Salvage Prices

[smo]

With my 90 being possibly (quite likely) written off, how to insurance companies go about working out what the salvage is worth, and am i entitled to first refusal?

[Corrode Finger]

Depends!!

Going by an experience many years ago with written off golf gti, it depends on what category they classify the write off as.

If it ends up as a Cat A or B, no, it has to be bought by a proper salvage yard, as it must be disposed of and prevented going back on the road.

If it is C or D( i think its C aswell), it can be bought and put back on the road, with inspections by VOSA.

If there is any chassis damage, the insurers will put it as an A or B category, and all identity will be removed preventing it ever going back on the road.

I do however await to be corrected by others, but this is what i understand.

[smo]

Hmm, its got chassis damage but i rekon it should only be cat D, C at worse because its the labor cost that will make them squeel rather than it being unrepairable.

[JST]

sorry to hear about the def, cant help with the Q i am afraid though other than i think as policy holder you get the first refusal.

[TJ101]

Hi Smo, was this the Defender you had for sale,, sorry to hear it may now be written off !!

Now due to Environment Agency rules,(registered waste contractors, lincensed breakers, salvage company's etc have a lot of conditions placed on them to comply) a lot of vehicles that are written off can not be bought by the owners, When they pay you out, ownership transfers to the insurance company, and they have to be seen, to be compiling with the rules, so only sell to EA licensed contractors

But is well worth asking the question !! Salvage company's and the like normally have to pay around 20% of payout, to get the stock, and had to take the rough with the smooth (total wrecks, to easy repairable)

[leeds]

Sorry to hear about your accident.

The first thing to remember is that you own the vehicle and not the insurance company! A lot of insurance companies do not understand Land rovers and the fact that you can swap chassis on Land Rovers is beyond a lot of insurance companies. Make sure that the LR is stored at your local LR specialist. Have a few words wit them and ask them for the correct wording.

It is something like you want 'cash rather then repairs' Repairing a LR with 2nd hand wings etc is a lot cheaper then using new parts.

Regards

Leeds

[smo]

Its under warranty because of the age so if its going to be repaired then it will be done by landrover who currently have the vehicle at their big bodyshop down here.

If they write it off however i'd like to buy it, strip it and rebuild it as a nice off road truck

[will_warne]

Its under warranty because of the age so if its going to be repaired then it will be done by landrover who currently have the vehicle at their big bodyshop down here.

If they write it off however i'd like to buy it, strip it and rebuild it as a nice off road truck

SMO, get a second opinion as Land Rover WILL write it off. Stunning Services in Southampton isn't far away and would be good to talk to. Their number's 07809 273943

[smo]

Cheers Will, I'll give them a call.

The insurance company have an independant assesor visiting on monday to give his verdict too...

[Happyoldgit]

Some classic vehicle policies give the owner a chance to buy back the salvadge but obviously that cannot be taken as read in this case. Years ago I had a vehicle written off but luckily I had it taken to a bodyshop belonging to a friend of mine where it quickly came to light the assessor wanted the vehicle for himself After 'negotiations' he agreed that the vehicle was in fact perfectly repairable and afrter a week or two I had the vehicle back looking as good as new.

[GBMUD]

Sandbag has a 1997 Rover 400. It is worth about the same as a Defender doorhandle. About 18 months ago she got rear ended in traffic and the rear panel got pushed forward about an inch. The bumper sprang back out and, apart from a little tear in the bumper, you cannot tell that it was ever hit without opening the boot. Needless to say, the car was written-off despite being perfectly safe and drivable. The insurance company wasted no time in paying out for the car (a very fair settlement too!) and allowed us to keep the salvage FOC with no questions. They did say, though, that they were not prepared to re-insure it... until it had passed an MOT. I decided that some new tyres were justified, it passed first time and has been free motoring ever since.

Chris

[white90]

time for another small shunt then

to continue your free motoring

at this rate it will end up a nicer earner.

[Lewis]

As i recall from my chat with the scrap man, Cat A cannot reappear on the road, Cat B can have parts used but not the chassis or documents, Cat C can be returned to the road after a Vehicle Identity Check by VOSA, this is just to ensure that it is the same vehicle - they just check engine and chassis numbers and that "you are endeavouring to repair the vehicle", its nothing like an SVA. Cat D can be returned to the road no questions

Lewis

[Diff]

Like GBMUD, I have just dealt with this with my wife's car which was slightly damaged in a non fault accident. It was declared an uneconomic repair and therefore a 'write off'. The 3rd parties insurance company paid the full market value for the car and said they would dispose of it if required, or we could keep the car (salvage).

They also said that a note had been put on the Insurance Register that the car had been written off. Once on this register, it is a permanent record available to all insurance companies regarding the car. This can have implications in the future either for you making another claim, trying to insure it elsewhere, or if you sell it on without declaring to the new owner what happened to it. Keep all records and details of damage, repair etc.

I notified our insurance company who said that because of this, they would no longer insure the car until we provided them with a copy of a new MOT to prove that it was roadworthy. I got it re MOT’d the next day and faxed them a copy. All ok again BUT, there are a few important notes to add:

IF you surrender your log book(vehicle registration document) to the insurance company, garage or send it off to DVLA as scrapped, the car can ONLY be returned to the road after it has a Vehicle Identity Check which costs about £30 and has to be carried out at one of VOSAs inspection approved centres (There isn’t one in every city!/town).

If you retain your log book all you need to do is satisfy your insurance company either with a new MOT or some sort of engineers inspection (different companies have different criteria).

The point about whether you can have, or ‘buy back’ your car when it is an uneconomic repair, depends on the terms and conditions of your particular insurance company.

Some insurance companies stipulate that if they make a full payout on the car, it automatically becomes theirs. Older cars with little value are usually of no interest to insurance companies once they are written off so you can often keep them for ‘free’ because it would cost the insurance company to dispose of it.

Newer cars have a much greater salvage value, and you may have to negotiate/pay to get it back.

Also bear in mind that most places charge storage fees for the vehicle, so get it somewhere where it isn't going to be charged storage asap, or if it takes a while to sort out, you could have your payout dramatically reduced!

Be aware that some insurance companies will immediately CANCEL the policy if they pay out on ‘write off’, even if there is still 11 months to run. They will say they have fulfilled their obligations, and you have to purchase a NEW policy if you want to start using the car again.

Regards,

Diff