Written-off vehicle check
Find out whether a car has been recorded as a write-off, and what the damage was. A$9.00, by rego or VIN.
Has this car been written off?
When an insurer decides a damaged vehicle is not worth repairing, it is recorded as written off. Some of those vehicles are scrapped. Others are repaired and sold again, often looking perfectly good, and a seller is not always the one who will tell you.
The record stays with the vehicle. A PPSR search returns it on the official certificate, with the date, the state, the type of write-off and the damage that was recorded.
One certificate covers finance owing, written-off and stolen records together.
On the certificate
What a written-off check shows
The certificate has a section of notifications from NEVDIS, the national database the state road agencies feed. For a vehicle with nothing recorded it reads simply: Not recorded as written-off.
For a vehicle that has been written off, each record gives:
- The state and the date it was recorded.
- The type: a repairable write-off, a statutory write-off, or a later entry showing the vehicle was inspected.
- What was damaged and how: a list of the affected areas of the vehicle, each with the kind of damage, such as impact, fire or water.
A vehicle can carry more than one record. A write-off followed by an inspection entry is the usual trail of a car that was repaired and returned to the road.
Reading the result
Statutory or repairable
Statutory write-off. The damage was severe enough that the vehicle is not allowed back on the road. It may be sold for parts or scrap only. A statutory write-off offered to you as a car to drive is one to walk away from.
Repairable write-off. An insurer decided the repair would cost more than the vehicle was worth to them. That is a financial decision, not a verdict that the car cannot be fixed. Whether it can be registered again, and what inspections it needs, depends on the state.
The kind of damage matters as much as the label. Water damage is the one to be most careful with: corrosion and electrical faults can take months to appear, long after the car looked fine at sale.
What else the same certificate tells you
The certificate also carries the vehicle’s own details as recorded nationally: make, model, body type, colour, engine number, and where and until when it is registered. Check them against the car. A written-off vehicle is sometimes given the identity of a clean one, and a colour or engine number that does not match is how that shows.
It covers finance owing and stolen records in the same search, so one certificate answers all three.
FAQ
Written-off check questions
- How do I check if a car has been written off?
- Run a PPSR search by registration number and state, or by VIN. The certificate includes the written-off record held against the vehicle on the national vehicle database. It costs A$9.00 here.
- What is the difference between a statutory and a repairable write-off?
- A statutory write-off is a vehicle judged too badly damaged to be safely repaired; it can only be used for parts or scrap. A repairable write-off is one an insurer decided was not worth repairing, but which may be repaired and put back on the road after passing the inspections its state requires. The rules for that differ from state to state.
- Can a written-off car be registered again?
- A statutory write-off cannot. A repairable write-off sometimes can, depending on the state and on passing its inspections. The transport authority in the state where you intend to register the vehicle is the one to ask before you buy.
- Is it bad to buy a repaired write-off?
- It is a risk to price in rather than an automatic no. A repaired write-off is usually worth less, can be harder to insure and harder to sell, and the quality of the repair is everything. Know what the damage was, see the repair and inspection paperwork, and have it independently inspected.
- Does a clear result mean the car has never been in an accident?
- No. It means no write-off has been recorded. A car repaired privately, or damaged and never claimed on insurance, will not appear. The check tells you what is on the record; an inspection tells you about the car in front of you.
The same certificate also answers
- Finance checkIs money still owed on the car?
- Stolen car checkIs it recorded as stolen?
- REVS checkWhat the old REVS check is called now.
Everything a certificate covers is on the PPSR check page. If you need to know what the vehicle is rather than what is attached to it, that is a VIN check.
Check the write-off record
A$9.00 for the official certificate, by rego or VIN. You are only charged if the search returns one.