If you have been in a car accident and your insurance company has decided your car is totaled, who says how much it is worth? Most insurance companies will try and be fair about the value of your car.
But know that the insurance company's job is to "make whole".
So they should give you what it would cost you to replace your car for the exact same car.
The insurance company is bound by law to give you an offer for your car within a set amount of time.
This will vary from state to state.
Before you hear from the insurance company, do your research.
Look online for vehicles that are like the one that was totaled.
See if you can find more than one and compare the selling prices.
You may be surprised to find out the insurance company is probably doing the same thing.
This is something else you may not have known, if you don't think the amount the insurance company is offering is adequate, you don't have to accept it.
There is room for negotiation, especially if you can prove what they are offering is not a fair price.
You may not get them to give you exactly what you want, but they may be willing to increase their offer.
Also, if you have a loan on your car, the insurance company does not have to give you enough to pay off the loan.
And if your lender is shown as a lienholder on your insurance policy, they get the money not you.
If, however, you get more money from the insurance company that what is owed on your loan, you will get the difference between the loan payoff and insurance payout.
If you want to know how much your car is worth because you are ready for a new car, the process is much the same.
Look and see what like vehicles are selling for in your area.
There are also websites for the pricing of cars that dealerships use.
Check it out and realize that you are likely to get less if you trade-in your car at a dealership than you would if you sold it yourself.
Which you choose to do is going to depend on how quickly you need to get rid of your current car; or how much time you want to spend on getting rid of your current car.
If you choose to sell your car yourself, it may take some time.
It may cost you a little to list your car for sale.
There are some websites that will allow you to list your car for free and others that will want a small fee.
You may want to use both to get as much exposure as you can.
And people will want to negotiate with you and get the price down.
If you are comfortable doing this, go for it.