Insurance offering Cat D car back to me

[kazino]

My bodywork garage has informed me that by law I should be able to buy back my Cat D writeoff car from my insurance company as part of my claim at no more than 20% of the value of the car. The price they are currently offering me makes it unworthy of repairing it.

Does this hold any water? With some google searching I am unable to find anything worthwhile stating they have to sell it back to me at no more than 20% of the claim value.

[eybic]

I dont think they have to sell it back to you at all, if they pay you out then it is their car surely?

[Noger]

No, there isn't such a law.

They may be getting confused with the fixed salvage fee arrangements that some insurers have with salvage agents, this is often around the 20% mark. So they will get 20% of the Pre Accident Value.

I guess you could argue that the insurer should not treat you less fairly that a SalCo.

[marky911]

If you want the car back though, it may well be worth a phone call to the insurers to see if you can purchase your car back. I know people who have done this no problem but, different insurers have different rules on disposal of their write-offs.

[Risotto]

The car now belongs to them - they're under no obligation to sell it to you or anyone else. In practice, most are disposed of through trade salvage auctions like Bluecycle but legally there's no reason why you couldn't make them an offer to buy it back at a price you see as fair - the worst they can do is say no.

[kazino]

Thanks guys.
I have offered them 20% of the value as that would be reasonable and allow me to have to repaired economically, but they are refusing so I guess there's naught I can do.

[halo34]

I wrote a skyline off once, silly boy that I was - but there was clause in the policy which said the car wouldn't be offered to me in this event.

I think it varies by insurer - it was a shame as the parts were worth a fortune.

[jimmyjam]

My insurance company gave me the option of purchasing it back however I think the salvage companies are obliged to have it publicly auctioned therefore you could try that route.

[AndrewW-G]

kazino said:

Thanks guys.
I have offered them 20% of the value as that would be reasonable and allow me to have to repaired economically, but they are refusing so I guess there's naught I can do.

Rather than offering a set amount, why not ask them what price they would require and haggle that starting point down?

[7 Sevens]

How about asking them which salvage agent they use and purchasing it from them? The insurer will now be obliged to pass it through to their agents but the agents can mostly likely sell to anyone.

Out of interest what type of car is it? The Boxster?

Edited by 7 Sevens on Thursday 4th November 09:56

[Dog Star]

This does happen - or seemed to in years gone by - I know quite a few people who have bought back cars and bikes in this fashion. Bikes can be particularly good when a dropped bike is written off because of a couple of cracked panels and a broken indicator.

[Compo_Simmonite]

My insurers refused to sell me back my Chrysler Sunbeam, when written off, at any price. When my motorbike was hit they asked me if I wanted to keep salvage and deducted approx 10% from payout !
Neighbour buys lots of Cat C & D written off cars for his famillys / friends personal use and says long gone are the days when you can buy them for a fixed percentage. It's now a bidding war and, if they are desirable, sometimes he reckons you can buy undamaged cars privatley for only a little more .
From what I can gather unless you have a clause in your policy giving you the right to buy back then insurers get the best price they can. That means when classed as a write off they tout around "contacts" to see if anyone is intersted before putting in salavge auction. If a "contact" is interested and a decent amount is offered then you can unsderstand insurers aren't going to let owner buy back for anything less.

Paul H

[kazino]

They gave me an initial price but they will not budge from it at all, so I'll try and get the details of the salvage company they are sending it to instead.

Thanks for fast replies

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

Shame to hear that. I had a monkey turn across in front of me in December last year. I clumped him at about 5mph in the end.

Car had a bit of a dented bonnet, front panel and not much else. They wrote it off valuing it at £1100, not bad for a 12 year old Fiesta with 150k on the clock!

I asked for it back and they were happy to let me keep it and deduct 15% from the settlement.

I fixed it in a few hours and she's till going strong. Grand in the bank, job done

Anyway this was with Swift Cover, and there was no problem at all with buyback - it was all an easy deal.