Auto Insurance Claims: accident, insurance co, retail value

Question
My vehicle was involved in an accident in which one of your clients struck my car while it was parked. Now the insurance co. wants to total my car because of the damage. The estimate is approximately  $300.00 less than the car is worth. Do I have the right to decide if thay total this car?

Answer
The insurer will pay the lesser of the retail value of the vehicle before the loss, or the cost to repair.  This is what a court would award.  In some states, they are required to total the vehicle when the repair cost gets to 75% to retail value.  This law protects the claimant because generally it's a bad idea to repair a car with that much damage.  It's hard to ensure there won't be problems later.

In most states, you can retain the salvage after they total it.  But they will deduct the value of the salvage, because after settling a total, they normally will sell the salvage.  So they deduct what they think they could have sold it for.  You could then use the proceeds to repair the salvage and then use the car.  But you'll probably end up paying some out of pocket.  And the car may never be right.