When Does An Insurance Company Total A Car? 
Typically , cars are considered to be totaled when the cost to repair the vehicle is higher than the actual cash value -LRB- ACV -RRB- of the vehicle . Practically speaking , however , it is not always practical to repair a vehicle , even if the cost of repair is less than its ACV . A vehicle worth $ 4,000 requiring $ 3,000 in repairs might be considered totaled by an insurer even though the cost of repair is less than its value before the accident . Insurance companies will typically consider such a vehicle to be a total loss , even though the repairs are only 75 percent of ACV . Visit my website at WEBSITELINK to read about more coverage details and resources . 