You totaled your car in an accident and now you have to decide what to do with it. Recovering from an automobile accident is hard enough, but add in the stress of dealing with the insurance claim and it makes for a terrible headache. After the claims process is complete and the insurance company determines the vehicle totaled, they will offer you a settlement and start making plans to take the car off your hands. If you own the vehicle without a lien, you can keep the car and take a lower settlement price. You have options on what to do with the car, but should you buy back your totaled car from insurance? Take into account the extent of the damage, plans for the vehicle, and the buy-back price before opting to keep the wrecked car in your driveway instead of letting the insurance company haul it away.
Extent of the Damage
The extent of the damage is the main determination on whether you should buy back your totaled car from insurance. If the car has rolled, crushed, or damaged intensively, it isn’t in your best interest to have that vehicle in your front yard or taking up space in your garage. The work necessary to have any benefits from the car is far too strenuous to be worth keeping it. Unless you have serious skills and knowledge in the automotive repair or salvage business, it is probably best to let the insurance take the car.
However, there are circumstances where the vehicle’s damage isn’t a deal-breaker in your option to keep the car. If the car isn't worth much in the first place, it may only take minimal damage to determine that vehicle a total loss. Sometimes a car that still drives and runs great acquires enough body damage to total it. In this situation, you may have an opportunity to sell the car for more than your buy-back price or fix it to a point you can legally keep driving it on the road.
Plans for the Vehicle
Another factor to consider while thinking about buying back your totaled car from insurance is your plans for that totaled car. Sometimes you can get more money from selling the car to a salvage yard or private buyer than the insurance has offered you. You will want to do your research and get an appropriate quote for the car from many sources. You want to make sure the increase in the funds is worth the hassle of keeping it and going through the process of selling the car. You could always use Junk Car Medics to get you a great offer and haul your car away.
If you want to keep the car but intend to keep driving it, there are a couple of snags you may run into along the way. After your car is determined a total loss by the insurance company, you will receive an updated title that lists the car as salvage. In most states, it is illegal to drive a salvage car without first passing inspections from the government. These determine if the car is safe enough to drive on public roads with other drivers. If your state won’t give you a title that allows you to drive the car, it is best to let the insurance have the car. If you can get the car legal to drive again and are unable to afford a new ride even with the settlement, your best option may be to keep the car and keep driving it. It may be ugly on the road, but at least you have a ride!
Buy Back Price
The last thing to consider about buying your car back from insurance is the buy-back price. In most instances, they will offer you a settlement that includes removing the car from your location or the impound yard. You can simply ask for the settlement price if you keep the car yourself. This is usually the original offer minus the car’s value in its current condition. If this completely takes away most of the settlement offer, you might not get enough money to make the car drivable or fund a salvage operation. Keep in mind that your offer is negotiable, and you want to try to get the most for your car.
However, if the car has low value and the cost to buy it back is small, you might be able to get the car back for less than you can get selling it to a salvage yard. In turn, you sell it to Junk Car Medics and get another reasonable check for your car! You want to make the best decision based on your current situation. You don’t want to be stuck with a junk car parked in your yard with weeds growing around it!
