Thread: Whats the law with writeoff vehicles

Yes, you own the vehicle still. You can have it repaired and claim the cost from the driver at fault but AAMI being AAMI, will give you the runaround and use every dirty trick in the book to shirk their obligation. You have the right to have the car restored to its pre-accident condition, regardless of cost.

Don't let them take it. It's not theirs.

If a vehicle is a statutory write off, it cannot be registered again, ever.
Repairable write off, can be repaired.

Don't let them make it a statutory write off.

It seems to me it is your car and AAMI is not your insurer so you get to decide what happens including taking immediate possession of it and then taking it to a repairer of your choice for whatever action you decide on.

I suggest you tell them your going to report it stolen.

I would tell them what your selling price is as obviously they want to buy it. It is your car. Do not sign anything. Give them choices that you are happy with. e.g. Replace car with same as he had. Repair car to pre accident standard. They play hard ball as 90-99% of people accept what they say. As suggested have them return vehicle, get it repaired and send the bill to the other driver.

As others have said, it is your car. The other party has no claim to it and have to pay.

I had an incident almost 30 years ago. It was day three of a four week holiday (honeymoon) when I was involved in an accident it being 100% my fault. We had bomb insurance on our car so our insurance company wasn't interested in ours.

When I arrived home from the holiday I was expecting to find quotes in the mail to forward to my insurance company. To my surprise there were non. About two weeks later, aprox six weeks after the prang, I received a letter from the other party's insurance.

The vehicle had been repaired and there was a demand for repair costs of $12,500.00 Now back then I was of the belief that the other party had to submit two quotes. I spoke to my lawyer who said that the two quotes thing was just courtesy, not law and that yes the other party were in there legal right to fix the car and demand payment.

Unless it is obvious that you are being ripped off you would have a case to contest it, but otherwise it is pay up. In my case I just handed the bill to my insurance and after paying my excess heard no more about it.

Surely the relationship is between you and the other driver and not their insurer. The relationship with the insurer is with the other driver. It is up to the other driver to make good your damage and how he does that is his issue not yours.

Garry

You may find the assessors have already placed it on the written off register - and if it has been then there is sod all you can do - it will be a repairable write off by the sounds of it, so with a VIV you can re register it, but it will cost you.

The fact you have not signed anything may not mean anything as far as that goes - they just do it out of course - as mentioned, DON'T let them take the car.

They are a pack of assholes and you'll have to fight every inch of the way! Been through this exact situation. I had an assessor say a tilt tray was already loading it - I told him I'd report the vehicle stolen if it wasn't there when I arrived - he swore a lot and hung up. Got to keep the car though. Repaired it easily, but still needed a VIV as the ****** had already processed it. The fact that they shouldn't have logged it on the written off register meant nothing once they have done it - it is then on a system that only Vicroads has access to to release it from.

Only option from there is to sue for the cost of the VIV, which would cost you 10 times what the VIV costs...