A glossary of the terms you'll run into when shopping for a salvage or rebuilt vehicle.
Table of Contents
An insurance company's determination that repairing a vehicle isn't economically worthwhile -- typically when the repair estimate (plus the car's salvage value) exceeds a set percentage of its actual cash value. A total loss doesn't automatically mean severe physical damage; sometimes it's simply that repairs aren't worth it relative to the car's value.
What an insurer considers a vehicle to have been worth immediately before it was damaged -- the number used to decide whether a repair estimate crosses the total-loss threshold, and what a total-loss claim typically pays out.
The brand placed on a title once a vehicle has been declared a total loss. In most states, a salvage-titled car can't be legally driven or registered until it's repaired and passes inspection.
What a salvage title becomes once the vehicle has been repaired and passed the state's required inspection. The car is road-legal again, but the brand stays on the title permanently.
A title with no salvage, rebuilt, flood, or other damage brand -- meaning the vehicle has never been declared a total loss.
A specific brand indicating a vehicle was damaged by flooding badly enough to be declared a total loss. Flood-damaged vehicles need extra scrutiny, since water damage to electrical systems can cause problems that don't show up right away.
A title brand applied when a manufacturer repurchases a vehicle from an owner because it had a persistent defect the manufacturer couldn't fix -- distinct from salvage/total-loss branding, since the car itself may have no accident history at all.
A report (commonly from CARFAX or AutoCheck, pulled using the VIN) that compiles a vehicle's title history, reported accidents, odometer readings, and prior ownership -- one of the most useful things to check before buying any used, salvage, or rebuilt vehicle.