Auto salvage in Aberdeen

When an insurer writes a car off and you keep it, the settlement letter is rarely the end of its value. The car still has an engine, a gearbox, an interior and panels that were never touched. We price all of that, and we buy uncategorised crash damage and cars damaged by flood or fire as well.

We pay by bank transfer to an account in your name, and there is no collection charge or admin fee: the journey from Fort William is part of the price we quote. If the car's problem is mechanical rather than damage, our page on selling a broken car in Aberdeen fits better.

Aberdeen is the furthest Scottish city we cover, about 160 miles from our Fort William base. Jobs in the city and nearby Aberdeenshire are grouped into scheduled runs, so the wait is longer than in the central belt. We agree the collection date when you accept the price, and the car can stay where it is until then. Postcodes, districts and how collection runs in Aberdeen are on our local page.

Is your car a write-off or just damaged?

Write-off categories are set by insurers after a claim: A for cars that must be crushed whole, B for cars whose shell must be crushed but whose parts can be reused, S for structural damage and N for damage that is not structural. A car with a car park dent that nobody claimed for has no category, however much the repair would cost. We buy B, S and N write-offs that you own and uncategorised damaged cars, but Category A only for crushing. Still weighing up whether to hold on to a Category S or N car? Expect the insurer to reduce the settlement by its salvage value, and get a salvage price to put beside that reduction first. Declare the category when you send the reg, because it stays with the car.

What we need to price a damaged car

We price salvage cars from photos and a description, so a few minutes with your phone makes the quote more accurate. Photograph the car from each corner in daylight, then take close-ups of every damaged area. If the car still powers up, photograph the dashboard with the ignition on, so we can see the mileage and any warning lights. Add the interior, especially the airbags, and the engine bay if the bonnet opens. Tell us which parts you know are undamaged, such as the engine or the rear half of the car. With that, the car can be priced on what is recoverable rather than a guess, and the figure we agree is the figure paid.

When your damaged car is not at home

Collecting from a business site in Aberdeen is straightforward if the paperwork is sorted first. Most garages and compounds need to know the car is being released on your instructions, and some ask for a reference number or signed note. Some sites charge daily storage, so ask before the bill grows. A car on hire purchase or PCP belongs to the finance company until it is settled, and after a write-off the insurer's payment normally goes to that company first, so mention anything still owed when you ask for a price. Tell us the name of the site, its address and the times it is open, and whether the car is inside a building or in a yard. The driver loads it on a recovery vehicle, and as a rule, cars we buy go on to a licensed treatment facility.

Read our full guide to auto salvage, see how the WhatsApp quote works, or send us the reg.