17 replies to this topic

[Many Minis Make 1]

To cut a long story short.....

My son had a accident in his mini sprite 1996 july 2008, his fault. Called insurance company they collected the mini had a insurance engineer look at it, His letter states it is a total loss, offered us a really silly amount, which we turned down.
The insurance company said they won't offer anymore, as it was a catagory C or D a couple of years before he bought it. so he asked for the insurance company to only sort out the third party and return his car, which they did.
He never handed over the V5c or got any money for his mini, he then arranged that a crash repair bodyshop to repair the car, which cost him appox £600 (haven't got the receipt to hand).
Put the car up for sale within the last 2 weeks, had someone really interested so he did a HPi to reassure that there was no outstanding HP on it.
To our shock that the insurance company had put a Cat C on it and it needs a VIC test, the mini has been Insured Tax'd & Mot since the accident and nothing was ever said about it been flagged up as a Cat C.
I the meantime he's taken the mini off the market and is booking it in for a VIC test, and will be contacting what the insurance company he was with at the time of the accident.

I'm lead to beleive that if there was no pay out, plus he still has the mini & V5c then they can't give it a Catagory let alone a C, which should have been a D, if we went down that route.

Any help would be greatful on this matter.

Liane

[samsfern]

id have thought it were that way, so slightly suprised they recorded it as a write off.

[Many Minis Make 1]

I can't see how or why they have done this when he still owns the mini, and why hasn't the insurance company he's with now (Adrian Flux) said there is a flag up about VIC test.

[Tupers]

As I understand it it doesn't matter if he kept the car or not if the inspector believed it to be a cat C write off then it must be recorded and tested to be put back on the road. If he had kept the car and had not allowed it to be tested then there wouldn't be any damage recorded on the HPi but hid did so there is.

[Many Minis Make 1]

What I don't understand so much is why hasn't anyone, VOSA or his current insurance company or when he got it tax'd, say this car need a VIC test.

[Marky Tizz]

I dont understant the VIC test but you say it was a Cat C when he bought it. This will be what's showing on the HPI I would imagine.

[Tupers]

I'm stepping outside my definite knowledge here but I think a C write off can be mot'ed and taxed but if you want that mark gone from it's record then it needs to pass a VIC test.



But I could be entirely wrong.

Edited by Tupers, 23 May 2010 - 09:11 PM.

[Many Minis Make 1]

No i said it had a cat C or D 3 or 4 yrs before he bought it. It had been repaired and had been put back on the road.

[Ethel]

There's no reason why it being a Cat C has to effect its value, but insurers are a bit of a law unto themselves. The purpose of a VIC is to make sure a car is actually the one registered on the V5. If an insurance write off is flagged then I think you should have got notification from the DVLA, and you wouldn't have been able to renew the road tax until it had the VIC.

It's what you get when you let private sector companies, that are only interested in their own profits, fiddle with the regulations.

[Marky Tizz]

No i said it had a cat C or D 3 or 4 yrs before he bought it. It had been repaired and had been put back on the road.

Yes but AFAIK the write off ALWAYS shows, regardless of the time since.

[slyoldfox2001]

i'm not 100% sure either but usually when the car is written off as total loss (either cat c or cat d) then the dvla hold the log book until the car passes a vic test.
once the vic test is done you send the pass certificate off to the dvla and they then send you a new log book.
then at the bottom of the log book there is a statement about the car being a cat c or cat d write off.

market value of a cat c or cat d car is normally 25%-35% less than one that isnt.

insurance companies are loath to pay out any where near market value as in their eyes they have already paid out full value once before

[Twincam]

What I don't understand so much is why hasn't anyone, VOSA or his current insurance company or when he got it tax'd, say this car need a VIC test.

I was going to ask how your son managed to get tax as the vehicle's V5 should have been taken away...

But what I dont understand is why the Mini was involved when you asked for the insurers just to deal with the third parties car.

[MiniJosh92]

i'm not 100% sure either but usually when the car is written off as total loss (either cat c or cat d) then the dvla hold the log book until the car passes a vic test.
once the vic test is done you send the pass certificate off to the dvla and they then send you a new log book.
then at the bottom of the log book there is a statement about the car being a cat c or cat d write off.

market value of a cat c or cat d car is normally 25%-35% less than one that isnt.

insurance companies are loath to pay out any where near market value as in their eyes they have already paid out full value once before

They only hold the log book & require a VIC for a CAT C loss. A CAT D only requires a new MOT.

[Many Minis Make 1]

I'll try and speak to someone at VOSA today, I'm still very confussed about the whole thing.
Even if the insurance company was to give it a catagory it should have been a D no way was it a C.
It doesn't state on his current V5c that the Mini has any catagorys before.
Watch this space!!!!

[Many Minis Make 1]

Right I've spoken to VOSA, they said its ok to still drive the mini (as its Tax'd, Insured, & Mot'd)
If & when the mini is sold, the new documents will not be issued to the new owner by DVLA until it has a VIC test.
But this won't be a problem as its booked in for one.
However I'm within my rights to argue with the insurance company about the Cat C they have flagged on this mini, and get it reduced to a Cat D,
even though they never paid out.
Although I think this could be a battle, as insurance companys have there own law in my eyes.
Also there is no legal obligation to tell the new owner that the mini was previously a Cat C but has passed a VIC test, which I thought you had to say.
But it will show up on any HPi checks, and that it has passed a VIC test.

Oh well let the battle commence.

Cheers for everyone comments, and watch this space.