Cash for Damaged and Accident Cars Geelong

Nobody plans to sell a damaged car. It usually starts with a phone call: the repair quote came back higher than the car is worth, or the insurer has declared it a total loss and offered you the wreck, or you have looked at the damage from an uninsured prang and done the sums yourself.

At All Geelong Car Removal, we buy accident damaged cars across Geelong in whatever state they are in. Front end folded, rear quarter caved in, hail dimpled roof, water through the carpet, or an engine that let go on the ring road. We collect from wherever the car is sitting, including a smash repairer or holding yard, and pay by instant bank transfer on the day. Call 0403 433 113.

Three situations account for nearly all of them.

The insurer has written it off and you are keeping the salvage

Common when the payout is calculated with the wreck retained. The car is yours to dispose of, it cannot be driven, and it is taking up the driveway.

You were not comprehensively insured

Third party property only, or no cover at all. The repair quote is more than the car is worth and nobody is paying it but you.

You are insured but claiming is not worth it

The excess plus the premium increase over the next few years adds up to more than the damage, so plenty of people would rather take the cash than start a claim.

All three end in the same place: a car you cannot use, cannot easily sell privately, and cannot leave where it is forever.

If an insurer declares your car a total loss, it goes on the written-off vehicles Register, and it will be recorded as one of two things. The difference matters, because it changes what your car is worth.

Statutory write-off

The damage is severe enough that the vehicle can never be registered again in Victoria. A statutory write-off recorded after 1 May 2002 can only be used for parts or recycling, so its value is parts and metal.

Repairable write-off

The insurer considered the repair uneconomic, but the damage does not meet the statutory criteria. A repairable write-off can go back on the road, though not casually. It needs the repairs done properly, a Victorian Vehicle Identity Validation certificate, a roadworthy certificate, and a registration appointment at a VicRoads Customer Service Centre. If it is sold on afterwards, the seller has to tell the buyer in writing that it sits on the register.

A repairable write-off holds more value than a statutory one, because the panels, driveline and interior can go into other vehicles or the car can be rebuilt by someone properly equipped. Any buyer quoting the same number for both categories is not looking closely enough. Have the write-off paperwork in front of you when you call and the quote will be sharper.

• Panel and body damage. The most common and the least damaging to value. If the chassis rails, firewall and suspension mounting points are straight, a lot of the car is still useful.
• Front end collisions. It depends how far back it went. A crushed bumper bar and radiator support is one thing. A shunted engine and bent rails is another.
• Hail. Usually the best case we see. The roof, bonnet and boot are dimpled, the mechanicals are untouched and the car often still drives. Hail cars hold their value well.
• Water and flood damage. The hardest of the lot. Water through the cabin ruins carpet, seats, wiring looms and control modules, and corrosion keeps working long after everything looks dry. Cabin water above the inner door sill is one trigger for statutory write-off classification.Fire. Entirely dependent on what burnt. An engine bay fire and a fully involved car are very different quotes.
• Mechanical failure. No crash at all, just a dead engine or gearbox. The body is straight and everything except the failed component still carries value.
• Theft recovery. Often stripped of wheels, airbags, electronics and badges. We take these regularly.

A good share of our damaged car calls involve a vehicle that is not at the owner’s house, and almost nobody writes about this. Cars in commercial yards accrue storage fees, and those fees run daily whether you are thinking about them or not. If your car was towed somewhere straight after the accident, the clock started then.

Tell us where the vehicle is and who is holding it. We can collect straight from the yard once you have authorised the release. The practical order is to get the quote first, then make one call to the yard, rather than letting it sit while you decide.

Take the plates off, then cancel the registration with VicRoads through myVicRoads online or in the app. You no longer need to return plates to a Customer Service Centre.

There is one detail specific to written off cars that is worth knowing. If the vehicle has been written off, the cancellation takes effect from the day after the accident, not the day you get around to lodging it. If you are claiming a refund on the unused registration, VicRoads asks for an insurance report or a wrecker’s receipt as evidence. The written disposal receipt we hand you at pickup is exactly what that refers to.

The refund is paid into your bank account, generally within about ten business days, less a $22.10 processing fee and ten per cent of the TAC charge. If what is left is smaller than those fees, nothing is paid out.

Photos matter more here than on any other kind of sale, because damage is hard to describe over the phone. Four or five shots covering the impact, the engine bay and the interior will get you a firmer number.

1.   Describe the damage and send photos. Mention whether the insurer assessed it and which category it fell into.
2.   We quote, factoring in the write-off status, the driveline and what is salvageable.
3.   We arrange collection from your address, a repairer, or a holding yard.
4.   Instant bank transfer at pickup, disposal receipt in your hand, car on the truck.

Towing is free. Offers go up to $9,999 depending on the vehicle and the extent of the damage.