Has anyone bought back their vehicle after being totaled?

[A_A_G]

There’s a very high chance my wife’s car is going to be totaled, but I’d like to buy it back.

Is the salvage value negotiable with an insurance company? I believe they go off prior auction prices, but I know they don’t get that full amount due to auction fees, yard fees, storage fees, etc.

Would they be willing to lower their salvage value because of those fees they’d avoid by me keeping the vehicle?

 

[2EHA]

Yes but only to part it out.

 

[Donald]

My car got water from a freak heavy downpour. Flooded the vehicle and the air bag electronics were damaged (under the seat). The insurance company said I could buy it dirt cheap but they would not insure liability or collision.

 

[Strokenmerc]

I bought back a totaled vehicle but I cannot speak to the negotiation aspect. Basically, the buy back cost was in writing when the insurance company provided the documentation for covering the accident. Just throwing a number out because I don't remember exactly but in my case it was about $1500 difference if I kept the car. ($8200 vs $6700 IIRC)

 

[Kestas]

I did, because a friend of mine had the exact same car ('74 Torino) and color and wanted it for parts. He reimbursed me for it.

The insurance company couldn't tell if the car had 40,000 miles or 140,000 miles!

 

[ls1mike]

Tons of guys do it on the Caprice board because it takes very little total one. A lot of guys have them fixed. I have seen a fender, hood, and bumper total them out. Most of the time those guys get a pretty good deal on the buy back.

 

[JeffKeryk]

1993 Toyota 4WD Deluxe. 22RE, AT, PS, etc.
Rear ended and hit car in front.
450K miles and still in service.

 

[Leo99]

My 86 Accord. It got flooded with water in the engine and the insurance company totaled it. Before it was totaled, I had it towed to my local independent Honda specialist who opened it up, saw the damage and told me to call my insurance company. I negotiated for a few weeks with the insurance company over the value. They tried to low ball me thinking I was desperate to settle and get the check. I waited them out and got a bunch more money. My Honda specialist called me and when he found out it was totaled offered to buy from me for $500 over whatever the insurance company was deducting from my check with me keeping the car. Basically, the totaled cost was $10,000. I could keep the car for 20%. So, I kept the car. Insurance paid me $8000 and the Honda specialist gave me $2500 for the car. He fixed the engine put it back on the road. Took it for a 2000 mile road trip and then sold it to someone.

 

[ecotourist]

Tons of guys do it on the Caprice board because it takes very little total one. A lot of guys have them fixed. I have seen a fender, hood, and bumper total them out. Most of the time those guys get a pretty good deal on the buy back.

My '63 Chevy II was totaled in about 1975 after a rear end push into the vehicle ahead. It wasn't worth very much at that time, so I kept the car and accepted a few bucks as the difference between the assessed value and the salvage value of the "wreck".

There was a small wrinkle in the hood that I had fixed, straightened the bent aluminum grill (myself), replaced one headlight (myself), and lived with the dented back bumper.

I pocketed most of the cash and still had the car that was as safe as ever (ie not very), looked pretty good and was running great.

I drove it for years, then gave it to my nephew who drove it for years too before finally selling it. I saw that car on the street, still running 10 or 15 years later. Chevrolet made tough cars in those days.

 

[CKN]

I bought back a totaled vehicle but I cannot speak to the negotiation aspect. Basically, the buy back cost was in writing when the insurance company provided the documentation for covering the accident. Just throwing a number out because I don't remember exactly but in my case it was about $1500 difference if I kept the car. ($8200 vs $6700 IIRC)

So did it cost more than $1,500.00 to fix it?

 

[FordMan59]

I would think you could work out a pretty decent deal. My dad had a 1968 Mercury Montego MX get totaled when a guy hit it in the rear. This was somewhere around '76 or '77. The insurance company offered him $650 for the car or he could keep the car and take $550. I think it had 125-150K miles when it was totaled. I bought a 2016 Nissan Versa in Feb. 2019 that has a rebuilt title. I bought it for $5300 with 10K miles on the odometer. There's no way the insurance company got much for it if someone could buy the car make the repairs and resell for $5300 and make a profit. Seems to me they total cars for a lot less than they used to.

 

[Nick1994]

Yup, in 2016 I got rear-ended in my Camry. They valued it at $3,450!!! I had paid $2,100 just 6 months prior. I bought it back from the insurance for $868 and had to get it inspected so the title could go from salvage, to restored salvage and it was road legal.

 

[Strokenmerc]

So did it cost more than $1,500.00 to fix it?

The total reapir was just shy of $3k but with the exception of paint, I did the work. Had front end damage and bought entire front clip from LKQ salvage yard about 1 hour from home.

 

[SeaJay]

It doesn't take that much damage on an older car to total it, and in many cases the car is still driveable with a modest amount of repairs. If you can live without fixing all of the cosmetics up to pristine show room condition, which often the bulk of the repair costs you can make a tidy "profit" by fixing what absolutely has to be fixed and to keep driving it.

 

[Popsy]

I did. Was rear ended. I had bought the same identical car without engine (initially got it as an impulse buy when looking for something else, cause it had nicer non peeling paint, for 350€ was cheaper than having mine repainted).

Then something like a year later was rear ended and car totaled, so took the "good" engine to put in the "nice" body that I got without engine (Double work for the body panels that I had switched, fortunately only the front parts were affected).

I got somewhat lucky cause the engine was undamaged in the accident, and the other body that I bought was the same exact model, year/month, colour and trim level. After that I kept the car for 6 more years before trading it.

 

[TiGeo]

Ok, dumb question(s) so please bare with me....

You are in a crash, insurance totals car, writes you a $15K check. You then turn around and buy the car back from them with that $15K for far less than that and use the rest of what you have to fix it on your own for presumably less? Is this how this works?

 

[Strokenmerc]

I can only elaborate on how my claim was handled. I was informed the car was totaled by the insurance company. I inquired about "buying back" the car and the option was added to the claim documents. Basically, I was given 2 options, $8200 and give up the car OR $6700 and keep the car and release the insurance company from any additional claims. I kept the car and repaired using a front clip from the LKQ yard. I did all of the panel replacement/prep work and paid a shop for the paint work. I imagine every situation is different depending on the damage, insurance company policies, and state laws. YMMV

 

[vwmaniaman]

Did that on 3 cars. 74 Plymouth Fury III. Hit in back broke back up light lens and kink in body on right rear. Bought it back for $300 they paid me $2700. Come-a-long between 2 oak trees and kink popped out with no paint popped. Backup lens for $20. Had only 96K on 318LA. 1995 Plymouth Breeze in hailstorm. Almost invisible damage. Great driving car with 32mpg highway. Cost me $300 to get it back. 1987 VW Cabriolet got rear ended when wife turning left. Broke rear bumper (cast aluminum). Replaced bumper and tailgate. Still have it. The other 4 cars that hit my 74 Plymouth had to be towed off. Mine still drove just fine.

 

[nomas]

My wife totaled a Nissan Altima . I went to look at it at the tow yard . The Fire Dept had cut the roof off and pulled the passenger seat out with the Jaws of Life . I decided it was going to be too big of a project .

 

[Popsy]

Ok, dumb question(s) so please bare with me....

You are in a crash, insurance totals car, writes you a $15K check. You then turn around and buy the car back from them with that $15K for far less than that and use the rest of what you have to fix it on your own for presumably less? Is this how this works?

In my case yes, but laws prevent me to drive the car ever again, unless I get everything repaired and inspected. Basically, the immatriculation certificate is voided, and good luck getting a new one. The amount of tests you have to go through is just crazy.
So I bought back the wreck for basically price of metal, I can do whatever I want with it, except driving it on the road.