Your car was totaled by an insurance company for any number reasons, i.e. an auto accident, vandalism, flood, tree fell on the car, stolen and recovered or for numerous other situations.
The insurance carrier, be it your carrier or the at fault party’s carrier, will evaluate your car and make a determination of whether they will repair your car or consider it a total loss.
If they consider it a total loss, they will make you an offer of “Fair Market Value”. If you accept the offer of “Fair Market Value”, they will write you a check for that amount. They will require you to send them your title because now the insurance company owns your car. At this point, you have the right to purchase your car back for salvage value which is pre-determined by the insurance carrier.
If you decide to purchase your car back, they deduct that salvage value amount from the “Fair Market Value” and that is the money you will ultimately get. You will also be sent a “salvage title” in the mail from the state, giving you ownership of the car again.
BUT , your car is no longer legal for the road: You need to have a “PA Enhanced Safety Inspection” performed before you can drive it. You will also need to perform this inspection in order to get insurance on the vehicle.
BBack Car Care is authorized by the state to perform “PA Enhanced Safety Inspections” and get your car back out on the road. After the body damage has been repaired back to PA state requirements, you can make an appointment to have the car inspected by BBack Car Care.
To be clear, BBack Car Care CAN Assist you with:
1. Mechanic Repairs
2. Inspections
3. Stickers
BBack Car Care can not assist with body work but can happily refer you to trusted area body shops.
Here is a list of the required paper work you will need to supply to us for the inspection:
1. The original Salvage Certificate/Title that you received after your settlement.
2. The “Buy Back Letter” the insurance company gave you to show the transaction of you buying the car back. (This letter must explicitly show the “Salvage Value” you paid to purchase the car back from the insurance company). If the insurance company did not provide you with this documentation, you need to contact them to get it. We cannot do the inspection with out this document.
3. Any and all receipts showing the repairs that were completed to put the vehicle back to PA standards.
4. You do not need to fill out any forms from the state, i.e. MV 428 form. We do this.
5. You do not need to take pictures of the car, we do this also.
Below is a short list of some of the issues that will need to be addressed to pass the inspection:
1. Any and all lights on the dash must function properly; Off when they are supposed to be off and on when they are supposed to be on.
2. No sharp objects are to protrude beyond the body lines.
3. Body damage can not be a hazard to a person walking past your car.
4. No broken or cracked glass, including the windshield.
5. No aftermarket window tint.
6. A complete PA inspection will be performed on your car for the Enhanced Inspection.
7. You will need to have a PA Safety Inspection and Emission test performed again once the enhanced inspection is completed. (This is the regular annual inspection and final step.)
Approximate cost of a PA Enhanced Safety Inspection
In general, the cost for the inspection and all required tests afterward is $175.00.
This cost does not include any repairs required to pass the test. The cost will vary per vehicle, axles on vehicle and size of the vehicle, i.e. ¾ ton trucks, oversized vans, R.V.’s, etc.
If you have any additional questions or would like to book a PA Enhanced Safety Inspection, book an appointment online or call us today.
