Car written off - can we use it?

As I understand it, if it has been 'written off' then it is no longer covered. At least this was my experience a few years ago.

if its been written off then the insurance company will have taken posession, or you've agreed with them to keep it for some money off the claim (in your case, this seems like a sensible approach to take).

if you're not claiming off your own policy, it should still be insured (as aluded to above, this is not likely to be the case if you've claimed off your own policy). There's some unclear advice about getting an MOT but as far as I know a cat S or cat N can be used as normal, as long as its still road safe - an MOT is just an easy way to assure this. If you've got no sharp edges I'd say its fine to continue

Looking at this, as long as it's a cat S or cat N write off, it seems it would need repairing, re-MOT'd, and insurance notified?

https://motorway.co.uk/sell-my-car/guides/car-write-off

I guess reading between the lines the existing insurance will be void as soom as it's declared a write off, so you have to re-insure/notify existing insurer for a revised price/terms?

I had this happen a few years ago. The car was written off (Cat N) for minor cosmetic damage after some idiot managed to somehow drive into it while it was parked on an empty street

As long as your insurance company is aware (which they should be anyway) its all declared and everything else is legal, it's fine

I bought the car back off the insurance company for the scrap value (they snatched my hand off when I asked about it) and had the damage repaired at a local body shop for about 25% of the cost their repair shop had quoted.

To clarify - repairer has said it's a write off, but the insurance co has not yet made an offer or confirmed it's a write off.  So claim ongoing rather than settled. I'd imagine once settled it's a different story, but it's this no man's land that's a bit confusing 🙂

If its written off you will need a new policy for the vehicle.

got pics of the damage?

Yea thats different. You can still drive it till the insurance makes you an offer.

So long as its roadworthy

It's not the Micra Andy, you can relax 😁

If it is Cat N then it is an "economic Write off" so cost of repairs equates to more than about 65% of the value of the vehicle, it does not mean it is unsafe to drive, Cat S means there is some structural damage so will need repairs to take place before safe to go back on road.

So you need to know what category write off it is.

If it is Cat N, then they should offer you two figures, a full value of the vehicle and they retain the salvage, or you get the pre-accident value of the vehicle minus its salvage vale to insurers, usually around 10% and you can retain the vehicle.

not roadworthy cant drive it

It doesn't look like that now, we've pulled out the panel and made sure everything is attached.  There's no wheel or suspension damage (arch liner makes it look like wheel has moved)

if you've pulled the panel out to the point where there are no sharp edges I'd be driving it. if it looks like that I'd be concened.

If you're claiming off the 3rd party, tell them you need a hire car whilst you wait. in the mean time, get shopping on ebay for a new wing

I'd probably get it mot'd as it doesn't look roadworthy.. Appreciate you've pulled the panel out etc, but just to cover your back.

There could be damage /play in the suspension mounts/components, for example.

Possibly the only thing that might make it not roadworthy would be sharp corners. We had an old van that failed the MOT on that, but it was "fixed" with gaffa tape and then passed.

I'd not be driving that. Wheel looks like it's been pushed back as it's far too close to the wheelarch.

Wheel looks like it’s been pushed back as it far too close to the wheelarch.

Might just be the angle, looks worse due to the fallen arch liner, but agreed it needs to be checked properly, easiest way to do that would be put it through an MOT.

Wheel looks like it’s been pushed back as it far too close to the wheelarch.

This...... doesn't look right at all!

IMO, an MOT won't tell you whole load about that, it's only looking for rust, sharp edges or obvious damage.

I'd have a good look at the suspension & a 4 wheel alignment to see if the suspension is damaged/wheel has moved before throwing money at a repair. I'd definitely replace the tyre, and check the wheel isn't bucked as well as replacing the wing.

To clarify – repairer has said it’s a write off, but the insurance co has not yet made an offer or confirmed it’s a write off

The repairer bit there makes me think there's rather more to that than you can see.

So far as I understand it they won't write it off for economics - they might tell you the insurer probably will but they won't "write it off" they just won't do the work until the insurer decides.
On the other hand if the repairer had found damage which makes it structurally or otherwise unsafe to drive and impractical to repair (not uneconomical) they're likely to "write it off".
You need to know from them why it's a write off, I can't see it being "that'll cost a lot more than ours worth but it's otherwise fine, just pull the panel out" given the source.

They haven't even looked at it in the flesh, it's been written off purely on that image I posted!

I'd be driving it + getting a second opinion on the damage.

If the steering, lights and braking still work and nothing pulls when braking hard in autonomous driving mode 😉 then it'll be ok until the spare parts turn up 🤔.

They haven’t even looked at it in the flesh, it’s been written off purely on that image I posted!

Any car of that age will just get written off now - they really aren't economical to repair as a repairer would have to do a proper job not a 'good-enough' job.

If you think it's OK - get a mechanic to look at it and see if it's worth buying back.

If it's only been assessed by photo, I'd suggest the damage is structural and not roadworthy. The suspension may not be damaged but the places it bolts onto the car structure may be distorted.

Measure the wheelbase hub centre to hub centre on each side.

If it’s only been assessed by photo, I’d suggest the damage is structural and not roadworthy

I don't think thats a given. Its simply the cost of repairing an old car.

Bumper - £300
Panel - £400
fitting - £200
painting - £500

you're probably already exceeding the value of the car, let alone the scrap value (£300 or so), or the risk of further damage

its just not worth the insurance co spending an hour (£60) for someone to review it in person. I do agree that if the OP isn't mechanically minded they'd do well to get it checked over. An MOT is cheap, and an MOT-only place won't be adding un-necessary things on to up the bill. Suspension components are thoroughly checked as part of the MOT and will flag up any issues

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles/5-axles-wheels-tyres-and-suspension#section-5-3-3

If you've fixed it up and its driveable i agree with the others a quick MOT covers you.

If the insurance writes it off then its theirs. You cant drive it regardless. Unless you buy it back from them. You then have to re insure it (depending on the policy, the usually stop as soon as they have paid out.)

Think hard about where you want to go from here. It will be cheep for you to repair if your handy yourself. However this is an opportunity to swap the car if you wish.

Having wrote off my car this year i didnt buy it back (despite it being cheaper to do so) as the faff with the insurance was just too much. Its not back on autotrader (although wrote off by the insurance company) with no markers on it!, it was even sold as "unrecorded" by copart!

Point of order here unless I'm missing something:

It hasn't been written off. It's had a 'repairer' look at it who's offered their opinion. By the sounds of things it almost certainly will be written off but that hasn't happened yet.

@5lab

I mean it looks like the wheel has been pushed backwards.  The panel work is all minor damage, the wheel will have taken the force of the impact.

After I straightened it out a bit.

@cougar - you're right of course, and we have derailed somewhat insomuch as I only really wanted to know from an insurance POV if we could carry on using the car (if it was otherwise roadworthy)

This looks like the correct term is "repairer assessment was that it was not economic to repair, with costs likely to exceed market value".

It hasn't been written off.

In these circumstances, then you can choose whether to pursue through insurance company, to take it off you, give you the market value, and for them to write it off; or whether they make a cash offer to you in lieu of repair.

If you take the latter, then it's up to you how much or little you choose to repair, as long as it is roadworthy and would pass the MOT.

You'll have already notified the insurance company that it has been in an accident.

I've bought several Cat N and cat S cars.

MOT is still valid, but as above sharp edges, headlight alignment and anything else damaged will make it unroadworthy.

The question about can you still drive it is for your insurance company, ask them if you are still ocvered until the claim is settled.

Buy off insurance for 50p, new wing off ebay, get it in the air to inspect for damage, check wheel alignment and get a new insurance policy in place.

I'd say that wheel looks in a similar position to stock

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it of course might still have some suspension damage. Whilst the wheel may have taken a knock, it also might not have done, if the damage was caused by a 3.5t lorry reversing up, it'd have missed the wheel entirely. I can't see any marks on the wheel or tyre suggesting it had an impact - it just looks like an even covering of grime across all of it

Insurance claim handler didn’t know!

I would have assumed the job of 'Insurance Claim Handler' would involve either being able to answer your questions about your insurance claim, or be willing to find out answers on your behalf if they can't.

Yep, me too but they haven't done so thus far, hence me asking the STW hive mind 🙂

repairer has said it’s a write off, but the insurance co has not yet made an offer or confirmed it’s a write off.

Erm as per @Cougar ;

Point of order here unless I’m missing something:

It hasn’t been written off. It’s had a ‘repairer’ look at it who’s offered their opinion. By the sounds of things it almost certainly will be written off but that hasn’t happened yet.

Its not been written off yet. Yes, it probably will be, for reasons many have detailed above, but the insurer makes that decision, not a repairer. Until they tell you they've written it off, they havent written it off.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, 'Noto Sans', sans-serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';">An MOT is cheap, and an MOT-only place won’t be adding un-necessary things on to up the bill. Suspension components are thoroughly checked as part of the MOT and will flag up any issues</span>

waste of money  you have far too much faith in the MOT . its a very very very basic check its not a tool for assessing crash damaged cars.

I've seen cars with bent suspension sail through the mot.... hell my mate arrived at my house with his car proudly clutching his new mot .... i came to the front door and could see that the rear drivers wheel was out of kilter from 30ft.

@Kenneththecurtain

With regards to buying it back from the insurance company you be surprised at how much your car is worth to them. When my 5 series was written off last year they wanted over 60% of the payout for a car that wasn't roadworthy (although it did drive). The remaining payout would not have remotely covered the bare minimum of repairs, never mind return it to pre-accident condition.

Can you drive it? Wrong question...

Is it advisable, legal and likely to cause additional pain if it's involved in another incident?

Absolutely not worth driving in that state, ask about a courtesy car funded by their insurer/MIB

My old Skoda had the wing pushed in, not unlike that. After evaluation by my insurance company’s repair outfit, it was considered economically non-viable, and I was made an offer, and when I asked about keeping the car, they said yes, fine, with 20% knocked off. I had to get it MOT’d again, but otherwise I carried on driving the car for another two years before I gave it away and bought my current car.
some duct tape to cover any possible edges that might catch, job jobbed.
Pretty tidy little car, you could probably keep it going for years, barring mechanicals.

Here’s the damage to mine, done as I was exiting the roundabout behind;

And this is the damage to the vehicle in front of me that was indicating to turn right on the roundabout, then swerved left and squeezed between me and the oncoming traffic, “because I changed my mind”, as she told me, and my insurance company…🫣

Meh, drove a company van for years in the nineties with the passenger side wheel closer to the rear of the front arch than the other side.
It’d been crashed into a curb then a height restriction sign. The garage put a new bumper and headlight on it.
It drove straight and passed every MOT until it caught fire a few years later.
(Escort vans were terrible).

I’d drive that, assuming nothing is broken being as it’s not been officially written off, looks like minor panel damage only. Obviously squinting at a tiny phone screen isn’t ideal.

<p style="text-align: center;">You might need to go to a dvlc for a VIC check.</p>
I had to after buying a written off golf . They do a deep dive into the vin numbers and engine number etc to see if it's a stolen car being re registered .

Could not tax it without it , but as it was changeof owner it might be different.