When Does An Insurance Company Total A Car? 
That usually happens when the cost to repair a car is greater than the actual cash value -LRB- ACV -RRB- or `` book value `` of that car . Now , after an accident it may be difficult to determine the final repair total because there is more than likely going to be damage that can only be seen when the car starts getting torn down . As a result , a pretty good rule of thumb is that if the initial repair estimate meets or exceeds 70 % of the value of the car , it is likely that the company will total it at that point . 