Ask a lawyer on the topic of Traffic law

What is the legal situation in case of total damage?

February 28, 2014 | 30,00 EUR | answered by Jan Wilking

My son was driving my 12-year-old Golf. A woman hit the fender on the side. Replacement value: 2750 euros, repair costs: 5890 euros. The other party admitted fault.
Although my son was completely innocent, he is practically being punished. What is the legal situation in case of total loss?

Kind regards,
Johann

Jan Wilking

Dear advice seeker,

I am happy to answer your inquiry taking into account the description of the situation and your efforts as follows:

An economic total loss occurs when the cost of repair exceeds the replacement value. In the case of such a total loss, the injured party can usually claim as compensation not the cost of repair, but only the cost of replacing an equivalent replacement item minus the salvage value of the damaged item.

There is an exception for motor vehicles, where the injured party can claim up to 130% of the replacement costs as compensation under certain conditions, if the vehicle can be completely and properly repaired for this amount. However, in your case, the cost of repair exceeds the replacement value by a significant amount, so reimbursement of repair costs is likely excluded and only the replacement value can be claimed. The case law justifies this by stating that no economically thinking person would repair a car for a price that is significantly higher than the price of a replacement vehicle.

I regret not being able to provide you with a more positive answer, but I hope I have still been able to provide you with a helpful initial orientation.

Please consider that within the scope of an initial consultation without knowledge of all circumstances, I cannot give you a definitive advice. If you wish for a definitive assessment of the situation, I recommend contacting a lawyer and discussing the situation with them with access to all documents.

Best regards,
Jan Wilking, Attorney at Law