A car is totaled if the insurance company believes that it is not worth repairing.
Words that help to explain the nature of a totaled vehicle
Actual cash value (ACV): That is a vehicle’s worth before it has become damaged. If the vehicle’s owner had added certain accessories, the ACV could be greater than the blue book value.
An insurance company would have no reason to expect that a damaged car could be worth more than its blue book value. That is why car owners take the time to snap pictures of the automobile before it has become involved in an accident.
Salvage value: That is what a car, truck or other set-of-wheels is worth after it has been damaged. If the ACV is less than the cost for repairs plus the salvage value, then the insurance company considers that damaged vehicle to be totaled.
Photographs that show the accessories that have been added to an automobile could serve as proof that its ACV is greater than the cost for repairs plus the salvage value.
What would be the options for a car owner if he or she were to become the owner of a totaled automobile?
• Sue the party that was responsible for the damage
• Repair the damaged car, with the car’s owner covering the cost of the repairs.
• Keep the damaged auto and sell the spare parts
Donate the damaged auto to a charity organization; at tax time, the document obtained from the same organization could be used as proof of a tax write off.
Accept the amount of money that the insurance company has chosen to offer; that might not be enough to cover the payment for a new automobile. Still, there is a chance that it could cover the cost of a used vehicle.
What would be the options for someone that has been making payments on a car, truck or other set-of wheels, and has learned, after contributing to the factors that caused an accident, that same set-of wheels have been totaled?
Take whatever money the insurance company has agreed to offer, and then walk or use public transportation, while making payments on the damaged property, as per personal injury lawyer in Thousand Oaks.
If willing to repair the damaged car and cover the associated costs, speak with the person or organization that arranged for the car’s purchase, with the provision that the owner would make regular payments. Such an action usually triggers a positive response.
The remaining payments could be cancelled, if the person/group that had received the earlier payments had agreed to cover repair costs. A demand for continued payments would be senseless, if the source of any paid money would be used for covering necessary repairs.
