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I've typically heard 70 to 75%, depending on the wholesale demand for salvage vehicles. For example, Hurricane Floyd that hit the northeast a few years back caused a glut of salvage vehicles in the area, so insurance companies were less prone to total a car and sought out that higher percentage.
When my S70 had a tree fall on it last summer, I went online with the three major price guides and found the typical RETAIL prices for the car. "Retail price" would be what you'd pay at a dealer to replace the car with an identical model. See:
http://www.edmunds.com/
http://www3.nadaguides.com/
and
http://www.kbb.com/
You need those quotes because the insurance company will initially try to offer you a wholesale value for the car. Just say no!
I also gathered documentation on the condition and upkeep of the car, and was prepared to argue that "the S70 with both the high pressure turbo and a 5-speed is a very rare animal. Only 1 in 100 S70s were built that way."
All of this made it easy to convince the insurance adjuster to have the car repaired, even though his estimated repair costs were around $12 to $13,000. The average of the three guides pricing estimates was about $21,000 at the time.
BTW, the total repair bill was up around $15,000. The car came out better than before the damage occurred. New roof panel, headliner, rear seat leather and cushions, carpet and padding, rear Dynaudio speakers, and a fresh paint job.
It'll work out in the end.
--
James Rothe, '99 S70 T5M, http://www.monmouth.com/~rothe/carstuff.html#Volvo
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