Quote:
	
	
		
			
				Originally posted by IALuder  
half the price of what you paid for it. 
			
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Close to it.  I think it varies some what from company to company.  Some total at 51%, some at 80%, some at 100% or more.
Here's what seems to the case for most companies:
Example:
Car Retail Value:  $10,000
Damages: $8,000
Rental Reimbrsement: $900 ($30/day)
Salvage Value:  $2,000 (generally 15-20% of the retail value)
To Total:
$10,000 - $2000 = $8,000
To Repair:
$8000 + $900 = $8,900
This would be a total loss since the cost to repair plus rental reimbursement exceeds 80% value.  They come out better by totalling than fixing the car.  They can pay you $10,000 and reclaim $2,000 of it making it only $8,000 that they pay.
They have to take into account what they can get for the salvaged car, rental costs (if you bought rentail coverage from them) when totalling a car out.
This is the "simple" version.  The complex version is written like this "cost of repair + projected supplements + projected diminished resale value + projected Rental Reimbursement".  Though I haven't worked out what this means yet... lol