Is my car considered totaled?

[2slowMX5]

Got in an accident with the miata. LIttle shook up and Icant type much now I have to go out with family soon. More pics later.

For now, what determines if a car is totaled or not?

I will find out later the payout (its a loan but not much is still owed). I will show pics of the damage (drivers door is buster, door sill area (body) is dented in).

What else info should I provide.

From memory: 2000 miata, base model, 97500 miles, 5 speed, I think i owe 3500...

[CleanNeon98]

Post a pic...if it is totalled, I want some parts off of it if you part out.

[CHAOS]

if the monetary amount of damage caused is more than the valuation of the vehicle for the insurance company, they call it a total loss.

[2slowMX5]

Ok so what next then. Say its totaled. What to I need to do to take complete ownership so I can part it to to say Cleannon above and craigs list ect...

[oneday]

It really doesn't take much to total a Miata. If the door sill is really whacked then it it possible the frame rail is tweaked and that is no fun to try and fix.

For your sake, I hope it's totaled.

[AWD GS]

Originally Posted by 2slowMX5

Ok so what next then. Say its totaled. What to I need to do to take complete ownership so I can part it to to say Cleannon above and craigs list ect...

you buy it back from the insurance company. if they total the car, they will cut you a check for the value of the car. from there you can go get a new car or buy it back. if its totalled bad enough, theres no sense in buying it back.

sometimes with cheaper cars, it doesnt take much to "total" the car, like mentioned the damage exceeding the blue book value and you can usually buy it back and fix it to get it back on the road.

[CleanNeon98]

I wouldn't want much from it....floormats, maybe the wheels and tires, interior tidbits.

[fballman1987]

best way to tell though is to post pictures.

[2slowMX5]

Uploaded som epics to tinypic:






Door will not close enough to trigger the interior light switch. I pulled the fuse to save the battery.


BTW: Payout is 3700 (I know its really high, i am in debt up to my eyballs)

car is stock basically, sans some ine car entertainment and xenon projector headlights.

BTW: I posted in the BST forums some stuff for sale. Most didnt sell, well im going to reup that thread, everything has to go go go go

[2slowMX5]

Originally Posted by CleanNeon98

I wouldn't want much from it....floormats, maybe the wheels and tires, interior tidbits.

It didn't come with any floormats when bought. I have a range rover (yes really) rubber floormat that I cut to fit (was free).

One wheel got damaged so the snows are on now. Interior tidbits I can def help you with

[CleanNeon98]

That doesnt look too bad, needs a door and to bang out the rocker panel a bit...doesn't look like it got deep enough to hit the frame rails though IMO. All you can do is wait for the insurance adjuster to help you out.

[Jeffros Spec V]

I don't know how much a Miata is worth but here is the estimate I would write.

Set up and Measure - 2
Rough Pull Rocker -1
Repair left rocker - 6
Replace Left Door Skin (Used) -
Replace Rear Bumper Cover (used or Aftermarket)
Blend Quarter
Blend left Fender
R&I left tail lamp, left headlamp for paint.


Say the car is worth $5,000.00 and you owe $3700.00 and you have a $500 deductible. The insurance company will keep the car and pay you $800.00 If you wish to keep the car they will deduct salvage value (what they could retian if they sold it at auction) and for a little Miata lets say they would get $1,000.00 considering the condition and the amount of repairs to be made on this thing. (You have to think what a shop that has tools and parts accounts could fix that car for then turn around and sell it) So you would owe the insurance company $200.00 and get to keep the car and register it as a salvage title. Then you could part it out.

Got it?


Edit: Most insruance companies deteremine a total loss at a 70% threshold. If the cost to repair the vehicle exceeds 70% of the total fair market value the car is considered a total loss.

[2slowMX5]

Hey that is really helpful, thanks.

for some really odd reason, the drivers electric window works BETTER now.... Impact must of knocked all the gunk off the regulator gears lol

[CleanNeon98]

Does the car drive straight and stuff?

Fortunately for you, if it does get totalled, there are so many of these cars on the market that you can find another one within an hour, plus they are out of season and cheaper now.

[2slowMX5]

Ive already been lusting for a while, a 1st gen, white with gold equips & color matched hardtop. Nothing else matters!

[CleanNeon98]

..............do it!

[pearl]

how is a car out of season? does it hibernate?

insurance will total it.

[CleanNeon98]

Originally Posted by pearl

how is a car out of season? does it hibernate?

insurance will total it.

Some convertibles and sports cars go out of season now when they become less desirable because of the weather...you will generally see convertible prices jump in the warm months and fall in the cold....that's reffered to as in-season and out-of-season.

[motorvated]

How much for the motor?....

[oneday]

Just for point of reference, the EVO is a very rare color and is either loved or hated by the Miata community.

A very clean, low mileage example just popped up on a local board...with a HT, and unfortunately a automatic...but it's expected to fetch $9-11K.
Link to LVMOC

Let them total it, then make sure they know it's very difficult to replace due to limited edition color...might net you a better payout.