Must we supply the spare key for a car which was written off but has actually been resold?

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Must we supply the spare key for a car which was written off but has actually been resold?

My daughter had an accident where the insurers wrote off her car. We were under the impression the car was being scrapped, but it turns out a dealer has rebuilt it and sold it on and we are now being hounded for the spare key. Is this legal? What should I do? There was also a private number plate on the car but we sent the letter from the insurers to DVLA and now have the plate on the new car. How does this affect the original car which has been sold on? Should I send them the spare key? If the car was repairable why did the insurers not repair the car as opposed to writing it off?

Asked on 15 July 2010 by karenmary

Answered by Honest John

You can sell the spare key for £100, but you are under no obligation to give it to whoever now has the car because you relinquished keepership of it on the grounds that it would be written off. Far too late to save the cherished plate though. That had to be done before the car was written off.

Tags: spare keys registration transfer write offs private plates

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