My accident damaged car was written off but is now back on the road - is this safe?
My 2018 Toyota Yaris Hybrid was written off in June last year after an accident resulting in panel and steering damage. Direct Line claimed that it would cost £16,000 to make it roadworthy, so paid me £12,750. In November the car was issued with a new V5, MoT and insurance, all in Scotland. I live in East Anglia. I thought it best to inform the Glasgow police that someone may have been duped into buying an unroadworthy car, with the possibility of causing an accident. The very dismissive reply was: "We are not aware of any unroadworthy cars on the road". My question is should I now let the matter drop?
Asked on 28 April 2025 by HOWARD THOMPSON
Answered by
David Ross
What is likely in this situation is that after your car was written off it was sold as salvage by the insurance company and a private individual or business bought the car as salvage, repaired it and returned it to the road. This is a very common practice, and as long as the repairs are carried out to a sufficient standard there should be no additional risks. We would always recommend using a vehicle history check service when buying a used car, as this will reveal any previous accidents that were reported to insurance companies.
Tags:
write offs
safety
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