# Is it possible to prevent an auto insurance company from totalling your car? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 11, 2011, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-prevent-an-auto-insurance-company-from-totalling-your-car/599297 "2011-10-11T14:36:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-prevent-an-auto-insurance-company-from-totalling-your-car/599297/21 "2011-10-12T14:54:33Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > This can’t possibly be true everywhere. I registered, insured, and drove a salvage title vehicle for 10 years, in Arizona and Nevada. [Nevada](http://www.dmvnv.com/salvage.htm). > [@](#): > > Salvage vehicles in Nevada are issued an orange-colored Salvage Title. **A salvage vehicle may not be registered or operated on any public street until it has been rebuilt and inspected**. Once a salvage vehicle has been repaired, it becomes a rebuilt vehicle and may be registered and/or sold if the proper procedures below have been followed. Non-Repairable vehicles are issued a Certificate and may not be restored to operating condition. Arizona [28-2091](http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/28/02091.htm&Title=28&DocType=ARS) is less clear and I can’t comment beyond: > [@](#): > > F. If the department issues a **nonrepairable** vehicle certificate of title for a vehicle, **the registration of the vehicle is cancelled**. The front of a nonrepairable vehicle certificate of title shall be branded with the word “nonrepairable”. The ownership of a vehicle for which a nonrepairable vehicle certificate of title has been issued shall not be reassigned more than two times on that certificate of title. If a nonrepairable vehicle certificate of title is issued for a vehicle, the department shall not issue any further certificate of title for that vehicle. and from [here](http://www.azdot.gov/mvd/faqs/scripts/FAQsResponse.asp?Category=2&Keyword=), [QUOTE=20) How do I apply for a restored salvage title?] Complete a title application, have a Level II/III inspection conducted, obtain an emissions compliance certificate (if applicable), surrender the salvage title with the application and pay all required fees. [/QUOTE] From my brief read of the statute it’s not clear you can’t register a “salvage” titled car in AZ. However, with the option to obtain a restored salvage title (which will still alert buyers of the previous salvage status) it’s likely you’ll run into problems registering a salvage vehicle. But Ya, I don’t know for sure about AZ. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-prevent-an-auto-insurance-company-from-totalling-your-car/599297/22 "2011-10-12T15:02:23Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > This can’t possibly be true everywhere. I registered, insured, and drove a salvage title vehicle for 10 years, in Arizona and Nevada. State laws and local terminology vary. In my state, a wrecked vehicle cannot be registered (and therefore driven). Once repaired it can be inspected and declared road-worthy. Some people might call the resulting title a salvage title, others might call it something else. But the point was that there are usually two levels of titles for a totaled car. Note regarding OP: This happened to a family member. The insurance company wanted to total it, we took the salvage value and fixed it. (Just some front end damage.) 7 years later it runs fine (and it’s now my personal car). It never was declared totaled in the eyes of the state DMV which would have been much more work. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-prevent-an-auto-insurance-company-from-totalling-your-car/599297/23 "2011-10-12T17:29:19Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > - Salvage Title = Not roadworthy and cannot be licensed for use on public roadways In California a car with a Salvage Title can be driven, as long as certain steps are taken, including an inspection. The following web page from the CA DMV explains: [http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/howto/htvr13.htm](http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/howto/htvr13.htm) ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-prevent-an-auto-insurance-company-from-totalling-your-car/599297/24 "2011-10-13T17:08:09Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > - Salvage Title = Not roadworthy and cannot be licensed for use on public roadways > - Branded Title = Formerly salvage, but has been made roadworthy through repair and inspected by the State Patrol. My only comment here is that in every state I’ve done any amount of car horsetradin’ in, a salvage title is the thing you call a branded title here. I would suspect that even in states where it is as you describe, if you colloquially say a “salvage title” most people will assume you mean a car that has been rebuilt and can be registered. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-prevent-an-auto-insurance-company-from-totalling-your-car/599297/25 "2011-10-13T18:10:07Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > My only comment here is that in every state I’ve done any amount of car horsetradin’ in, a salvage title is the thing you call a branded title here. I would suspect that even in states where it is as you describe, if you colloquially say a “salvage title” most people will assume you mean a car that has been rebuilt and can be registered. I’d agree with that. I think a lot of times DMV gets a little too particular about the history of a car. I suppose it might be useful to know if a car was totaled in the past, and whether it was by hail, flood, collision, vandalism or previously stolen; but the heart of making the change to the title is to alert the next owner that something serious went down in the lifetime of the car. Which results in what you describe. Oh, and I kinda omitted something from my know-it-all post: some cars are exempt from mucking about with the title. Usually it has to do with how old the car is, or its value at the time of the accident. For instance if you ram your '72 Corolla into a wall in Colorado, you can hammer out the dents and still sell it on a clean title because it’s exempt from branding due to age. There’s other stuff I’m sure I’ve missed–there’s 50 or so different ways to handle a title in the US. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-prevent-an-auto-insurance-company-from-totalling-your-car/599297/26 "2011-10-13T18:57:07Z")
**Inigo** , how are you feeling today? I’m just a teeny bit worried about you over here. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-prevent-an-auto-insurance-company-from-totalling-your-car/599297/27 "2011-10-13T19:35:12Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > My only comment here is that in every state I’ve done any amount of car horsetradin’ in, a salvage title is the thing you call a branded title here. I would suspect that even in states where it is as you describe, if you colloquially say a “salvage title” most people will assume you mean a car that has been rebuilt and can be registered. That’s a rebuilt-salvage title. Branded title is a bit broader; it applies to vehicles not built to US market specifications, for example. In 28 states a salvage title means “not on public roads, buddy”. Michigan and NY are two examples. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-prevent-an-auto-insurance-company-from-totalling-your-car/599297/28 "2011-10-13T22:56:28Z")
I had a car totaled and bought it back from the insurance company. By doing this you avoid retitling it as salvage. It just stays in your name and your check from the insurance company is less the repurchase price. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-prevent-an-auto-insurance-company-from-totalling-your-car/599297.md?page=1)