Can an insurance company (NYS) deny me my salvage vehicle because they think I intend to sell it?

Question

My car was totalled and I was not at fault, I had an agreement with the faulty partys insurance agent and asked what a salvage title meant...to him that ment that I wanted to resell the vehicle, I have no intention of doing this but just put a lot of money into the vehicle and do not want to loose all of that, can they deny me the right to purchase my vehicle because they think I may want to repair and sell the vehicle?

Answer 1

Insurance companies put a "salvage value" on totaled vehicles.  It is the amount they feel a salvage yard will pay them.  Most companies will sell the vehicle back to the original owner for the salvage value.  Ask the adjuster if they are willing to do that.  If they are, they will reduce your settlement by that amount.

A salvage title is one that is issued by your state letting anyone who purchases the vehicle know that it was deemed totaled by an insurance company at some time in its past.  In order to get a salvage title, the vehicle must be repaired to the point that it is considered safe to drive.  Most states have inspection facilities that will make that determination.

Answer 2

If you want to get your car back, give the insurance company back the check they gave you when the car was totalled.  

The insurance company generally has contracts with junk yards that handle their salvage vehicles - they don't have the time or money to handle individual sales.  Ask the agent who they use, and then you might be able to obtain the vehicle from the scrapyard.  The car will be more valuable then you might realize - you can strip out thousands of dollars of parts even in a totalled vehicle.