How To Know If Your Car Is Totaled | What Does A Totaled Car Look Like?
“Is My Car Totaled?”
You’ve just had an accident, and you’re anxiously wondering how to know if your car is totaled. First, we extend our condolences, and we hope you’re all right. Getting into an accident is frightening, and dealing with vehicle damage is never fun. While we can’t turn back the clock, the Quantrell Collision team can help.
After getting into an accident or finding damage to your vehicle, your first thought will likely be, “Is my car totaled?” Determining whether or not a car is considered a total loss can be difficult, so we created a helpful guide that covers the main signs that your car is totaled, how insurance adjusters determine that a car is totaled, and other relevant information.
10 Signs Your Car Is Totaled
1. Severe Damage to the Front of the Car
Severe damage to the front of a vehicle is a strong indication that it may be totaled. The engine, transmission, essential cooling systems, and more reside in the front section of the vehicle and can be as costly to repair as the car is worth.
When learning how to know if a car is totaled, remember that a front-end collision can be forceful enough to cause the hood to buckle. This can push the engine backward and incur vehicle-totaling mechanical damage.
2. Significant Fluid Leaks From a Car
When people ask us how to know if a car is totaled, we often point out that significant fluid leaks are a common sign. Major leaks post-accident can suggest ruptured lines (like power steering hoses) or cracked reservoirs. If the force of an impact causes enough damage for fluid to leak heavily, damage to other critical components like the engine, transmission, or cooling system has likely occurred as well.
Minor fluid leaks, like windshield washer fluid, are easier and less expensive to repair. If you’re unsure, contact us at Quantrell Collision for a free estimate.
3. Significant Damage to the Frame
Significant damage to the frame is a sure sign that your automobile may be totaled. A vehicle’s frame is its backbone, and it’s designed to maintain the car’s structural integrity. Restoring a bent frame is complex and costly, with significant repairs often totaling the car. Due to the cost and the integral role of this vital component, such damage often leads to a total loss.
4. Airbag Deployment
Most modern automobiles have advanced airbag systems throughout the cabin, but as these airbags are very expensive to replace, your vehicle may be totaled if they deploy. Additionally, when airbags are activated, it can cause major damage to your car’s interior and vital systems. This damage is often very expensive and will likely result in your vehicle being totaled.
5. Severe Body Damage
If the body of your car is damaged to the point that the exterior panels are extensively crumpled or torn, it not only affects aesthetics but can also indicate severe damage to components underneath the skin, such as sensors. Even if only the body is damaged, extensive auto body work can be very costly, which can total the car.
6. Engine or Transmission Damage
Engine or transmission damage can be of particular concern when trying to find out how to know if your car is totaled, particularly if your engine won’t start following an accident. The engine and transmission are some of the costliest components to replace, which can result in a totaled designation.
7. Restoration Costs Exceed Your State’s Total Loss Threshold
When your vehicle damage repair costs exceed your state’s total loss threshold, your car will likely be deemed totaled. This threshold is a percentage of its actual cash value. It is set by state regulations that insurance companies use to determine whether or not an automobile is a total loss.
The state total loss threshold in Kentucky is 75%. If the cost of your vehicle repairs meets or exceeds 75% of your car’s total value in Lexington, KY, the car will likely be declared a total loss.
8. Excessive Mileage or Age
When a car, truck, or SUV is older or has excessive mileage, it has less cash value than a newer model with a lower odometer reading. Your car may be declared a total loss for these reasons alone, even if the damage seems insignificant. A fender bender may not always total it, but if the damage exceeds the value of your car, it will typically be totaled.
9. Damage From Fire or Flood
Floods and fires inflict some of the worst, most thorough vehicle damage imaginable, often leading to the car being classified as totaled. Fire can compromise its structural integrity and melt critical components, while flood damage can cause irreversible harm to the electrical systems, the engine, and the interior.
Due to the extensive nature of fire and flood damage, your vehicle will likely be totaled.
10. Cost of Repairs Exceeds Car’s Value
So what is considered a totaled car? As the other signs in this list have made clear, if your car has sustained enough damage to make the repair costs exceed the vehicle’s total value, it will be declared totaled. No matter what state you live in, insurance companies will total a car if the cost to fix it would be more than the car is worth.
How Do Insurance Adjusters Determine if a Car Is Totaled?
The definition of “totaled” can mean different things to different people, and sometimes, a car that you think is repairable will be classified as totaled. So, what does totaling a car mean, and how do adjusters determine if a car is totaled? They do it by evaluating the damage, estimating the restoration costs, and then comparing them to the car’s actual cash value, or ACV.
To make this determination, insurance adjusters will consider the vehicle’s age, mileage, and pre-accident condition. It will be regarded as a total loss if the repair costs exceed your state’s total loss threshold, which is often between 65% and 75%.
“Is My Car Totaled or Repairable?”
This is a common question, along with, “What does a totaled car look like?” Often, a totaled car exhibits catastrophic and extensive damage. Externally, it may show several deformities and obvious physical damage. However, not all cars deemed total losses have obvious signs of damage on the outside.
If you have an older car with high mileage, even repairs to seemingly minor damage can exceed the state-designated percentage of the car’s total value. This is why it can be hard to determine whether your car will be totaled. If you’re not sure whether your car is totaled or can be fixed, contact our body shop, Quantrell Collision.
How To Know if Your Car Is Totaled
It’s not always outwardly obvious when a car is totaled, which is why having a trustworthy collision center that can inspect your automobile is so important. If you’re unsure how to know if your vehicle is totaled, our team at Quantrell Collision can help.
Our expert technicians can provide you with a free estimate after inspecting the damage, which will help you find out whether or not your car is totaled.
Want to get the process started? You can schedule an estimate online or call us to set up a date and time.
We’ll work with your insurance company to streamline the process, too. Contact us today for all your automotive service needs in and around Lexington, KY.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a car unrepairable?
A car becomes unrepairable when it sustains damage that compromises its structural integrity or when restoration costs exceed its value. This includes a severely bent frame, extensive corrosion, the deployment of airbags, severe engine or transmission system damage, and more. Instances like these can render the car unsafe or economically impractical to work on, leading to it being declared a total loss.
Can a car be totaled from a rear-end collision?
A car can be totaled from a rear-end collision if the impact is significant enough to cause extensive damage to critical components, such as the frame. Rear-end collisions can easily cause damage like a bent frame. The best answer to “how to know if a car is totaled” is that the vehicle will likely be considered totaled if its repair cost exceeds its total value.
How likely is a car to be totaled if the frame is bent?
Damage to a vehicle’s frame is very serious. Restoring a frame can quickly run into the five-figure range, depending on the age and condition of your car. This can easily qualify as totaling damage. It can be hard to tell if the car is totaled from a bent frame, but major frame damage is one of the most common signs your car is totaled.
What is considered a totaled car?
A car is considered totaled when the cost to restore it exceeds its actual cash value. In simpler terms, a vehicle is totaled when it costs more to fix it than the car is worth. Insurance companies usually declare an automobile a total loss after a serious accident, especially if the damage is extensive. When this happens, they’ll offer a payout based on the car’s value before the accident.
What does totaling a car mean?
Totaling a car is when an insurance company declares a car a total loss and offers the owner a payout based on the car’s value before the accident instead of paying to have it repaired. Totaling a car doesn’t always require a serious accident – sometimes, seemingly minor things can result in a car being totaled if it would cost more to fix than the car is worth.
What does a totaled car look like?
A totaled car doesn’t always look like a mangled piece of metal and broken glass. Sometimes, the damage is hidden, like frame issues or electrical problems that are too costly to restore. On the other hand, you may see a crumpled hood, deployed airbags, or misaligned doors that point to obvious significant damage that is likely to require extensive repairs exceeding the car’s value.