Category C damage, what to do?

Earlier this month my Laguna took a sharp tap in the rear from a Land Rover, pushing the boot lid back slightly together with the rear panel which means I can't lift the cover on the spare tyre.

Was expecting the guy's insurance to get it fixed up for me, instead today I got a letter telling me it's a Cat C write off and that a cheque for £2000 was in the post. Thanks very much, the car is worth £1500 tops according to Parkers.

Now what to do with the car? The insurance has advised me that the salvage value is nil (really?) and that I should get dispose of it as soon as possible 'to minimise any losses' (what do they mean by that?).

The thing is, it drives beautifully (for a Laguna) and would easily get through it's next MOT and from a short distance you would never know it's been damaged. Should I just hold on to it for a year or two and drive it into the ground or get rid of it now to get the most salvage value for it? I am aware that any future sale is near impossible now the car has been blacklisted with the DVLA.

Car is a 98 'S' 1.6 16V RN with 66k on the clock.

K
Reply to
K
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Salvage value won't decrease noticeably if you keep using it.

More to the point it,s stuffed as rewelding the rear quarters completely uneconomic

Reply to
Duncanwood

Are you allowed to keep it - doesnt it become the insurance companies if they are paying to replace it - although they have to told you to get rid of it...

Reply to
mo

"mo" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

OK, the letter they sent is confusing and contradicts itself. The final paragraph:

'Please ensure you/your client dispose of the vehicle immediately to minimise any losses. Should you/your client fail to arrange disposal of the vehicle withing a reasonable period of time, then you/your client may be responsible for any additional costs.'

WTF does this mean, what 'additional costs'? They are telling me to dispose of the car myself, but surely there's no skin off their nose if I decide to keep it? They even included a leaflet from the DVLA telling me what to do is I kept the car.

Never mind, I'll give them a bell in the morning and try and get some sense out of them.

K
Reply to
K

That's form letter gumph in case it's so written off it's in an expensive storage yard.

You need to get it inspected to be safe so it can be re-registered as damaged repaired. Find a decent indie bodyshop and see what they want to get it fixed - if it's a lot less than the 2 grand it may be worth it.

Just be sure that you get something in writing from the insurers indicating that they relinquish ownership etc back to you.

Reply to
Chris Street

They appear to be assuming it's sitting in a salvage yard somewhere, accruing storage charges etc.

Ignore it.

If they'd taken the car off you, know what they'd have done given it doesn't sound too heavily damaged?

They'd have stuck it in a salvage auction, or sold it to a salvage dealer, and then someone would have invariably bought it, got the VIC check done, and then stuck it back on the road - the VIC check covers the identity of the car, not whether or not it's actually been repaired, or if so, to any recognised standard.

Are they letting you keep all the paperwork, such as MOT etc?

Sounds like you will be, but if not, make a note of which garage did the MOT and when, before releasing the paperwork - you can then get a duplicate if it has that long left to run.

-- JackH

Reply to
JackH

"JackH" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@individual.net:

I see, that makes a lot of sense.

Yup, there's a local body shop that makes a living out of this, but to be fair they come totally clean about what state the car was in when they got it, they'll even show you photos of the damage before they repaired them, however I suspect most are not as honest as they are.

I've still got all the paperwork, they never even asked to look at it. They first got me to take it to a local garage for an estimate, then a week later they sent an asessor round to my workplace to look at it who assured me that the damage was minor and no way would the car be written off which makes the fact they did more astonishing.

One possible reason though is that insurers always repair with original parts, as most Renault owners probably know the cost of their parts is obscene.

A 2k payoff and a getting to keep a car in reasonable shape would be a very nice outcome from this. If anyone sees me out on the road, feel free to drive into me so I can get the car written off again :)

K
Reply to
K

Is it your insurance who paid you (having recovered the money) or was it direct from the other drivers insurance?? If it was yours then your policy will now be void and you will need to re-insure it, if it was his then they cant claim it as theirs its yours, you need to inform your insurance tho

Reply to
powerstation

"powerstation" wrote

I've only dealt with the other driver's insurers who have been very efficient. My own insurer (M*re Th*n) now have their call centre in India and apparantly have a policy of only answering one in every hundred calls, the one time I did get through I was promised a call back which never came. After giving me a very competitive first year's premium they've been jacking them up ever since.

I eventually sent them a letter reporting the accident and making it clear why they won't be getting my money again. Still no reply.

K
Reply to
K

Quote

"Category C - Repairable salvage. Usually applies to vehicles with significant (structural) damage, where cost of repairs exceeds book value. Can be sold for repair but must now have VIC inspection before returning to the road. Recorded as "Category C" at DVLA. Category C vehicles' V5 documents are returned to DVLA. You re-apply for registration on the original identity once the VIC inspection has done. VIC inspection and re-registration removes the Category C classification, but evidence it was at one time Category C remains on the vehicle's record at DVLA (and HPI and AA and the others)."

So I'm not sure how this affects you. Are you still allowed to drive the car on the road as it is?

Reply to
adder1969

they have written the car off they have sent you a cheque you have cashed the cheque have they asked for the car? no? well then, get a port-a-power, push the dent out, drive it to the MOT station, get a new MOT on it, insure it again notifying the company it's been written off previously, carry on as you were

Reply to
dojj

What they're assuming is that you have it in storage at a recovery company and will be paying a daily charge for said storage hence the comments on minimising loss and additional costs.

But you aren't.

So you're quids in.

Reply to
Conor

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