Write off and buy back

[CamperMoo]

Hi All, sadly we are in a position where a 17 year old with 6 months driving experience has slammed into our van causing a potential total loss. Being just the front drivers quarter affected, the conversion, bed and all the internals seem fine.
My question is, has anyone any experience in this dilemma, how would it affect the settlement, would you trust using internal components that have had a heavy impact Tec Tec.
Any insight would be appreciated
Thanks

 

[DXX]

I didn’t know it was still possible to buy a written off vehicle back from an insurer.
No doubt there are specialists who can check body alignment of the vehicle and estimate repair costs. This may a require a certain level of repair to get to the stage to be able to verify alignment.
I’m not sure what you are referring to with regards trusting internal components, if you are concerned about a certified seat bed then I would be checking the anchor points for deformation, frame tubes are straight and the welds for cracked paint in the first instance.
You say potential total loss, until the insurer makes a final decision it’s all guess work.

 

[Andymc]

If it’s a write off for structural damage you won’t be able to buy back, only if written off for cosmetic damage. It will go to a salvage company on their list.

 

[Ricardo T]

We bought a Cat N (D) (Cosmetic damage) write off from our insurance company a few years back and had it repaired by the same bodyshop that provided the insurance company with the quote...but our quote was significantly cheaper.

 

[CamperMoo]

I didn’t know it was still possible to buy a written off vehicle back from an insurer.
No doubt there are specialists who can check body alignment of the vehicle and estimate repair costs. This may a require a certain level of repair to get to the stage to be able to verify alignment.
I’m not sure what you are referring to with regards trusting internal components, if you are concerned about a certified seat bed then I would be checking the anchor points for deformation, frame tubes are straight and the welds for cracked paint in the first instance.
You say potential total loss, until the insurer makes a final decision it’s all guess work.

Thank you DXX, have a look at this link, you can buy almost anything thats written off.

https://www.copart.co.uk/content/uk/en/buying-category-s-vehicles?cid=ppc:g:uk:salvage:catns:dynamic&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlaXoo4Hm8QIVFU4YCh1cRwDkEAAYASAAEgJQL_D_BwE

 

[CamperMoo]

We bought a Cat N (D) (Cosmetic damage) write off from our insurance company a few years back and had it repaired by the same bodyshop that provided the insurance company with the quote...but our quote was significantly cheaper.

That's good to know, thank you

 

[russ_e]

Sorry to hear about your van. Hopefully nobody was injured.

I think the rules have changed recently and you can no longer buy total loss vehicles back from your insurer. Would be good to hear first hand experience though.

 

[Skyliner33]

Sorry to hear about your van. Hopefully nobody was injured.

I think the rules have changed recently and you can no longer buy total loss vehicles back from your insurer. Would be good to hear first hand experience though.

Why would buying from an insurer be any different from buying from a place like copart?

 

[russ_e]

I think the insurers have decided they won't sell direct due to the amount of fraud it was causing. After the vehicle has been sold to an agent I don't think the insurers care.

That's my current understanding anyway, no doubt there isn't a general consensus between the insurers so I could be totally wrong!

 

[DXX]

It used to be good earner on fairly old cars in the 70’s / 80’s, put a dent in the boot, insurance assessor would write off without question. A bit of filler and a couple of spray cans and a few hundred quid up.
One of the reasons I thought it had stopped.

 

[Andymc]

Copart is an auction site, be prepared to pay big for it!
My brother gets cat N occasionally from there, prices have risen due to the shortage of used car stock.

 

[CamperMoo]

Copart is an auction site, be prepared to pay big for it!
My brother gets cat N occasionally from there, prices have risen due to the shortage of used car stock.

Agreed, some vehicles do look expensive. I will be calling them tomorrow to see what the plan is for my van? I'm still in shock from the whole episode

 

[Catagonia]

You can buy back your vehicles from nearly all insurers, some of the names of the categories have changed over the last couple of years but thr principle is exactly the same. You can also take your vehicle to Autolyn to get the repair assessed and categorisation changed to 'inspected' on HPI. The categories are now:

N - non structural, so basically just replaceable body work, most of the time these are simple fixes where the cost of replacing the parts from a rip off dealer estimate renders it cheaper for the insurer to just give you a new one.

S - some structural, this can be anything from a damages strut up to damage to chassis rails and crash zones. In your case you know what the damage actually entails so its a no brainer.

B - can't go back on the road but can be bought for parts.

A - can't go back on the road and can't be sold, only really used for vehicles containing human remains or involved in vehicle fires.

You'll always get less on resale, but if you're not intending on selling your van in the next 5 - 8 years then you will almost certainly end up better off if you purchase back the vehicle and do the repairs yourself

 

[Catagonia]

If this ends up and injury / compensation type claim, then anything to do with the settlement of the vehicle damage payouts is separate to any long term injury claims anyway. So don't be put off by anything like that

 

[CamperMoo]

If this ends up and injury / compensation type claim, then anything to do with the settlement of the vehicle damage payouts is separate to any long term injury claims anyway. So don't be put off by anything like that

Thank you. It's been 3 weeks now and I'm still waiting for the police to complete their reports! It seems like my insurer is looking to settle the claim then recoup from the third party who's fault it was. The saga continues.....

 

[JOG]

You can buy back your vehicles from nearly all insurers, some of the names of the categories have changed over the last couple of years but thr principle is exactly the same. You can also take your vehicle to Autolyn to get the repair assessed and categorisation changed to 'inspected' on HPI. The categories are now:

N - non structural, so basically just replaceable body work, most of the time these are simple fixes where the cost of replacing the parts from a rip off dealer estimate renders it cheaper for the insurer to just give you a new one.

S - some structural, this can be anything from a damages strut up to damage to chassis rails and crash zones. In your case you know what the damage actually entails so its a no brainer.

B - can't go back on the road but can be bought for parts.

A - can't go back on the road and can't be sold, only really used for vehicles containing human remains or involved in vehicle fires.

You'll always get less on resale, but if you're not intending on selling your van in the next 5 - 8 years then you will almost certainly end up better off if you purchase back the vehicle and do the repairs yourself

Great explanation of the difference between “written off as economically unviable “ versus “written off as it is shot to pieces “

 

[DXX]

My daughters car was written off as economically unviable, she didn’t want the hassle of finding a new car so with the agreement of the insurance company the car was repaired with some used parts and others were repaired instead of replacement.
There is too much wastage when it comes to insurance repairs, this is obviously going to push insurance premiums higher.

 

[Skyliner33]

My daughters car was written off as economically unviable, she didn’t want the hassle of finding a new car so with the agreement of the insurance company the car was repaired with some used parts and others were repaired instead of replacement.
There is too much wastage when it comes to insurance repairs, this is obviously going to push insurance premiums higher.

I agree, insurance is a big con regarding accident damage.

As soon as a repair centre knows its an insurance repair the price goes up.

As an example I had 3 month old motorbike written off as uneconomic to repair. When I looked at the repair estimate it was quoting for a new frame, as the old one had a slight paint scratch. The bike was still rideable and road legal. It was sold on Copart as the buyer wrote to me asking if I still had the pillion footpegs.