The procedure to buy back a car that has been a total loss varies depending upon state laws and then the guidelines of an insurance company.It will first depend upon state laws if you can buy back a vehicle from an insurance carrier once they have declared it to be a total loss.
For example according to the Illinois Department of Insurance one cannot normally keep a vehicle after it has been declared a total loss. The Illinois Vehicle Code does not permit you the right to retain the salvage once the insurance company has deemed your automobile a total loss. The state does so in an effort to minimize automobile "chop shop" crime.
There are two instances though in which IL law does allow a vehicle owner to retain their vehicle after it being totaled:
- if the vehicle has incurred only hail damage that does not affect the operational safety of the vehicle, or
- if the vehicle is nine (9) model years of age or older.
Other states such as Texas and South Dakota do not have such restrictions regarding buying back a vehicle. The Texas Department of Insurance sometimes the insurance company may want to total your car, but you would prefer to have it repaired instead. You can keep your car if you are willing to subtract its salvage value from the insurance settlement. The TDI notes that one should make sure the cost to repair the car will not exceed the car’s actual cash value. To find out the salvage value, contact local salvage yards for estimates.
In South Dakota their Division of Insurance states that when the insurance company totals a vehicle and agrees to pay you for it, they become the owners of the vehicle. If you wish to keep the car, the company will reduce the amount of your check by what had been determined to be its value with the damages, you do not have to come up with the money to buy the vehicle back. If you do not want to keep the vehicle, you will have to sign the title over to them for the insurer to then sale for salvage.
If your state does allow vehicles that have been totaled out to be bought back by individuals (and then given either a salvage or rebuilt title) then it would next be up to the guidelines of an insurance company whether they would sell you back the car.
Many insurers will allow you to "buy back" a vehicle they have totaled out if you wish to repair it and make it roadworthy again. If the car is paid off, insurers will normally take the salvage value out of the settlement payment in fact if you request. The salvage value is determined by the insurance company.
Normally salvage value is the amount of money the insurer would recoup when selling the vehicle through a licensed salvage vendor. So instead of selling it to a salvage vendor they are allowing you to buy your car back, get the needed repairs and drive it again.As the TX Department of Insurance notes you can check around with local salvage yards to make sure the salvage value the insurance company quoted you seems correct for your vehicle.
If you wish to buy back a car from an insurance company that deemed it a total loss discuss the value of the car and the cost to buy it back and the process the insurance company has in place to allow you to buy back the car instead of turning it over for them at the time of the settlement for the vehicle's total loss.
To find out about your state's laws regarding buying back a car that has been found a total loss by an insurer contact your state's insurance regulatory body and/or department of motor vehicles.