Vehicle checks
Write-off check
An insurance write-off doesn’t show up in the MOT history or in a basic reg check, so it takes a separate check to find one. The CAR Confidence Score report includes it. Run the free check first so you know you’re looking at the right car.
How do I check if a car has been written off?
Run a write-off check. Write-offs aren’t in the MOT history or the vehicle details a free reg check returns, ours included. The paid CAR Confidence Score report shows the category the insurer gave the car: A or B for cars that must not return to the road, S or N for repairable ones.
Write-off categories at a glance
When an insurer decides a damaged car isn’t worth repairing or isn’t safe to repair, it puts the car in a category. GOV.UK sets out what each one means:
| Category | Can it be repaired? | Can it go back on the road? |
|---|---|---|
| A | No | No. The whole car goes for crushing |
| B | No | No. The body shell goes for crushing, though other parts can be salvaged |
| S | Yes, after structural damage | Yes, once repaired to a roadworthy condition |
| N | Yes, after non-structural damage | Yes, once repaired to a roadworthy condition |
Some older write-offs carry the previous categories, C and D. The report shows whichever category the insurer recorded.
Is a Cat S or Cat N car worth buying?
Plenty are, if the price reflects the history and the repairer did a proper job. Expect one to be worth noticeably less than the same car without a record and harder to sell on.
Before you buy, ask who did the repair and ask for photos or invoices of the work. Then have the car inspected. The real risk is a write-off nobody mentions. That’s what the check is for.
Cat S and Cat N cars explainedOutstanding finance checkCheck the MOT history of a repaired car
What else the report checks
Alongside the write-off category, the CAR Confidence Score report looks for outstanding finance and stolen markers. It also tells you whether the car has been recorded as scrapped or exported and how many keepers it has had.
FAQ
Questions people ask
Is the write-off check free?
No. Write-off records come from insurance data, which costs money to search. The check sits in the CAR Confidence Score report, after the free check of the vehicle record.
What does Cat S mean?
Category S means the car had structural damage. It can go back on the road once it’s repaired to a roadworthy condition. The category stays on its record.
What does Cat N mean?
Category N means the damage didn’t affect the car’s structure. Once a repairer has made it roadworthy it can be used again. The category stays with the car.
Does the MOT history show a write-off?
No. An MOT records the test, not the insurance claim behind any repair. You need a write-off check to find one.
Guides
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