Italian accident vocabulary 3: vehicle, workshop and recovery

This is the vocabulary of the days after the accident — telephone calls to yards and workshops, and the paperwork that follows the vehicle rather than the claim.

Recovery and storage

• Carro attrezzi — EN: tow truck/recovery vehicle · DE: Abschleppwagen · PL: laweta/pomoc drogowa.
• Soccorso stradale — EN: roadside assistance · DE: Pannenhilfe/Straßenhilfe · PL: pomoc drogowa.
• Deposito / depositeria — EN: storage yard/impound · DE: Verwahrplatz · PL: parking depozytowy.
• Custodia — EN: custody/safekeeping · DE: Verwahrung · PL: przechowanie. The daily storage charge follows from it.
• Fermo amministrativo — an administrative hold on the vehicle; rare, but it stops a release until it is lifted.
• Svincolo / dissequestro — EN: release of the vehicle · DE: Freigabe · PL: zwolnienie/wydanie pojazdu.

Workshop and parts

• Carrozzeria — EN: body shop · DE: Karosseriewerkstatt · PL: blacharnia/lakiernia. Also the word for the bodywork itself.
• Officina — EN: garage/mechanical workshop · DE: Werkstatt · PL: warsztat.
• Ricambi originali — EN: original parts · DE: Originalteile · PL: części oryginalne. Ricambi compatibili = aftermarket equivalents.
• Manodopera — EN: labour · DE: Arbeitslohn/Stundenverrechnungssatz · PL: robocizna.
• Verniciatura — EN: paintwork · DE: Lackierung · PL: lakierowanie.
• Telaio — EN: chassis/frame · DE: Rahmen/Karosseriestruktur · PL: rama/nadwozie. Numero di telaio = VIN.

Value, write-off and disposal

• Danno — EN: damage · DE: Schaden · PL: szkoda. Danni occulti = hidden damage.
• Valore commerciale / valore ante sinistro — EN: market value before the damage · DE: Wiederbeschaffungswert · PL: wartość rynkowa sprzed szkody.
• Relitto / valore del relitto — EN: wreck / residual value · DE: Restwert · PL: wartość pozostałości.
• Antieconomicità — EN: economic total loss · DE: wirtschaftlicher Totalschaden · PL: ekonomiczna szkoda całkowita.
• Demolizione — EN: scrapping · DE: Verwertung/Verschrottung · PL: złomowanie. Certificato di rottamazione = certificate of destruction.
• Radiazione — EN: deregistration · DE: Abmeldung · PL: wyrejestrowanie.

Frequently asked questions

What do I say when I call a deposito?

Give the registration and ask two things: whether the vehicle is there (<em>c'è la mia auto, targa …?</em>) and what is needed for access and release (<em>cosa serve per l'accesso e lo svincolo?</em>). If the language is a barrier, tell us the yard name and we will make the call.

The workshop wrote ricambi compatibili on the estimate. Does that matter?

It can. Non-original parts are legitimate in many situations and unsuitable in others, particularly on structural and safety-relevant assemblies. Which applies is a technical question, and it belongs in the assessment rather than in a price comparison.

They mentioned demolizione. Should I agree?

Not before the vehicle has been assessed. Scrapping is irreversible, it interacts with deregistration at home, and it removes any possibility of checking the figures the settlement is based on.