Over 215 million cars in the United States are insured. When one of these cars is determined to be damaged beyond repair, it receives a salvage title, as the insurance company considers the car a total loss or unfit for safe driving.
Different states and insurance companies have their own thresholds for determining whether a car can feasibly be repaired or not, which is roughly a cost of between 60% and 100% of the car’s value. In Nebraska, for instance, a salvage vehicle must have a repair cost that exceeds 75% of its retail value. Besides serious accident damage, a salvage title can apply when a car is damaged in a natural disaster like a flood or fire. If a car is stolen or vandalized, it may also receive a salvage title.
A car with a salvage title will be difficult to sell for anything of real value and challenging to insure. However, this is where clearing a salvage title comes in and could be the most viable option for owners of a salvage-title vehicle.
