A new transmission costs a lot of money, no matter if you drive a Honda or a Mercedes Benz. And while Honda is going to be on the much cheaper end, Kelley Blue Book estimates the cost of a transmission replacement for a 2012 Honda Civic (a car widely known for its low cost of maintenance) is going to be between $4100 and $4400 depending on where you live. If you have a car like a Ford F-150 (which is known for expensive repair costs due to the body removal required), you’re looking at upwards of $4000 as well.
If you have a foreign car like a BMW or a Mercedes Benz, those cars are notorious for having high prices for parts and complicated engineering requiring a lot of labor hours going into repairs. The fact of the matter is that no matter what car you own, replacing a transmission will be very, very costly. If your car is a bit older and has a lot of miles, it’s probably worth selling your car and putting the money towards a new one.
If you have a car with a damaged transmission that the repair bill costs more than the car is worth, it’s probably worth selling it to us at JunkCarsUS because we buy damaged cars.
- Will the insurance company pay the balance of the car loan if it is in an accident and damaged?
If you are involved in an accident that totals your vehicle or damages it so that it is no longer operable, your insurance company is likely to pay the loan balance owed on your vehicle. This will leave you responsible for the difference if your insurance payment is less than what you still owe to the bank.
When your car gets in an accident that ruins major parts, repairs can be expensive. The insurance company will consider it a total loss if it would cost more to fix than what it's worth. State requirements differ, but the damage will have to be at least 60 percent of the car’s actual cash value. To help you get an estimate, you can use our car value calculator.
What happens if your car is totaled and you still owe money on it? In this case, your car will be deemed a total loss, and you will receive an insurance payout minus your deductible.
The payout will cover the car’s cash value just before the accident up to your policy limit. For instance, if the actual cash value of your totaled vehicle is $20,000 and you have a $1,000 deductible, you will receive $19,000 as your payout. That’s enough cash to buy another car.
But if you own a bigger loan amount, say you owe $15,000 on your car loan, the insurance company will pay you $10,000 for your crashed car. That means you would still owe $5,000 on the car.
- Can you sell a wrecked car with an unpaid loan?
What happens when your car is totaled and you still owe money? Is it illegal to sell a car when you still owe money for it? No, it is not illegal to sell a car that is currently financed. However, the process can be rather tricky. Because the car is still under finance, you would technically be selling something that does not belong to you yet, which means you need to make sure you know exactly what you're doing before attempting this course of action.
As mentioned, after an accident, your insurance will check if your car is a total loss. If it is, then it will be classified as a total wreck.
Now, if you’re asking, "Is selling my wrecked car the right decision even if it’s still under a loan?" that would depend on how much you’ll end up getting with the insurance.
A totaled car is usually shipped off by your insurance company to a salvage lot and sold at a discount - so you might not get much from them. If you choose to keep your car after an accident, you can probably sell it for a higher price, especially if you sell to a top-dollar junk car buyer like Junkcarsus.
If your car is totaled and you still owe on loan, check with your insurance company and get their estimate for your car. If your computed value is more than the estimated value of the insurance, then the best solution is to keep it and sell it. In this case, the insurer will take your deductible and include it with their calculation of your car's worth. They will then deduct that from your total settlement.
