You ever looked into how much it costs to replace all the body panels on a car? It could be several thousand bucks. If you’re running a 2000s car, even if it’s well maintained, repairs could easily cost more than the value of the car.
Recently happened to a friend of mine. Got some hail damage that was too big and widespread to hammer out nicely so the panels needed to be replaced. Old car, nothing wrong with it other than hail damage. Insurance said it was totaled. You can still drive it but it required a special title or something, I forget exactly what.
When your car is “totaled” (from the perspective of insurance) it just means that it would cost more to repair your car than your car is worth.
Mild hail damage can total a cheap/old car, even if you only need to replace the windshield for it to be drivable.
How cheap are we talking about???
You ever looked into how much it costs to replace all the body panels on a car? It could be several thousand bucks. If you’re running a 2000s car, even if it’s well maintained, repairs could easily cost more than the value of the car.
Recently happened to a friend of mine. Got some hail damage that was too big and widespread to hammer out nicely so the panels needed to be replaced. Old car, nothing wrong with it other than hail damage. Insurance said it was totaled. You can still drive it but it required a special title or something, I forget exactly what.