Ducati Sporting Club UK > General > Idle Chat > Write off categories

[Paul James]

Anybody know about write off categories ??. As I understand it there are "grades" that determine what can subsequently be done with the vehicle in question. I'm interested in finding out whether a category "B" can be rebuilt, re-registered and returned to the road.

Any help would be appreciated.

[rockhopper]

A must be destroyed
B must have the log book returned to the DVLA and must only be broken for spares. It can never go back on the road
C and D are cosmetic beyond economic repair, not sure of the exact meanings of them though.

[yeti]

So A can't even be broken for spares? Seems an odd one that. Can understand frames etc being destroyed, but surely engine internals won't affect the safety of the thing?

[rockhopper]

Category D

The least damage suffered of the four categories e.g. vehicles replaced under 'new for old' schemes, vehicles written-off to minimise hire charges.

The vehicle can be safely and economically repaired either by the insurer / motor trade or by an enthusiast using cheaper parts and reduced labour costs. The PAV (Pre Accident Value) does not exceed £2,000 (£1,000 for motorcycles), or for more expensive vehicles, where the engineer's assessed repair costs do not exceed the PAV.

Category C

Substantial damage, but repairable by an repairer or enthusiast.

The vehicle can be safely and economically repaired either by the insurer / motor trade or by an enthusiast using cheaper parts and reduced labour costs. The PAV (Pre Accident Value) exceeds £2,000 (£1,000 for motorcycles) and the engineer's assessed repair costs exceed the PAV.

Category B

Heavy damage e.g. bent chassis

The vehicle cannot be safely and economically repaired either by the insurer / motor trade or by an enthusiast using cheaper parts and reduced labour costs. However, the vehicle contains economically salvageable parts.

Category A

A 'total loss' e.g. burn-out. The only value is the scrap metal.

The vehicle cannot be safely and economically repaired either by the insurer / motor trade or by an enthusiast using cheaper parts and reduced labour costs and there are no economically salvageable parts.

[Paul James]

So if category B is "only broken for spares" which bits can and can't be used ?. Does it mean that a new frame can be fitted to the rest of the bits (only the frame and engine are marked with recordable numbers).

Can the category be contested if the bike can be checked by an approved inspector and found roadworthy ?.

If a new frame is fitted does re-reg with "Q" plate apply ?.

[Edited on 3-9-2004 by Paul James]

[Ian]

Can the category be contested if the bike can be checked by an approved inspector and found roadworthy ?.

[Edited on 3-9-2004 by Paul James]

my understanding is that a write off bike cannot be inspected and given its "certificate" back (clean bill of health type of thing) as it can be with cars as there are no companies doing this sort of work on bikes, - something to do with high risk if they get it wrong, lots of skilled work and little return for the risk or work. This was a couple of years ago when I heard this from a dealer and mot station.

Many bikes get written off due to cosmetic damage only and the high cost of replacement parts, - so there are some bargains out there if you find them as they will always carry this negative report on their registration number.

[skidlids]

Picked this info up a while back

Salvage Classification Categories

When an insurance company considers a vehicle uneconomical to repair their inspecting engineer will issue it with a salvage classification category.

The salvage classifications were brought about by insurance companies through the Association of British Insurers (ABI) in an effort to curb vehicle crime in the UK and were developed with the assistance of vehicle dismantlers, the DVLC and the UK Police Force.

The categories are as follows:
Cat A - Usually fire damaged (burnt-out), flood damaged, or severely damaged with no serviceable parts.
Cat B - Damaged beyond economical repair and/or severe structural damage.
Cat C - Damaged, but repairable. Generally applied to older vehicles.
Cat D - Slightly damaged sometimes stolen and found after claim has been paid or high cost of repair combined with difficulty obtaining new parts to enable a swift repair.

Insurance companies often call vehicles involved in an accident a 'write off' or 'total loss', which can give the wrong impression to anyone not familiar with the insurance or salvage industry.

An insurance company faced with a claim, first estimates the financial cost of repairing the vehicle to its pre-accident condition, and then with the aid of trade journals and price guides decide on what the market price would have been before the accident.

If the financial cost to the insurance company is the same or near to the market price, the insurance company would normally call this vehicle a 'write off' which is an insurance term meaning that they are going to have to pay the claimant money, i.e.; 'write off' the financial cost of the repair, not the vehicle. This type of claim should not be termed a 'total loss' as the insurance company is going to recover some of the money paid out from the salvage dealer.

The term 'total loss' claim should only really be associated with a burnt-out or severely damaged vehicle where the insurance company has to pay for the recovery, storage and subsequent disposal, and where there is no value in the vehicle remains for money to go back to the insurance company, i.e.; they recover no money from the claim and therefore make a financial 'total loss' on the claim.

Other agencies such as HPI Equifax, will often quote the term 'total loss' with reference to a category C or D vehicle, sometimes without the operator being fully aware of what it means. Again, we'd like to stress that this does not mean the vehicle was severely damaged, rather that the insurance company incurred a financial loss.

These terms have had quite a bit of bad press due to their common association with unscrupulous dealers and car thieves and often lead to people assuming a vehicle has been completely smashed to bits and then put back on the road or even welded together from two halves. Whilst there are a few cases where such vehicles have appeared back on the road, as a professional salvage dealer we use the category system to ensure that any such vehicles that come into our yard are disposed of in a proper manner and issued with a Certificate of Destruction (COD).

In addition to defining the 'class' of a salvage vehicle, there is also a condition to issue a Certificate of Destruction (COD) for all vehicles in categories A and B. The COD's are sent to DVLC in Swansea, where a 'marker' is added to the vehicle record to show that it has been destroyed and will no longer be used on a public road. The purpose of this marker is to alert the police if anyone tries to register or license a vehicle that has been destroyed. This is aimed squarely at stopping car thieves 'swapping' identities of stolen vehicles with that of a vehicle in a dismantlers yard.

A vehicle that has previously been issued with a C or D salvage classification is not necessarily a 'bad' vehicle to own or buy. Since each vehicle over three years old has to pass a MOT test before it can be licensed it should have been repaired to a good roadworthy standard. Obviously if you have any doubts about buying a vehicle that has been previously repaired, you can ask a motor engineer to inspect the vehicle before you buy it, or get an AA or RAC inspection done.

[Edited on 3-9-2004 by skidlids]

[slacker]

I've just been through this with Norwich Onion.

Bike was/is Moto Guzzi, their estimated value 2975 ukp. Estimated cost of repairs 2300, incl vat. This was written off because they reckoned they would pay less in total by paying me 2975 and selling the the bike as is. Sad!

[psychlist]

Argue like mad that it IS NOT uneconomical to repair and persuade them not to write it off in the first place
It's worth it in the long run but damned hard work if you've gotta do it from your "hospital" bed

[Paul James]

Thanks for all the feedback guys, some of you will have seen the ST2 sitting forlornly on a trailer next to some sort of Krapersaki at Popham. Apparently a "class B" write off due to possible frame damage. Had a good look and wasn't convinced, admitedly I didn't have a frame jig to check it but common sense said there had been nowhere near enough impact to disturb an ST2 frame !!!. Bike was ridden into the back of a pick up or so he reckons, headlight and general cosmetic damage around that area but no grief to the front wheel so the impact was taken straight on and high up.

Would have made a great bike for my girlfriend with a few bits scrounged together to fix it up but due to the ridiculous system operated in this country it's effectively scrap !!!. Guess we could hunt round for another frame, maybe some Monsters are the same ? but what a waste of a great potential refurb project.

Easy to see why our insurance quotes are so gobsmackingly high isn't it.