*If you’ve recently been in an accident, you’re sure to have a lot on your mind. And, if your car was badly damaged or you’re facing unexpected expenses, what to do next with your vehicle is an important consideration to make. You and your insurance company will need to work to determine the value of your vehicle, and if any repairs to it are possible or worth making financially.

Once you’ve asked yourself (and your mechanic!) some questions about your car’s repairs and future drivability, you’ll have a clearer idea of what the best choice for you is. Fortunately, selling your damaged vehicle is easier than ever with increased online services and the rapidly growing car recycling industry.

Should You Sell or Repair?

Before you make the decision to sell your damaged car, you should know what it would take to repair it. Shop around for quotes from mechanics in your area to get an idea of repair costs. These quotes will be a big help in determining your car’s value post-accident, as well as determining if you should repair it at all.

If your car has taken some damage but has many good years left in it, it may be more affordable to make repairs than to incur the costs of purchasing and maintaining a new vehicle. However, if the price of repairs equals or passes 50 percent or so of the cost of your vehicle, it’s probably time to sell.

Certain types of damage also may be affordable or fixable now, but become untenable in the future or make your car less safe going forward. This can include malfunctions in the engine, transmission, or frame damage. Frame damage in particular is something that can dramatically reduce your car’s impact protection for future accidents.

Your first step in selling your car after an accident is to file a claim with your insurance. Your insurance company will assess your car’s damage and make a number of determinations. The first is if the car is fixable at all, and what the cost of those fixes will be.

If your insurance decides your car is fixable and worth fixing, that’s fantastic. You’ll pay up to your deductible out of pocket, and your insurance will handle the remaining expenses. Except in rare cases where a deductible is several thousand dollars, repairs through your insurance will usually be your most affordable option.

However, if your car isn’t fixable or simply costs too much to repair, selling your damaged car can be a quick and safe way to earn cash that can contribute to your next vehicle or any new bills you may be facing.

How to Sell

A car is declared “totaled” by an insurance company when the ratio of repair costs to the value of the car is no longer worth making the repairs. This ratio is different from company to company and from state to state, but averages around 70 percent.

If your car is totaled, your insurance company will likely make an offer to buy it from you. The amount you’ll be offered would be the value of your car minus your deductible. This process is known as “making you whole.” In many cases, however, your best bet is not to sell to your insurer, but instead to make an offer to buy the car back from them.

When you buy your car back from your insurer, you’ll instead receive a check for the value of your car minus your deductible as well as the amount they believed they’d make selling your car at auction. While this means the check you receive up-front will be lower, you’ll also receive your car and its title, allowing you to sell it for more than you would have made from your insurer alone.

With your car and title available to you, it’ll be time to shop around for quotes. In the past, this process has been done by asking around local dealerships and salvage yards to find the best trade-in deal or cash value available. That process can be time-consuming, introduce the risk of hidden fees, and if you’re not thorough, you may miss the best deal.

Luckily, the Internet has made the sale of damaged cars a much smoother and more profitable process for you. When selling your car online, you’ll want to look for several important promises. First is a guaranteed quote, as less reputable buyers may try to deceive you with a higher up-front quote than what you end up receiving at the time of sale.

You’ll also want to factor in the price of title transfer and towing, which often aren’t included in quotes or offered by individual buyers. Fees can take a large chunk out of your profit for your car, and aren’t necessary, since many online car-buying companies won’t charge you any to do the same thing.

To save yourself the headache of navigating this process on your own, you should look to a reputable and reliable service like CarBrain. All you’ll need to sell your car should be its title, a description of the vehicle, pictures and the VIN. With this information, a reliable company should be able to generate a fair-market offer for your vehicle.

Once you get a quote, you should be able to accept it and schedule a free towing for your car. The driver will arrive at a pre-arrange time. Make sure that you get paid when the driver arrives — if payment comes later, it could be a potential sign of a scam.