perda total
Published 8 November 2026, 22:23
perda total (car written off)
Not "the car cannot be repaired" but a calculation. For a car under two years old, it is a total loss when the cost of repair plus the value of the wreck exceeds 100% of the car's market value before the accident (valor venal); for a car over two years old, the threshold is 120%. In that case, instead of a repair you receive money: the market value minus the value of the wreck (valor do salvado) if you keep the wreck, or the full market value if the car goes to the insurer.
Where you come across it. A serious accident, a letter from the insurer with the words perda total, a dispute over the valuation.
The insurer must tell you who estimated the repair, what the car was valued at before the accident and who is willing to buy the wreck at the stated price. The wreck is where people get caught out: the sum promised for it sometimes drops to zero just before the deal goes through.
Official website: consumidor.asf.com.pt/seguro-autom%C3%B3vel-1