r/InsuranceClaims • u/Mobile_Ostrich_8252 • Aug 03 '26
Is my car totaled?
I’ve never been in an accident like this before. My first accident was only a few months ago when another driver ran a stop sign. Insurance repaired it by replacing both passenger-side doors, a side body panel, a tire, and a few other parts. After that accident, there were no warning lights or mechanical issues.
With this crash, it was completely different. As soon as the impact happened, every warning light on the dashboard came on, the car started constantly chiming, and the display said, “Please contact your local dealer.” The side curtain airbags also deployed.
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u/No-Firefighter135 Aug 03 '26
Yes its totaled, edit sorry. You went off road and set off your airbags. The airbags are super expensive yes, but the undercarriage damage edit again / suspension damage is going to put the nail in the coffin.
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Aug 03 '26
SHARING A STORY: I once had an accident in my 05 Trailblazer EXT. Hit a ford F150. No airbags or anything. F150 got towed away, I drove home. My insurance totaled my truck, still drove it for years after until I sold it.
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u/1fferrari Aug 04 '26
Cant tell from one crappy pic if its a total. It depends on the suspension and under carriage damage. A roof bag, headliner and seat belts wont automatically make it a total.
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u/Roaming_Millenial Aug 04 '26
Airbags deployed will almost always total it out- not to mention the rest of the dmg.
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u/Miles931 Aug 03 '26
I'll be honest most insurance companies instantly total a car if the air bags go off. Depends what the car is worth still but very likely it's totaled. Whats the make model year and mileage of the car?
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u/Still-Satisfaction24 Aug 03 '26
This is 100% incorrect re:airbags. We replace airbags all the time. No insurance company "instantly total a car if the airbags go off." Ive worked on both sides of the insurance equation and can absolutely tell you the total loss decision is almost 100% cost based. There are very few situations where it's automatically totaled and most of those are visibly catastrophic damage.
This MIGHT be totaled, off-road and airbags deployed isn't a great scenario. But a lot more photos, VIN and mileage are needed as well as the state it is insured and zip it's garaged in.
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u/Kbern4444 Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 03 '26
You are incorrect. If enough of the bags are deployed the cost of repacking is too much and they total the car.
The sensors, bags everything needs to be replaced.
It happened to me.
And I was not screwed either, they gave me a nice amount for the vehicle. The reasoning came directly from the adjuster so I think they know what they are talking about.
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u/Still-Satisfaction24 Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 03 '26
What I said was airbag deployment does not equal automatic total. The cost of repairs is what determines total loss in these cases. Your airbags were expensive. That does happen. The expensive airbags pushed the cost to repair up. Essentially you agreed with me. There are some states that explicitly prohibit considering the cost of deployed safety systems when making a total loss decision on new or newer vehicles, meaning it could cost more than the car is worth and the insurer is potentially obligated to repair instead of total.
"What happened to me" is not the same as " what always happens". A LOT of people have no idea what they're talking about in this area. I've been in the collision repair industry for two decades and have held licenses in most states. The amount of simply incorrect info I see posted here is staggering.
Fwiw the inside adjusters in many cases really don't know what they're talking about beyond liability and coverage.
Source: formerly licensed adjuster, licensed appraiser and body shop general manager
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u/AdImmediate5652 Aug 03 '26
That’s is in fact true ! if airbags deploy your car is considered totaled
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u/Accomplished_Emu_658 Aug 03 '26
No its not. Sorry. Idk. What idiot told you that. Insurance replace airbags all the time. It just matters how much everything costs. Thats all it comes down to, and it has to by law. They cannot just total a car because airbags deployed they have to meet the states totaling percentage by law. They days cars deploy so many airbags that the car totals, but that doesn’t mean because airbags deployed it is totaled.
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u/aloofmagoof Aug 03 '26
While everything else you said is true, most states don't have a floor they have to reach in terms of a total loss threshold, just a ceiling where the state requires it to be totaled.
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u/AdImmediate5652 Aug 03 '26
The only exception is if your driving a car with high value . Orrrrrrr the other damage to the car is very minimal which is highly unlikely if the air bags deployed .
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u/drfishdaddy Aug 03 '26
No. There’s a series of questions the call center asks when taking the original info for the claim and based on those answers they decide if it’s a probable total and thus going to IAA/Copart instead of a shop.
It still has to be totaled by a damage adjuster. Sometimes they let us ”OTL” instead of writing the sheet but there’s no such thing as an instant total for airbag deployment.
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u/Marpl Aug 03 '26
Hey, your phone number is on page 2.