How to Determine the Value of a Totaled Car

How much is your wrecked car worth?

A car qualifies as "totaled" if the cost of repairing the car exceeds a certain percentage of its value. This percentage varies depending on the agency making the determination, but usually hovers somewhere around 70 percent. If you want to get the maximum amount of money from your insurance company, it's important to know what the value of the totaled car was prior to the damage. Once you determine this value you will have more bargaining power when it's time to negotiate a settlement.

Instructions

1. Gather the necessary information. You will need to know the year, make, and model of the wrecked vehicle. You should also know how many miles the vehicle has on it.

2. Click on the link provided in the resources section of this article. A new webpage will appear.

3. Enter the information gathered from step one into the appropriate fields on the new webpage.

4. The estimated value of your car will automatically be displayed once the information has been entered.

Tips & Warnings

• If you just recently purchased any new items for the vehicle such as new tires or air bags, the value of these will not be reflected in the estimate.

References

• When is a car considered to be totaled?

Resources

• Kellys Blue Book