Even a driver with extensive experience can one day find himself “broke” - and not in a figurative, but in a literal sense. What should a motorist do if the car cannot be restored after an accident? Sell for parts or whole? To deregister or not?
A car that has received significant damage as a result of an accident is often beyond repair. The bottom line is that repairing such a car will be unreasonably expensive - more than its actual value in good condition.
Should I get rid of it immediately after an accident or wait?
Before deciding what to do with a pile of crumpled iron, you need to figure out where to store it, because the selling and insurance process can take some time. It is advisable to tow the car to a garage or secure parking lot. If you leave the car on the side of the road at the scene of an accident or in the yard of a house, then the matter may not come to a sale - it will be stolen for spare parts within a day.
There is another option - an urgent buyout. That is, the buyer can pick up the car by calling on the day of the accident - some companies even provide a free tow truck. The procedure in this case is as follows: a specialist comes to the scene of the accident, examines what is left of the car and names his price. Of course, due to the urgency, the amount proposed by the appraiser may be several times less than the real one (provided that the car owner himself will handle the sale).
Perhaps the most common option is to sell a damaged car for parts. However, before the “sale” begins, you will have to take some actions
If a CASCO insurance policy was issued for the car, the insurance company can reimburse part of its cost - then the amount of money from the sale of the car and insurance payments may well be enough for a car of the same class and price category.
Step No. 3. If it is still an accident
If the incident meets the criteria mentioned above and second participant is present at the scene of the accident
, there are several possible options for further action.
The first is to register an accident according to the European protocol. We have already talked about it several times, but we will briefly repeat the conditions under which nothing interferes with the simplified design scheme:
- No dead/injured.
- Only two vehicles and their trailers are involved in the accident.
- Both drivers have a valid MTPL policy.
- Only two cars were damaged. If you also hit another vehicle or knocked down a pole, road sign, or damaged a fence, you cannot issue a European protocol.
- The participants in the accident have no disagreement regarding its circumstances.
- The damage does not exceed 50 thousand rubles.
If you understand that your accident cannot be registered according to the European protocol, you will have to contact the traffic police.
And finally, it is possible not to file documents about the incident if only two cars or other property of its participants were damaged, but each of them does not need to file documents.
How and to whom can you sell a used car?
There are several options for selling a used car. The first has already been named - to sell the car to a company specializing in buying used vehicles. This option will require the least effort, however, the price offered by buyers will be minimal.
You can start selling the car yourself, provided that at this time it will rest in a garage or in a guarded parking lot under polyethylene. One way is to sell the entire car. In this case, the buyer may be a car enthusiast who is ready to restore the vehicle step by step. This option is most relevant in the case of German and Japanese cars from the 90s or simply rare models. In addition, car enthusiasts buy damaged cars entirely to use them as spare parts donors.
You can take your car in for scrapping. This means that the person involved in the sale will receive a percentage separately from each unit sold
The second option is to sell the car in parts. To do this, it is recommended to deregister the car with the traffic police before the start of the “sale”. The advertisement should indicate which components and assemblies of the vehicle were most damaged as a result of the accident, and which remained unharmed. By the way, selling a car in parts will bring more profit, although the sales process itself may be delayed.
Another option is to take the car for scrapping. In this case, the craftsmen to whom the car owner entrusts the sale of spare parts will receive a percentage of each unit sold. However, in this situation, the motorist does not control either the progress of sales or the prices requested by the masters.
Sell to company...
The best selling option is if the car is insured against damage. The calculation is simple: repairs usually take out of your pocket all the insurance compensation received, and even require additional costs. While insurance plus proceeds from the sale of a damaged car is a good foundation for buying a new car.
Who should I sell the emergency copy to?
It makes the most sense to contact one of the specialized companies for purchasing and restoring damaged cars. They usually offer a decent price, about the same as what you would get if you marketed your car yourself. That is, without losing money, you get rid of the need to look for a buyer. These companies can afford such generosity because having their own technical center and well-established channels for supplying spare parts allows them to significantly reduce repair costs.
How to find a reliable option in the mass of offers “we will buy your car in any condition” that are full of the Internet and print media? The best recommendations are advice from friends or acquaintances who have already dealt with this company. Quite reliable selection criteria are its popularity, experience in the market, positive reviews in online forums and conferences of car enthusiasts. If a company has its own website, then it should not be a lonely page with advertising slogans, but a full-fledged resource filled with various information.
Reputable companies, as a rule, indicate a direct city telephone number for contact (it is better if there are several of them), but dubious resellers often ask to call only a mobile phone. When you call, first of all ask about the address where the company is located. The absence of an office and the excuse “we will come to you ourselves” are reasons to be wary. At the same time, find out if the company has its own technical center. It should be - after all, it is in the restoration of cars that serious companies make their “emergency business”.
Do not believe the promises from the other end of the line: “We will give the maximum real price.” It is impossible to determine it without inspecting the car, so the exact amount called into the phone was probably taken out of thin air.
Be skeptical of statements like “expert visit for free.” If you don’t agree on a price with resellers, they may demand a “call fee,” and outright threats from them cannot be ruled out.
Promises “we will deregister the car without your participation” are also suspicious. In order for the reseller to do this, you will have to issue a general power of attorney for the car. That is, give it to complete strangers. Reputable companies provide a free tow truck that will deliver the faulty car to the traffic police, where the owner himself, as expected, will deregister it.
There are other signs of a serious approach to the matter: the company has a guarded parking lot where an emergency vehicle can be stored until its future fate is decided; services of a qualified lawyer (he will help, for example, when communicating with an insurance company); official registration of the transaction through a certificate-invoice or purchase and sale agreement.
Should I deregister?
There is an important nuance in the issue of selling a used car - this is the registration of the sale. First of all, you should deregister the car yourself. Traffic police inspectors must check to see if all formalities related to the accident have been resolved. If the buyer plans to subsequently sell the damaged car for spare parts, registration of the vehicle will no longer be required.
So, the owner of a damaged car has several options on how to get rid of the “piles of iron.” Some options require a minimum of effort, as is the case with buying companies, and some will bring the owner good money, but can take a lot of time - for example, selling a vehicle for spare parts.
Sell for parts
In every major city there are companies that buy used cars for spare parts. And this can be considered as an option. Transactions in this case are carried out quickly. How much money will they give you for a damaged car after an accident? You can only get the answer to this question after an auto expert examines the wrecked vehicle.
In addition, the price also depends on who will disassemble the car. You can:
- dismantle the spare parts yourself and then you will get more for them, but you will waste time and money (you will have to pay for disassembly);
- hand over the car in its original condition - in this case, the revenue will be less.
Let us add that usually such transactions are carried out without unnecessary hassle. Money is issued immediately after completing the necessary documents. In addition, most companies operating in this area carry out car removal on their own, meaning the car owner does not have to order a tow truck and pay for its services.
Is it possible to drive a car after an accident?
I live in the Moscow region, in the summer on the way to the south on vacation in the Tula region, 350 km away. There was an accident near the house. The culprit was in the company's car. As a result, my wife, daughter and I were injured. My wife spent 17 days in the hospital, and I took my daughter after providing assistance. All the time while my wife was in the hospital, my daughter and I lived in a foreign city, but with distant relatives. I had to take extra leave from work. The forensic expert recognized the harm to my wife’s health as serious, my daughter’s as minor, and my injuries as not causing harm to health (although I limped for more than a month). A criminal case was opened on this fact, and the driver has now been convicted. During the investigation and trial, I had to travel to the Tula region several times. In addition, I had to pay for a tow truck and parking. The car is badly damaged, so you also need to take it out of the parking lot and take it home for repairs using a tow truck, i.e. there are still expenses to be spent. An assessment of the cost of repairs and loss of marketable value has been carried out, the amount significantly exceeds 120 tr. which the insurance company must pay. Now the actual questions:
1. How many claims should be filed against the company that owns the vehicle (separately for compensation for damage to the car and separately for compensation for moral damage to my wife, daughter and me, or one)? What state fees should I pay?
2. In which court should the lawsuit be filed, at the location of the defendant or can it be done at home?
3. To which claim should we include the costs of travel, evacuation and storage of the car, living expenses, gratitude to doctors and nurses with nannies, time of spoiled vacation and days for which we had to take time off at our own expense to participate in investigative actions, examinations, court, etc. (salary is dirty gray)?
4. How can you confirm expenses if you only have receipts for a tow truck and parking, and some gasoline? Perhaps there are some minimum standards for accommodation and travel? How to justify upcoming expenses?
5. Is there data on the amounts of compensation for moral damage depending on the severity of the damage? Perhaps an analogy with the table according to which damage to public transport passengers is compensated?
6. For almost six months I have not been able to use my car, although my work involves the need to constantly drive a car and I have to beg for a car either from my father or from my father-in-law, how can I make a claim for compensation for the inconvenience caused to me?
7. How should I notify the defendant about the claim or does the court do it?
Thanks in advance for your answer!
