How do you know when a car is an insurance write off?

[Iamtheoneandonly2018]

Someone I know had car stolen. Only just passed driving test few months. 5 year old car. Not the best condition- think scratches / scrapes but for 19 year old driver/ first car- fine. Drivers side front wing split in 2 ( pic to follow). Driver not going through insurance as £800 excess. Am just wondering what people's thoughts are on cost/viability of making safe or would it be a write off?

It's not just a matter of whether it's an 'economic' write off i.e. will cost more to repair than it's worth. When a vehicle is damaged, as part of an insurance claim it's assessed for how bad the damage is. Category A vehicles must be crushed, Category B must be scrapped although parts can be used, category C can be repaired and driven again following a Vehicle Identity Check, all other categories can be driven again if repaired to roadworthy condition I believe.

The problem is it's not always obvious how badly a vehicle is damaged until it's been properly assessed. As the car in the photo has wing damage, it's possible the chassis has been damaged. It needs to be assessed by a mechanic, no idea if they would need particular qualifications or accreditation in this circumstance though.

if it costs more money to fix it than the car is worth

**cinnabarmoth

It's not just a matter of whether it's an 'economic' write off i.e. will cost more to repair than it's worth. When a vehicle is damaged, as part of an insurance claim it's assessed for how bad the damage is. Category A vehicles must be crushed, Category B must be scrapped although parts can be used, category C can be repaired and driven again following a Vehicle Identity Check, all other categories can be driven again if repaired to roadworthy condition I believe.

The problem is it's not always obvious how badly a vehicle is damaged until it's been properly assessed. As the car in the photo has wing damage, it's possible the chassis has been damaged. It needs to be assessed by a mechanic, no idea if they would need particular qualifications or accreditation in this circumstance though.**

thankyou

My car was written off as uneconomic to repair. It was an old car and the insurance company insisted on using expensive repairers

We were able to buy the car back from them, get it repaired ourselves by the firm that services all the fleet vehicles at work then we had to take it to a DVLA place for it to be checked as safe/roadworthy.