The safety of crashed vehicles being repaired and resold is being questioned.

Category A, B, S or N are used to describe crashed vehicles.

While some may be safely repaired, even these are being called into question, according to an article in Autocar.

Minor damage

Insurance companies often write off a vehicle after a crash because it classifies it as economically unviable to repair.

Original manufacturer parts and bodywork specialists are charged with bringing the car up to original condition quote prices that exceed the vehicle’s used value.

This makes it ‘economically unviable to repair’, but it can still be done cheaper.

Many of these vehicles can be safely repaired and are either privately by an owner or by salvage companies specialising in this area of work.

The latter then sell the vehicles on for a profit, having bought the damaged vehicle at scrap prices.

Unfortunately, not all are credible or honourable deals.

Grab a bargain

Social media get blamed for many of the society’s current ills, rightly or wrongly.

Here again, they can be found to be exploiting private buyers with what seems on screen like a bargain.

“There are lots of them, most fronted by excitable chaps with a gift for social media supported by a grizzled ‘character’ who actually does the work. They must be profitable.

One boasts of having just bought his dream house on the spoils. Most present repairing crashed cars as a bit of a laugh.”

Unfortunately, what can indeed be highly profitable to some can cost others their lives.

Paying the price

At the inquest of  Sadie McGrady, aged six, was killed in a two-vehicle car crash ten years ago, it was revealed that the car she was in was a repaired write-off.

“The vehicle examiner who gave evidence at the inquest said the repair had “weakened” the structure of the car, causing greater intrusion and, he added, “increasing the likelihood of Sadie sustaining injury”.

The coroner added: “If it is beyond economic repair, in my view, that should be the end of the vehicle. I can only hope that someone, somewhere, will listen.”

Guaranteed

After a decade, the insurance practice has remained the same.

There are four salvage codes which members of the Association of British Insurers (ABI) use to identify the status of write-offs:

Category S (structurally damaged but repairable) and Category N (non-structurally damaged and repairable) write-offs can be repaired and returned to the road without the work having to be inspected.

More seriously damaged Category A vehicles must be scrapped, but Category B cars can be broken for spares.

On top of this, ‘special vehicles’ such as classic cars or those of exceptionally high value can avoid all of these classifications.

Craftsmen

While many repairers and salvage businesses respect and honour the code, there are also plenty of small businesses willing to make a quick buck.

Because there is no real policing of the system, it means salvage companies are also responsible for assessing the write-offs.

Tim Kelly, a former director of the Institute of Automotive Engineer Assessors and the founder of Motor Claim Guru, believes a conflict of interest involving assessors and sellers may mean some write-offs are being wrongly coded.

“I’m concerned about some salvage sellers also being responsible for assessing the write-off categories of the vehicles they are marketing,” he says in the Autocar report.

“They’re marking their own homework. Coding a Cat S car as a Cat N can boost its selling price.”

Meanwhile, the ABI says assessment is carried out by ‘qualified vehicle damage experts’.

On top of this, anyone can ‘talk to the vehicle’s insurer, who can investigate any issues and make sure the code has been followed’.

Who’s zooming who?

A clear issue is that inspection of a repaired write-off before it’s returned to the road is not a legal requirement.

Autolign works with local authorities, checking the quality of repaired taxis. In total, it checks around 30 repaired vehicles per month across its three branches.

It can and does inspect other repaired vehicles.

“Worryingly, a spokesperson for Autolign said the company has seen an increase in enquiries concerning Cat B vehicles, which cannot be returned to the road. It does not inspect these or Cat A vehicles,” states the Autocar report.

It is a worrying situation that there is no clear independent inspection of repaired write-offs, which can be highly dangerous.

While many scrap vehicles and sell on parts, there is a growing number of un-inspected repaired vehicles being sold and returning to the road.

“One leading online marketplace is currently advertising almost 15,000 repaired Cat S and N cars,” says Autocar.

“This figure also includes Cat C and D write-offs – an outdated classification that also means the cars can be repaired and returned to the road.”

Blind belief

While there are many qualified and well-trained assessors and repairers, there seem to be few legal requirements or independent checks in the system to protect unsuspecting motorists.

Tim Kelly believes that the problems are exacerbated by the use of new modern materials and build techniques that are beyond the understanding of many older assessors and repairers.

The danger is that even if they believe what they are doing is safe, it may well not be.

“For me to even consider buying a repaired write-off, I would want to know what the repairer’s qualifications are, what methodology they follow and what equipment they use,” he tells Autocar.

“I would also want to see pictures of the car after its crash and how, at every stage, it was repaired.”

In the driving seat

Repaired write-offs provide a very economical way to buy a vehicle.

This makes them increasingly attractive at a time when every household is economically challenged.

They really can represent a safe and secure bargain in the marketplace.

However, without an effective system of independent policing of repairs and certificates of safe repairs, they can also represent a potential death trap.

The price in the ad may represent a great economic deal, but it can come with a hefty human price tag.