Selling a totaled car

All five states

Each state draws the total-loss line differently. Texas: a car is a salvage motor vehicle when repair costs exceed its actual cash value before the damage, and hail damage alone does not count. Florida: a car is a total loss when an insurer pays to replace it or, if uninsured, when repairs cost 80 percent or more of the replacement cost. Tennessee: a passenger vehicle 10 model years old or less is salvage when repairs would exceed 75 percent of its retail value. North Carolina: a car is salvage when repairs would exceed 75 percent of its fair retail market value, and insurers must declare a total loss at 75 percent of pre-accident actual cash value. Colorado: a car is salvage when the insurer declares a total loss or repairs exceed its retail fair market value, not counting hail or theft damage.

All five states

Insurers report totaled cars to the federal title database. Each month, insurance carriers must report to NMVTIS the current model year and previous four model year vehicles they obtain and decide are junk or salvage, including vehicles they determine to be a total loss.

All five states

When the insurer takes the car, it handles the branded title. A Texas insurer that pays a claim and takes ownership surrenders the title and applies for the salvage or nonrepairable title. A Florida insurer sends the title to FLHSMV within 72 hours after it receives it. A North Carolina owner assigns the title to the insurer, which sends it to NCDMV within 10 days. A Tennessee insurer that takes title must get a salvage, flood or non-repairable certificate. In Colorado, an insurer that cannot get the signed title within 30 days after a settlement may request a salvage or nonrepairable title on DR 2410 after two written attempts.

Texas, Florida, Tennessee

If you keep a totaled car, Texas, Florida and Tennessee expect the branded title before you sell it. Texas bars selling an owner-retained salvage or nonrepairable car until TxDMV issues the branded title (Form VTR-441, $8, about 3 weeks by mail). Florida issues the salvage title or certificate of destruction directly to the owner, who must send in the title within 72 hours and may not dispose of the car until the new document arrives. In Tennessee, the insurer must tell you to apply or hold payment until you do, and you mail form F-1311801 with the original title.

North Carolina, Colorado

North Carolina and Colorado handle a car you keep differently. In North Carolina you complete the insurer's owner-retained form, the insurer sends it to NCDMV within 10 days, NCDMV notes the salvage status, and the title is marked TOTAL LOSS CLAIM. In Colorado the owner may apply for a salvage title before the sale, the buyer must apply after it, and the seller discloses any title brand on form DR 2710.

North Carolina

North Carolina: if you keep the salvage, the insurer deducts its salvage value from your payment and, if you ask, must give you the name and address of a salvage dealer who will buy it for that amount.

Texas, Tennessee, Colorado

A totaled car cannot legally go back on the road until it is rebuilt and retitled. Texas does not let a salvage vehicle be registered or driven until it is repaired and titled Rebuilt Salvage, Tennessee says a vehicle deemed a total loss may not be driven until it completes the rebuilt process, and Colorado will not register a salvage vehicle until it is repaired and retitled Rebuilt from Salvage.

All five states

Cars headed for a yard usually carry a parts-only status that is permanent. Texas: nonrepairable, never repaired, registered or driven. Florida: certificate of destruction, reassigned at most twice, with no new title ever issued; Florida also issues one for a late model car (7 model years old or newer) worth at least $7,500 when repairs reach 90 percent of its retail value. Tennessee: non-repairable, never titled or registered again and reassigned only twice. North Carolina: junk, never titled or registered. Colorado: nonrepairable, usable only for parts or scrap and never registered as a complete vehicle.

Florida

Florida: if an insurer and owner agree to repair a car and the actual repair cost ends up over 100 percent of the replacement cost, the owner must ask FLHSMV within 72 hours to brand the title Total Loss Vehicle.

Tennessee

Tennessee: the salvage definitions cover passenger vehicles 10 model years old or less (light trucks over 9,000 pounds gross vehicle weight are excluded), and the Department of Revenue's totaled-car steps tell owners of vehicles less than 10 years old to apply for a salvage or non-repairable certificate.