My Car Check names UK's top 5 write-off hotspots as newcategories come into effect on 1 October

To highlight the new insurancewrite-off categories coming into effect on 1 October,used vehicle checker mycarcheck.com hasrevealed the UK's top five write-off hotspots.

Following a consultation involving insurers, car makers, the police and the salvage industry, the A, B, C and D write-off categories will be replaced with new codes: A (scrap), B (break), S (structurally damaged repairable) and N (non-structurally damaged repairable).

Table 1:Places with highest % write-off warnings

Source: MyCarCheck.com (locations with min 50 checks in Q1/Q2 2017)

Mark Bailey, Head of CDL Vehicle Information Systems, which owns My Car Check, said: "Some parts of the country are much worse than others when it comes to write-offs, with London particularly renowned for it. On average, over 18% of vehicles we check are listed as having been involved in a crash, around one in every five. For Morden, in the first half of this year, the risk of buying a write-off was more like one in three.

"Used car buyers should note that, from October, the new S and N categories will reflect the severity of accident damage, whereas the old C and D categories focused on the cost of repair. This is vital information, particularly regarding category S, because the consequences of being involved in a further smash in a car that hasn't been properly structurally repaired could be horrific. As before, category A and B write-offs should never return to the road.

"Leaving the safety aspect aside, there's the impact on desirability and value. A category N write-off which has had cosmetic damage repaired should still cost substantially less than a similar vehicle with clear history. In a survey a couple of years ago, 79% of mycarcheck customers said they wouldn't buy a write-off. That's why it's so important to check before you buy."

With information from the police, DVLA, insurers and finance houses,mycarcheck.comholds comprehensive data on every vehicle on UK roads - things that buyers should be aware of before making an offer.

CDL performs over a million look-ups a day for companies including AutoExpress, CompareTheMarket, Go-Compare, Moneysupermarket, Swiftcover and Tesco.