Car written off - buying it back and any other advice please from those in the car/insurance/accident know for somebody with no previous experience?

[CarCalamity]

NC. Our family car was hit by a dangerously-driven lorry last week. The DC were in the car with me and it was pretty scary especially because of that, but apart from shock we are all ok, which is obviously the main thing.

The car was taken off for assessment and repair, and as it wasn't driveable I was given a hire car. We live rurally and one of the DC is severely disabled. Public transport isn't available or accessible so a car is essential for daily life, hospital visits and so on.

The damage was, surprisingly given the size and speed of the lorry, quite minor and I had assumed the car would be repaired. The assessors have just informed me that they have written it off because, being an older car, it is not cost-effective to repair it. This is a bit of a blow as we were ok with the car, and dread the effort and cost of finding another used one, especially when we hear prices are up and availability down. They said the hire car will have to go back too a few days after they pay us out. Being without a car in a rural area while we find another one and with a severely disabled child is not going to be easy!

A possibility is apparently that we buy our car back? We would need to get it transported over from about an hour away, have it repaired and a new MOT. Has anybody done this, and what are the pros and cons please? Any advice on dealing with the assessors, insurance company and about the loss of the hire car so soon? With everything else going on in life, it couldn't have come at a worse time and I can't see the wood for the trees at the moment.

Thanks in advance.

this will give you the time to see if its worth buying back etc or a new car.
Thank you @AndreaC74

I was going to rush into dealing with the assessors today but this thread has given me the confidence and knowledge to take a bit of time over it. They said to respond within two working days so that the hire car continues to be paid for, so if I start by just asking them for the report tomorrow that will cover that, I think anyway, and I can look at used cars whenever I get a minute in the meantime?

They were coming to collect the hire car the day after they'd paid out so I just ignored their calls for a few days while I looked for a new car to give me some extra time, then I told them I was going away for the weekend
Did they not try to charge you for the extra time @Russell19 - or anyone - I've not needed a hire car before and this one looks very expensive!

Funnily enough I was watching a tv programme last night about it being illegal for companies to sell written off cars?
It must depend on why they were written off, @sunsoutmumsout - so, not the A and B categories of must be scrapped/for parts only?

See, I'm listening and learning from you all!

Your insurer needs to offer you the value of replacing your car like for like...They fully expect to negotiate.
Thank you for this,@OhWifey - to some it might seem like stating the obvious, but not to those of us new to it!

We had recently added a tow bar so I didn't accept the first offer as we'd have that expense again on a new car.
This is a good reminder too @Michellebops and another pp - I'll make sure they've added in the extras.

It's not a special mot it's a special check by VOSA to make sure it is roadworthy

Thank you very much for all that @DesignerRecliner
Any insurance cover in future would be affected as the car is already a write-off
Can you say what would happen to insurance please?

Do you know what that entails @Itreallyistimetogo ?

Thank you very much for all that too @LearnedAxolotl

Id ask the insurance co how much they're offering you,
Do I negotiate with the assessors or with the insurance company. The email from the assessors seems to be saying I deal direct with them?

Bear in mind that garages doing an insurance job will often bump up the price over what they'd charge a private customer
Yes, can't say for certain until I know if there is some hidden structural damage, but I'm not sure it would have been written off at my usual small independent local garage.

Don't know why that posted twice - sorry!

I didn't know either, until they offered a paltry amount and I was so furious about it I challenged him and he immediately put it up. Twice!

Just buy a new car. Probably the easiest option unless you have VERY specific requirements or are very fussy.
Fairly flexible really @TwoShades1 other than it needs to be a five door to be able to get my disabled DC in and out more easily, with a boot big enough for a wheelchair and usual family apparatus. An estate usually works best. Reliability in the make and model is important to cut down the risk of being stuck somewhere with my disabled DC, especially being rural.

DH bought his back, got it MOTd and drove it until it died. No, reselling it would be difficult but if you're going to keep it, crack on.
The idea before the accident @PastMyBestBeforeDate was to keep it for a bit longer and possibly then use it as a first car for a DC, as it wouldn't owe us much by then and it's not a car they'd have to worry about too much in the early days of driving.

I wrote mine off in an accident a couple of years ago when someone drove into the side of me. I had a courtesy car within hours and the money for a new car in my account within days.
That's what worries me in a way, @sunsetsandsandybeaches because I could have the money but no car and no courtesy - hire in this case - car to use while I find one. But as pps say, hopefully I can slow the process down a little bit.

VOSA haven’t existed since 2014. If it’s an Cat N then you don’t even need to re-MOT it, that’s only required for Cat S cars.

I bought mine back after a crash, it only had minor damage but needed a wing and bumper, I'd spent a bloody fortune on it in the few months prior to the crash (fairly niche big 4x4). The money I got paid for a second hand wing and bumper, resprayed to the right colour, and for a few other bits and bobs to be done. Kept the car for years afterwards.

I suppose its quite specific to the actual car though and what the damage is, and whether you'd be prepared to go down the road of sourcing used bits to replace like for like.

I forgot it had changed name since my other half had a car that was a write off. I had asked her to find out what category write off it is.

Just got the assessors report and the category of write off is N - ie Non structural, which makes looking into buying it back to repair slightly more of a possibility than it was. Will post a bit more later when I get chance.

I've had an offer via the assessors, which is over £1000 less than they themselves have valued my car at pre-accident in their report - how can they offer me less than they themselves say it was worth?!

Hi there OP - I've just been reading your thread as I'm in exactly the same position as you. I was told today my car is a cat N write off, despite the damage being one pretty minor dent. The valuation they have given me is a joke - I've been googling similar cars to mine and they're all in sale for a lot more money, some with higher mileage and slightly older. I left it with them that I'm thinking about my options but now I'm going to call them tomorrow to dispute the valuation - not looking forward to it though 😕

Anyway, I also meant to say - I spoke to the Legal Protection team today (part of my insurance cover) and they also confirmed that if you decide to keep a cat N write off, you don't need a new MOT, the insurance premium won't increase, the only issue is that the value of resale will reduce by approx 25% because of its 'N' category. Personally I don't care about that as I was planning on running it into the ground until it's so old it's not worth much anyway....

Ahhh OP - glad you are all ok ... very similar happened to us about 4 years ago and Christ it was terrifying and whilst I'm not at all religious I think someone must have been watching over us as we weren't hurt at all (physically).

Like you the car was written off although was still fine to drive. off HOWEVER there are different categories of a write off and ours was one whereby the car was still classed as safe to drive but it would not qualify for fully comp insurance only 3rd party.

We were lucky in that we found a new car quite quickly and still got a few hundred quid part x. Add to that the cash settlement it didn't work out too badly. We'd intended to look for a new car later that year and had an idea of what we wanted so this just accelerated thst plan

Oh and some good news ... the twat 3rd party driver fought for so long that we were in the wrong and I thought it would never be resolved. Eventually they accepted full responsibility, my excess was refunded in full as was the difference in premium it had cost me each year.

My confidence in dealing with this was boosted by the advice on the thread, but unfortunately my confidence has now taken a bit of a bashing!

After reading the assessor's report, I emailed them to try to start to negotiate on the amount offered. As I say in my pp, I could see in their report that they'd given a pre-accident valuation of about £1000 more than they are offering me.

They haven't replied to that at all and they aren't negotiating! They again state the first offer, say they have to settle within 2 days of their original email and so they have contacted the insurer to release funds to them of the amount offered which I'll receive in due course, minus the salvage. They' also say my car will be collected by the salvage company and I'll get that part of the money later. I haven't agreed to any of this!

I've just replied, reminding them that I haven't agreed to any of this. Where do I go from here - anyone, please?

How are you getting on @Badtasteflump ? Are you negotiating with the assessor or the insurance company?