Buying "Salvage"/"rebuilt" title cars

[Cubey]

Who here has bought a salvage title car before? I am on a limited budget and don't care about resale value. There seem to be quite a few "Salvage" title cars out there for sale on Craigslist with low miles. From what I understand, it means it was "totaled" by an insurance company, but it was repaired up to the standards of the state it was salvaged in and inspected by the state DMV to be sure it was safe.

The main thing I wonder about is insurance. I'm not too picky about the company, but they are picky about ME. I've owned a motorhome for a couple years and not a car (more or less but that's a mess to explain).

Companies such as Allstate and State Farm don't count that as auto insurance despite it being 50/100/50 liability for a motor vehicle! Geico and Progressive to name two DO count it, so those 2 tend to be the two I would probably pick from.

So anyway... it would save me a couple thousand dollars to buy a salvage title car, assuming it's actually hiding severe damage somehow that got past the state inspectors before it was cleared for a "branded" title as salvage.

I'd like to hear the good and bad from those who have bought salvage title vehicles in terms of the vehicle itself as well as any issues they did or didn't have insuring it with Progressive or Geico.

 

[dishdude]

Run! 1 in 10 get a good one, the other 9 get a basket case they are stuck with due to the title. Salvage vehicles are typically repaired as cheaply as possible - and they have to be. To properly repair, it would cost more than the vehicle is worth.

 

[Ramblejam]

Do not buy a salvage titled vehicle -- can go into more detail when I have the time tomorrow.

Specifically, what are you looking for, and what's your price range?

 

[Nick1994]

It really isn't that big of a deal. It all depends on the repair. Ask where the accident was, if they don't know, don't bother. It could be a flood vehicle.

My family owned a collision repair center from 1959-2005. All my grandmother drove for almost 40 years was salvage title vehicles that my grandfather repaired (properly) and they never had an issue. My mother drove a few salvage title vehicles as did my grandfather and father.

My brother's Jeep was sideswiped on the freeway last year and has no structural damage, just cosmetic damage and a few windows blown out and dents along the side. It now has a salvaged title but is no less of a vehicle as it was before.

In the 90s, my father had 2 wrecked Ford Escorts in the shop that he purchased. One wrecked in the front, one wrecked in the rear. He literally cut both vehicles in half and welded the 2 good halves together and my aunt drove it for several years, looking at it you couldn't tell anything ever happened.

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
It really isn't that big of a deal. It all depends on the repair. Ask where the accident was, if they don't know, don't bother. It could be a flood vehicle.

My family owned a collision repair center from 1959-2005. All my grandmother drove for almost 40 years was salvage title vehicles that my grandfather repaired (properly) and they never had an issue. My mother drove a few salvage title vehicles as did my grandfather and father.

My brother's Jeep was sideswiped on the freeway last year and has no structural damage, just cosmetic damage and a few windows blown out and dents along the side. It now has a salvaged title but is no less of a vehicle as it was before.

In the 90s, my father had 2 wrecked Ford Escorts in the shop that he purchased. One wrecked in the front, one wrecked in the rear. He literally cut both vehicles in half and welded the 2 good halves together and my aunt drove it for several years, looking at it you couldn't tell anything ever happened.


If you know someone in the business that does quality work and rebuilds vehicles during slow times, sure you can get a deal. For people buying off Craigslist, it's a huge gamble and the odds are not in the buyer's favor.

 

[tgrudzin]

Illinois doesn’t have a vehicle inspection program so to what standards is the car repaired?

 

[dareo]

Buying a salvaged car takes skill. You have to be able to inspect the whole car very well and understand exactly what was damaged and how well it was fixed. If you can do all of that and save a big amount, at least 33% imo, over the same clean titled car, then go for it. Having good risk tolerance is also a must.

 

[Cubey]

The first two replies were what I expected haha. That's probably why they are for sale in the first place. But I thought it was worth asking anyhow just to set my mind to rest.

I'm looking for a 2003-2008 (preferably 05+ due to mid-gen updates/improvements) Toyota Matrix/Pontiac Vibe with auto trans, 150k or less. I might prefer a Vibe due to the roof rack and no need for hacking the bumper for a trailer hitch. The hitches listed online say the Matrix bumper has to be cut or something. I'll add a hitch for a rear bike carrier I already have.

Right now my budget is about $4100 max due to nearly 10% sales tax even on used cars from private parties here in WA, plus plates and all that junk. Even if you buy it out of state, they still slam you with "use tax" here when you go to register it.

I have considered paying $50/mo (the quote I got) for non-owner insurance with Progressive until I save up another thousand or two so I won't be so tightly budgeted, but I hate to spend $300 per 6 months to save up $1000. I'd end up with only $700 after 6 months really, or $1400 after a year. So really it doesn't make any sense... unless I was REALLY not planning to buy a car, and I was only using it for ZipCar or something similar.

 

[dareo]

Double post, my bad

 

[Chris142]

It could be a great deal if say it was stolen and the seats were taken. Not so much of a deal if it was crashed or sunk in a lake

 

[AKhan87]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
sunk in a lake
lol

 

[Dufus2]

Salvage does not mean it was inspected. Insurance sends the owner a check for "Total Loss." You can buy your vehicle for salvage value with a salvage title. Some junk dealers sell the decent vehicles and scrap the worst.

Most of the vehicles I have looked at with a salvage title are junk, rebuilt with scrap parts and not very reliable. If it was a flood vehicle.. https://youtu.be/-f2fvRXWieg

Most likely, a salvage vehicle is not worth the asking price unless you are desperate for cheap transportation.

 

[bvance554]

It doesn't take much these days for a car to be deemed totalled by an insurance company. Typically if the damage is estimated to be 75% of the vehicles value it is totalled. It doesn't take many blown airbags to reach that point. I drove a salvaged vehicle myself for several years, but I owned it and was driving it when the uninsured illegal immigrant pulled in front of me, so I had the cosmetic damage repaired myself. Problem with buying a salvaged vehicle is you don't know how much damage was done. Anyone who just replies with run away doesn't know what they're talking about. If the price is right, and I had the car inspected, i would consider purchasing said vehicle.

 

[Cubey]

Originally Posted By: Dufus2
Most of the vehicles I have looked at with a salvage title are junk, rebuilt with scrap parts and not very reliable. If it was a flood vehicle.. https://youtu.be/-f2fvRXWieg


That video says that flood cars were showing up with CLEAN titles. (Which is even worse!)

Oh and over in NY I saw a flood salvage title car on ebay haha..

 

[moving2]

Originally Posted By: bvance554
It doesn't take much these days for a car to be deemed totalled by an insurance company.


+1

My '94 Lexus LS400 has a salvage title. Accident in 2012 when it was 18yrs old. Went with the owner to the body shop where it was repaired and got the details of the damage: DS front fender, front edge of hood, grill cracked, airbags did not go off. With the price of replacement parts for this car, it's no wonder it was totaled. The condenser shows what is likely damage from that accident (since it was not replaced), and it doesn't look bad at all. My trusty Lexus indie claims this is one of the nicest ones he has seen. No leaks, no problems, very well maintained. Definitely do your due diligence, but great salvage deals are definitely out there.

 

[Blinker]

Depends on the accident. My poor defunct Pontiac would go to salvage status if a bird pooped on it and I tried claiming paint damage... JK, but thats kinda my point. Cars with structural damage i would look over with a fine toothed comb though.

 

[ryanschillinger]

If a newer car has a salvage title it's a bigger red flag. If an 80's car has a very minor fender bender, it can get a salvage title because it's book value is so low. Wouldn't take much damage to approach book value on an older car, but a newer car can have a LOT of damage before being salvage.

 

[WhyMe]

i have seen some very late model rebuilt cars on craiglist. So are these vehicles still warranted by the manufacturer when they are repaired and put back on the road?

 

[Cubey]

Originally Posted By: WhyMe
i have seen some very late model rebuilt cars on craiglist. So are these vehicles still warranted by the manufacturer when they are repaired and put back on the road?


In the warranty fine print, there might be a clause that voids warranty in the event of it being totaled/losing clear title status, or maybe being title transferred to an insurance company; which would indicate it was totaled. I can see how they wouldn't want to warranty a badly damaged car. Maybe the transmission has a crack and loses all fluid. The company would be on the hook replacing the transmission as a warranty repair.

I used that example because I saw one salvage title Vibe where the seller stated the transmission had been welded or some such thing. (No, that wasn't one I was considering haha)

Bell houses can get damaged easily. When I had my last car in a transmission shop for a rebuild, the shop cracked the bell housing but didn't realize it as it wasn't even visible to the eye. They had to replace it at their own expense as it was leaking severely within a week of the complete rebuild with a 1 year complete warranty. Once they did the severe leaking stopped and it was fine at the time I sold it.

 

[eljefino]

Even if your state doesn't regularly inspect everyday cars on the road the state police generally like to inspect salvage cars during the rebuilding process to make sure stolen parts aren't getting used. So major assemblies and body parts that have VIN labels, you'll need to explain where they came from and provide receipts. "I got this bumper off craigslist" might not fly.

That said once the car's back together it's "rebuilt" and on the road. I've bought two rebuilt cars; both of which were driven by the guy who rebuilt them for months or years. Both were rebuilt in their back yards, and both sellers pretended at least to talk the talk. My wife's HHR is rebuilt and I got it at 6 years old/ 136k miles for $3400. Guy told me it was bashed in the front corner/ wheel/ strut and what he did to fix it (bolt on parts) and how it took an alignment without any caster issues. I looked underneath and stuff that was supposed to be straight was straight.

OTOH you'd be a flaming idiot to buy something like a year old Range Rover with a rebuilt title. There's too much money on the line for some hick to get the car for $1100 at auction and muck around to get $30000 worth of equity, and too many corners to cut.

Nine year old economy wagons are fine. If they get more than a couple grand in damage, they get totalled-totalled and the junkyard just crushes them, as there isn't much of a profit motive to put weeks worth of work in.