Actual cash value estimate plus your state's total-loss threshold
| Threshold States (repair ≥ % of ACV = totaled) | % | TLF States (repair ≥ ACV − salvage = totaled) |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 75% | Alaska |
| Arkansas | 70% | Arizona |
| Colorado | 100% | California |
| Florida | 80% | Connecticut |
| Indiana | 70% | Delaware |
| Iowa | 70% | Georgia |
| Kansas | 75% | Hawaii |
| Kentucky | 75% | Idaho |
| Louisiana | 75% | Illinois |
| Maryland | 75% | Maine |
| Michigan | 75% | Massachusetts |
| Minnesota | 70% | Mississippi |
| Missouri | 80% | Montana |
| Nebraska | 75% | New Jersey |
| Nevada | 65% | New Mexico |
| New Hampshire | 75% | Ohio |
| New York | 75% | Pennsylvania |
| North Carolina | 75% | Rhode Island |
| North Dakota | 75% | South Dakota |
| Oklahoma | 60% | Utah |
| Oregon | 80% | Vermont |
| South Carolina | 75% | Washington |
| Tennessee | 75% | |
| Texas | 100% | |
| Virginia | 75% | |
| West Virginia | 75% | |
| Wisconsin | 70% | |
| Wyoming | 75% |
Percentage states: the car is a total loss when the estimated repair cost reaches the listed share of actual cash value. TLF (total loss formula) states: totaled when repair cost is greater than or equal to ACV minus the salvage value the insurer expects to recover at auction. Colorado and Texas effectively require repair cost to meet or exceed full ACV. Insurers can total a car earlier than the state threshold when supplements, rental, or parts availability tip the economics.
Insurers do not total cars at blue book values pulled from the air. They pay actual cash value, built from local comparable vehicle sales and adjusted for mileage, condition, options, and prior damage. This calculator models the same structure with a transparent depreciation curve so you can sanity-check an offer before you accept or fight it.
Start with the price when new. Apply the retained-value curve for the vehicle's age: a typical mainstream car holds about 80% after year one, 68% after two, 50% after four, and 34% after seven, flattening to a slow bleed past year ten. Adjust for mileage against a 12,000-mile-per-year benchmark at ±5% per 10,000 miles off the norm, capped at ±20%. Multiply by the condition factor (1.10 excellent down to 0.80 rough), add equipment above base trim, and subtract prior unrepaired damage. The result is an estimate with a ±10% band, because two identical cars genuinely sell for different prices in different markets.
Compare the repair estimate to your state's threshold. In a percentage state like New York (75%), a repair estimate of $7,800 on a $10,300 car is 75.7% of ACV, so it totals. The same car in a TLF state totals when repair meets ACV minus salvage: at 22% salvage that's $8,042 here. The tool flags borderline results within 5% of the line, because real-world supplements move repair estimates constantly.
Take a 2019 sedan with a $32,000 sticker, now 7 years old with 78,000 miles in average condition. The curve says 34% retained: $10,880. Mileage is 6,000 under the 84,000 benchmark, worth +3%: $11,206. Average condition multiplies by 0.92, landing at $10,310 ACV, with an honest range of $9,279 to $11,341. An $8,200 repair estimate puts the damage ratio at 79.5% — totaled in every 75% state, repairable in Florida, Missouri, and Oregon at 80%. Under the total loss formula with 22% salvage, the trigger is $8,042, so $8,200 totals it there too; shave the repair to $7,600 (73.7%) and it stays repairable almost everywhere except Oklahoma, Arkansas-style 70% states, and Nevada's 65%.
One number this model cannot see: your loan balance. If the payout is less than you owe, gap insurance covers the difference; without it the remainder is yours. And after a repair, a diminished value claim can recover the resale hit even though the car was fixed. If injuries were involved, start with the accident settlement calculator instead — the vehicle is usually the smaller line.
Estimates for planning only. Your insurer's CCC or Mitchell valuation, local market conditions, and state law control the actual payout, and thresholds can change; confirm current rules with your department of insurance. This page is not legal advice.
The insurer pays actual cash value: what the car would have sold for on the local market the day before the crash, not what you owe or what a replacement costs. Most carriers generate the number with CCC or Mitchell valuation software, which pulls comparable vehicle listings in your area and adjusts for mileage, condition, options, and prior damage. You get the valuation report with the offer, and every adjustment on it is something you can challenge with evidence.
It depends on the state. Twenty-eight states set a fixed percentage of the car's actual cash value, ranging from 60% in Oklahoma to 80% in Florida, Missouri, and Oregon and 100% in Colorado and Texas. The rest use the total loss formula: the car is totaled when repair cost plus supplemental damage is greater than or equal to ACV minus salvage value. Most percentage states sit at 70% or 75%.
Not automatically, but deployed airbags push older cars over the line fast. Replacing a driver and passenger bag, the module, and seat belts commonly adds $1,500 to $4,000 or more, and that stacks on top of sheet metal and labor. On a car worth $8,000, airbags plus a moderate front-end repair easily clears a 75% threshold.
Yes. Start by reading the valuation report: wrong mileage, missing options, and comps from a different trim or region all skew the number. Respond with your own comparable listings, service records, and recent receipts for tires or battery. If you still can't agree, most policies include an appraisal clause where each side hires an appraiser and a third umpire settles it. Diminished value is a separate claim after a repair, not a total loss.
The payout goes to the lender first, and you owe the difference out of pocket unless you have gap insurance, which covers the spread between the loan balance and actual cash value. Gap coverage costs a few hundred dollars a year through an insurer, far less than dealer financing add-ons, and matters most in the first three years of a long loan, when depreciation outruns the payoff.
Sometimes. Buying it back at salvage value makes sense if you plan to repair and drive it, or part it out yourself, and you know your state's rebuilt-title process. The catch is the buyback amount comes off your settlement and a branded title typically cuts resale value 20% to 40%. Get the salvage quote in writing before deciding.