Neighbor got hit and run. 2016 mini countyman top shape 30K miles only.. 2 doors passenger side, front bumper, 1 wheel. No mechanical damage. Body shop says $10,500. Top blue book is $10K. What happens now? Can she get a payoff and get it fixed on her own? Just let em total it? Ask for some consideration?

EVERY ins company has different formulas on totaling a car.
usually MOST insurance co will total a older car when damages exceed 80% of value according to their car value books.
usually the newer the car the lower percentages will total it.
a lot of insurance co will write their own estimate and use salvage parts instead of new like the body shop probably has on their estimate. this price difference car save sometimes save a car from being totaled.

my first step i would suggest searching for comparable values on the totaled car. different ins co used different ways on determining value. SOME ins company's still try to use WHOLESALE values on a persons car. .if you have actual local confirmed values on comparable cars chances are better on getting that value.

on buying the car back. again every insurance co does this differently. usually the ins co will have a estimate of what the car will bring at a salvage auction. you can usually buy the car back at that value .the best way to keep the car is when discussing things with your adjuster. would ask them what you can buy the car back for. this is the first step.
years ago their was a set % of the payout what you can buy the car for. some, not many, co still do this.

word of warning. if they have the lizard ins co be prepared to get screwed without a significant fight.
i recently repaired a 2017 VW TDI sport wagon with 70K miles on it insured by them.. they wanted to total the car that had $1,500 because it had extremely good salvage value..in the end totaling the car would have cost them almost nothing because salvage values were so good on the car and their payout was so low.

California uses the Total Loss Formula (TLF) to determine whether a vehicle is a total loss. TLF is the estimate amount + the projected salvage value compared to the ACV. If Est + Salv > ACV, it's a total. Est + Salv < ACV, it's repairable.

The estimate alone exceeds the value of your neighbor's car. It's a total. The insurance company has no say in whether or not chooses to retain the salvage. If there's a loan on the car, it's up to the bank,and 99.99% of the time, the bank will not let you retain salvage. If there's no loan on the car, it's 100% her choice. If she doesn't retain the salvage, insurance will pay her for the ACV + applicable sales tax, less her deductible. If she does retain the salvage, they will pay her the ACV less the salvage value and less her deductible. I'm not certain if they would owe her the tax if she retained the salvage. Every state is different, and I don't recall CA's rules on that off the top of my head.

If the insc company writes the car off, she buys it back and repairs it, it will show as a "rebuilt" (or whatever) on the Carfax if and when its up for sale again.

No matter what she does, at some point she's going to be out money

Learn something everyday.

I didn't know the salvage value effected if it was totalled or not.

I mistakenly assumed it was solely on cost to repair vs cost to replace.

Thanks for the info.

On a side not that car may not be an easy fix. From the description and cost to repair there may be damage to the side structure where the doors mount which can be expensive and hard to repair on modern side impact structures.

If she keeps it make sure she can feasibly repair it.

Yes, it will likely show on CarFax. She would also likely have to title it as a salvage or rebuilt vehicle. Every state is different in that regard, but for the most part, if the car is totaled, it will have a salvage title or at least a salvage history attached to the title.

As you have said before, everything depends on the particular policies of the insurance company and possibly the lien holder. Title condition can sometimes be negotiated as part of the deal. Sometimes.

We just went through this with a customer here in Illinois. The initial estimate would have totalled the vehicle. We helped him shop used parts and such and he turned in an estimate that allowed them to compensate him for that estimate and he retained the clear title. The accident will still show up, but the title is unbranded and never left his possession.

Again, everything depends on individual circumstances. But if you have an agent that is willing to work with you and help you navigate the particulars, sometimes you can end up with a better deal than the first one that the insurance company offers.

Then it wasn't a total.

The insurance company has no say in the title branding requirements and no say regarding retention of salvage. If the car is a total, the insurance company is not going to circumvent state law regarding title branding requirements just to satisfy a customer. They may negotiate the outcome of the claim, sure, as your example indicates. But if it's a total, they're following state law regarding the title. They can get in a LOT of trouble if they don't.

My wife's Saturn SC2 was stolen then recovered, it was worth around $12K at the time. The wheels and tires and several other things were missing, then of course the rollback driver just winched on the trailer on it's brakes which ruined them and the front spoiler and rear valance. The insurance company fixed it and the bill was something like $8K. We went to get it and noticed the entire IP was not readable, and there was sticky stuff all over the interior! Apparently they had sprayed Aqua Net all over the interior so their fingerprints would not be found, learned something that day. Long story short, they had to replace the front seats, carpet, dash pad, and IP and it cost another $4500. The insurance company was NOT happy! Afterwards we found out in Illinois you never have to accept a stolen car back even if it was just driven down the block with zero damage...

Whoever told you that is mistaken. The IL legislature and the IL Department of Insurance do not specify that.

I have no idea what the California law says, but I do know how the insurance companies work. Around 70-75% of value they total it. They also make mistakes. My Durango was totaled with $4,000 damage. Then they valued it and I got a check for $6,300 plus the Durango back. That was big win for me as I only had about $2,000 in it (bought it not running) and made $1,000 on the Durango I bought for parts. It now has a salvage title (requires brake and light inspection).

This just happened to a neighbors minivan. Rear ended on one side but didn't look all that bad. Slight wave in one quarter panel. tailgate panel, one light, and the plastic rear bumper tore up. Insurance company told them parts are hard to locate right now and body shops are too backed up to get it repaired in a timely fashion so they totaled it due to circumstances they can't control. The thing still ran and drove just fine so I don't know why the insurance company would not let them wait until it could be fixed later? They ended up getting a check for it and a tow truck came by and grabbed it.

Today with used vehicle prices so overvalued I would be wary of being able to buy another comparable vehicle for whatever money they give you. I suspect your going to get the short end of the stick and have to spend more of your own money to get yourself back into a comparable vehicle.

Good thing you cleared that up for me, since I have no idea how insurance companies work.

You are correct that if it's more cost effective to total it, an insurer can deem the vehicle a total even if it does not fit a state specified definition. I never said they couldn't. Fix and flip guys like yourself buy the vehicles that were totaled for economic reasons, not because the vehicle was a total per statute. Insurers have zero latitude when it comes to the latter, and some latitude when it comes to the former.

They aren't supposed too but a friend of mine is going thru this w/Grundy. I've given him all the info he and his attorney need regarding his car. Handled TL's for close to 20 yrs in Ohio. The car is appraised at 78k. They are saying its a total with only 37k in damages. He did have the car underinsured by a lot(only 40k). Instead of paying out the limits they want to subtract the 13 k salvage value from his limits and pay 27k and no salvage title. In Ohio his car doesn't meet the definition of a TL. It's not based on coverage but the value of the car. Last I heard they filed suit for bad faith.

I am an independent auto appraiser that has done work for ins co's and consumers for nearly 30 years. The place to start is to get an independent appraisal done to establish the actual value of the vehicle. It is likely higher than what the insurance company may first offer. Once that is done and a value agreed to, the vehicle might be deemed repairable if the numbers work out for the ins co. I have no idea what California law is regarding a total loss. %Some states have thresholds ie if the repairs cost more than 70 percent of the value of the vehicle is has to be totaled. Other states it is at the sole discretion of the insurance company whether or not to total the vehicle. If you would like more advice or info feel free to PM me.

Right, so the title is not an issue in that case. I think that's a good example of what Dave is referring to.

If the state doesn't say it's a total, there's room for negotiation and possibly keeping a vehicle on a clean title if the owner retains it. If the state says total, the title is going to run through whatever the state requires. Lots of states have title branding requirements. There is no legal way around those.

For example, I was just reviewing a claim we have in Minnesota. MN requires that a title be branded as rebuilt if the damages exceed 80% of the ACV. MN doesn't specify that you can or can't fix it, just that the title be branded as rebuilt if fixed under those circumstances. That's another example of what Dave's first example referred to, at least to a point. Regardless of the original estimate, or the insurance company's original plan to total a vehicle, if an agreement can be reached that the repairs are $x, and $x does not require anything be done with the title, then the title stays clean.

Good advice here if she really wants to repair it, or thinks the total loss offer is inaccurate (too low).

There are also reasons an insurer will total a vehicle even if the damage doesn't come close to value.

Relative had a vehicle stolen, got recovered. Insurance wanted to fix it, until the relative inspected the truck and there were used syringes/needles in the vehicle, all over the interior. Comment was if you and the repair shop want the liability of one of the family, including young kids, getting stuck by a missed needle, have at it.

Rules and situations vary.

Stop being a slacker not a charger... lol Always like you input on these threads.