My car was vandalized: claim it, repair it or sell it?

Everything below walks that decision in order: what the policy covers, when a claim is worth filing, what happens if the insurer totals the car, and when selling beats fixing.

Which part of your policy pays

The NAIC splits physical damage into two coverages, and only one of them helps here.

• Comprehensive pays for damage from almost every cause other than a collision. Vandalism, fire, severe weather, floods and theft are all on its list.
• Collision pays when your car runs into an object. A keyed door or a smashed mirror isn't a collision, so this part of the policy doesn't apply.

Comprehensive also covers broken glass, windshields included. So a shattered side window, a cracked windshield and a long scratch down both doors all go through the same claim.

The catch: the NAIC notes that the law doesn't make drivers carry comprehensive. If yours is liability-only, the insurer owes nothing for vandalism, and the question becomes repair or sell.

Claim it or pay out of pocket?

A claim pays the repair minus your deductible. If the repair barely clears the deductible, the check is small.

New York's insurance regulator, NY DFS, points out the other side of that choice: a higher deductible on collision and comprehensive lowers your premium. So with a high deductible, a small vandalism repair can leave little or nothing to claim.

A quick way to sort it:

1. Get a written repair estimate for everything that was damaged.
2. Subtract your comprehensive deductible.
3. If little or nothing is left, a claim buys you very little.
4. If a lot is left, the claim is worth filing, and the next question is whether the insurer will repair the car or total it.

When the insurer totals a vandalized car

A total loss is possible. If the repair adds up past what the car is worth, the insurer can declare it a total loss. The NAIC says it then pays what the car was actually worth as a used car.

The NAIC describes what happens then:

• The insurer pays what the car was actually worth as a used car. The Blue Book number is only a guide, not the payout.
• The insurer is entitled to the car's salvage value and can take the title when it pays.
• You can negotiate to keep the car by buying it back at the agreed salvage value.

Keep it, and the title can end up branded, since many states treat an insurer total loss as salvage. Getting it back on the road can take an inspection. Vermont, for one, inspects a rebuilt car before titling it, and the new title carries "rebuilt".

Keyed paint often doesn't decide the total

Some states leave paint out of the total-loss math. Nevada's 65 percent test excludes paint and certain electronic parts (NRS 487). Texas counts repairs "excluding repainting" (Texas Transportation Code). A car that is mostly keyed can have a large paint bill and still not be salvage under those rules.

West Virginia has a middle path: an insurer total loss there can get a "cosmetic total loss" title instead of a salvage certificate (W. Va. Code 17A-4-10).

Where the title names the cause

A few states name vandalism outright. New York and South Dakota both name vandalism in their salvage definitions.

State rules: when vandal damage makes it salvage

Each row comes from that state's statute or motor-vehicle agency. Percentages compare the repair bill with the car's value before the damage, unless the row says otherwise.

If there's a loan on the car

A loan doesn't stop a claim or a sale, but it changes the numbers.

If the insurer totals a financed car and pays less than you owe, NY DFS calls the shortfall the gap amount, and gap coverage pays it. Without gap coverage, that difference is still yours.

Selling instead? Get a dated payoff figure from the lender. Per the CFPB, it can run higher than your monthly statement shows, since interest math, late fees and extra charges all feed into it. And if you owe more than the damaged car brings, the CFPB warns the sale may not cover the loan. Our still owe on the loan guide covers the lien release step by step.

Don't count on a tax write-off

People often expect to deduct the loss. IRS Publication 547 says a casualty loss on personal-use property, such as a vandalized car, is deductible only when it is tied to a federally declared disaster. Ordinary vandalism isn't, so plan as if the tax return won't soften the hit.

Fix it or sell it

Repair usually makes sense when:

• comprehensive is on the policy and the repair is well above the deductible
• the damage is surface-level and the car otherwise runs well
• the repair costs well under what the car is worth

Selling usually makes sense when:

• there's no comprehensive, so every repair dollar is yours
• the insurer totaled the car and you'd face a salvage title to keep it
• the vandals reached the wiring, the interior or the engine, not just the paint
• the repair quote nears or passes the car's pre-damage value

If you bought the car back from the insurer, or kept the check and never fixed it, read selling without fixing after a claim before you list it. And if a salvage brand is already on the title, salvage title explains what that means for a buyer.

Selling a vandalized car to us

We buy whole non-running and junk cars, and a vandalized car fits. You can sell the whole car as it sits: broken glass, scratched paint and all. There's no need to clean it up or replace the mirror first.

When you ask for an offer, mention:

• what was damaged, and whether the car still starts and drives
• whether an insurer totaled it, and what the title now says
• any loan on it, with the lender's name

We offer free pickup anywhere in the US.

Questions before you decide? Call (877) 421-6008.