100,000 crashed cars a year return to the road
The number of crashed cars being put back on the road has increased by over 10% in the last two years, with more than 100,000 written-off vehicles hitting the streets last year alone, as people strive for cheaper motoring.
Not only might many of these cars not be fully insured, online insurer swiftcover.com warns that some owners might not discover they have bought a written-off vehicle until they make an insurance claim, possibly resulting in problems with their claim.
Last year almost 105,000 written-off vehicles passed checks to allow them back on the road, an increase of more than 10,000 compared with two years ago. However, thousands of written-off cars also returned to the road legally last year without any form of check whatsoever - and even the DVLA does not know how many people in the UK are driving write-offs.
Swiftcover.com warns that because of the damage they have sustained, written-off vehicles are usually worth much less and cost more to repair in the future, so most insurers will not cover the vehicle at the normal full market value, whilst other companies will not insure them at all.
Insurance companies will ‘write-off' vehicles after an accident if the cost of repair is more than the value of the car. Although the most severely damaged vehicles, known as category A and B write-offs, should never legally return to the road, category C vehicles can be repaired and allowed back on the road despite being extensively damaged.
Category C cars must be registered with the DVLA and have the words "previously damaged or repaired" printed on the V5 log-book after undergoing a Vehicle Identification Check (VIC) - however, the VIC check does not test the safety of the car. In 2009, 104,634 category C vehicles were registered with the DVLA, an increase of almost 5,000 over the previous 12 months and 10,000 more than 2007.
But the biggest concern for unsuspecting drivers is that category D write-offs, the supposedly least damaged vehicles, can be fixed and sold to unsuspecting drivers without any checks at all - they do not even need an MOT inspection if the current certificate is still valid. Sellers do not need to inform buyers of the car's history and the log-book does not show that the car has been previously written-off, so the DVLA has no idea how many category D cars there are on UK roads.
Robin Reames, claims director of swiftcover.com, says more previously written-off vehicles are probably being put back on the road as a result of the economic downturn. He warns: "It might be tempting to buy a written-off vehicle if the price tag is cheap, but the cost of repairing the vehicle again following an accident - especially if the original repairs have not been carried out properly in the first place - means such vehicles are a higher insurance risk, so drivers could end up out of pocket in the event of a claim.
"What's more worrying is that many people will buy a category D write-off vehicle without realising because the seller does not have to tell them. And as many insurance companies won't insure category C or D vehicles, it is vital that potential buyers get any vehicle checked out before they part with their money."
Swiftcover.com says that as the number of written-off vehicles being put back on the road is increasing, buyers should be vigilant. There are a number of simple checks drivers can make:
Swiftcover.com's five Golden Rules for weeding out a write-off
Get a vehicle check before purchasing any car. This is the most reliable way of identifying whether it has been previously declared a write-off, as well as revealing whether a vehicle has been stolen, cloned or if there is outstanding finance on it.
Ask the seller whether it's a write-off. There is sometimes a lag between a vehicle being written-off and appearing on the database used by vehicle check companies, so question sellers about the history of a car and specifically ask whether it has ever been declared a write-off.
How many owners has it had? If a car has had a number of different owners in a short period of time, this could indicate that it has passed from the original owner to a dealer or a repairer who is now trying to sell it on.
Is the seller also the owner? Beware of a car being sold by somebody who is not the registered owner on the log-book, because this again could be an attempt to cover up the vehicle's history.
Don't lie about a write-off when applying for insurance. If the car's history is not uncovered when a quote is provided but it subsequently comes to light that the owner withheld information and knowingly insured a written-off vehicle, any insurance claim could result in a reduced pay-out or being declined completely.