Car Accident Advice - Total Vs Salvage

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NJ

My son was in a car accident - he was rear ended. Had extensive damage to our car. We had no collison so we have to make a claim against other driver's insurance. She was issued ticket for careless driving.

We took car today for inspection and they are saying that rear frame is bent and since they have to use "new" part for that it is not economical to repair so it will be totaled. We don't know yet how much other company will pay us?

My husband stopped at place we've used before and they said it could be repaired but we'd have to buy car from ins company by having them subtract salvage value from what they would pay us.

My question is - what rights do we have in all this? If we take money to get another car and can't find something comparable do we have any rights in court to get additional money from this person or their insurance company? Son had whiplash but is doing ok now. We are very mad that because of this person's neglience it is now costing us money. She had no damage to her car, will probably just pay a small fine for the ticket and be on her way......

Any suggestions would be appreciated....

You are entitled to the fair market value of the vehicle of the cost to repair, which ever is less. You are not entitled to be made better than before.

Don't worry, the other driver is going to pay 40% more in premiums for the next 3 years because of this.

Generally, it never makes financial sense to keep a totalled vehicle. There are hoops you have to jump through to get it registered again and the value is cut in half at least. You are owed the value of the vehicle prior to the accident - depending on what kind of condition it was in, that may or may not be enough to get you a comparable vehicle (if it was in bad shape, that lowers the value, but generally you can't find cars for sale in poor condition, so you'd be paying more for the better condition). You should get a copy of the value report they used showing how they arrived at the figure they will give you for the settlement. Once you accept payment, that's it, you can't go back for more, so review everything carefully.