Should I repair my car or sell it?
Reviewed October 2026 · General guidance; your policy wording and insurer decide your claim.
Compare what you are left with in each case. Repair and keep: the car’s value once repaired, minus what the repair costs you (on the cheaper of claiming or paying yourself). Sell as it is: the offer for the damaged car.
So if a buyer offers more than (value after repair − your repair cost), selling comes out ahead. Accident-repaired cars often sell for less than undamaged ones, so use a realistic value.
When the repair bill passes about 75% of the IDV, many policies treat the car as a total loss: the insurer may pay the IDV minus your deductible and keep the damaged car. That counts as a claim, so the No-Claim Bonus is lost too.
The claim check shows this comparison automatically when the repair bill is large next to your IDV.