Auto Insurance Claims: insurance liability, repair estimate, insurance liability

Question
My daughter was hit by another car, and his insurance has accepted full
responsibility for the accident and totalled our car, saying that, for one - it
had a rebuilt title so was worth less, two - when they did the repair estimate
they used prices for after market parts, thus lowering the cost of repair
considerably, which also lowered the amount they were willing to pay us.  
What are our rights where repair is concerned - do we have to accept the
estimate using after market parts (which, by the way, the repair shop refuses
to install)?

Answer
Hi Robbie,

If the insurance company has determined the vehicle to be a total loss, the amount of the repair estimate is not relavant. The insurance company will pay you the value of the car and they will take the car and sell the salvage. If the car has a "Rebuilt" title, that means that the car was in a previous major collision and was totalled as a result. Then someone bought the salvage and repaired the car and resold it. Salvages vehicle or those that are "rebuilt" are generally only worth half the standard value of similar vehicles. Unfortunately, there is not much you will be able to do in this situation. The vehicle is just not repairable.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh