Donating Your Salvage Car
There are many problems to face if your car is in an accident or isn’t deemed fit for the road. Despite the confusing situation that can follow, you can make it far easier by donating to Giveacar. We frequently receive donations of salvage vehicles that have seen better days and no longer pass their MOT. Giveacar takes the hassle out of trying to sort out your salvage car.
What Is A Salvage Car?
Salvage cars are cars that are no longer considered fit for use on the road by your insurance company. If your vehicle has been in an accident, stolen, or weather-damaged and the repairs will cost more than the car is worth or more than you are willing to spend, you can donate it to charity with Giveacar.
Giveacar are the car donation experts. We have the experience and know-how on the best option to raise the most amount of money for your charity. Depending on your vehicle’s make, model, mileage, MOT status, age, general condition, and mechanical status we devise which route to take.
Our auction partners operate nationally which allows Giveacar to continue raising the most amount for the charities you donate to. We collaborate with our auction partners on a daily basis, therefore ensuring a smooth collection is arranged at a time that is convenient for the donor. Every salvage vehicle is checked against the in-house criteria with the necessary documentation produced, making sure the proper procedures are followed. We also run vehicles through auction up to three times to maximise your car’s value for charity.
Donate your damaged salvage car to any of our 1600 registered charities or any other UK registered charity. Your donation helps support individuals up and down the country, so donate your salvage vehicle with Giveacar for a quick and free collection.
Understanding Vehicle Salvage Car Insurance Categories & Insurance Write-Offs
If you’ve been involved in a car crash then you might be informed by your car insurance company that your vehicle is what’s known as a ‘write-off’. An insurance write-off is industry jargon for a car that’s either sustained so much damage it’s unsafe to go back on the road, or it is still safe to drive but is beyond economical repair. If your car has been deemed unsafe, then instead of being repaired the owner will receive a cash payout for the loss.
An uneconomical repair, however, is based on a repair-to-value ratio which can be different for each insurance company and car. So, if your vehicle was worth £5,000 and your insurance company used a repair-to-value ratio of 60%, the vehicle would be considered beyond economical repair if the work required exceed £3,000. Car insurance companies employ vehicle assessors to calculate the cost of repairs and make this judgement. They will inspect the overall condition of your vehicle and analyse the collision damage.
Why Do Cars Get Written Off?
Car insurance companies work to strict guidelines. They have a duty to return a car to the condition it was in before the accident. However, this can be expensive: it dictates which workshops and parts might be used. All this is factored into the calculations insurance assessors use, so costs can soon rise. Write-offs do not always have to be particularly serious. You might be left surprised to find out that your car, having only sustained seemingly minor cosmetic damage, is still classed as a ‘write-off’.
If a car is new, a simple cosmetic scrape along one side can see it declared a write-off by the assessor: the expense of repairing and painting the panels can exceed the vehicle’s actual value, even if there is no serious structural damage. This is why there are different categories of write-offs so people know whether they can still buy and sell a type of written off car.
Car Insurance Write-Off Categories Explained
Car insurance assessors use various categories of car insurance write-off to rank the seriousness of accident damage. Up to 1st October 2017, the four categories used included A, B, C, D, whereby the level of damage would decrease in severity by category, starting from A. After review, the ABI has updated the salvage code, in order to shift focus away from the mere cost of repair and instead highlight structural issues that affect safety. The categories are now A, B, S and N.
Category A (unchanged)
Scrap only. For cars so badly damaged, they should be crushed and never reappear on the road. Even salvageable parts must be destroyed.
Category B (unchanged)
The body shell should be crushed. Signifies extensive damage, although some parts are salvageable. Should never re-appear on road, although reclaimed parts can be used in other road-going vehicles.
Category S (formerly Category C)
The new Category S means the vehicle has suffered structural damage. This could include a bent or twisted chassis or a crumple zone that has collapsed in a crash. Category S damage is more than just cosmetic, therefore, and the vehicle will need to be professionally repaired. Also, it won’t be safe to drive until then.
Category N (formerly Category D)
Vehicles falling into Category N haven’t sustained structural damage, so the issue may be cosmetic, or a problem with the electrics that isn’t economical to repair. Don’t assume such vehicles are drivable, however; non-structural faults may include brakes, steering or other safety-related parts.
What Does An Insurance Company Do With Your Write-Off?
The ABI Salvage Code dictates that Category A and Category B cars should be crushed, with Cat B vehicles allowed to donate some safe and serviceable parts. Write-offs in the latter two categories can be sold on by the insurance company. This can be either to the original owner or to a third party via a car salvage company.
Cars written off as a Category S case must have a Form V23* submitted by the insurer, self-insurer, or agent to DVLA. This must be done as soon as the categorisation decision is made and without waiting for V5. However, it is the responsibility of the keeper to notify DVLA when a vehicle is passed to an insurer following a total loss payment.
No notifications are made to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) or VOSA when a car is written off in a Category N situation.
Cars in the latter two categories can sometimes represent a bargain if they are priced accordingly. An older car can be repaired to an acceptable standard at a lower cost than that dictated by an insurance company’s standards; especially if used parts or cheaper labour are used.