My Car died. What do I need to do now?

Question

My car died at the weekend. The repairs are more than the cost of the car, so I would like to replace it. WHat things do I need to do.

I am aware that I should:

- declare it off the road (I have a parking space in a private cul-de-sac), but how do I do that? Will I get a tax refund? Can I transfer the tax to a new car when I get one? beofre I can transfer it? do i need to wait until I have the new car(The tax has about 2 months left on the tax)

- end (or transfer) my insurance. I only renewed the insurance two weeks ago, am I tied in to that for a year? or can I end it at any point? Or will I have to transfer it to my new car?

- I would like to scrap the car. Will scrapyards pick up cars from a private address or do I need to arrange for the car to be taken to the scrapyard?

- how much (if anything) will I get for scrap?

- If the car is scrapped do I need to inform the vehicle licencing as it will still be registered in my name?



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Answer 1

Hello,

(ANS) First of all my sincere condolences on the death and loss of your father.

You need to do the following things:-

No.1 You need to declare the car as off road and not in use any more, you do this with a SORN statement. Its perfectly legal to put a piece of paper in the window of the vehicle with SORN written on it, just in case the police or insurance come examining it.

SORN = Statutory Off Road Notice.

No.2 The SORN can be done over the internet now I believe, you would be able to do this if you go to the DVLA website. Otherwise the forms can be sent to you via post (perhaps not so good at the moment with a strike), or I think the post-office may have the forms too (go and ask). You may even now be able to download a sorn form or document that you print out yourself?? not sure you will need to check that out of course.

No.3 Its best to cancel your fathers insurance on the vehicle completely, why? because then there cannot be any confusion with your self if you need to insure another vehicle in future.

No.4 As you only have 2mths left its hardly worth the hassle of trying to transfer the tax disk (your loss will be worth about £20) but it could take a month to get it fully transfered which is hardly worth the stress involved. So no! my advise is its not worth it financially.

No.5 Phone or write or email the insurance company and explain the situation they are normally quite sympathetic and should try and help you sort this out. They may offer you a good deal if you renew your policy with them or give you a good discount on any future policy. Note: Insurance companies are used to dealing with these types of situations all the time. But they should be sympathetic towards your circumstances either way.

No.6 Sadly, most scrap yards now a days will charge you a fee to come and take away your old vehicle. Its much cheaper if you can get a friend to tow the car to the scrapyard. Yes! some scrap yards will collect from a private address you'd have to phone them to find out.

No.7 You'll be lucky if you get £50 for the scrap value of the vehicle.

No.8 Yes! you do need to inform both the DVLA & the insurance company that the vehicle has now been scrapped (disposed of). Do that ASAP after scraping it .

Hope that helps?

Kind Regards Ivan

Answer 2

Can't add much to what's already been said, except -

Shop around - some scrappys will give you more than others (though don't expect a life-changing amount).

Tell your insurers that they are no longer "at risk" as the car is VOR. Depending on the company, they'll stop taking your premiums (if you pay monthly) or give you a refund. Or, if you agree, they'll keep your money and use it to insure your next car when you get it (there might have to be an adjustment either way, either in the money or the term).

It's worth sending in your tax disc for a refund, you'll get something for each month left, and it'll only cost you a stamp.

Regarding the DVLA, selling it to a scrappy is just like selling it to anyone else - the scrappy will inform the DVLA and so do you, by using the bit on the bottom of the log-book.

Answer 3

right, as for scrap value, you will receive around £100 for your car if they pick it up and £120 if you take it in, so sort that out first, just give the scrappies the log book and they will deal with the dvla side of things

as for the road tax, remove it from the car when they are taking it away and you can return it to the dvla, however they only refund full months left on it, so for instance if you had a month and a half you would only get a months refund, while waiting for the car to be uplifted it is still perfectly legal to be sitting on a public street provided the tax is displayed and the car is still insured

as for your insurance, when you get your new car simply call your insurance company and change it over, dont cancel or change company as you will need to start this year all over again with you no claims discount, if you just change it over your no claims discount will continue

Answer 4

Double check about parking it on the cul de sac, when you are declaring it off the road.
my friend parked his at the bottom of a dead end, and got booked.
You can get a refund on the tax left (can be very time consuming)
Double check with the insurance (read the small print) BUT DO IT STRAIGHT AWAY some companies will have a horrible suprise when you try to cancel.
Scrap is not at it's best at the moment, call them and ask. If its not worth it, look in the papers, loads of people will pay £30 to take it away.
Fire service accept cars too, for their training.
Good luck

Answer 5

Use Yahoo to search for you state's department of motor vehicles site to see how to let them know that the car is inoperable.

Contact your insurance agent & see how you can lower insurance coverage on that car.

I don't think you should completely cancel coverage until the car is no longer in your possession.

You are not tied to the insurance policy for the year. Your agent will let you know how the company will deal w/ the refundable amount & setting up a new policy for a new car.

As for scrapping the vehicle, the salvage value depends on whether or not the car has any usable parts that are in demand.

Yes, you should let your state's vehicle licensing dept. know when you are scrapping the car so you won't be liable for it anymore. I believe you will have to transfer the title to the salvage company.

My mom donated a car & the paperwork was supposed to be handled by the charity. Somehow, it was delayed & the car was ticketed. My mom got a notice in the mail as the state thought it was still hers. Fortunately, the charity administrator got through to the state & cleared up the matter.

Related links: http://cartalk.com/menus/info.html
http://www.dontgettakeneverytime.com/

Answer 6

Get rid of it. You'll probably get nothing for scrap but a short while ago you'd have had to pay to get it taken away, at the moment you can get it taken away free. A licenced scrap dealer will inform DVLC that the vehicle is scrapped.

Suspend your insurance until you get a new car.

Return the tax to DVLC for a refund, form available at the Post Office. You will only be refunded for complete months.

Answer 7

I give you an idea. You just need to throw your old car away and buy a brand new car. Easy right.