Folks don't total cars. Insurance companies do. It's generally a pretty cut and dried affair. I've dealt with this several times in my life, and it has never taken this long for the decision to be made. Two times I had the vehicle taken to a body shop, the body shop made the estimate, which was higher than the percentage of resale value, and it was totaled. Took a day. The only haggling was over how much my vehicle had been worth before the wreck. The third time the insurance company sent an adjuster to the wrecker yard the day after it was towed, and it was totaled that day. All they do is start adding up parts and labor and if they hit their predetermined amount, it's totaled.
In your case, the holdup appears to be the insurance company isn't sure if there is hidden damge and is waiting for a body shop to take things apart before adding up the repair costs. Part of this may be due to the higher value of a used Fiesta ST compared to another small car of the same age and mileage. If it had been a Fiesta SE or base, they probably would have already totaled it because the value they needed to hit was only $4000 or maybe even less. Since a Fiesta ST, even used, is often worth $14,000 or $15,000, it's harder to total it because the exorbitant repair costs may still come in under the limit.
In your case, the holdup appears to be the insurance company isn't sure if there is hidden damge and is waiting for a body shop to take things apart before adding up the repair costs. Part of this may be due to the higher value of a used Fiesta ST compared to another small car of the same age and mileage. If it had been a Fiesta SE or base, they probably would have already totaled it because the value they needed to hit was only $4000 or maybe even less. Since a Fiesta ST, even used, is often worth $14,000 or $15,000, it's harder to total it because the exorbitant repair costs may still come in under the limit.
Can't wait to see it all put back together.
