What a salvage car is worth as a % of ACV, the keep-it payout, and the rebuilt discount
A salvage-title car is typically worth 20–40% of its pre-damage value (the industry's ACV benchmark). Minor, drivable damage holds 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 that's $3,600–$5,400. Keep your totaled car and the insurer pays ACV − salvage − deductible. Rebuilt after repair, it resells 20–40% below clean-title value.
| Damage tier | Salvage % of ACV | Typical | On an $18,000 car | Who buys it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minor — drivable, cosmetic | 30% – 50% | 40% | $5,400 – $9,000 | Rebuilders, dealers with body shops |
| Moderate collision | 20% – 30% | 25% | $3,600 – $5,400 | Rebuilders, export buyers |
| Severe / structural / flood | 5% – 15% | 10% | $900 – $2,700 | Dismantlers, parts sellers, scrap |
The middle of the market — where insurers benchmark salvage value — is the widely published 20-40% of ACV band. Severity, mileage, and parts demand move a specific car within its tier: popular models with cheap interchangeable parts (Ford F-Series, Honda Civic, Toyota Camry) bid toward the top; low-demand and flood cars toward the bottom. Fully stripped parts-only cars typically fetch 5-15%.
| State | Declared totaled when repairs exceed |
|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 60% of ACV (the nation's lowest) |
| Nevada | 65% of ACV |
| New York | 75% of ACV |
| Florida | 80% of ACV |
| Colorado, Texas | 100% of ACV |
| California and most TLF states | Repairs + salvage value ≥ ACV (formula, no fixed %) |
In a 60% state like Oklahoma, an $18,000-ACV car with $11,000 of damage is totaled even though it's drivable — which is why the same wreck can be branded in one state and cleanly repaired in another.
When an insurer totals a car, two values matter: what the car was worth before the crash (ACV) and what the wreck will bring at auction (salvage value). The gap between those numbers is where every decision lives — keep it, sell it, or rebuild it. This calculator prices all three paths from your ACV and damage tier.
Salvage value = ACV × tier percentage: 30-50% minor, 20-30% moderate, 5-15% severe, with the midpoint as the typical estimate. Keep-it payout = ACV − typical salvage value − your deductible. Rebuilt resale applies the branded-title discount by tier: 15-25% off for minor, 20-40% for moderate, 30-50% for severe. The max repair budget answers the rebuilder's question — rebuilt value minus what you paid for the wreck minus rebuild fees is the most you can spend on parts and labor and still come out even.
Pull your ACV from KBB or NADA retail for a clean example of your car — that's the number your insurer starts from too. Pick the damage tier honestly: "drivable" means exactly that, not "drivable if you don't count the wheel rubbing." If you're negotiating with an insurer that wants to deduct a salvage number, their percentage times your ACV should land inside this range; a deduction far above it is worth challenging with comparable auction results.
A 2019 sedan with an $18,000 ACV takes moderate rear-end damage — repairable, but the $13,500 estimate clears the total-loss formula. Salvage value at 25% typical: $4,500, with auction outcomes ranging $3,600 to $5,400. Letting the insurer keep the car pays $18,000 − $1,000 deductible = $17,000. Keeping it pays $18,000 − $4,500 − $1,000 = $12,500, and you own the wreck. Rebuild it and the car is worth about $12,600 — moderate damage takes a 30% branded-title discount — so after the $4,500 salvage price and $150 in rebuild fees, the most you can spend on repairs and break even is $7,950. A body-shop quote above that number means the rebuild loses money.
That's the whole salvage economy in four numbers. For the step before this one, the totaled car value calculator covers how insurers compute ACV, and the diminished value claim calculator prices the related claim for repaired cars. Selling one? The bill of sale generator documents a branded-title sale properly.
Typically 20 to 40 percent of its pre-damage actual cash value. 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-ACV car with moderate damage, that's roughly $3,600 to $5,400.
By what the car will bring at a salvage auction — bids from rebuilders, dismantlers, and exporters. Most insurers benchmark that at roughly 20 to 40 percent of the car's pre-accident value, adjusted for damage severity, mileage, and parts demand. If you keep a totaled car, the insurer deducts that salvage value (plus your deductible) from your payout.
Run the keep-it math: payout = ACV − salvage value − deductible. Keeping makes sense when you can repair it cheaply, use it for parts, or the insurer's salvage deduction is low relative to what the car is worth to you. It rarely makes sense when damage is structural — you'll carry a branded title forever, and rebuilt resale runs 20 to 40 percent below clean.
A rebuilt title costs 15 to 25 percent of resale value after minor damage, 20 to 40 percent after moderate damage, and 30 to 50 percent after severe damage — around 30 percent at the market's midpoint. Buyers also face harder financing and insurance: some lenders decline branded titles outright, and many carriers limit or refuse comprehensive and collision coverage. You'll also sell to a smaller pool that understands what rebuilt means.
Salvage means an insurer or state has declared the vehicle a total loss and it cannot legally be driven on public roads until repaired and inspected. Rebuilt (also called restored or prior salvage in some states) means the repairs passed a state inspection and the car is road-legal again — but the branding stays on the title permanently, which is why the resale discount follows the car for life.
When repair costs exceed a state's total-loss threshold — as low as 60 percent of ACV in Oklahoma, 75 percent in New York, 80 percent in Florida, and 100 percent in states like Colorado and Texas. Other states, including California, use a total-loss formula instead: the car is totaled when repairs plus salvage value equal or exceed the ACV.