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    Written off vehicle

    Recently I enquired about a second hand vehicle for sale privately and after some detailed questioning the seller admitted it had been a statutory write-off that he had repaired. Is there any way of determining if a vehicle has been written-off and the nature or extent of the damage? Is there a legal obligation on a seller to declare this? In my case it was a motorcycle, but there are thousands of hail damaged cars in Perth at the moment that would fall under this situation.
    Answered by CarsGuide
    14 December 2010
    Carsguide.com.au

    There is a national Written-off Vehicle Register backed by all state governments, including the WA government, and you can check it by going to www.transport.wa.gov.au/licensing or phone the Register of Encumbered Vehicles (1300 30 40 24). There are two categories of write-offs, Statutory write-offs and Repairable write-offs. Statutory write-offs cannot legally be repaired and must carry a warning label advising that its VIN number has been cancelled and that it cannot be re-registered. A Repairable write-off can be re-registered, but needs to pass a safety check first. The law applies to cars, motorcycles and trucks. A hail-damaged vehicle would most likely be a Repairable write-off, which could be repaired and re-registered.

    Disclaimer: You acknowledge and agree that all answers are provided as a general guide only and should not be relied upon as bespoke advice. Carsguide is not liable for the accuracy of any information provided in the answers.
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