NO NO NO NO NO!

My audi got rear ended, not even a total loss, rebuilt and the f*cker caught on fire. It was a top-rated shop too. Once a car has been wrecked, it will NEVER be the same. Not to mention the hit you'll take selling or trading it.

If it is desirable car, you maybe able to part it out and sell the parts and make some side cash.

__________________
Jeff
Current:
'07 Jeep Wrangler
'06 BMW X5 3.0i

Former:
'12 WRX; '08 WRX; '06 BMW X5 4.8is Dinan S1; '02 BMW 530i Dinan S2

Varies on a case by case basis depending on cars worth vs severity of damage.

Examples:
1. My old '93 325is. Small wreck to front end needing a bumper cover, headlight, grille shell panel, upper radiator support and fender. Totalled by cost. I did owner retainment which meant keeping car with clean title and receiving check for full cost of vehicle minus the totalled auction value ($450 in my case ) I got a check for $4200, fixed the car with all bolt on parts for less than $2000 painted, then sold the car for $4500. Did good by keeping, no downsides to this case.

2. 2008 M6 convertable, severely wrecked front and rear (sandwiched in a wreck). Every body panel damaged and frame damage front and rear... not totalled. Car worth $90,000, only had $60,000 worth of damage which is just under the 70%. The guys insurance insisted on fixing the car and refused to total it. That car will never be right again just by the sheer severity of the damage. Not a good deal, and I really feel sorry for that guy.

__________________
"When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all" (Bender, futurama)

You make something idiotproof, they'll make a better idiot

You think professional is expensive, just wait until you pay for amateur.

Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.

Examine what is said, not who speaks.

X5 pics

RIP 4.6is.....

2003 4.6is

How can you keep a totaled car? If the insurance company totals it, they own it and will usually part it out. Wouldn't you/your friend have to buy it back from the insurance company to keep it yourself?

I'm confused.

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You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.

That's also my understanding.

Correct they mark the car as "totaled" and you have the option to buyback the car from the insurance company
for whatever price they will let you keep it. Many times the cost is minimal. The last car of mine that got totaled they
wanted me to take it for almost nothing. Doing so would have cost a bundle in salvage and registration fees.

It keeps them from doing the work of parting it out and gets them off the hook for other cost as well.
In some cases there is no profit in parting out old vehicles. In fact around these parts you have to
pay a junk yard to come and get some cars. Other than the scrap they are not worth much.

__________________
"What you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. “The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication.”
Harmony happens whenever different parts get to form a whole by means of congruity, concord, symetry, consistency, conformity, correspondence, agreement, accord, unity, consonance…….

In my case, I made the insurance company pay KBB price even though they valued it $5K less than that. At first they didn't want to total it. I fought until they agree to pay KBB price, not a cent less. I was an A_hole during the process. Hey, its my money. They took the car, I took the full price payment. I didnt want that car anywhere near me.

__________________
2002 X5 3.0 Siena Red
Premium, Cold Weather, Rear Climate Packages, 19" Wheels
Aluminum Running Boards, Clear Tail Lights, Clear Side Markers
Titanium Kidney Grills, Titanium Trunk Lid, Xenon Headlights
4.6is X5 exhausts, 35% Tint, Aluminum Pedals
2005 530I Mystic Blue
Premium Package, Sport Package, Xenon Headlights
18" Sport Wheels, 35% Tint all around
Mods to come: M-Tech Front Bumper, M5 Side Skirts, M5 Rear Bumper
Quad Exhausts, Style 172 19" Wheels

Maybe Louisiana is different then because I had the whole "owner retainment" option that I did use, and the car never got labeled as totalled or salvaged. I asked about that and they said I would have to get that done myself if I wanted it done on owner retainment. If I let them have it and did buy back it would have been a different story.

__________________
"When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all" (Bender, futurama)

You make something idiotproof, they'll make a better idiot

You think professional is expensive, just wait until you pay for amateur.

Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.

Examine what is said, not who speaks.

X5 pics

RIP 4.6is.....

2003 4.6is

Which sucks for future owners because they will never know what happened to it.

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2001 X5 3.0i (PP/WP/AP) Traded at 213K miles
RARE White on Black - Why does everyone get Tan??
First E53 with 215s on XOutpost!!