When is A Vehicle Considered a Total Loss?

By Gary Wickert | December 5, 2013

  • September 13, 2016 at 12:32 am
    Liz Stateman says:
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    In every state….. A state either has a set total loss threshold percentage or it uses the TLF formula. That it……NO this or that or TLT. Its either one or the other. I am an insurance appraiser and have been for over 15 plus years so yes I would be considered the authority versus the lawyer and the what ever he is Kevin person, as I deal with this every day. And for Kevin most insurance companies use NADA not Kelly Blue Book. I do not know of any insurance companies that use Kelly. I work and have worked for over 57 different insurance companies and never has one of them used Kelly Blue Book. Hey Kevin, why won’t you disclose your occupation? Maybe you don’t have one, or maybe you are embarrassed to say what it is? And Boys…Yes, boys you both are letting your testosterone make you both look silly arguing over this. Silly silly boys. I would hate to see you both in a room arguing over this as I am sure it would lead to a fist fight.

    • January 18, 2018 at 5:35 pm
      Steve says:
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      Liz, I am not sure it is as cut-n-dry as you are making it. I live in Texas and I know for fact that Progressive and Geico have used the TLF formula, even though Gary says texas is TFT.

      You are right that NADAguides is the standard.

  • January 12, 2017 at 4:15 pm
    Elvira Herrera says:
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    If car is declared totaled, do they only appraise the damage of the actual accident or do they look over the whole vehicle and then do an overall appraisal? Accident was due to driver having a stroke. Does the impact anything in the accident?

  • February 15, 2017 at 12:37 pm
    Bryan Abbott says:
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    I had a 2006 Honda Civic declared as a “possible” total loss even there was no damage on the vehicle after inspection. We thought there may be some flood damage to the electrical system, but there was none. Does this sound right? Why would our insurance company close the claim as a total loss when there was no reported damage?
    Thanks

  • July 20, 2017 at 7:11 pm
    Mary says:
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    We were in an accident, no fault to us. Car is 20 years old, in great condition with 63,000 miles with no car payment. Can we do anything to get a car replacement such that we would not have car payments since the cause of the accident was the other persons. We are in South Carolina. Should we hire an attorney to seek full replacement?

    • September 21, 2017 at 5:51 am
      Sam says:
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      Well, with the money that the insurance gives you from that total loss, you could find a car that is cheap enough to pay in full. If your car was valued at $7k, the insurance company won’t give you more just so you can buy a brand new car.

  • August 15, 2017 at 9:09 am
    Crystal says:
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    I was in an accident a few days ago, and I barely hit the people. I tapped their bumper and made a small scuff on their bumper and a small scuff underneath the headlight. We were at stand still so when I tried to get around her, I just tapped the right side of the vehicle. I have never been in a accident and they did not want to get cops involved. I couldn’t get pictures because my phone was not working well the camera, so I gave them my insurance cards and ID and they took pictures. But now they are declaring a total loss on the vehicle when I barely hit them. What should I do in this case or any idea where to head in the right direction? There is no way I caused that much damage.

  • May 4, 2018 at 7:49 am
    Alex says:
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    Both Autocheck and Carfax get data from NHTSA gov provider.

  • June 18, 2018 at 12:16 pm
    Jessica Beatriz says:
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    there is a law with deadline for payment of total loss?

  • February 19, 2019 at 10:22 am
    jm mitchell says:
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    Oh, how I love to read an attorney fight! The written battle is chocked full of painstaking details, and scrupulous, eloquent and humorous to a fault. Press on, Counselors!

  • May 13, 2019 at 7:28 am
    Franklin Colletta says:
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    This was written in response to a diminished value article but I think it also applies here. To anyone with a third party claim for accident damages who feels that their car should be totaled.

    The St, Lucie Appraisal Company prepares auto diminished value and auto valuation reports in all 50 states. Many of our clients present diminished value claims prior to allowing their vehicles to be repaired. This is in an effort to convince the insurance company to total the vehicle. A $30,000 car with a $15,000 repair estimate that includes frame damage will potentially lose $15,000 in value. If the insurer is on the hook for both payments + rental reimbursement it certainly makes more sense for them to total the car and recoup the salvage value.

    Most people do not realize that they can make a third-party claim for inherent diminished value but even fewer don’t know that they can present the claim prior to repairs. The added benefit is that many of these unsafe, frame-damaged cars would be taken off the road.



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