Just 10.8% of UK car buyers would purchase a repaired write-off

Just 10.8% of people are comfortable with the idea of purchasing a written-off vehicle which has been repaired to roadworthy condition, despite the potential savings.

That's the finding of the latest What Car? survey of in-market car buyers, with just 4.8% of respondents saying they had previously bought a write-off that had been repaired, and 6% saying they hadn’t previously bought a write-off, but would be willing to do so in the future.

Cars written-off by insurers are put into different categories based on the level of damage, with two of those currently used (Cat N and Cat S) allowing the vehicle to be repaired, returned to the road and sold on the used market.

Of the buyers not comfortable with the idea of buying a write-off, 54.1% said they wouldn't be confident the vehicle had been repaired properly, while potential difficulties with reselling the car were cited by 43.1% of respondents, and other problems appearing were highlighted by 37%.

Of the 4.8% of buyers who had previously bought a write-off, 16% said they had experienced a problem occurring in the car which was linked to the cause of the write-off.

Despite this, buying a written-off car can prove cost efficient, because they are often sold at lower prices, and What Car? research highlights that in most cases owners don’t find a fault with their purchase.

Asking the right questions about the vehicle’s history, and having it inspected by a professional can help alleviate many of the concerns highlighted by buyers.

The new findings on the number of people prepared to buy a write-off are based on a survey of 1036 in-market car buyers.

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