ROY SIMPSON

Active Member
Recently had an accident in 2002 discovery td5 gs pre facelift, not my fault.
My question is at what percentage of the vehicle value does an insurance company decide that a repair is uneconomical and write it off.
If it is written off and you accept the pay out, what is the situation with regards to buying it back at a salvage valuation, do you have an automatic right to buy it back or not.
 
I don't know the actual percentage, or even if there is one, but as a guide one of my neighbours had his car written off recently when the cost of repairs was estimated at £1000 & the market value was £4000. As to salvage buy-back, it's normally around ten percent.
 
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IME, it will depend on which side of bed the loss adjuster got out of bed this morning, and not much else. IMHO, it's worth getting yourself a loss assessor ( a loss adjuster that works for you ) - might be best couple of hundred quid you ever spend - YMMV.
 
They don't have to sell you it back. Once they pay out you have no claim to the vehicle.
I've also heard write off is about 65% of vehicle value but insurance have a habit of doing what they want.
 
If it's any help a while back I crashed into my mates motorbike and done about 6 grands worth of damage to an 8 grand bike, and they repaired it.
 
If it's 100% not your fault then you shouldn't be claiming off your insurance company. Your claim is against the guilty party (and therefore generally their insurance company), and they have no ability to financially write off your car regardless of the value of it compared to the cost of repairs. No matter how much damage has been done they are obliged to return you to the same condition prior to the accident - repair or if that isn't possible (i.e. written off on safety grounds) then replace to same standard.

You might use the legal aid provided by your insurance company.
 
Thanks for your replies, waiting to. Hear from other parties insurers, just wanted to be prepared as local repair shop said that they would expect repair to cost about £1500.
I have not involved my insurers as other party 100% to blame and I am aware that if involved, my insurers wrote the car off I would have no claim over it if I accepted pay off but the situation is different if other parties insurers decide it is not an economic repair.
Will post an update when car has been assessed.
 
There will probably be some horse-trading between the IC's involved. Just one small point not mentioned thus far, the term 'pre-accident condition' means that the repairers designated to carry out repairs to your vehicle (assuming it's not a write-off) do not have to fit brand new parts & can use second-hand components provided they are fit for purpose. It's probably best to express your interest in retaining the vehicle, in the event of a write-off situation, before the IC makes it's decision. I hope everything pans out in your favour, the fact that you were blameless is especially galling.
 

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