How Do You Determine The Salvage Value Of A Car?
Salvage vehicles have survived an accident, a theft, or a flood and have been issued a “total loss” certificate by an insurance company because the cost to repair the damages done to the vehicle exceeds a certain percentage of the vehicle’s cost. The percentage varies from state to state, as does the terminology. Some states indicate a salvage status on a car’s title with the term “total loss” instead of “salvage”; others use terms like “rebuilt/restored” or “flood loss.” Regardless, salvage vehicles can be purchased for much less than other types of used cars because salvage value is how much a car is worth at the end of its useful life. It is a relatively subjective figure ultimately determined by the company insuring the salvage vehicle, although you can calculate an estimate. Look up the vehicle’s retail value at Kelley Blue Book’s website (see Resources). This is the value assigned to the vehicle through a car dealer, assuming the car is in near-perfect condition. Determine the ve
Salvage vehicles have survived an accident, a theft or a flood and have been issued a “total loss” certificate by an insurance company because the cost to repair the damage exceeds a certain percentage of the vehicle’s cost. The percentage varies from state to state, as does the terminology. Some states indicate a salvage status on a car’s title with the term “total loss” instead of “salvage”; others use such terms as “rebuilt/restored” or “flood loss.” Regardless, salvage vehicles can be purchased for much less than other types of used cars because salvage value is how much a car is worth at the end of its useful life. It is a relatively subjective figure, ultimately determined by the company insuring the salvage vehicle, but you can calculate an estimate. Look up the vehicle’s retail value at Kelley Blue Book’s website (see Resources). Determine the vehicle’s wholesale price or trade-in value by looking it up through National Automobile Dealers Association (see Resources). Total the
