# How to sell a totaled car > If you accept the insurer's total-loss payout and hand over the car, the insurer sells it and you have nothing left to sell. If you keep the car, the insurer subtracts its salvage value from your payout and the car usually has to be retitled as salvage or nonrepairable before you can sell it. After that, salvage buyers, junkyards and rebuilders are your main market. Reviewed 2026-10-12 by the Junk Cars Nation editorial team. Canonical: https://junkcarsnation.com/guides/sell-totaled-car/ ## The short answer A car is "totaled" when the insurer decides repairing it doesn't make sense compared with what it's worth. At that point you have two choices: - **Take the full payout and give the car to the insurer.** The insurer handles the title and sells the car as salvage. There's nothing for you to sell. - **Keep the car (owner-retained salvage).** You get a smaller check, and you own a car that is now branded salvage or nonrepairable. You can then sell it to a salvage buyer, a junkyard or a rebuilder. Keeping it only pays off if a buyer will give you more than the amount the insurer deducts, or if you plan to repair it or pull parts yourself. ## How insurers decide a car is totaled The rule varies by state and by insurer. The Insurance Information Institute says it's up to your insurer whether to pay for repairs or declare a total loss and pay the car's value.[^1] Some states set a threshold in law. Maryland's insurance regulator, for example, describes a total loss as one where the cost to repair is 75 percent or more of the car's fair market value before the loss.[^2] Texas defines a salvage motor vehicle as one damaged to the point that the cost of repair, parts and labor, is more than the car's actual value right before the damage.[^3] Badly burned or wrecked cars whose only value is as parts or scrap are classed as nonrepairable.[^3] ## What affects what you get **From the insurer.** The payout is based on the car's value before the loss, not what you paid for it.[^4] You can push back. Triple-I says you can show the car was worth more than a typical one, using mileage records, service history and mechanics' statements.[^1] In Maryland you can ask in writing for a list of every deduction, and you must back up a counteroffer with documents such as dealer quotes or listings for similar cars.[^2] **From a buyer, if you keep the car.** Salvage buyers price a totaled car on what can be saved: - Which parts survived. A rear-end hit that left the engine, transmission and front end intact is worth more than a front-end crash. - Whether it's branded salvage (repairable) or nonrepairable (parts and scrap only). Rebuilders only want the first. - The car's weight, for the scrap portion. - Demand for that model's parts. See [how junkyards price cars](/guides/how-junkyards-price-cars/) for the rest. ## Should you keep the car? When you keep it, the insurer subtracts what it would have gotten by selling the car as salvage.[^5] Texas's public insurance counsel also warns that a car with a salvage title is worth less and may be harder to sell and insure later.[^5] So the math is simple: ask the insurer for the salvage deduction in writing, then get offers for the car as a salvage vehicle. Keep it only if those offers beat the deduction by enough to cover your time and towing, or if you have a real repair or parts plan. If not, take the full payout. Our [junk or repair guide](/guides/junk-or-repair-car/) helps with the repair side. ## Paperwork after a total loss ### If the insurer takes the car You sign the title over to the insurer (or the lender does, if there's a loan). The insurer usually pays your lienholder first and pays you any amount left over.[^5] If you owe more than the payout, you still owe the rest unless you carry gap insurance.[^4] Cancel your registration and insurance once the car is gone; see [cancelling insurance and registration](/guides/cancel-insurance-and-registration-after-selling/). ### If you keep the car In many states the insurer reports the car to the state, and the title changes. Two examples: - **California:** After a settlement, the insurer must get a salvage or nonrepairable certificate within 10 days. If you have a total-loss vehicle with no insurance settlement, getting the certificate is your job. Once a nonrepairable certificate is issued, the car can't be titled or registered again.[^6] - **Texas:** The insurer files an Owner Retained Report, and TxDMV marks the record so it can't be registered or transferred until you apply for a salvage or nonrepairable title. You must get that title before selling. Until the car is rebuilt, retitled and registered, you can't drive it on public roads.[^3] The brand also goes to the federal title database. Texas's own chart maps its owner-retained record to the national "Owner Retained" brand, so the history follows the VIN.[^7] Learn what the brands mean in our guides to [salvage titles](/guides/salvage-title/), [rebuilt titles](/guides/rebuilt-title/) and [branded titles](/guides/branded-title/). ## What to tell buyers Tell buyers it was an insurance total loss and that you kept it. Give them: - The brand on the title (salvage or nonrepairable) and the state. - What happened (front collision, rollover, hail, theft recovery) and which areas are damaged. - Whether the airbags deployed and whether it starts, runs or rolls. - Photos of all four sides, the damage, the interior and the odometer. Buyers can often see the total-loss history anyway once they run the VIN, so leaving it out only gets the offer cut when the driver shows up. Some states require written disclosure: in North Carolina, it's illegal to transfer a car you know is a salvage vehicle without telling the buyer in writing before the sale.[^8] ## Steps to sell a totaled car 1. **Get the insurer's numbers in writing:** the full payout and the salvage deduction if you keep the car. 2. **Get two or three offers** for the car as a salvage vehicle before you decide. 3. **Decide.** If you keep it, settle the claim and let the insurer file its report. 4. **Apply for the salvage or nonrepairable title** your state requires before you sell. If there's a loan, see [selling a car with a lien](/guides/sell-car-with-lien/). 5. **Sell to a buyer who can take a branded car.** Junkyards, salvage buyers and rebuilders all can. Arrange [towing](/guides/junk-car-towing/), since the car can't be driven. 6. **Sign over the branded title**, keep a [bill of sale](/guides/bill-of-sale-for-junk-car/), file your [release of liability](/guides/release-of-liability/) and cancel the registration. State rules differ on deadlines, forms and whether you can register the car again. Look up your state on our [junk car laws](/junk-car-laws/) page, such as [California](/junk-car-laws/california/) or [Texas](/junk-car-laws/texas/). When you're ready, [get an offer for your car](/cash-for-junk-cars/). [^1]: Insurance Information Institute, "Determining your car's value and cost of repair", https://www.iii.org/article/determining-your-cars-value-and-cost-of-repair [^2]: Maryland Insurance Administration, "Understanding total loss", https://insurance.maryland.gov/Consumer/Pages/total-loss.aspx [^3]: Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, "Salvage/Nonrepairable Motor Vehicle Manual" (January 2026), https://www.txdmv.gov/sites/default/files/body-files/Salvage_Nonrepairable_Manual.pdf [^4]: Insurance Information Institute, "Auto insurance basics—understanding your coverage", https://www.iii.org/article/auto-insurance-basics-understanding-your-coverage [^5]: Texas Office of Public Insurance Counsel, "Total loss", https://www.opic.texas.gov/news/total-loss/ [^6]: California DMV, "Total loss salvage & non-repairable vehicles", https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/vehicle-registration/new-registration/total-loss-salvage-non-repairable-vehicles/ [^7]: Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, "Texas to NMVTIS conversion chart" (rev. 12/2020), https://www.txdmv.gov/sites/default/files/body-files/Texas_to_NMVTIS_Conversion_CHart.pdf [^8]: North Carolina General Statutes § 20-71.4, "Failure to disclose damage to a vehicle shall be a misdemeanor", https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_20/GS_20-71.4.html ## Questions people ask **Can I keep my car if insurance totals it?** Often yes, but the insurer lowers your payout by the car's salvage value, and in many states the car is reported so it gets a salvage or nonrepairable brand. Ask your insurer for the salvage figure in writing before you decide. **Can I sell a totaled car before I get a salvage title?** In many states, no. Texas, for example, requires an owner who kept a totaled car after a paid claim to get a salvage or nonrepairable title before selling it. Check your state's rule first. **Can I drive a totaled car I kept?** In many states, not until it's repaired and retitled. In Texas the registration becomes invalid and the car can't be driven on public roads until it's rebuilt, retitled and registered. **What if I owe more on the loan than the payout?** The insurer usually pays your lender first. If the payout doesn't cover the balance, you still owe the difference unless you have gap coverage.