The salvage market prices wrecks as a share of what the car was worth before the crash: typically 20-40% of actual cash value for repairable damage. Drivable cars with minor cosmetic damage hold 30-50%, moderate collision damage runs 20-30%, and severe structural or flood damage drops to 5-15%. On an $18,000-ACV car with moderate damage, the common outcome is $3,600-$5,400. Here's how the tiers work, how insurers compute the number, and when keeping your totaled car makes sense.
| Tier | % of ACV | $18,000 car | Typical buyer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minor / cosmetic, drivable | 30-50% | $5,400-$9,000 | Rebuilders with body shops |
| Moderate collision | 20-30% | $3,600-$5,400 | Rebuilders, export buyers |
| Severe / structural / flood | 5-15% | $900-$2,700 | Dismantlers, parts sellers, scrap |
What moves a specific car inside its tier: parts demand (Ford F-Series, Honda Civic, and Toyota Camry parts move fast, so those wrecks bid high), mileage on the drivetrain, whether the airbags deployed (a full airbag set is $1,500-$3,000 alone), and title history — flood cars trade at the bottom of every tier because corrosion hides everywhere.
Enter the pre-damage value and damage tier — get the salvage estimate, the keep-it payout, and the rebuilt-title resale range.
Open the Salvage Title Value Calculator →When your car is totaled, the insurer owns a wreck and prices it the only honest way: what someone will bid for it at a salvage auction. Rebuilders bid what they can profit after repair costs and a rebuilt-title discount; dismantlers bid the sum of the parts; exporters bid on demand where title branding doesn't follow the car. Those bids benchmark to roughly 20-40% of pre-accident value for typical damage.
If you keep the car, the auction number is deducted from your settlement: payout = ACV − salvage value − deductible. On our $18,000 example with typical 25% salvage and a $1,000 deductible, that's $18,000 − $4,500 − $1,000 = $12,500, and you keep the wreck. If the insurer's proposed salvage deduction runs far above your tier's range, challenge it — comparable auction results for your model are the evidence.
Repair the car, pass your state's inspection, and the salvage brand becomes "rebuilt" — legal to drive, but the title is marked forever, and the market charges for it: 15-25% below an identical clean-title car after minor damage, 20-40% after moderate damage, and 30-50% after severe damage, around 30% at the market's midpoint. Financing is harder (many lenders decline branded titles), insurance carriers often limit or refuse comprehensive and collision coverage, and the buyer pool shrinks to people who understand what they're buying.
That haircut is the whole salvage-buying calculus. On our $18,000 moderate example: buy the wreck at 25% ($4,500), and the finished car is worth about 70% of ACV ($12,600) — so after $150 in rebuild fees, the ceiling on repairs is $7,950. Under that number you profit; over it you don't. The two ways buyers lose: underestimating repairs (get a body-shop estimate before bidding, not after) and overpaying for a car whose damage was structural.
A car is totaled when repair costs exceed a state's threshold: as low as 60% of ACV in Oklahoma, 75% in New York, 80% in Florida, and 100% in Colorado and Texas; California and other formula states total a car when repairs plus salvage value reach the ACV. The same wreck can be branded in one state and cleanly repaired in another — which is why a vehicle-history report on any used car is cheap insurance. Before any of this happens, the totaled car value calculator shows how insurers compute ACV, and after a repairable accident, the diminished value claim calculator prices what you can recover for the lost market value. Buying or selling one privately? A clean bill of sale documents the branded title honestly.
About 20 to 40 percent of its pre-damage actual cash value for typical repairable damage. Drivable cars with minor cosmetic damage hold 30 to 50 percent, moderate collision damage runs 20 to 30 percent, and severe structural or flood damage drops to 5 to 15 percent. On an $18,000 car with moderate damage, the common salvage outcome is $3,600 to $5,400.
Insurers price salvage at what the car will fetch from rebuilders, dismantlers, and exporters at auction, which benchmarks to roughly 20 to 40 percent of pre-accident value, adjusted for damage severity, mileage, and parts demand. If you keep your totaled car, that auction number is deducted from your settlement along with your deductible.
For the right buyer, yes: if you know repair costs precisely, the discount is real (you're buying at 20-40% and the finished car is worth 60-80% of clean value). The traps are repair surprises, insurance limits on branded titles, harder resale, and states that inspect strictly. Never pay rebuilt-adjacent prices for salvage work that hasn't passed inspection yet.
Expect 15 to 25 percent below an identical clean-title car after minor damage, 20 to 40 percent after moderate, and 30 to 50 percent after severe — around 30 percent at the midpoint, permanently. Financing and insurance get harder too: some lenders won't touch branded titles, and many carriers restrict or refuse comprehensive and collision coverage on them.
Do the math: keeping pays you ACV minus salvage value minus deductible. It's a good deal when you can repair cheaply (own labor, used parts), want a winter beater or parts car, or the insurer's salvage deduction is low. It's a poor deal for structural damage — you inherit a branded title and a 20-40 percent permanent resale haircut.