Your car was totaled in Illinois: keep it or sell it?
By Junk Man Cash for Cars. Updated .
Can I keep my car if insurance totals it in Illinois?
Sometimes. Under 625 ILCS 5/3-117.1, once an insurer pays a total loss claim, it's treated as the owner and the car becomes salvage. The exception: a car with only hail damage that doesn't affect safety, or any car 9 model years old or older, may be kept by the registered owner if the owner and insurer agree.
The adjuster’s call usually comes in two parts: the car is a total loss, and here’s what we’ll pay. What people ask next is whether they can keep the car, and what happens if they do. In Illinois the answer comes from one section of the Vehicle Code, and it’s more specific than most national guides let on. This page walks through it, then covers the option we’re here for: selling a damaged car to a cash buyer for cars in any condition, like Junk Man Cash for Cars.
A note before we start: we buy cars. We’re not lawyers or insurance agents. The statute text below is quoted from the Illinois General Assembly’s website, and your insurer and the Secretary of State have the final word on your case.
What “totaled” means for ownership in Illinois
The key rule is in 625 ILCS 5/3-117.1(b)(1). When an insurance company “makes a payment of damages on a total loss claim for a vehicle, the insurance company shall be deemed to be the owner of such vehicle and the vehicle shall be considered to be salvage.”
So by default, once the insurer pays, the car is theirs and it’s classed as salvage. The insurer then has 20 days to send the title to the Secretary of State, and a salvage certificate is issued in the insurance company’s name. That’s the path most totaled cars take: you get the payout, and the car goes to the insurer.
The two kinds of totaled car you can keep
The same subsection carves out two exceptions. Ownership of:
- “a vehicle that has incurred only hail damage that does not affect the operational safety of the vehicle,” or
- “any vehicle 9 model years of age or older”
may, “by agreement between the registered owner and the insurance company, be retained by the registered owner.”
Read that carefully. It says may, and it says by agreement. Keeping the car isn’t automatic, and the insurer has to agree. If your car is newer than 9 model years and has more than hail damage, the law gives the insurer ownership once it pays. If you want to keep it, ask your adjuster how keeping the car would change the payout before you agree to anything.
If you keep it: what changes
Keeping a totaled car means keeping a salvage vehicle, and that comes with a hard limit. Subsection (e) of the same law says: “Any vehicle which is salvage or junk may not be driven or operated on roads and highways within this State. A violation of this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor.”
There are narrow exemptions, such as special plates for driving to or from a required inspection, or a short-term permit. The practical upshot: a car you keep after a total loss sits where it is until it’s either rebuilt and put through the state’s process to go back on the road, sold, or junked.
The fees are small. Under 625 ILCS 5/3-821, a salvage certificate costs $20, and there’s no fee for a junking certificate. The time and repair costs of rebuilding are the real expense.
Is it worth keeping a totaled car?
Keeping makes sense in a few situations:
- The damage is cosmetic (hail is the classic case) and you’re fine with a car that’s been through a total loss.
- You or someone you know can do the repairs, and the car is worth the time.
- You want parts off it for another car.
It rarely makes sense when the damage is structural, the car is already old and worn, or you’d be paying a shop to rebuild it. Then you’d be keeping a car you can’t drive and don’t want to fix.
Selling the totaled car you held on to
If you kept the car and don’t want to rebuild it, you can sell it. The buyer has to accept a salvage vehicle, which narrows the field to rebuilders, parts buyers and junk-car buyers.
That’s where we come in. You tell us the year, make, model, title status and what’s damaged; we call with an offer; if you accept, we tow it for free and you’re paid at pickup. Here’s how we sell the damaged car instead of leaving it parked.
If there’s still a loan on the car
Call your lender as soon as the insurer declares a total loss. The payout generally goes toward the loan first, and if the payout is less than you owe, you may still owe the difference unless you have gap coverage. Keep making payments until the lender confirms the loan is settled. Your insurer and lender are the right people to confirm the numbers for your policy and your loan.
Letting the insurer take it
For many drivers, the simplest path is the default one: accept the payout, sign the car over, take your belongings and plates out, and let the insurer handle the rest. You’re not required to keep a totaled car, and for a newer car with serious damage you usually can’t.
If the insurer’s value seems low, ask how they calculated it and what comparable cars they used. That’s a conversation to have before you sign anything.
Had a blown engine rather than a crash? The logic is different; see how to sell a car with a blown engine.
Sources: 625 ILCS 5/3-117.1 and 625 ILCS 5/3-821, Illinois General Assembly.
More questions
Does a totaled car hurt my credit?
A total loss is an insurance claim, not a loan, so the claim itself isn't a credit event. What matters is any loan still on the car: keep paying it until the insurer and your lender settle it, and ask both of them directly.
Can I drive a salvage car in Illinois?
No. The law says a salvage or junk vehicle may not be driven or operated on roads and highways in Illinois, apart from narrow exemptions such as special plates for an inspection trip or a short-term permit.
How much is a salvage certificate in Illinois?
The fee for a salvage certificate is $20, under 625 ILCS 5/3-821. There's no fee for a junking certificate.