Auto salvage in Dundee

A collision can leave a car that is unsafe to drive but far from worthless. Whether an insurer has put it in Category S, N or B, or you dealt with the damage without a claim, we buy it as it stands and price it on what can still be recovered from it.

The car can be collected from your home, a body shop or a storage compound in Dundee, as long as a recovery vehicle can reach it and whoever holds it will release it. As a rule, cars we buy go on to a licensed treatment facility, where usable parts are removed and the rest is depolluted and recycled.

Dundee is around 130 miles from our Fort William base, and collections in the city, Broughty Ferry and the Angus side are grouped into scheduled runs across Tayside. We agree the date when you accept the price, and the driver rings on approach. Tell us if the car is in a multi-storey or a communal court. Postcodes, districts and how collection runs in Dundee are on our local collection notes.

Write-off categories and what to tell us

The first question we ask about a damaged car is whether there has been an insurance claim. If there has, the insurer will have given it a category, and your settlement letter says which. We buy B, S and N cars that are yours to sell, although insurers usually let you keep only a Category S or N car. Keeping one comes at a cost: the insurer normally takes the car's salvage value off your payout, so set that figure against our price before you choose. A Category A car we take only for crushing. If you settled the damage privately or decided not to claim, there is no category at all, and the car is priced as accident damage, on what can still be recovered from it.

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.

Releasing a car from a garage or storage yard

If your insurer moved the car after the crash, find out where it is now and who holds it. Once you have agreed to keep the car after the claim, the storage site will usually want to hear from you before it lets the car go. Ask what paperwork they need and whether any fees are owed. Check the finance too: if the car is on hire purchase or PCP, the finance company owns it and normally receives the settlement first, and the car cannot be sold until the agreement is settled or the lender gives written permission. Pass the details to us with the reg, the category, any outstanding finance and the address in Dundee. The driver will expect to see the release reference or authority, and payment goes to an account in your name by bank transfer, not to the site.

Read our full guide to auto salvage, see what happens after you send the reg, or send us the reg.