Been looking at cars, but here in Kentucky, the salvage titled cars are the same price as normal cars in Texas. Does a salvage title scare you, worry you, not bother you? Never bought one, but have stayed away from them without knowing the real reason.
What does "salvage title" mean to you?
- Thread starter Shaman
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They should be cheaper than they are. Too many people buy cars just because they're shiny. Some may not know they're rebuilt until they finally pay off their loans five years later and get the title in the mail.
That said if you find a 10+ year old low value car like a domestic sedan it can be totalled for a pretty dumb reason and wouldn't have had much work done to it.
That said if you find a 10+ year old low value car like a domestic sedan it can be totalled for a pretty dumb reason and wouldn't have had much work done to it.
Keep looking.
A salvage title means the insurance company paid the owner for the vehicle and obtained ownership. It could mean a severe accident or fire or flood. There is no guarantee they repaired everything. What you see is what you get. For a flood vehicle they could have resolved enough things to get it running with no CEL. But not every possible electrical connection in the car. Many flooded vehicle are flooded with salt water.
Everything from pretty light damage easily repaired by a body shop on the side to something you really don't want to touch.
If you know what the damage was and how it was repaired, a vehicle on a salavge title can be a good buy, and no, they aren't worth as much as a vehicle on a clean title, however optimistic the seller might be.
Titles can also be washed, so buying a car with a clean title doesn't mean that it hasn't had a salvage title in its past.
If you know what the damage was and how it was repaired, a vehicle on a salavge title can be a good buy, and no, they aren't worth as much as a vehicle on a clean title, however optimistic the seller might be.
Titles can also be washed, so buying a car with a clean title doesn't mean that it hasn't had a salvage title in its past.
The average Kentuckian cant afford a new vehicle like a Texan.
As such, the selection of used vehicles in Kentucky is smaller, thus more expensive. Salvage title vehicles are often fixed by shady body shops. A $2K vehicle is one thing. An $8K vehicle with a salvage title is dumb.
As such, the selection of used vehicles in Kentucky is smaller, thus more expensive. Salvage title vehicles are often fixed by shady body shops. A $2K vehicle is one thing. An $8K vehicle with a salvage title is dumb.
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
Keep looking.
Ditto.
Keep looking.
Ditto.
Originally Posted By: Shaman
Been looking at cars, but here in Kentucky, the salvage titled cars are the same price as normal cars in Texas. Does a salvage title scare you, worry you, not bother you? Never bought one, but have stayed away from them without knowing the real reason.
It means-if you buy one, it better be a GREAT deal, because it'll be really hard to resell. I had one, many years ago, that had been repaired well, was a great deal, and I kept for a fairly long time & drove it "into the ground". Which considering it was an '85 Escort, wasn't too hard!
Been looking at cars, but here in Kentucky, the salvage titled cars are the same price as normal cars in Texas. Does a salvage title scare you, worry you, not bother you? Never bought one, but have stayed away from them without knowing the real reason.
It means-if you buy one, it better be a GREAT deal, because it'll be really hard to resell. I had one, many years ago, that had been repaired well, was a great deal, and I kept for a fairly long time & drove it "into the ground". Which considering it was an '85 Escort, wasn't too hard!
It may mean something different in each state. As I recall, here in Missouri the motor vehicle title manual is on line. It is a long booger, but somewhere in there the details of various types of titles issued by Missouri appears in numbing detail.
There is nothing wrong with salvage titles many times. stay away from flood and fire titles, those are the nightmares you hear about. if accident damage is repaired right you will never know. i have a body guy, paint guy, and suspention guy. i have had a few roll overs that the buyers didn't believed. me til i showed proof.
ken
if you go about it right and shop around you will never buy new or clean title again.
my 97 ford diesel f250 hit a deer hard. new coolers fan and 2/3 of a front clip and its clean. I have a total of 7500 in it 7yrs ago, it apraised for 12,500 replacement. a year ago.
the cousin has a liberty had roll over damage. had body skin damage. no structure or suspention. we put it on aggressive road treds, rough country suspention, new skins and paint. got under 7000 into project. have put 100k on it. would never know it was on its top. been offered 15k got standing offers for 12.5k and up. to good on fuel to sell.
ken
if you go about it right and shop around you will never buy new or clean title again.
my 97 ford diesel f250 hit a deer hard. new coolers fan and 2/3 of a front clip and its clean. I have a total of 7500 in it 7yrs ago, it apraised for 12,500 replacement. a year ago.
the cousin has a liberty had roll over damage. had body skin damage. no structure or suspention. we put it on aggressive road treds, rough country suspention, new skins and paint. got under 7000 into project. have put 100k on it. would never know it was on its top. been offered 15k got standing offers for 12.5k and up. to good on fuel to sell.
I had a 91 240sx with a salvage title. Wrecked in 92 with less than 10k miles on it. Same owner had it up until I got it in 2009. Looked into it, and the front clip ha been replaced, but had to have a salvage title made because of it. Had it for a couple years then sold to my friend.
My mons car has a salvaged title. She tboned an ilegal that turned in front of her. Smashed her hood, a fender and bumper. Cost to fix it was equal to the cars value. She got it fixed vs buying a car with unknown history.
I always look at wrecked cars in those auto trader magazines. Most wrecks I have seen with a clean or salvage title seem hardly worth it to fix. A used car dealer told me one time, the way to make money fixing up wrecks is to take short cuts. He does not fix up wrecks because of the potential liability.
i bought and Audi TT once that i was told was clear title, and it even appeared so. I found out it had been washed and was totaled with 8k miles on it. I bought it with 80k thinking it was a good car... it would wear a set of tires every 5k miles. The body work was well done and even a good body man locally said it looked like they fixed it well however, somehow the frame had to be a little off as i could not keep tires on it at all. it also started to develop electrical issues after i had it a year.
I will never buy a salvage title. i would buy a clean title that is wrecked and have my guy fix it if the deal was right, but no salvages for me. I do carfax and I inspect for any paint work. When i bought the vette i asked the selling dealer to put it on one of their lifts and let me look it over. they did right away. this was a good clue id find nothing. it checked out good. If they would have refused i would have walked.
I will never buy a salvage title. i would buy a clean title that is wrecked and have my guy fix it if the deal was right, but no salvages for me. I do carfax and I inspect for any paint work. When i bought the vette i asked the selling dealer to put it on one of their lifts and let me look it over. they did right away. this was a good clue id find nothing. it checked out good. If they would have refused i would have walked.
A salvage title can also be a stolen vehicle that ins co has paid for and later recovered... A buddy had a Ranger pickup like that, was really nice but had a hard time selling it, he eventually did get close to retail for it...
My Marauder had a salvage title because a tree fell on it busting the windshield, plus damaging top and hood... It was fixed better than new cause most of those had lousy paint on the top from the factory...
The salvage title doesn't bother me in the least, most of the time are a great deal.... I'll check it out myself and drive it till value no longer matters...
My Marauder had a salvage title because a tree fell on it busting the windshield, plus damaging top and hood... It was fixed better than new cause most of those had lousy paint on the top from the factory...
The salvage title doesn't bother me in the least, most of the time are a great deal.... I'll check it out myself and drive it till value no longer matters...
Here in Ca. they put a salvage title on a car that has been in a fender bender. Half the cars for sale on local ads are salvage. I had one of my Sons looking at one. It looked good and repairs were disclosed in full with photos. I called about insurance and it would have to be liability only. He passed on it.
Worst case of salvage title I heard of was some poor guy bought a "repaired and rebuilt" Lexus LS430 with salvage title that he later found out was actually two different cars (a front half and a separate rear half) that had been welded together to make a drivable car. Not a good deal even with a discount.
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