YouTuber buys written-off horrifically damaged Category S Land Rover and fixes it in 8 hours
- This Category S Land Rover Defender was written-off
- But a UK-based YouTuber was determined to fix it
- It raised several questions about how cars are categorized
Published on Feb 16, 2025 at 6:00 AM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Feb 11, 2025 at 5:04 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
This written-off Category S Land Rover Defender might have been severely damaged – but one UK-based YouTuber was determined to fix it.
It had no chassis damage and fully functional air conditioning.
However, with visible damage being mainly a crease on the bonnet – it was ready to be scrapped.
Enter this salvage enthusiast and content creator – and he managed to fix it within eight hours.
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Written-off Category S Land Rover fix
Dean of Saving Salvage sourced original replacement parts from ASM Auto Recycling, avoiding cheaper imitations.
The shop had 300 flood-damaged Land Rovers from the 2023 Derby floods.
While the cost of new Land Rover parts is quoted at £7,000–£8,200 (around $8,700-$10,000), he managed to get his hands on a full front-end replacement in the correct color for just £3,000 (around $3,700).
The repair began by stripping the damaged front end and fitting the new parts, including a new bonnet, crash bar, and headlight brackets, and tweaking any misalignments.
Last but not least, its adaptive cruise control and parking sensors were transferred from the old setup to avoid reprogramming.
After eight hours there were no warning lights on the dashboard and the car was driving fine.
Write-off decisions
With a successful test drive with no mechanical issue in the bag within hours, several questions were raised.
“You’d never know this was a write-off,” he said.
Dean questioned why the Land Rover was categorized as ‘Cat S’, arguing that parts availability shouldn’t determine write-offs.
For the uninitiated, ‘Category S’ describes a car that has structural damage but can be repaired and returned to the road.
The ‘S’ stands for ‘structural’.
However, he mentioned that AI is now being used in insurance assessments, which could be contributing to questionable decisions on cars that are written off.
“It’s crazy to think this car was written off over a bent bonnet and a bumper. Is it really about safety or just parts prices?” Dean said.
“AI is playing a bigger role in these insurance assessments…but is it making the right calls?”
All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
