Doing more research I found this -
Auto insurance companies must do a visual evaluation of the damage to your vehicle to begin estimating the cost of repairs. It helps to be there with them when they survey the damage, so that you can point out anything they may overlook. Make sure that they see all damage in order to ensure a proper settlement.
Keep in mind, however, that the more damage they see, the more likely it is that your car will be declared a "total loss." Here's where it gets hairy, since, depending on how much you love or hate your car, the concept of total loss can be a bad or good thing. First, a definition of the term "total loss."
According to the Insurance Consumer Advocacy Network (I-CAN), a self-help Web site for consumers run by a former insurance adjustor, insurance companies define a "total loss" as:
"The cost of repair plus projected supplements plus projected diminished resale value plus rental reimbursement expense exceeds the cost of buying the damaged vehicle at its preaccident value, minus the proceeds of selling the damaged vehicle for salvage."
Huh? Simply stated, if compensating you for repairing the car, renting something in the meantime
and paying you what your car has lost in value costs more than what they'd shell out to just buy you a replacement and then sell your wreck to a salvage yard, you're not going to get your car back, but a check instead.
If the estimate your insurer comes up with is questionable to you, check your policy for an "Appraisal Provision" that would allow you to get an independent appraisal of the damage, which would then be reviewed by an "umpire" jointly selected by your appraiser and that of your auto insurance company. If the two appraisers can't agree on an amount of your car's ACV and damage, the umpire steps in, basically to take one side or the other to help resolve the issue. While you have to pay for your appraiser, and share the umpire's fee, it may be worth the expense if you really feel that your auto insurance company is trying to give you short shrift.
However, given the sizable expense of fixing a damaged car, compensating you for lost resale value, rental car costs and so on, it's easy to understand why insurance companies often throw up their hands long before the repair bill exceeds the car's ACV. For example,
some companies consider a wrecked vehicle a total loss when the total cost to repair it exceeds just 51 percent of the vehicle's ACV. Others don't give up until the repair bill hits the 80-percent mark.
I didn't know about the diminished value thing until I read about it here. This link provides info about it -
DIMINISHED VALUE FAQS | Insurance Consumer Advocate Network
The adjuster will be coming out tomorrow so I'm finishing my research tonight. This is my first potential totaled vehicle in about 20 years. Maybe what I go through will help someone in the future.