Owner retention: compare insurer settlement paperwork with a resale plan

Compare the complete settlement-and-sale paths, not just a buyer's offer against the insurer's salvage deduction. Get written figures for surrendering the vehicle and for keeping it, then include the debt and costs still payable under each option.

This is a blank comparison method, not an actual owner's settlement or a resale result. First establish with the insurer, lender and relevant registration authority whether the proposed retention and sale can proceed. The existing US retention guide and Canadian retention guide cover process questions; the worksheet here addresses arithmetic.

Reconcile the insurer's figures before comparing offers

Washington's rule, in the version effective October 18, 2026, permits a salvage-value deduction when the claimant retains the total-loss vehicle and requires itemized explanations of additions and deductions. That is a Washington rule, not a worldwide settlement formula. See WAC 284-30-391, settlement adjustments.

Ask your own insurer for both options on the same valuation basis. Identify what each stated total already includes, who receives each payment, and which obligations remain yours. Do not compare a gross valuation in one column with the amount deposited into your account in the other.

Fill in the settlement-to-resale worksheet

Use one currency and the same starting date. Compare through completion of the proposed sale and closure of the existing vehicle loan. Leave unsupported entries unknown; this is a cash comparison, not a tax or business-profit calculation.

The CFPB explains that a payoff amount can differ from the statement balance, including because of interest or outstanding charges. Its guidance concerns US auto loans and trade-ins. Ask your lender for the applicable amount and date; do not carry an old balance into the worksheet as a current payoff.

Calculate the difference without counting payments twice

Let I_A and I_B be the insurer totals, P_A and P_B the complete loan payoffs, C_A and C_B the other remaining costs, and V the gross buyer proceeds under retention.

net A = I_A - P_A - C_A

net B = I_B + V - P_B - C_B

retention advantage = net B - net A

The buyer proceeds needed to match surrender are:

V = (I_A - I_B) + (P_B - P_A) + (C_B - C_A)

These equations count insurer money paid directly to the lender in the insurer total, then subtract the whole payoff once. They do not treat that direct payment as money you receive personally. If you instead start with your personal receipt after the lender allocation, you need a different reconciliation; do not mix the methods.

A salvage deduction already reflected in I_B is not another cost in C_B. Likewise, buyer proceeds directed to the lender remain part of V; do not subtract that portion from the offer and then subtract the entire payoff again. Identify any separately confirmed benefit or debt adjustment explicitly before changing the model.

Check timing and the unsold outcome

Alongside the totals, record each payment's payer, recipient, due point and prerequisite. Mark the first point at which money must leave your account before incoming funds arrive. A favorable final comparison does not supply those interim funds.

Run a second retention column with buyer proceeds unresolved and a holding period supported by your actual storage arrangement. Do not quietly substitute the asking price for an offer. Record whether you can keep funding the vehicle if the offer expires or collection is delayed.

For a separate decision about spending more on repairs, use the repair-versus-present-condition comparison. Keep that decision distinct from accepting retention. Browse current vehicles for listing context; asking prices do not establish your eventual proceeds.