Car written off - what does it mean?

CiniO

I heard that hundreds of times.
What I understand, is that it happens when car is crashed, and insurance company decides that's cost to repair it, is bigger then actual value of the car.
Is it correct?

But I don't really know all the details and don't know where to find them.
Here's few questions.
1. Is it insurance company who decides if car is going to be written off or someone else?
2. If the car being written off, does it mean it's not worth to repair it, or does it mean that it's illegal to repair it?
3. Where is it stated that car was written off? Somewhere in VRC or where?
4. If the car was written off, can it be brought back to the road somehow? F.e if the owner loves the car, and will to spend unreasonable amount of money to fix it.

Hal1

They write you a check for the current market value of the car. As far as I know. This should be explained in your policy details.

Bumpstop

When my stolen van was written off I got a cheque for the vehicle, less the salvage worth. I contacted a salvage yard they paid me the salvage worth and collected the wreckage from the insurers recovery company.

There is nothing stopping you from buying the wreckage and putting it back on the road.

Divorce Referendum

1. Is it insurance company who decides if car is going to be written off or someone else?

An assesor will inspect the damaged vehicle, calculate the value of damage done(genuine OEM parts and top labour). He will check the spec, mileage, for previous damage and service history which could effect the value of your car.

2. If the car being written off, does it mean it's not worth to repair it, or does it mean that it's illegal to repair it?

If the costs of the repair are greater than 60% of the value of the car prior to the crash it will be a category C or D. Here are the categories of write-offs:

Category A :A Vehicle which should have been totally crushed, including all its spare parts.

Category B: A vehicle from which spare parts may be salvaged, but the bodyshell should have been crushed and the car should never return to the road.

Category C: An extensively damaged vehicle which the insurer has decided not to repair, but which could be repaired and returned to the road.

Category A damaged vehicle which the insurer has decided not to repair, but which could be repaired and returned to the road.

Category F A vehicle damaged by fire, which the insurer has decided not to repair

When the insurance company values your car they will give you the option to sell your car to a scrapyard (salvage value). You could chose to get it repaired at a lower cost using cheaper pattern parts or second hand parts from a scrappy if its Cat C or D.

3. Where is it stated that car was written off? Somewhere in VRC or where?

Unfortunately in Ireland it will only show up in a data/hpi check and insurance companies will only disclose Cat A and B write-offs.

In the U.K all categories will show on a data/hpi check.
In the case of a category C write-off the dvla require that a vehicle identity check (VIC) be done. This check just confirms the identity of the car to make sure its not a 'ringer'. The logbook is kept by the dvla until this is carried out and then the logbook id marked stating that repairs have been carried out to this vehicle following a claim

Motorcheck

Divorce Referendum wrote: »

the logbook id marked stating that repairs have been carried out to this vehicle following a claim

It's a bone of contention that this valuable indicator isn't carried across on the Irish logbook when / if the car is imported here however as previous post says, a car history check should contain the record.

However it's worth bearing in mind that a car insured third party may have been 'written off' by its owner in the economic sense and not necessarily reported to the MIAFTR database (the UK insurance database).