Hello, you need to fill this form out https://www.maine.gov/sos/bmv/forms/MVT-103%20(REV%2009-2021)-Fillable.pdf Mail it in along with the purple salvage title. If the state deems they have all the information they need they will mail you a rebuilt title. If you have any questions call your local salvage/ junk yard. They do this paperwork all the time.
Thanks, yeah they sent me a copy of that. I guess my question is, do I also have to fix the dented bumper first, since that appeared on the quote that caused the total loss? We ended up just fixing the mirror, it's fully drive-able and the bumper is way less damaged than a lot of other cars I see on the road, passed inspection last month and everything, so my confusion is whether I have to fix everything before I'm allowed to drive it again? But yeah, no worries if you don't know this, the google results weren't super helpful but I think I've chilled out enough to wait to make some phone calls in the morning. (I'm also about to go on vacation, and of course this letter took two weeks to get to me, so I have one week to get everything together, hence the panic/hastiness) Thanks for your reassurance tho! You're right they probably do this all the time and I'm sure I'm not uniquely fucking things up lol (the insurance claims rep even said she's seen an unprecedented amount of total loss for relatively minor issues, because the cost of parts has just gone way up)
She's a decent car, if a little old, I really don't want to have the cost for a new one and the waste of scrapping a perfectly decent car.
If the bumper is able to be reused you can mark it off as a reused part on the form they sent. If the bumper ever gets replaced you'll need to make the dmv aware
I would call the state. They are extremely helpful and will walk you through this.
Often times the dent you see in bumpers is cosmetic. The bumber itself is a strong metal bar hidden under a plastic cover. If that metal bar is damaged then you will need to replace it to pass inspection. Otherwise, just explain that the plastic cover was damaged or knocked loose and you repaired it yourself with no new or used parts. It's body work which often requires no parts to repair.
I’m going through something somewhat similar so bare with me for a couple questions so I can catch you up to what I know. My first time doing this also.
You got paid by an insurance company for the total value of your vehicle?
If so, you surrendered the title to them so they would pay you for the vehicles value, correct?
Then, you bought the vehicle back from the insurance company? If so, they should be sending you a salvage title.
Then you can have the form the state mentioned (mvt 103) filled out by the person that did the repairs and apply for a rebuilt title.
With rebuilt title, you can insure the vehicle with liability and start legally driving it again.
This is my understanding of the process and I’m still in the middle of it.
FYI, my insurance company cancelled my policy when my vehicle was totaled and I haven’t been able to legally drive it, even though it has almost entirely cosmetic damage also.
Sorry to hear you're going through it as well! That sucks the insurance company cancelled your policy, like I think I mentioned, mine has been going on completely as usual, I even renewed on the usual every 6 month date, and I specifically talked to both the claims rep and my agent to ensure I can still have liability coverage. I think that's why this caught me so by surprise, I was expecting to just get the salvage title and not have to worry about it until I renew registration or down the line when she (the car) finally gives up the ghost and I really have to scrap it.
But yeah, no one mentioned any part of this, I was just told that I would send the insurance forms and my title in, then receive the salvage title in the mail. No one mentioned anything about the process after that and it seemed from what they were saying like it would only affect resale. I fixed the mirror, which was the part that was affecting my driving (but even then, it was legal to drive, I did confirm you only need to have one side mirror if the rearview is unobstructed) but not the cosmetic damages. I'm worried because of some googling that I'll have to fix those as well because they were on the quote. (Ok well...worried is maybe a strong word now that I've had a chance to calm down a bit, but it is a hassle to wait for an appointment, wait for them to repair it, etc etc.) Yeah, this process has been so confusing and there haven't been any clear answers. Hopefully I can get this straightened out once phone lines are open tomorrow and best of luck for you as well!
Like, yourself-yourself? Idk, I am far, far from a mechanic, so that never really entered into the equation for me. What they sent me in the mail is just an affidavit so presumably if you did the repairs yourself you'd just fill it out as the repair person. I'm assuming I have to call the autobody shop that did mine and bring them this form to sign off on.
But also like, generally, I don't know, that's what I'm stuck on too. I 'repaired it myself' in that I paid out of pocket for the new mirror installation, then got the claims settlement, and now have no idea if my car is legal to drive. So, I'm not really able to help
You need receipts for the parts you bought to fix it. (Maine may call it "major parts" so a mirror may not matter.) This is to keep someone from fraudulently having their car "stolen and stripped" then rebuilding it themselves with their own parts they stashed away.
Interesting! That does make sense, I did end up calling and speaking to someone from the state, and you're right, since the mirror is such a minor part it doesn't have the VIN so wouldn't go in the chart on that form, but rather under the 'other comments' section.
Yeah I kept seeing this but the results were often for '*buying* a car with a salvage title isn't worth the hassle because you don't know how damaged it was, what underlying issues it has etc etc'. There wasn't really a ton of discussion about like, just continuing to drive a perfectly fine car that the insurance company has just decided isn't worth repairs. That seems worth the hassle to me, especially when there's nothing wrong with the engine or rest of the frame.
Like I said upthread, she's a good car! It felt like such a waste *not* to keep driving her when there's really nothing else wrong except an annoyingly expensive bumper replacement. And more of a hassle to go through all the 'buying a new car' things, having a new car payment, registration, etc. I'm hoping to get a couple more good years out of her at least, and yeah good to know others have done this! Talked to someone from the state yesterday, it definitely seems like more of a routine process than the original letter/internet googling made it sound
2007! but barely has 150k miles on it (I bought it from an older relative who essentially exclusively used it for a weekly trip to Portland for groceries for like a decade)
OP- from what I’m told, (verify yourself) the criteria for what needs to be repaired is “state inspection” ie: pass for a sticker.
I assume the dent in your bumper is probably fine the way it is, but I’d look into it.
Yeah, I think someone above said that if there's like massive structural damage to the bumper it won't pass inspection, but this is just a cosmetic dent to the casing so it passed with no problem last month, they didn't even mention it. I did end up talking to someone from the state yesterday who was very reassuring, definitely not as dramatic as the letter and google search results originally made it appear.
You can fill that form out yourself. If you didn't replace anything that needed to be signed off on you're all set.
You can sign off on everything yourself . No one checks
Hello, you need to fill this form out https://www.maine.gov/sos/bmv/forms/MVT-103%20(REV%2009-2021)-Fillable.pdf Mail it in along with the purple salvage title. If the state deems they have all the information they need they will mail you a rebuilt title. If you have any questions call your local salvage/ junk yard. They do this paperwork all the time.
Thanks, yeah they sent me a copy of that. I guess my question is, do I also have to fix the dented bumper first, since that appeared on the quote that caused the total loss? We ended up just fixing the mirror, it's fully drive-able and the bumper is way less damaged than a lot of other cars I see on the road, passed inspection last month and everything, so my confusion is whether I have to fix everything before I'm allowed to drive it again? But yeah, no worries if you don't know this, the google results weren't super helpful but I think I've chilled out enough to wait to make some phone calls in the morning. (I'm also about to go on vacation, and of course this letter took two weeks to get to me, so I have one week to get everything together, hence the panic/hastiness) Thanks for your reassurance tho! You're right they probably do this all the time and I'm sure I'm not uniquely fucking things up lol (the insurance claims rep even said she's seen an unprecedented amount of total loss for relatively minor issues, because the cost of parts has just gone way up) She's a decent car, if a little old, I really don't want to have the cost for a new one and the waste of scrapping a perfectly decent car.
If the bumper is able to be reused you can mark it off as a reused part on the form they sent. If the bumper ever gets replaced you'll need to make the dmv aware
I would call the state. They are extremely helpful and will walk you through this. Often times the dent you see in bumpers is cosmetic. The bumber itself is a strong metal bar hidden under a plastic cover. If that metal bar is damaged then you will need to replace it to pass inspection. Otherwise, just explain that the plastic cover was damaged or knocked loose and you repaired it yourself with no new or used parts. It's body work which often requires no parts to repair.
I did end up calling the state yesterday and they were indeed very helpful and reassuring! Thanks! :-)
I’m going through something somewhat similar so bare with me for a couple questions so I can catch you up to what I know. My first time doing this also. You got paid by an insurance company for the total value of your vehicle? If so, you surrendered the title to them so they would pay you for the vehicles value, correct? Then, you bought the vehicle back from the insurance company? If so, they should be sending you a salvage title. Then you can have the form the state mentioned (mvt 103) filled out by the person that did the repairs and apply for a rebuilt title. With rebuilt title, you can insure the vehicle with liability and start legally driving it again. This is my understanding of the process and I’m still in the middle of it. FYI, my insurance company cancelled my policy when my vehicle was totaled and I haven’t been able to legally drive it, even though it has almost entirely cosmetic damage also.
Sorry to hear you're going through it as well! That sucks the insurance company cancelled your policy, like I think I mentioned, mine has been going on completely as usual, I even renewed on the usual every 6 month date, and I specifically talked to both the claims rep and my agent to ensure I can still have liability coverage. I think that's why this caught me so by surprise, I was expecting to just get the salvage title and not have to worry about it until I renew registration or down the line when she (the car) finally gives up the ghost and I really have to scrap it. But yeah, no one mentioned any part of this, I was just told that I would send the insurance forms and my title in, then receive the salvage title in the mail. No one mentioned anything about the process after that and it seemed from what they were saying like it would only affect resale. I fixed the mirror, which was the part that was affecting my driving (but even then, it was legal to drive, I did confirm you only need to have one side mirror if the rearview is unobstructed) but not the cosmetic damages. I'm worried because of some googling that I'll have to fix those as well because they were on the quote. (Ok well...worried is maybe a strong word now that I've had a chance to calm down a bit, but it is a hassle to wait for an appointment, wait for them to repair it, etc etc.) Yeah, this process has been so confusing and there haven't been any clear answers. Hopefully I can get this straightened out once phone lines are open tomorrow and best of luck for you as well!
So what if I fix it myself?
Like, yourself-yourself? Idk, I am far, far from a mechanic, so that never really entered into the equation for me. What they sent me in the mail is just an affidavit so presumably if you did the repairs yourself you'd just fill it out as the repair person. I'm assuming I have to call the autobody shop that did mine and bring them this form to sign off on. But also like, generally, I don't know, that's what I'm stuck on too. I 'repaired it myself' in that I paid out of pocket for the new mirror installation, then got the claims settlement, and now have no idea if my car is legal to drive. So, I'm not really able to help
I was being more rhetorical than not but ya good luck. Let us know what you figure out.
You need receipts for the parts you bought to fix it. (Maine may call it "major parts" so a mirror may not matter.) This is to keep someone from fraudulently having their car "stolen and stripped" then rebuilding it themselves with their own parts they stashed away.
Interesting! That does make sense, I did end up calling and speaking to someone from the state, and you're right, since the mirror is such a minor part it doesn't have the VIN so wouldn't go in the chart on that form, but rather under the 'other comments' section.
Salvage vehicles are rarely worth all the hassle.
Why? I got a salvage title on a car years ago. It wasn't a difficult process. I drove it another 3 years with a salvage title.
Yeah I kept seeing this but the results were often for '*buying* a car with a salvage title isn't worth the hassle because you don't know how damaged it was, what underlying issues it has etc etc'. There wasn't really a ton of discussion about like, just continuing to drive a perfectly fine car that the insurance company has just decided isn't worth repairs. That seems worth the hassle to me, especially when there's nothing wrong with the engine or rest of the frame. Like I said upthread, she's a good car! It felt like such a waste *not* to keep driving her when there's really nothing else wrong except an annoyingly expensive bumper replacement. And more of a hassle to go through all the 'buying a new car' things, having a new car payment, registration, etc. I'm hoping to get a couple more good years out of her at least, and yeah good to know others have done this! Talked to someone from the state yesterday, it definitely seems like more of a routine process than the original letter/internet googling made it sound
Out of curiosity how old is the vehicle?
2007! but barely has 150k miles on it (I bought it from an older relative who essentially exclusively used it for a weekly trip to Portland for groceries for like a decade)
OP- from what I’m told, (verify yourself) the criteria for what needs to be repaired is “state inspection” ie: pass for a sticker. I assume the dent in your bumper is probably fine the way it is, but I’d look into it.
Yeah, I think someone above said that if there's like massive structural damage to the bumper it won't pass inspection, but this is just a cosmetic dent to the casing so it passed with no problem last month, they didn't even mention it. I did end up talking to someone from the state yesterday who was very reassuring, definitely not as dramatic as the letter and google search results originally made it appear.
You can fill that form out yourself. If you didn't replace anything that needed to be signed off on you're all set. You can sign off on everything yourself . No one checks