REVscene - Vancouver Automotive Forum

MERXUS · 01-02-2009, 04:01 PM

...can inspection or..? bring the status of the vehicle to clear?

reason why im asking is that my brother is looking at two particular cars (cayenne, m6 ) that have been written off due to minor damages. Damages will cost 3000$ in total.
car is 99% intact ->cayenne was hit by the lamp post on the roof-- tiny damage--but since its the ""frame damage" ITS written off...
same goes for m6 but that one was hit by tree in Seattle.

both cars are drivable..at this point ... it just doesn't make sense to me why they would have "write off" status.

is there any way to bring up the clear status to any vehicle out there?

thank you in advance for any thoughts and advice

CivicTypeRice · 01-02-2009, 04:51 PM

Whats the asking price for each car?

MERXUS · 01-02-2009, 05:31 PM

thats another thread =)

Lomac · 01-02-2009, 06:31 PM

Frame damage isn't minor damage, no matter how minor the impact looks. A Cayenne wont be written off due to a $3000 dent.

Blinky · 01-02-2009, 06:35 PM

Once a car is written off, the title cannot be (legitimately) cleared in BC. IIRC there maybe some ways in the US where the title can be "washed" and the rebuilt status "removed". It's a shady practice at best, fraudulent at worst.

http://www.fraudguides.com/auto-title-washing.asp

Eff-1 · 01-02-2009, 08:13 PM

If a car is written off, you can still attempt to repair it. If you do and it passes inspection, then it carries a "Rebuilt" status on the registration.

blkgsr · 01-02-2009, 11:35 PM

^ ya i guess that's rights...ie R32's

MERXUS · 01-03-2009, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lomac

Frame damage isn't minor damage, no matter how minor the impact looks. A Cayenne wont be written off due to a $3000 dent.

how can you say it cant be a write off if i just told you it is-- lol
mech estimated 3000$in damages -- on paper claim adjuster est: write off 10k+damage -- in reality-- damage is fixed at 3k.

Raid3n · 01-03-2009, 01:10 AM

this would probably be a question best posed to ICBC seeing as they will be the ones dealing with the licensing of the vehicle.

all international vehicles need to pass a Federal and provincial inspection, out of province only needs the provincial inspection.

but in BC the Written off vehicles may only be purchased at auction from icbc by licensed ICBC repair shops, and then they have to pass a massively intensive inspection to be re-licensed.

Eff-1 · 01-03-2009, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raid3n

but in BC the Written off vehicles may only be purchased at auction from icbc by licensed ICBC repair shops, and then they have to pass a massively intensive inspection to be re-licensed.

lol I wouldn't call it massively intensive. anyone who's ever purchased a rebuilt car will tell you that.

Lomac · 01-04-2009, 01:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MERXUS

how can you say it cant be a write off if i just told you it is-- lol
mech estimated 3000$in damages -- on paper claim adjuster est: write off 10k+damage -- in reality-- damage is fixed at 3k.

$3000 for a frame repair, no matter how minor, is extremely cheap. Does that also include the cost of repainting the vehicle?

Raid3n · 01-04-2009, 02:21 AM

lol, let me rephrase.

"supposed to be massively intensive"

something like 200pts (going off a number told to me several years ago, and i don't trust my memory on that number haha) and checked by a laser?

Soundy · 01-04-2009, 02:40 AM

ICBC will declare a vehicle a write-off if the repair value exceeds a certain percentage of the replacement value - ie. if it will cost more to fix than the car is worth on the market. If a Cayenne has been written off, you can be pretty sure there's more than $3k worth of damage. If someone's telling you that's all there is, they're blowing smoke out their ass.

When I was doing a job for ICBC in Terrace, there was a Viper in the estimator's shop that was mangled - front frame rails crumpled, engine smashed, hood jammed back through the windshield, and other expected body damage. Apparently the guy had been racing with a motorcycle and they both went off the road into a swamp - the Viper hit a huge stump and was still going at a good clip (since it had been airborne). I asked the estimator if they were going to write it off... he said, "it's ONLY about $10k worth of damage (in 1999 dollars, mind you) so we figure we'll repair it." Seeing as they're about an $80k car, $10k is well within the repair-rather-than-scrap range.

Generally if ICBC writes off a vehicle, they'll pay you out and then take it to their own scrap yard. Cars can be bought there at auction, repaired/rebuilt, inspected, and then re-insured as "rebuilt" status. Thing is, ICBC's repair estimates assume the car will be returned to the condition it was in before (or as near-new as is practical, depending on the age of the car), with the work all done at book shop rates. If you can buy it and return it simply to road-worthy and not-too-ugly shape for less, then you can come out ahead. I used to know a guy who did just this - had some immigrant mechanics working for him for cheap, bought write-offs from ICBC auctions, had his guys fix them up good enough to sell but not enough to overinflate the cost, and then re-sold them (after passing inspection) for a decent profit. He traded me an '82 Subaru GL that his guys had rebuilt, in exchange for some work I did for him... that was a great car, served me well for years (and the guy I sold it to after I threw a rod, repaired it and drove it across the country... twice).

The catch to all this, of course, is that the car now must be listed on the insurance papers as being a rebuilt, and if you sell it, you have to note on the transfer forms that it's a rebuilt vehicle. This alone reduces its resale value substantially.

CivicTypeRice · 01-04-2009, 12:07 PM

^ Well said