ICEDVOVO Space wrote: "Does depend on the repairer, but one of the reasons why they are so eager to write off older cars is the hassle in getting parts and potential warranty issues (things like if the AC gas leaks out in three months time - they're always going to get the blame, regardless of where the problem actually is). So if you source the parts, and they're not held to insurance company warranties, then they are much more likely to repair the car at not-insane prices. " Well yes, that's part of the problem but when the insurance industry did a deal with our legislators to keep insurance premiums under control ago they assess the vehicle using a formula that is now laid down in law and is across the board: An "economic" write off is allowed when "Salvage Value + Cost of Repairs > Market Value of Vehicle (pre-accident) or Sum Insured" So a car that is insured for agreed value of 20K that is going to bring 12k in salvage value will be written off if the car will cost anything more than 8k to fix. The salvage value is a fuzzy figure but auction houses usually have records of what prices the wrecks sell for at auctions and I think there might be something on redbook. That being said some of the cars I've had repaired have still been repaired by the insurer. I once owned a ford fiesta (don't ask why) which was insured for 16K and got sandwiched between a ute and 4WD. Extensive front and rear damage,with radiator, grille and even the elaborate air intake housing and intake manifold were smashed and everyone including assessor said it was a write off and we kind of hoped it was a write off. But to our disappointment they fixed it but like SPAC said 3 months later air con failed and insurer had to wear sending it off to several ac guys until problem was finally found and replaced condenser and compressor which must have cost them at least another 2K. I think in that case the insurance assessor was trying to look after us since we were not at fault. The really sad situation is where you only have 3rd party insurance you reckon your volvo that you spent years looking after and improving is in such good nick its worth 10K and it would be hard to find as good a car as that again. Than some idiot runs into you and does maybe 5k of damage. Their insurance company says your car is only worth 2k and that is all you will get as that is all they are required to do - pay you the cost of repairs up to the market value only. If same car was insured under a comprehensive policy for 6K and there is 5k of damage they will write the car off as an economic write off and cancel its rego. But if you ask if you can buy back the wreck because you reckon you can fix it for 2k yourself they will say no; it's a comprehensive policy - read the fine print! And then some idiot buys the wreck at auction for $7500 because it's not on wovr and he reckons he can fix it and get it registered again. So 2 months after your pay out you get another cheque for $1500 because the wreck was worth more than they thought! If it was a car 15 years or older insured with Classic car insurance or with Shannons or Lumleys the terms of those policies normally let you buy the wreck back at salvage value and they would not cancel the registration enabling you to retain the vehicle and fix it yourself however whatever. So if you have a volvo 15 years old or more and you don't drive it much (ie not daily driver) insure it as a classic vehicle so you have the option of keeping the wreck at their determined salvage value. If you cant agree on the salvage value you can google recent sales results for similar damaged vehicles to prove your point. Car insurance gets complicated and I've never really paid it much attention other than ensuring my cars were comprehensively insured. But it seems there might be better ways to insure your car depending on the age of the car and how you use it that might allow you the option of retaining the wreck . If anyone else can enlighten me on car insurance dos and don'ts I would love to hear about it as there is a lot of stuff I don't know.