The 4 Categories Used To Assess Vehicle Damage

The 4 Categories Used To Assess Vehicle Damage

 A vehicle accident is one of those things that no one wants to consider. 

When your car is involved in an accident, one of the first things you should do is to inform your insurance company. Of course, your first call should be a call to the police so that they can file a report, but the insurance company is your next priority. They will probably send an inspector to your home in short order to evaluate your vehicle. This article is intended to help you understand the terms that the inspector will likely use. 

The Four Categories Used To Assess Vehicle Damage

 Based on the level of damage, an insurance assessor will classify your vehicle into one of four categories. We should note that these categories have changed in recent years. In the past, vehicle damage was classified into categories A, B, C, or D. This system worked pretty well, but it had one flaw: It was based only on the estimated monetary cost of the damage. The new ratings take cost into account, but they focus more on safety concerns.

 It is crucial to understand the legal aspects when dealing with an insurance claim. Anytime an accident occurs, your insurance company (and the authorities) will want to determine who was at fault. That will determine who pays for the majority of the damages. Without an inspection, there is no way to know what kind of insurance claim to file. 

Category A: Completely Ruined

 This category represents the worst kind of damage and indicates that the car cannot be repaired. A vehicle in this category cannot be driven again, and its parts cannot be removed and re-sold. When this level of damage occurs, the only thing you can do is send it to the scrapyard and collect whatever you can.

Category B: Only Good For Parts

 A car in this category has suffered severe damage, and can never be driven again. However, it is permitted to salvage any undamaged parts for re-sale. The salvage yard will scrap all of the damaged parts. Most of the time, the insurance company will not permit you to salvage any part of the vehicle’s body. Cars in this category have usually suffered extensive body damage. 

Category S: Major Damage

 You could describe this level of damage as “bad, but repairable.” A vehicle in category S has sustained severe structural damage. The letter “S” indicates this fact. As such, the frame is probably no good, and the body is also likely not salvageable. However, it might be possible to salvage the frame if you take your vehicle to a skilled professional. You must take vehicles in this category to a licensed mechanic for extensive repairs, and you cannot drive the vehicle until repairs are complete. 

Category N: Minor Damage

 This category is the one that you want to hear when the inspector comes around. Category N damage might be as light as a busted headlight or a broken wire. As such, you might be able to repair this damage without taking it to an expensive body shop. Since these cars have no body or frame damage, you will only have to swap the damaged parts with undamaged parts. These vehicles might be safe to drive in the meantime, but you shouldn’t take any chances. If the car has any damage to the brake system, turn signals, transaxles, or transmission, you shouldn’t drive it until its repaired. 

Buying A Damaged Car

 Sometimes, you can buy damaged cars at a very low price. Of course, you need to have some basic auto repair skills (or maybe a little more than that, depending on the level of damage). Even those with no auto repair expertise, you might be able to turn a profit by re-selling a car after completed repairs. 

 If this is your intention, it is vitally important that you familiarize yourself with the damage categories listed above. In this way, you can make sure that you get a vehicle that isn’t beyond your ability to save. You can also make sure that the seller has been honest with you by doing a vehicle history check. If you don’t know how to do that, you will be relieved to hear that it’s quite easy. All you have to do is get the VIN from the seller (before you pay, of course!). The VIN is just a unique identifying number that allows you to check the vehicle’s history. Once you have it, search the number on this website. Some companies will try to get you to pay for this service, but it can be done for free if you know where to look.

Conclusion

 Thankfully, this system is not complicated or difficult to learn. After reading this short article, you should at least be able to understand the terms in which your insurance provider will describe the damage. For most people, that’s all that is necessary.

 When it comes to legal questions, we recommend that you contact your attorney as soon as you have finished dealing with the police and the insurance company. We hope that we have been helpful to you and that you will fill out the contact form below for more information.

Can Body Work On My Vehicle Void The Warranty?

Can Body Work On My Vehicle Void The Warranty?

 The more expensive the item, the more important its warranty will be. This basic rule is true for all products. Thus, a vehicle warranty becomes the most important warranty that most people will ever have.

 Unfortunately, warranties are sometimes full of boobytraps. When we say that, we mean that there are a variety of conditions under which a manufacturer can void your warranty. How can they do this? Well, it’very simple. A warranty isn’t just a pledge from a company. It’s an agreement, and you have to keep your end of the bargain. If you don’t keep your end of the deal, they are not required to keep theirs.

You Don’t Have To Get Repairs From A Dealership

 The good news is that companies cannot force you to use their repair service. In most states, it is illegal for a company to deny a warranty claim merely because someone else worked on the vehicle. As long as the work is correct, the claim should be approved in the end. 

 That being said, there is an easy way that you can avoid problems in this department. It is best to choose a body shop that is certified to work on your particular brand of vehicle. For instance, if you have a Ford, make sure Ford, rather than a third-party organization certifies your body shop. By doing this, you will help to ensure that the company approves your claim. It will be difficult for them to justify voiding your warranty when you chose a body shop that they certified and approved.

 Sometimes, unscrupulous car salespeople will attempt to convince you that you should get all your repair and maintenance work done at the dealership. Of course, they are just trying to make more money for their employer, and they probably hope to gain a bonus by doing so. The problem for you is that dealership repairs are always more expensive, even though they usually employ very skilled mechanics. 

What Kind Of Damage Is Covered?

 Most warranties will only cover damage that is the fault of the manufacturer. If the damage comes from your mistake, they will not pay. If you take your car to a substandard body shop and they cause damage, the company also will not pay. If you put aftermarket parts on the vehicle, or if you buy used parts from a junkyard, those parts will not be covered by the warranty. In some cases, using aftermarket or secondhand parts could void your warranty altogether.

Other Things That Might be Covered

 We should note that some warranties are much more generous than others. While some will only cover manufacturer defects, others will cover the costs of maintenance and repair as long as certain criteria are met. Make sure you read the entire warranty before you buy a vehicle, and make sure you don’t neglect the fine print. You can get different kinds of warranties that will cover different parts, or you can get what is called a “bumper-to-bumper” warranty. This kind of warranty covers all parts and is usually much more forgiving. Some will even cover the effects of rust damage, vandalism, or damage from natural disasters.

Keep Good Records

 Every car will occasionally need maintenance and repair. When your vehicle requires these things, you should make sure to keep a record of the job. This record could be a receipt from your body shop, a written statement from your mechanic, or a witness statement from someone present during the process. Whichever way you choose, make sure that you can show records of all repairs and maintenance. 

 This information can help you if the manufacturer decides to dispute your claim. You can take those documents into court and prove that your car was properly maintained and that qualified professionals repaired it. Without that, they will simply have to take your word for the matter, and they probably aren’t going to do that! 

Remember: They Don’t Want To Pay!

 It is essential to realize that most companies do not want to pay out any money whatsoever on your warranty if they can avoid doing so. That’s why warranties will often contain all sorts of limitations and conditions. You should think of these conditions as traps that you must avoid. 

 Thus, you can almost certainly expect your claim could be denied at first. You may need to appeal that decision, and you may need to get a lawyer. In some cases, the threat of legal action alone will be enough to make them sing a different tune, but only if you are legally in the right. If that doesn’t work, you might try calling the Federal Trade Commission, the government body tasked with regulating this kind of problem. You might also lodge a complaint with the better business bureau, but all they can do is publish a report. It might damage the company’s reputation, but the BBB cannot force the manufacturer to honor a warranty.

Conclusion

 It would be nice if we could give you a simple answer to the question posed in the title of this article. However, there is no simple answer to the question. The truth is that body shop work can void your warranty, but it should not do so under most circumstances. As long as the work was done correctly, you should have no problems.

 If there’s one thing you should take away from this article, it is this principle: Always make sure that you choose a body shop carefully. We recommend that you start by looking at all the reviews that you can find for that particular shop. A place that leaves a lot of unsatisfied customers is far less likely to give you the results that you want. If this article has helped you to understand this issue a little better, we hope that you will fill out the contact form below.