Keep or Surrender? Salvage Value Calculator
Enter the insurer's stated ACV and proposed salvage deduction, plus any comparable salvage-title sale prices you've found, and this tool shows the net-cash math for keeping vs. surrendering the vehicle — and how the insurer's deduction compares with your own evidence.
- Free — no login or email
- Every step of the math is shown
- Nothing you enter is sent to a server
Run Your Keep-or-Surrender Check
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Your Keep-or-Surrender Comparison
Every line below comes directly from what you entered — nothing is estimated or looked up on your behalf.
Net cash, either way
Insurer's deduction vs. your market evidence
Methodology version 1.0 — last reviewed 2026-08-08.
Wikipedia, "Salvage title" — general overview of owner-retained salvage and branded titles; branding criteria differ by state and should be confirmed with your state DMV.
New York State Department of Financial Services, OGC Opinion No. 00-02-07: Salvage Vehicle Branding — a real regulator opinion letter on salvage-title branding.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this tool tell me whether I should keep my totaled vehicle?
No. It shows the net-cash arithmetic for each option and compares the insurer's salvage deduction against any market evidence you enter — the decision itself depends on facts this tool doesn't know, like what you'd do with the vehicle and what a salvage/rebuilt title means for your specific state and situation.
What counts as a comparable salvage sale price?
A real, similar salvage-titled vehicle that actually sold — ideally close in year, mileage, and damage severity. This tool treats them the same way the Total-Loss Offer Audit calculator treats comparables: descriptive statistics only, with a disclosed 20% possible-outlier flag, never a legal or professional appraisal.
Why does this tool separate the insurer's deduction from market evidence instead of averaging them?
They measure different things — the insurer's internal salvage estimate versus what similar wrecked vehicles have actually sold for. Averaging them would produce a number that represents neither, so this tool always shows both and lets you compare.
Does the state field change the math?
No. It's for your own reference only. Salvage and rebuilt title branding rules — and what a branded title means for a vehicle's future value — vary by state; verify with your state DMV. See Owner-Retained Total Loss & Salvage Titles for what's documented.
Is anything I type sent to a server?
No. Every number you enter stays in your browser and is never transmitted to or stored on any server operated by this site.