Sell a written-off car: why it can be worth more than scrap

An insurance write-off doesn't mean the car is finished. Insurers write a vehicle off when the repair estimate gets close to what it was worth. With repair and parts prices where they are, that can happen over damage that looks modest: a hail-battered roof, a crumpled front corner, airbags that went off. The Automobile Protection Association has been quoted as saying insurers typically write a car off once repairs reach 70 to 80 per cent of its value.

Plenty of written-off cars still have real value that scrap yards and cash-for-cars buyers won't pay for. Someone who can repair the car, or who needs its parts, often will.

Your options after a write-off

You can let the insurer take it. It pays the settlement and sells the vehicle, usually at a salvage auction, and you're done.

You can keep it. Many insurers allow that and deduct its salvage value from your settlement, though ICBC in British Columbia generally doesn't. Then it's yours to repair, sell as it is or sell for parts, as keeping your car after a write-off explains.

Or you can scrap it. A scrap yard pays for the metal and often tows it away for free. It's quick, but for a car that could be repaired or still has good parts, it's usually the lowest price you'll get.

If you keep it, write down the insurer's salvage deduction. That's the figure to hold every offer up against.

What buyers look at

Nobody can promise a price, but people who buy written-off vehicles check the same things. The brand comes first. A Salvage vehicle can usually be repaired and taken through the provincial inspection, while a non-repairable one sells for parts.

Then the damage. Hail and cosmetic damage usually cost less to fix than structural damage, flood or fire. A car that drives onto a trailer is easier to sell than one that has to be winched, and popular models have more buyers, for the whole car or its parts. Photos, the insurer's estimate, the keys and the registration all help a buyer believe what they're reading.

What to put in the listing

Be specific. The buyer will see the brand on the registration, and the damage, when they pick the vehicle up, and an offer made on accurate information is one that holds.

Give the status brand exactly as it's printed, with the province that issued it. Say what happened and what's damaged, missing or replaced. Answer whether it starts, runs and drives, whether airbags deployed, and whether you know of structural damage or fluid leaks. If you don't know, choose Not known.

Mention anything a photo can't show, like a noise or a warning light. Describe the vehicle, but don't call it fit to drive: moving under its own power doesn't make a car ready for the road, and DNF never presents it that way. Flood and fire write-offs are listed for parts only on DNF.

The listing form asks for these, in this order:

1. VIN: the 17 characters on the registration, the insurer letter or the dashboard plate. We decode it to fill in the year, make and model.
2. Status brand: the province of registration and the brand printed on it.
3. Damage: the main damage type, a second one if there is one, and a description. You can add the repair estimate, the value before the loss (ACV), the insurer and the insurer's salvage deduction. The deduction stays off the public listing but is shown privately to buyers who meet DNF's account requirements after they make an offer. The insurer's name stays private.
4. Condition: starts, runs, drives, airbags, structural damage, fluid leaks, keys, whether you have the registration, and any known defects or missing parts.
5. Photos: at least 4, one of them a close-up of the damage. There are tips on how to photograph damage.
6. Documents (optional): the insurer letter, a repair invoice, the registration or an inspection certificate. Buyers don't see them, and they can raise your Score.
7. Price: an asking price, or open to offers.
8. Location: your postal code. Buyers see the area, never your address.
9. Declaration: that you own the vehicle or can sell it, and how buyers should contact you once you accept an offer.

Before you publish, you'll see the listing with its provisional Score and what would raise it. A moderator checks first listings and non-repairable listings before they go live.

How offers work

Buyers offer above or below your asking price, and you accept or decline each one. There's no auction clock. When you accept, the listing shows as sale pending. You and the buyer get each other's contact details once any required platform fees on both sides are paid. The viewing, the payment, the paperwork and the pickup are up to the two of you, and DNF never handles the vehicle payment.

Until you accept, buyers reach you through messages on the site and can't see your phone number or email address. Listing is free. List your vehicle when you're ready, or see what similar vehicles are listed for in Alberta and across Canada.