It is the insurance company that determines if the car is totaled. Usually, car insurance companies decide that vehicles are totaled if the costs of repair are assessed to be over 65 percent of the vehicle’s value. The initial assessment by the repair shop or insurance adjuster often does not find all of the damage. When the mechanic works on the damaged vehicle, new damage or other problems are often revealed. To avoid this common occurrence, insurance companies presume that some damage is still hidden when they assess the vehicle. This is why they deem a car to be totaled, even if the apparent damage is less than the vehicle’s value.