89% of used car buyers unaware of write-off category changes
As we enter the peak period for secondhand car sales (following an influx of part exchanges against new18 plate models), a survey of 100 consumers by vehicle history checkermycarcheck.comfound that 89% were unawareof the recent write-off category changes.
In October 2017, the old A, B, C and D categories were replaced with new codes, which focus on safety rather than the cost of repair: A (scrap), B (break), S (structurally damaged repairable) and N (non-structurally damaged repairable).
Mark Bailey,Head of CDL Vehicle Information Systems, which owns My Car Check, said: "We are checkingnew category write-offs almost daily now, so thefact that 9 out of 10 people are unaware of them is a worry, especially when you consider that 4 of those who did know were motor traders. The survey was conducted by our Glasgow call centre in early February and all of those asked were checking used vehicles worth over £1,000. It shows that more must be done to educate buyers about write-offs, so they can either decide they want nothing to do with them, or they go into it with their eyes open, fully aware of the risks.Safety is paramount and written-off vehicles have to be properly repaired in order to perform as they should in the event of a second crash.There might be thingsthe seller doesn't know, or things they'd rather not tell you, sodo your own history check to find out exactly what you're getting into."
Background info
Safety:A write-off is an accident damaged vehicle which an insurer decides is either beyond repair or too expensive to fix. Category A (e.g. burnt-out by fire) and B (e.g. major rear-end shunt) write-offs should never return to the road.Category S (e.g.collapsed crumple zone) write-offs will be unsafe until they have been professionally repaired.Category N(e.g.cosmetic or electrical issue) write-offs are often simply uneconomical to repair.
Value:Leaving the safety aspect aside, there's the impact on desirability and value to consider with S and N (and the old C and D) grade write-offs.A categoryNwrite-off which has had cosmetic damage repaired will generally be worth about 25% less than a similar vehicle with clear history. As to the impact on desirability, ina survey a couple of years ago, 79% ofmycarcheckcustomers said they wouldn't buy awrite-off.
Insurance:Some insurers will check the history of vehicles and can refuse to cover them or charge higher premiums. In the event of a claim, if it is discovered the vehicle has been previously written-off, they might offer a smaller amount to reflect the market value.
With information from the police, DVLA, insurers and finance houses, mycarcheck.com holds comprehensive data on every vehicle on UK roads - things that buyers should be aware of before making an offer.
CDL performs over a million look-ups a day for companies including AutoExpress, CompareTheMarket,Go-Compare,Moneysupermarket, Swiftcover and Tesco.
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Notes To Editors
Hi resimages are available on request.
My Car Check, My Text Check and the My Car Check apps are brands of CDL Vehicle Information Services, owned by CDL Group Holdings Ltd of Stockport, Cheshire.
CDL Vehicle Information Services is a member of theBritish Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), theConsumer Credit Trade Association (CCTA), the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA), the Motor Asset Registration Service (MARS), theNational Association of Motor Auctions (NAMA) and theVehicle Remarketing Association (VRA).
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For media enquiries contact Neil Kennett on 07986 921 742 orneil@featurebank.co.uk