Airbags Deployed: Is the Car Worth Repairing?

1. Do not drive it

   With airbags gone, the car has lost protection, and there may be damage you cannot see. Have it towed, even if it starts.

2. Take photos

   Get the whole car, the airbags, the dash warning lights, the damage and the scene if you can do it safely. Then keep every document you receive.

3. Call your insurer

   Do this before anyone starts repairs, and before you agree to sell the car. If you have no claim to make, see wrecked car with no insurance.

4. Find out where the car is

   If it is in a tow yard, storage may be adding up. Our guide to a car in a tow yard after an accident explains what to do.

When a shop quotes this repair, make sure it has looked at the whole system. Depending on the car, the crash could affect:

• The driver, passenger, side or curtain airbags that fired.
• The dashboard, steering wheel parts, seat or trim the airbags came through.
• Seat belts. Many have pretensioners that may fire in a crash and need attention too.
• Crash sensors and the airbag control module.
• Wiring, warning lights and any stored crash data the module holds.
• The frame or unibody, radiator support, suspension and steering.

Our guide to reading a repair estimate applies here too. Collision estimates often grow once the shop takes off damaged parts and sees behind them.

• Have you measured the structure? Is there frame or unibody damage?
• What new airbag parts does this need, and where are they coming from? Will you replace seat belts too?
• Will the airbag warning light go out, and how will you confirm the system works?
• What could you find once the damaged parts come off?
• Will you follow the manufacturer’s repair procedures for this model?
• What warranty do you give, in writing?

Airbag parts are safety equipment, so do not look for shortcuts here. Ask the shop plainly about where any replacement parts came from. Do not accept a car with an airbag warning light still on, or one that has had its light bypassed.

If an insurer is involved, it may decide the car is a total loss and offer you its value. Washington’s insurance commissioner says insurers must approve, deny or explain a delay after 30 days, and the rule on total loss settlements requires the insurer to give you its valuation report if you ask for it.

A total loss has rules of its own. DOL lists your options after a total loss: sell it, keep and repair it, keep it unrepaired, or use it for parts. It also says a salvaged car cannot be driven or parked on public roads until a new title has been issued. These guides go through each step:

• What totaled means in Washington
• Keep or sell a totaled car
• Keeping the salvage yourself
• The rebuilt title inspection
• If you owe more than it is worth

Do not sell the car before your insurer settles without asking first. See selling a wrecked car before insurance settles.

• The structure measures fine, and the damage is limited and clearly described.
• Your insurer approves the repair and does not total the car.
• The shop will repair it properly and stand behind the safety system in writing.
• The car was worth a good deal before the crash, and you plan to keep it.

• The structure is damaged, and a shop cannot say it will be right afterward.
• The full quote is far above what the car would be worth once repaired.
• There is no insurance money, and the car was already old and tired.
• The insurer totaled it and the numbers for keeping it do not work for you.

If you own the car free and clear and your claim is sorted out, we buy wrecked cars and tow them free on a flatbed. We need your title, an Affidavit in Lieu of Title or a Junk Vehicle Affidavit. If it is at a tow yard or shop, tell us when you call.