Auto Insurance Claims: vehicle may be totaled, salvage title, great shape

Question
I was hit by another driver who ran a stop sign. Fortunately, neither one of us was going very fast. My 1998 Pathfinder sustained damage to the passenger side. Due to the age of the vehicle, there is a good possibilty that the insurance company will want to total it. I would prefer to repair it. I dearly love my Pathfinder and it was in great shape before the accident. If the insurance company decides its totaled, what are my options?

Answer
Hi Sarah,

In some cases it may be possible for you to keep the vehicle, however I do not recommend it. If you do keep it the insurance company will deduct from your settlement an amount equal to what they could have sold the vehicle for. Then you will end up with a "SALVAGE" title. You would then have to repair the vehcle and present it for a state inspection at your cost, the you could retitle the vahicle back in your name but it will always show "SALVAGE" or "REBUILT" on your title. This will cause the value of the vehicle to only be about half of standard values. It's much more headache that it worth.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh