How do you know if a car is written off? All you need to know

What does it mean when your car’s a write-off?

Insurance write off is applied when the vehicle has serious damages or completely unsafe to drive on the roads or the damage repair cost is more than the current value of the vehicle. Damages could be caused in accidents such as fire accident, road accident, etc.,

Even though the car looks good outside or has what we consider it to be minor damage, it means that the car is heading to the scrap if the damage repair costs more than the value of the car. A car write off check could tell us whether the vehicle we intend to buy falls in write off categories or not.

Who decides whether the car will be repaired or written off?

If the car met an accident and it is damaged, it is handled by the insurance companies. Usually, the insurance companies appoint a person called the assessor to diagnose the vehicle. After the diagnosis, the assessor decides whether to scrap or repair the vehicle. Especially used car buyers should be aware of this written off status of the vehicle. It is recommended by a lot of vehicle experts to check if a car has been written off or not.

When we take a close look at our insurance policy, it states that most of the policies specify that it is up to the insurance company whether to

• Repair our vehicle or
• Paying us to repair the vehicle or
• To announce that vehicle is a total loss and should be written off completely

If it is declared as written off because it is not safe to repair means the VIN number of the vehicle is recorded as a statutory write-off and it can never be registered again.

If it is declared as written off because it is not cost-effective for the insurance company to repair it. The DVLA status will be marked as a repaired write off. However, it will affect the value of the vehicle in the future while selling.

As a personal experience, I would recommend car write off check to know the hidden past about the vehicle accident. 

What to do if a vehicle is written off?

If we are at the buyer's end we have to check vehicle details before buying it. If yes, we can walk away without buying that vehicle.

If we are the vehicle owner and the vehicle is declared as written off by the assessor of the insurance company, we have the right to accept or decline the write off decision. But we should not expect the exact value we need to repair from the insurance company. Their insurance payout might be less or lesser than we expected.

It happens because of the number of factors involved in the insurance company’s calculation, which includes:

• Current sales of the same model and the repair and current value
• The condition of the vehicle before the accident. A free vehicle check history could reveal the mot status of the vehicle which is easy for the insurance company to know about it.
• Mileage on the odometer

If we are feeling unhappy about the car written off and it can be repaired economically means we can challenge the insurance company’s decision. But one thing we have to act rapidly.

Where to check whether the car is written off or not?

A full vehicle history check will reveal the complete background and hidden information about the vehicle. A lot of online vehicle history check provider is available in the market to help people to know about the used car which they intend to buy.

I would suggest getting a full vehicle check at Cardotcheck or HPI or motor check from my own experience. These providers are very good at what they are doing. A full vehicle check not only reveals written off details but also provides more information like stolen records, mileage clock, etc.,

Always perform a check before you buy it.

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