Recovering a cat B car

[dont_tell_him_pike]

Has anyone succeeded in buying back a cat B write off?

My old Sera is a cat B, the engine seems ok as do many other parts I want to recover, however the insurance say the won't sell it me back because it's a cat B, the people who currently hold it wont let me take anything from it and will auction it off to breakers, but can't tell me who buys it due to "data protection". They tell me the only way I can get it is to cancel the claim, but another vehicle was involved so i don't think that's an option either.
All I can think of is trying to presuade the insurance company to make an exception...

 

[Craig_GT]

I tried and tried with my insurance company to get mine back with no joy, i stripped what i could before they collected it.

 

[weakboy2]

thats awful isnt it forged 5e?

 

[dont_tell_him_pike]

Yep, built by TMD, had about 2,000 miles on it.

Horrifyingly, the insurance company came back with a value equal to a standard Sera - £2,500. They asked me to send details of modifications, i did, but they didn't show them to the engineer because there was "a lot of them". I've told them to send the documents and have another go...

 

[dac69er]

when my mate totalled his rs200 altezza we went up to see it to get the stereo out of it like he had agreed with the insurance company and the recovery company said we could take whatever we wanted of it now its in their hands. they said it was fuck all to do with the insurance company.
he was willing to remove the engine for us if we wanted but my mate said he couldnt be bothered with the hassle of trying to sell the bits so left it!

just need to find a nice friendly recovery company!

 

[sx_turbo]

you can only buy cat b right offs if you have a trade scrap licence as they cant be put back on the road.

what you can do is try and strike an agreement with the company that have it in storage, or the salvage company that will eventually end up with the car

 

[Rik]

I ended up picking mine up before they put down what cat it was, but guess thats nay good in your case. You will probs either have to find a scrap yard local that will go an get it for you or maybe some dodgy backhander with the place its stored at? Just keep trying to blag it so you can strip the bits you need. Have you still got all the log book for the car an stuff, cos technically you are still the owner so you should be able to do what you want with it? Unless you already sent them off...

 

[dont_tell_him_pike]

Hmm, asking a local scrapper to buy it may be the best bet.

The guy at the place that's holding it says they currently have 35,000 cars in storage, so it's not like slipping a backhander to Dave the dealer...

 

[dont_tell_him_pike]

Well, happy ending of sorts. the value was revised up to £4250, still not enough, so I wrote asking for more money and the car back. Didn't offer any more cash, but have now allowed me to have the car back to strip it, though they will collect the shell from me and have asked me not to remove the seat belts.
So, all the surviving performance parts will go in my new Sera, a few body parts will be kept as spares, anything else will be offered up to whoever wants it...

 

[Arnold]

I bought my Cat B back and i don't have that scrap licence thing as mentioned above. I just made an agreement in writing with the insurance company that it would be crushed when i'd finished with it and not returned to the road. The buy back fee is only 4% of the value of the car aswell!

 

[malcolmgt]

great news lad, hope you get all the bits you need!
im sure you can live without the seat belts anyway