Category S econonimcal write off

[The Angry Welshman]

I recently had a no fault bump in my car ( other driver and insurers admitted full responsibility)

The bump is a dent in the rear wheel each. Insurance company picked car up yesterday to undertake repair at their full cost. But today they have informed me its not econimcally viable to repair damage due tpo age of car (10yrs old) and says the wheel arch has come away from the monocock (whatver that means) the car has been checked by a 3rd party and its basically 10mm that has pulled away and is held on by what looks like plastic pop rivets of some sort.

I now have the car back ( collected today) i have informed my insurance that the car as been classed as Cat S and they have noted that on my insurance and stated i am still insured to drive it.

My Question - Do i need to get it repaired, re-mot'd or am i just ok to carry on driving it. As i have been doing for 8wks or so since the bump??

Thanks All

PS i have checked the dvla website and nothing is listed on there about damage to the car

 

[The Angry Welshman]

Cat S suggests that the damage is more than just a plastic arch. Cat S is supposed to be for structural economic writeoffs, Cat N is for non structural.

no the garage told me its just the plastic arch underneath and its around 10mm all the rest is full attached. no axle, chassis or wheel damage at all and no structural report required

 

[The Angry Welshman]

i picked the car up earlier and there was no structural report and nothing to sign to say ive taken the car back.

 

[The Angry Welshman]

You need to be getting onto the insurance company that has categorised it and getting them to give you some details of why it's been categorised as it has

Scrapping your vehicle and insurance write-offs

Scrap your vehicle at an authorised treatment facility if it’s reached the end of its life and you want to dispose of it

www.gov.uk

If there's definitely no structural issues, they've categorised it wrong and it should probably be N. If there are structural issues, then they should be able to say what they are so you can ensure the car is adequately repaired.

Ideally you'd want some some paperwork/report to throw in amongst the history so if/when you sell it, you can show prospective buyers what it was all about.

i am awaiting a call from their valuation team to negotiate a value for the car, they said it could take 3/5 days for that to happen. i honestly think they are trying to pull a fast one at my expense

 

[The Angry Welshman]

Have you had a payout for the value of the car ?

nope nothing yet as per my above post

 

[The Angry Welshman]

as it currently stands both the garage who insspected the car and my insurers say im ok to drive the car and its fully insured....

Just to note, its not my insurers that have written the car off, its the 3rd parties insurance that have stated its Cat S

 

[The Angry Welshman]

another ploy is the insurance wanting it inspected at there centre ....which involves them fetching it (usually co part) you being told its a write off and then before payment can you forward all paperwork keys etc to them .....and it sold on auction.
i bought a merc a while back that still had finance on it from copart, too quick to auction without finance settled, i went ballistic at them and they cleared it within the hour grrrrrrrrr.

thats why i collected today and told them immediately i was retaining the vehicle.....

 

[The Angry Welshman]

Additional Information

Car has been collected from independant garage, they have confirmed zero structural damage to the vehicle and have also stated it shouldn't even be a category N......

I have since asked the original assessors of the damage for a structural report and photgarphic evidence of the structural damage to which they claim and they have since removed my car from their repairs app and advised me to speak to the 3rd parties insurers....

to be continued.

 

[The Angry Welshman]

Good luck - it can be very difficult to get a write off record removed.

well i have the car now and i am awiaiting the valuations dept of the 3rd party insurance to call me, which they say can take between 3/5 days....

 

[The Angry Welshman]

If someone has written it off, it'll be a category of some sort - they're suggesting to you they think it would be economical to repair, which it probably would be if the entire car insurance industry didn't amount to one massive exercise in legalised fraud

totally agree, but a cat N the car doesnt need to be re-registered with dvla and undertake new MOT etc etc ..... were as a Cat S needs to be if the insurers report it to dvla and some other car industry body starting with M ( cant think of the name right now)

 

[The Angry Welshman]

Cat S doesn't need a new MOT either after it is repaired.

conflicting information, it does state that a car categroised as Cat S with the dvla needs to be repaired, re-registered and an new mot issued to ensure the car is structurally sound.

 

[The Angry Welshman]

Can you point me to the government page that says a cat S needs a new MOT as I couldn't find that? Some insurance companies may want a new MOT but I'm not sure it's a legal requirement.

i cant, thats why i said conflicting information. My insurance company didnt require anything they just noted it as cat s and said im covered. nothing else.

 

[The Angry Welshman]

also read that dvla no longer get involved with write offs, its upto the insurers to register the cat S and some insurers MAY require a post repair MOT. But as no repair is required, my garage will just put it through a new MOT for me, in case my insurers ask for it.

 

[The Angry Welshman]

ive also read on pistonheads ( but will clarify when the insurers finally contact me), that i can withdraw the insurance claim and therefore they then have no right to write the car off as there is no claim to pay out.

 

[The Angry Welshman]

One thing to be careful of with not re MOTing a write off car is how do you prove it's road worthy or not. Your insurance most likely states your car should be road legal and fit to drive, or your insurance is invalid.

If you're driving a car that's "repaired" but then have another accident, I'd bet the insurance company will 100% use this as a reason for not paying. "Yeah my mate down the road fixed it for me, sure it's road legal. "

On the subject of write off cars and insurance, you always need to check they cover wrote off cars. Weirdly, they will quote you on comparison sites and take your money, but question them on it or go through the T&Cs at it sometimes says that category cars won't be covered.

what if the car has been inspected and the mechanic states no repair required as no structural damage exists??

 

[The Angry Welshman]

I was briefly researching this because I wanted to know what the mandatory procedure was, but I didn't get to the bottom of it.

The whole gist of that article is that you should, (but it may not be legally required). For instance, the article also says:

"To answer the question: Yes, a Category S car, which has sustained structural damage, does require a new MOT test after it has been repaired and before it can be driven again. This is to ensure that the vehicle is roadworthy and safe to operate on public roads following the structural repairs."

There was also something called the Vehicle Identity Check by the DVLA, which applied to category S cars, but ended in 2015.

[Withdrawn] The Vehicle Identity Check (VIC) scheme

A guide about the VIC scheme.

www.gov.uk

So, I remain unsure what the mandatory requirements regarding vehicle inspection after a Category S write off are. I would have thought there needed to be a proper engineering inspection by some sort of government approved scheme, but I couldn't find anything.

ive also read that if you withdraw the claim, which you have a legal right to do, then the car cant be written off as no settlement has been made.

 

[The Angry Welshman]

From a legal perspective that sounds logical. The question is whether the insurance company, having written it off, can/will reverse it. I guess you're going to find out.

its not written off until it has been settled for payment.... at the moment they have only been advised by the garage to write it off on economical grounds due to the supposed structural damage, that i now know doesnt exist. im sure the insurance ombudsman wiould like to here from me, if they try to force the claim through.

 

[The Angry Welshman]

I'm no lawyer but there's also a report stating that is was, hence why it is a cat s write off. He said she said never ends up in your favour usually!

I'd 100 percent get a new MOT as that is a perfect way to prove it was at that time. Yes they can be faked but it's legit.

the report made by the assessor has a right to be challenged, again thats a legal right. Just because they say its a write off. It doesnt mean that it is. As yet, they have not provided me with any evidence of a report or photographs of the supposed stuctural damage they say exists, but i know it doesnt.

My garage has already agreed to a new MOT once this issue is settled with the 3rd party insurers. Also i never made a claim for insurance, they phoned me to offer to repair my vehicle as the 3rd party admitted full responsibilty for the accident. Due process needs to be followed, doesnt mean you have to roll over and get your belly tickled, just because they say so.

 

[The Angry Welshman]

***Update****

Solus have made me an offer for the vehicle of £2088 minus salvage of £417 = £1670.

I hve rejected the offer, made a foormal complaint about the assessment, their parent company Viva has now requested more information from the assessor, they are stating there is a structural report available with 14 photgraphs, but still wont send me the report.

They have also agreed that i can cancel the claim at any point and nothing further will happen, as they need my full coperation to send them the v5 so they cn log it as a write off with the dvla. Nothing happens with the CAT S until that is done. if i relinquish my claim, i can carry on with the vehicle and no CAT S will be registered and no money will change hands.

I have been given info from aviva of how to go about getting the car back on the road and all i need to do is request a copy of the log book from the dvla with form V62 and get it MOT'd.

I will be receiving a call from Aviva sometime tuesday with a full explanation of why they see assessor sees it as a CAT S.....

 

[The Angry Welshman]

These things do get murky.
If you send the V5 to the ins co, and they scrap the car then IMO the DVLA will deem the MOT expired.
If they sell it at auction for potential salvage then they would pass the V5 on and not return to DVLA.

So you request a reregister of the car, get it MOT'd, job done if ins co scrap it.

I suspect the inspector has decided that there is a risk of some structural repair needed if its stripped down properly.
My other half had a wack whilst parked late last year. When the quote came through it specifically said assuming no hidden structural damage is found when stripped down.
They take this stuff seriously, they can't risk saying its all good and then a structural issue they ignore causes someone to die.
A wheel arch collision probably means they suspect the wheel has been bashed so could require work there = risk of it easily exceeding a £2k repair bill.
Bear in mind most repairs will be a week minimum, so add another £300+ for a hire car on top of the actual repair.

Whats the car realistically worth? Is the £2k real or silly. If silly find some examples and show them.
The salvage of 417 sounds a lot.

I don't get why you would consider just driving it and carrying on though. Its devalued the car no matter how you look at it.

Edit to add, your ins co will probably also consider your insurance ended if the car is written off. You could probably get it frozen/deferred though.
You cannot insure a car that is not yours and for a while it wouldn't be as there would be no legally registered car matching your reg.
You probably want to specifically ask them about this if you do go ahead with it being scrapped.

ive already asked my insurance and they have stated its still insured to drive and is marked down as a CAT S..... the reason i would just drive it and carry on is because ive had it inspected by my garage that has done my MOTs for the past 10yrs has deemed no structural damage to the vehicle.

As for the devalue of the car, it owes me nothing in real terms its been bought and paid for, for many years. Its only really worth something if i decide to sell it and tbh, there is no reason to sell it. The only work thats been required on it is new brake pads 5yrs ago and since then its done less than circa 5k miles as i work from home fulltime.