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Is my car a Cat S?

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  • Is my car a Cat S?

    Hi all,

    Apologies for the long wall of text below.

    My vehicle was hit by another vehicle while it was parked off road.
    The person admitted liability and I originally went through my insurance company but the third party insurance company cold called me to ask if they could deal with it instead.
    I agreed as they promised a loan electric vehicle and £100 upon completion.

    However, I have been receiving confusing information from them and I am now unsure if what they are doing is legal.

    After their chosen garage submitted a large repair quote, they asked an independent vehicle assessor to inspect the vehicle to see if the quote was valid.
    After the inspection, they concluded that all the parts and labour quoted for were required, minus a small reduction to the cost of the labour.
    However, the report they submitted to the insurance company stated that the vehicle should be dealt as a total loss due to GTA guidance showing the costs exceeding 66% of the market value.
    The report also stated under salvage category that the vehicle was a Category S.

    The insurance company initially wanted to deal with the claim on a total loss basis but once they realised the vehicle had PCP on it, they opted for the repair route instead.

    When I questioned on the report that a Category S was also listed, I was assured that because they were not dealing with the claim as a total loss, the vehicle would not be recorded as a Cat S.
    Because of this, I opted for the repair route after being told that I would be left out of pocket if the vehicle was written off.

    For the last month, I have been trying to confirm whether they can actually do this as I didn't think they could ignore a professional engineer's report.

    The latest email I have had from them today, after escalating to one of the managers for clarification, stated that there has not been a decision to disregard the professional engineers report that classifies the vehicle as a Cat S, despite being previously told that the vehicle would not be registered as a total loss or Cat S.

    Would anyone be able to advise on this?
    I can provide more information if required.

    Cheers,
    Karl
    Tags: None

  • #2
    Hi Karl
    Under PCP you are not the owner of the vehicle until you make the final payment.

    The insurance company should be dealing with the owner of the car, the lender.

    The insurance company has to consider the engineer's report and advice.

    Personally, I wouldn't make the final payment for the car even if it ends up not being classified as Category S

    Comment


    • #3
      I have just read that some car buyers under PCP take out gap insurance in case after a write off the insurance pay out does not cover the PCP agreement. Without gap insurance the buyer has to fund any shortfall.
      Depending on the terms of the agreement you may better off if the car isn't written off.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Pezza54 View Post
        Hi Karl
        Under PCP you are not the owner of the vehicle until you make the final payment.

        The insurance company should be dealing with the owner of the car, the lender.

        The insurance company has to consider the engineer's report and advice.

        Personally, I wouldn't make the final payment for the car even if it ends up not being classified as Category S
        Thanks for your reply.
        I recently acquired emails and telephone call recordings under a GDPR request which show that Tesco ignored it straight away when they realised that my vehicle is on PCP.
        The call recordings also state that my car would not be registered as a Cat S, which from the way they have worded the latest email, seems to now not be the case.
        I have asked for clarification but I guess I cannot proceed until I get a definitive answer from them regarding the Cat S status?

        Comment


        • #5
          In case they decide to write the car off you could be searching on the internet for cars of similar spec, age and mileage and saving any adverts you find.
          The insurance pay out should be based on what you would have to pay a dealer to replace the car with a similar one. You may have to argue this with the insurance company.

          If the insurance company decides to repair the car the finance company will not be concerned with accident damage provided it has been repaired by an approved garage.

          On the plus side you have use of an electric car and the longer you have this car you are less likely to be charged excessive mileage on the PCP car if you decide to return it.

          Comment

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