savedbygrace21
New member
Specifically, in the state of TN. It's a somewhat complicated situation, so bear with me.
Long story short, my car (2011 Model Year) sustained EXTENSIVE hail damage on my last day in my home state (WI) prior to me moving to TN. The damage is purely cosmetic, my car is still fully functional. After moving to TN, I (possibly like an idiot...) got my car registered in TN and swapped out my WI title for a TN title, while my insurance claim was processing. Side note, the title is in my name, though I have a CD-secured loan on it with about $2k left. I come to find out that my insurance company deemed my car a total loss despite the fact that my car is fully functional with only cosmetic damage. The options they have posed to me are as follows, based on TN estimates:
According to this brochure (page 7 - however looks like it was published in 2013, so take it with a grain of salt), "Salvage titles are required for vehicles that have an estimated cost of repair equal to or greater than 75% of the actual cash value, and ten (10) model years of age or newer or any vehicle with an actual cash value of greater than $1,500", but also states that "Any vehicle with an actual cash value of less than $1,500 or passenger vehicles eleven (11) or more model years old at the date of the loss are exempt from the salvage title process."
My car is >10 years old (2011, damage was sustained in June 2022), however the cost of repairs would be about 80% of the car's estimated value. I believe the $10k estimate is the actual cash value, which is of course greater than $1.5k. So which is it, my car is older than 10 years so no Salvage title needed, or it is worth more than $1.5k and thus needs a Salvage title?
I haven't been able to find a straight answer anywhere so I tried my best to look at TN's actual codes/laws. I found this: "Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-3-209(b)(8)(C) states that it is the responsibility of the insurance company to notify the owner of a damaged passenger motor vehicle as to the owner's obligation to file for a Salvage title if they elect to retain ownership.
If the insurance company does not assume ownership of its insured's passenger motor vehicle that has incurred damage requiring the vehicle to be titled as a salvage vehicle or nonrepairable vehicle, the insurance company should:
So, my question is, does this technicality, since my car is GREATER than 10 years old, mean that my car is not a "Passenger motor vehicle" and thus is exempt from laws requiring totalled Passenger motor vehicles to get a salvage certificate? Am I not legally obligated to obtain a salvage title for my car if I elect to owner-retain and take the $7.5k?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Long story short, my car (2011 Model Year) sustained EXTENSIVE hail damage on my last day in my home state (WI) prior to me moving to TN. The damage is purely cosmetic, my car is still fully functional. After moving to TN, I (possibly like an idiot...) got my car registered in TN and swapped out my WI title for a TN title, while my insurance claim was processing. Side note, the title is in my name, though I have a CD-secured loan on it with about $2k left. I come to find out that my insurance company deemed my car a total loss despite the fact that my car is fully functional with only cosmetic damage. The options they have posed to me are as follows, based on TN estimates:
- Surrender the car and receive ~$10k
- Owner-retain and receive ~$7.5k, however my question comes as to whether I would be REQUIRED to take on a salvage title for the reasons below.
According to this brochure (page 7 - however looks like it was published in 2013, so take it with a grain of salt), "Salvage titles are required for vehicles that have an estimated cost of repair equal to or greater than 75% of the actual cash value, and ten (10) model years of age or newer or any vehicle with an actual cash value of greater than $1,500", but also states that "Any vehicle with an actual cash value of less than $1,500 or passenger vehicles eleven (11) or more model years old at the date of the loss are exempt from the salvage title process."
My car is >10 years old (2011, damage was sustained in June 2022), however the cost of repairs would be about 80% of the car's estimated value. I believe the $10k estimate is the actual cash value, which is of course greater than $1.5k. So which is it, my car is older than 10 years so no Salvage title needed, or it is worth more than $1.5k and thus needs a Salvage title?
I haven't been able to find a straight answer anywhere so I tried my best to look at TN's actual codes/laws. I found this: "Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-3-209(b)(8)(C) states that it is the responsibility of the insurance company to notify the owner of a damaged passenger motor vehicle as to the owner's obligation to file for a Salvage title if they elect to retain ownership.
If the insurance company does not assume ownership of its insured's passenger motor vehicle that has incurred damage requiring the vehicle to be titled as a salvage vehicle or nonrepairable vehicle, the insurance company should:
- Notify the insured of the insured's obligation to apply for a salvage title or nonrepairable vehicle certificate for the passenger motor vehicle and notify the department that a salvage title or nonrepairable vehicle certificate should be issued for the vehicle; or
- Withhold payment of the claim until the insured applies for a salvage title or nonrepairable vehicle certificate.". This seems to imply that I MUST obtain a salvage title even though my car is >10 years old. Of note, in TN a car is not able to be driven on a Salvage title, so if I must obtain a salvage title I would not be able to drive my car.
So, my question is, does this technicality, since my car is GREATER than 10 years old, mean that my car is not a "Passenger motor vehicle" and thus is exempt from laws requiring totalled Passenger motor vehicles to get a salvage certificate? Am I not legally obligated to obtain a salvage title for my car if I elect to owner-retain and take the $7.5k?
Thanks in advance for your help!