Buy or No Buy Salvage-Titled Car?

[placelast]

My youngest son is looking for his 1st car; the one he likes the best so far has a salvage title. From what little I know that means it was wrecked and they put it together from two or three others, and/or it was stolen, and recovered after the claim payed.

I understand the stigma would stay with the car indefinitely. This one in particular was used by the existing owner for several years as a daily commuter.

What 'cha all know? What kind of Qs should be asked of the owner? DMV/highway patrol/state police-troopers? Where do you get accurate and complete background checks?

Thanks.

 

[robwbright]

We didn't deal with salvage titles much at the dealership I worked at, but if I understand it right, a salvage title could also be a car that was totalled, recovered by the insurance company and resold.

Since repairs generally cost so much, a salvage can sometimes be a wreck that was serious body damage only - and thus, you could get a decent car cheap.

I did sell a salvage title 84 Corvette with about 80,000 miles for $6,000.00 (that car would have been worth $10,000.00 plus if not salvage). The car ran great and had a straight frame, but the body work was pretty crappy if you looked at it up close. However, from 15+ feet away you'd have never known - and most people wouldn't have known up close unless you pointed the problems out to them.

A salvage title lowers the value of the car by a large percentage, so buy it right (if it checks out) - you'll have trouble selling it. Thus, you might want to plan on driving it for awhile.

I would guess you could find out from the previous insurance company and/or police reports how badly it was banged up or if it was stolen.

A competent mechanic could tell you whether the frame is straight, etc. . . obviously, don't use the dealer/seller's guy for this.

 

[junkjeeps]

Some cars like this are well done and some are put together shoddily. You need to look closely at body lines and hood to fender gaps, etc.. Does the owner know why it has a salvage title? Do you trust him to tell you the truth? Carfax should be able to tell you what happened, but only if it was claimed through insurance. One last thing, when looking at Blue Book value, remember that a salvage titled car is only worth about 70% of what Blue Book states. That will come into play if he wrecks it(total loss) and the insurance company has to pay and it could work in your favor when negotiating purchase price. If the previous owner has been using it as a daiy commuter, it must be in fairly decent shape.

 

[gwcrim]

If you buy it right and run it until it dies, it could be worth while. But like Rob said, it's resale value will be low. Just keep that in mind.

 

[XRpredator]

my ol' man has worked in a body shop his entire life and manages to slick up on some of these rigs when the people don't have insurance, therefore the rig never actually gets "totalled". Of course, he doesn't buy anything that isn't worth fixing (bent frame, etc.), and he'll usually run 'em out 'til he finds the next worthy rig. Since the rig was never technically totalled, it doesn't have a salvage title.

That being said, I'd find out who fixed the rig and ask them how bad it was and if it's a worthwile buy. Then I'd do like Crim says and run the sucker into the ground. You gotta figure you are buying it as a disposable item.

 

[a454elk]

Here's my take on them. a salvage can range from a flooded vehicle, burnt vehicle, stolen and stripped, or crashed beyond the fixable parameters of the insurance company. In the case of a stolen, stripped one, that would be the first in choice of buying one. They are usually put back together but not crashed. Then you have the crashed ones, the ones that were sold at insurance auctions. The problem is, which seems to be the worst scenario, is that usually the wheels don't track, the frame is bent and the transmission, usually front wheel drive cars, is outta whack. This causes the bearings and bushings in the front axle to wear out quickly. You can sometimes tell when you look at the front tires and they start to get worn on the inside or outside edges. Sometimes the wheels "toe in" a bit and wear out way too quick. The only way to know what kind of damage a car had would be to send me the VIN so I can check and see what the inusrance damage shows. You can drive the car down the street and have someone follow you, see if the car tracks right, make sure the wheels from front to back align properly, that the car doesn't track like a dogs rear end. Go through water then onto dry pavement, see if the wheels align. drive at different speeds, make sure you get no shake in the steering wheel and then let go and see if it pulls to one side or the other. That's usually the most common types of damage that cause long term problems. Look for welds in spots not normally there, fresh paint in the engine compartment and truck, over spray, etc...

Salvage cars usually go for 50 cents on the dollar. It all comes down to the damage inflicted. If I can help, please let me know and we'll look up the car you are interested in and see what the 411 is. ;)

 

[CaptainObvious]

Could be a water damaged car from Katrina. I would steer clear of any car that was a water total. From body rot, frozen mechanicals to electrical problems the car will never be right.

 

[bsmith]

I secomd Elk&CO

I just went through some of this and found Katrina cars here at our Auction. They were bought at Auction, rebuilt, shipped up here, and re-auctioned.
If it was totaled like Elk says and you still like it, you could have it checked out by a frame shop. If it doesn't pass a striaght frame check then I'd pass regardless of the price!

 

[jaction125]

Some states (IL) won't let you buy full coverage insurance on a salvage title.......

 

[wardy]

I have done "rebuilders" for about 25 years. As a person who buys them and then sells them, I keep all photos, bills for work done and parts bills. Usually we drive them a year, or two, then sell them. all the bugs are worked out if any and we can tell the person what it drives like etc. And yes value is much less with a rebuilt/salvage title. in IL you have to have a license to rebuild and a repair license. Then if you buy a salvage, you have to get it inspected twice before you can title it to drive. One is a safety test, the other a parts/vin test to make sure all parts are not stolen and vin's are all correct.

For instance. 1997 ext cab chev dually 4x4, we bought wrecked 3 years ago, side damage, some small frame damage. paid 3200.00. have 4400.oo total in it now. I have drove it for 2.5 years and it's been a good truck. If i sold it likely would get like 5500 out of it or so.

bottom line, don't pay alot, don't buy it if your not good at fixing things, and make sure you know as much as you can about it before you do buy it.

option two.

pay retail at a dealer. :)

 

[placelast]

Thanks, guys - good info.

Someone else must have wanted it as when we called back tonight it was gone.

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