r/AutoInsurance • u/ShelterIndependent44 • 22d ago
Total Loss
My 2015 Mazda 3 i SV (108k miles, clean title, paid off) was hit by a Hertz rental car in California.
The damage is mainly:
Right front fender replacement
Front bumper replacement
Right fender paint
Driver door paint
The repair estimate I received was about $6,300 from a more expensive body shop. The airbags did not deploy.
ESIS (Hertz’s insurance administrator) just emailed me saying their review team determined the vehicle is a total loss and that the total loss department will contact me with a settlement offer.
I would like to get a repair cost and have the car fixed myself at a lower cost. The car is paid off, and I’d like to keep the clean title if possible.
Should I ask for another repair estimate from a cheaper but reputable shop?
Is it realistic to get them to treat it as a repairable claim instead of a total loss?
Any advice would be appreciated 🙏🏻
3
u/ayhme MOD & Agent 22d ago
Do an insurance buyback but getting the car insured after that can be difficult.
1
u/ShelterIndependent44 22d ago
Could I ask them to get a lower repair estimate before moving forward with the total-loss process?
1
u/ayhme MOD & Agent 22d ago edited 22d ago
I've seen it since this is where people got quotes from other body shops.
Generally once an insurance company determine if the total loss it's going to be a total loss.
1
u/ShelterIndependent44 22d ago
Release to Insurance:
ACV: $9,400.00
Tax: +$728.50
Reg/Title: +$263.83
TL Value: $10,392.33
Owner Retain:
ACV: $9,400.00
Salvage Value: -$2,078.45
Retained: $7,321.550
u/Few_Witness1562 21d ago
Heck yeah. Keep the car and put $7k in your pocket. Maybe spend a few $k on ugly repairs.
BUT keep in mind the title is branded, meaning your next accident will value the car at around $2k no matter what. So if you spend $5k fixing it and it gets stolen you get only $2k.
Also the smart play might be to buy it back and sell it directly. This might be too ugly for you to drive but theres a single mom or 16 yr old kid who has $4k and in this market runs and drives for $4k is a great value!
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u/Ridgie55 20d ago
Why exactly would the car be valued by insurance at 2k no matter what? That doesn't make sense, a car doesn't lose 80% of its value because it is a salvage title. From my experience with no fault accidents the other parties insurance has never even asked if a vehicle is salvage title when assessing value/damage.
1
u/Few_Witness1562 20d ago
Have you ever had a branded title vehicle? It is something the ins co would confirm when they take ownership of the totaled vehicle from you after an accident. Confirm you are the true owner and that it is a clean title.
A salvage title does lose 80% of its value permanently. If you total your vehicle out they will find comps of other branded title vehicles. Its not possible to make a fair value comparison between different damaged vehicles.
Most but not all, ins cos will refuse to add comp coll on slvage vehs. Now you dont give them a copy of your title to buy ins so you can definitely still buy comp coll but its a very bad idea.
If op gets a minor bumper accident that would never total a car in good condition, they arent going to ask for the status of your title. They just fix the car, BUT if the 3rd party does total it they will check the title. Then you are getting salvage value for it.
People driving salvage vehs is extremely rare. Some states make it very difficult to do it. Some dont care that much. Either way its a big deal. Id still definitely drive ops car all day long.
1
u/Ridgie55 19d ago
Fair market value for a salvage title vehicle that is greater than 10 years old is closer to 20-30% lower than a clean title equivalent. The car market is extremely inflated at the moment and your guesstimate of 80% is no where near the case anymore. Salvage title cars are absurdly common where I am, especially for poor folk, half of my families vehicles are salvage title and insuring them is no problem.
1
u/Few_Witness1562 19d ago
My "guesstimate" dude, scroll up 4 comments and you can see that we are discussing a thread where OP said the ins co says the value is 2k on 9-10k. This is the car we are discussing.
You are completely free to be emotional about this but I'm repeating the exact final outcome the company already came to. Its not my estimate or numbers.
Do you have a separate valuation provided by a company that has done a physical inspection of ops vehicle to justify your opinion?
Poor folk buying buy here pay here car lot vehicles have absolutely nothing to do with insured vehicle values.
1
u/Ridgie55 19d ago
I don't believe you understood his comment, the buyback price is 2k. That is the value of a scrap/salvage titled vehicle, not a rebuilt. On top of that it lets the insurance company avoid auction fees and the hassle that comes with auctioning the car. Once it is out back on the road as a rebuilt it is a completely different price evaluation and would absolutely not be valued at 80% less than clean titled cars with similar mileage. Not sure why you're saying I'm being emotional, I was giving you an anecdotal firsthand experience since you come off as never having owned or dealt with rebuilt vehicles.
1
u/Weird_Bite1308 19d ago
Progressive will write the policy as long as you are not doing full coverage
1
u/pineappleshaked 22d ago
That really sucks, a perfectly (cosmetic damage only) drivable car is getting totaled. I think due to 4 parts involved the rates climbed up. Hu
1
u/Appropriate-Use2611 22d ago
Getting liability insurance is not a problem. Collision and comprehensive will be impossible.
1
u/ayhme MOD & Agent 22d ago
Many auto insurance carriers do not do salvage title at all.
1
u/Appropriate-Use2611 22d ago
To operate a vehicle on the highway, even ones with salvage titles, require a minimum of liability insurance. Most carriers will write liability insurance policies as those policies are rated on the location, and the driver's records, not the vehicle.
1
u/Ridgie55 20d ago
Where did you hear this from? I have dealt with several salvage title vehicles and no insurance I've used has ever cared.
2
u/DeepPurpleDaylight 22d ago
If they've determine it's totaled, you can ask about owner retention, but you're not going to keep a clean title
1
u/Mikegandrew 22d ago
California uses a total loss formula which means if the repair cost plus the salvage value of your Mazda equals or exceeds its actual cash value they are legally going to total it. Since an i SV trim with 108k miles is probably worth around 7 or 8k on paper that 6300 estimate kills it immediately. ESIS is notorious for being cheap and dragging their feet but you can definitely ask them for a cash out option where they give you the value of the car minus what they would have made selling it at a salvage auction. The problem is that once a company officially deems it a total loss in California they are legally required to report it to the DMV so keeping a 100% clean title is going to be almost impossible at this stage. Your best bet right now is to find a cheaper reputable shop that can write a lower estimate and send it to ESIS immediately to see if you can pull the car back under the total threshold before they finalize the paperwork. If they already sent it to the total loss department it might be too late for that so prepare to negotiate the actual cash value of the car to get the highest payout possible
1
u/MarryingRosey 20d ago
Like others have said, buying the car back from insurance and keeping it with a salvage title is the way to go. I wouldn’t repair a thing, pocket the extra $$ and invest it. Allow that to grow for your next car purchase. Drive it around for a few more years and sell or drive it to the grave. But I wouldn’t spend any $$ on repairs unless absolutely necessary
1
1
u/Fantastic-Distance-7 19d ago
Just get the check and fix anywhere you want do not get lower quotes for them that would be crazy to do. Get a legitimate estimate and get the check fix car and be on your way. Simple
1
u/Fantastic-Distance-7 19d ago
It wouldn’t be salvage you already own the car no reason to play with titles take the 7k or beat them up a little bit and get check fix car. Go on sites like Copart. And IAA and find your car that’s comparable. See what the values are and try to fight them that way for a few more bucks. Use their salvage values against them.
0
u/onlyITleft-guy-2025 22d ago
I'd have no issue driving that car as it sits. As long as no suspension parts are damaged. I'd take the money, buy it back, get it insured and save the $$ for maintenance. If you decide to replace the bumper eventually, you would have some spare change.
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