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What Happens When My Car Is Totaled
You’re in a wreck and finally get the news that your car is beyond repair. The struggle is that it is very easy for a car insurance company to total a car, and very hard for the owner to hear. When a company decides your car is totaled, the emotional attachment, potential debt, and stress of finding a new car is too much.
Totaled Loss Car Insurance Settlement: How To Get More For Your Total Loss Vehicle Settlement
For help dealing with a car wreck, get an experienced auto accident attorney in Ohio on your side.
Ohio mandatory insurance is a minimum of $25,000 for vehicle damage. Unless you have a high profile vehicle that is repairable, you may never see that much in property damage compensation.
In fact, you may have a difficult time recovering any amount of compensation prior to the vehicle’s value, typically around 80% of the vehicle’s value – more on that in a moment.
When handling your coverage and property damage, you will also need to look at the other driver’s policy. An Ohio auto accident lawyer should understand the full scope of coverage available and if it will extend to cover damages for a “total loss” of approximately 80% of its value to your car.
What To Do When Your Car Is Totalled?
You may have seen commercials that “joke” or make fun of replacing three-quarters of a car after it’s been totaled. It’s not really a joke because most people feel that way. So car insurance companies are only willing to replace so much of the vehicle, and it can be between 80 and 100%. It depends on where you live, state laws, and what insurance is available. For example, in Texas, state law requires that an insurance company cover 100% of the car’s total value when a car is totaled.
Ohio is a bit odd in that Ohio uses a “total loss formula” where the insurance company can use a formula to decide whether the repair and scrap value is less than the “actual cash value.” .
The actual cash value is the private party value of a vehicle often referred to as the “blue book”. Many people don’t realize how quickly a car depreciates and how drastically their value can change in such a short period of time.
For example, a 2019 Chevy Cruze in Cincinnati, in very good condition, can come in the $12,000 private party price range, while prices for a brand-new Chevy Cruze start around $17,000 and quickly reach $19,000 or more. In about a year, the cruise has lost more than a third of its value.
What To Do When Your Car Is Totaled
The misconception is that if you are wrecked in a “new” car or a car that still has a loan you are covered. The insurance will pay off the loan and send you a nice check to get the new car. it’s not.
GAP insurance will often be available to cover the gap for the first two or three years of the vehicle’s life. But, this is only if you bought GAP insurance when you bought the vehicle. Often this is not the case.
Typically when a car is totaled, most drivers find themselves making payments on the car for at least a year after the wreck. And they often have to use their compensation check from someone who bought a new car to cover the debt on the totaled vehicle.
An insurance company cannot tell you what to do with your compensation check. Of course, you should always manage these checks wisely and use them to actually pay for damages from the wreck, including property damage.
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In an Ohio auto accident or wreck? don’t worry Yes, you will have some difficulty handling vehicle property damage, but with the right assistance you can make the process a breeze. Our Ohio car wreck law office helps individuals find an Ohio auto injury attorney who provides clear insight and action plans for your case. You don’t need to stress about what to do next because you will have all the guidance you need.
If your car was totaled in an accident, you’ll probably worry about how to get a new car and what you need to do to manage between now and then. With a proper Ohio attorney by your side, you can navigate these difficult twists and turns with insurance companies. Get the compensation you deserve and plan ahead for the coming weeks. With more than 10 million car and light truck accidents each year, you may have to deal with one at some point. If the accident is bad enough that your car is totaled, here’s what you need to know and do.
Depending on your state and whether the accident was your or another driver’s fault, damage to your car may be covered by your insurance policy or the other driver. If you file an insurance claim, your insurance company (and possibly the other driver) will assign a claims adjuster to your case. The adjuster’s job is to determine how much their company should pay on the claim.
The adjuster may conclude that your car is totaled, or a total loss, if it is not repairable or not repairable at all. Insurance companies have their own formulas for determining this. For example, the insurance company may call your vehicle a total loss if the cost of repairs is more than 80% of its value. If your car is worth $15,000 at the time of the accident, the 80% cutoff will mean repairs won’t be authorized if they cost more than $12,000.
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Claims against the other driver will fall under their policy’s property damage liability coverage. If your policy is the one that will pay for damage to your car, either your collision coverage or comprehensive coverage—if you have one—will be included. Collision coverage is for damage to your car caused by an accident with another vehicle, while comprehensive coverage is for damage caused by something else, such as a fire or a fallen tree.
The easiest way to deal with a totaled car after an accident may be to let the insurance company pay you.
If you choose cash payment and still owe money on the car loan, the insurance company will usually check out both you and your lender. After your loan is paid off, any remaining money is yours. However, if the insurance company’s payment is less than what you owe on the car, you are responsible for paying the difference.
In some cases, a totaled car may still be drivable. If it is, you can choose to keep it and continue to use the car as-is. This may be something you’ll consider if you don’t have collision or comprehensive coverage to pay for repairs. If you decide to continue totaling the vehicle, have it checked by a mechanic first to make sure it’s safe to do so.
Understand Your Options For A Totaled Car
Another option if your car insurance won’t pay for repairs is to keep the car and use it for spare parts. It may be worth considering whether your total vehicle is the same make and model as another car you own. If not, you can sell spare parts that still work well to other people who own the same type of vehicle.
If you don’t want to go through the trouble of selling individual parts of a total vehicle, you can sell to a junkyard or salvage yard instead. Salvage yards can pay you cash for your totaled car, and they can even pay to tow it away for you.
Donating a totaled vehicle to a nonprofit organization is another option. There are many charities that accept vehicle donations, including totaled cars, to support their operations.
An added benefit of donating a totaled vehicle to charity is that you may be able to claim it as a tax deduction. If the nonprofit donates your vehicle to sell it for less than $500, you can deduct the lesser of $500 or the fair market value of the car on the date you donated it. If your donated vehicle sells for more than $500, you can claim the amount it was sold for.
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To support your tax deduction, be sure to get a receipt showing the date of your donation and the name of the nonprofit organization.
If you plan to buy another car, the dealership may allow you to use a totaled vehicle as a trade-in. It is a good idea to have the vehicle professionally appraised
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