I don't think you'll save anything overall and you'll still be driving around in a repaired car that was damaged badly enough to be a Cat S.
Do you plan to keep it indefinitely and just run it into the ground? Otherwise it's a bit short sighted to ignore the difficulties you'll have getting rid of it when the time comes. We've no idea if this is a Dacia Duster or a Ferrari we're talking about here, but if circumstances change and you find you don't want a personal car for some reason (change jobs which comes with another company car for example), then it will be a pain to get rid of.
I will however repeat that even when I did the work myself in the past I never really saved any money. Your friends may find extra things that are needed too, which was usually what happened to me (plus MOT work I'd always overlook since they were slightly older cars usually). Honestly I don't think you'll save anything overall and you'll still be driving around in a repaired car that was damaged badly enough to be a Cat S.
Do you plan to keep it indefinitely and just run it into the ground? Otherwise it's a bit short sighted to ignore the difficulties you'll have getting rid of it when the time comes. We've no idea if this is a Dacia Duster or a Ferrari we're talking about here, but if circumstances change and you find you don't want a personal car for some reason (change jobs which comes with another company car for example), then it will be a pain to get rid of.
tBanks1970 said:
Does anyone know if I would be given to option to buy it even though it was actually owned by the leasing company? - struggling to find an answer to that question anywhere.
I doubt the insurance company will be arsed with negotiating with a one-off buyer. Their procedures will be set up to send the car from the compound to Copart (or similar) for disposal.As it wasn’t yours I expect you will be told to go and bid same as anyone else. Also, Copart fees are prohibitive for private buyers.
Whilst you may believe you are helping out by saving the insurance co sales fees, unfortunately I doubt they will care.
tBanks1970 said:
The car was just a perk for working for their company. Most of the time I use it for my own personal errands etc and only time I use it for work is commuting to and from the office, which is why they tell us we're responsible to insure it so I believe that is fair no?
Anyway i'm not really worried the car being harder to sell or fix because I know some people who would be able to repair the car.
Honestly I kind of grew attatched to it and I know to get it back on the road would still be way cheaper that buying a used one which is why I want to know if I could buy it back. Does anyone know if I would be given to option to buy it even though it was actually owned by the leasing company? - struggling to find an answer to that question anywhere.
OP, how do you know it will be cheaper than buying a used one? You don't even know if you can buy it yet, let alone at what price you can buy it. Do you know how much the repairs are going to cost? Given it's a cat S, there could be some hidden damage that adds considerable to the cost.Anyway i'm not really worried the car being harder to sell or fix because I know some people who would be able to repair the car.
Honestly I kind of grew attatched to it and I know to get it back on the road would still be way cheaper that buying a used one which is why I want to know if I could buy it back. Does anyone know if I would be given to option to buy it even though it was actually owned by the leasing company? - struggling to find an answer to that question anywhere.
If you have never done anythng like this before, I would advise against it.
And surely your company are giving you a replacement car anyway?
Speak to the lease Co to see if they will let you buy it from the insurance co.
Then speak to the insurance Co.
The insurance will pay the lease Co minus the amount the car is now worth.
Then you will pay the lease Co the remaining amount that the insurance Co deducted from their settlement.
People buy cars back all the time from the insurance Co the only difference with yours is that it's a lease.
Then speak to the insurance Co.
The insurance will pay the lease Co minus the amount the car is now worth.
Then you will pay the lease Co the remaining amount that the insurance Co deducted from their settlement.
People buy cars back all the time from the insurance Co the only difference with yours is that it's a lease.
tBanks1970 said:
The car was just a perk for working for their company. Most of the time I use it for my own personal errands etc and only time I use it for work is commuting to and from the office, which is why they tell us we're responsible to insure it so I believe that is fair no?
Anyway i'm not really worried the car being harder to sell or fix because I know some people who would be able to repair the car.
Honestly I kind of grew attatched to it and I know to get it back on the road would still be way cheaper that buying a used one which is why I want to know if I could buy it back. Does anyone know if I would be given to option to buy it even though it was actually owned by the leasing company? - struggling to find an answer to that question anywhere.
So essentially the car was on the companies lease fleet, yet you were privately insuring the car yourself to used for Social/Domestic/Pleasure.Anyway i'm not really worried the car being harder to sell or fix because I know some people who would be able to repair the car.
Honestly I kind of grew attatched to it and I know to get it back on the road would still be way cheaper that buying a used one which is why I want to know if I could buy it back. Does anyone know if I would be given to option to buy it even though it was actually owned by the leasing company? - struggling to find an answer to that question anywhere.
Seems like a bit of a company car tax avoidance fiddle ain't it?
I guess the insurance company were perfectly happy for you to insure the car, which is fine. I wonder how this sits with your companies arrangements that they have with their lease company ...... or with the tax man
mat205125 said:
I guess the insurance company were perfectly happy for you to insure the car, which is fine.
I wonder if they realise the lease was in the company's name? Unless that had been specifically noted, I'd be minded to keep quiet at this point.I have seen people insisting it is posible, but it seems dodgy to me. Proper company car insurance is way more expensive than personal insurance.
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