If less than 1 year old and the owner had a policy with a new car replacement, the insurance company may have been obliged to write it off if the repair was more than the salvage worth, i.e. 50%, 60%.

i.e. car has been vandalised or trim bits stolen (wheels, bumpers, headlamps, etc..). Car is valued @ £25k, repairs come to £10k. Insured person has a policy with a "new car replacement" in the first year. Standard salvage percentage is 50%. That would make a write-off @ £12,500. With £2,500 or less in the pot, if the insured said that they no longer wished to have the car, it would be down to the inspecting engineers' discretion.

We had a similar case where I work. Car had been stolen and recovered the next day local. Had only done 50 miles or so since being stolen, couple of slightly kerbed alloys "which were not damaged before it was stolen" and that sort of thing. Repair bill was well under the write-off value, but owner had a "new car replacement" policy with Zurich (I believe it was). Engineer wanted it repaired until the owner asked in the insurance company was willing to pay for ANYTHING that went wrong should it not be covered under warranty for the remainder of the the time it was owned, i.e. engine issues, etc... as it could have been "ragged" everywhere. Owner was not prepared to accept the car unless they were prepared to cover it, so it got written off and a new car supplied by the insurance company.

I know the owner of the car now and it is fine, always has been. Just needed a new lockset as there was a key still unaccounted for originally.

Sounds silly, but it does happen.