Is Your Vehicle Really Totaled After a Car Crash?

Airbag Deployment

Just because your airbags have deployed after an accident doesn’t mean your car is totaled. In fact, your vehicle’s airbags will deploy if you drive into an object – be it another vehicle or a mailbox that came out of nowhere – at just 8-14 miles per hour. That car accident may leave a dent in your fender and give you a minor case of whiplash, but that shouldn’t necessarily force you to mark your car as salvage.

However, there are many reasons why your insurance would total your car rather than choose to fix it after your airbags deploy – and it all depends on the price of new airbags (oftentimes over $500) and repairs vs. your vehicle’s estimated Actual Cash Value (ACV).

• The vehicle is older, and replacing the airbags and making repairs would cost more than the vehicle is worth.
• Your vehicle’s ACV is low because it has high mileage.
• The general condition of the car lowers its resale value, even before the car accident occurred.
• Your insurer considers the accident to be your fault, so they reduce the total loss value by all expenses they incur to repair the other driver’s vehicle.
• There is a low demand for your vehicle on the used resale market in your region. (For instance, a used Silverado would have a higher ACV in rural Sedalia, while a used Sonata might be valued higher in Kansas City.)
• Simply put, if repairing your car would cause other safety concerns.

But you can get a second opinion on car repairs that may keep your car out of the salvage yard! Tell your insurance company that you’d like an airbag replacement quote from an honest body shop near you instead of getting a check or salvage title in the mail.