Hello, has anyone in NJ retained a total loss vehicle that was 9 year old vehicle or older? if so what was your experience like. Did your title remain unchanged?
I spoke to NJ MVC and essentially they do not require salvage title over that age. BUT they leave it to the insurance company's discretion.
Extra helpful to know which insurance company was your carrier. thank you for reading!
Hey NJ insurance adjusters, (and drivers who have been through this perhaps)
Situation: I have a 14-year-old car that got some significant body damage in an accident (mechanically no issue) Because of the age and current value of the vehicle, the repair costs might push it into total loss territory.
I’ve been reading up on NJ rules for vehicles older than 8 model years. From what I understand, for these older cars it only becomes a salvage vehicle if **both** these criteria are met:
So for this car to be deemed Salvage BOTH of these must happen:
Since most 14-year-old cars are worth much less than a 5-year-old equivalent, does that usually mean it **doesn’t** get branded as salvage?
In practice, when you have an older vehicle like this that ends up as a total loss due to repair costs vs. value:
- Do you typically require the owner to get a salvage title?
- Or do most older cars avoid the salvage branding because they fail that first value comparison?
Any insight would be appreciated — trying to understand what to expect if it goes that route. And then the best way to navigate it.
I want to keep this vehicle for personal reasons.
Thank you so much community. And please go easy on me, it's been a tough month for a number of reasons.