Is Buying a Salvaged Title Car a Good Deal?
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- Опубликовано: 16 июн 2024
- There are many reasons a car can earn a salvage title. Today we talk pros and cons of buying a salvage car, and if it's worth the savings. Remember there are many factors that play into this choice.
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I bought many cars and just because a car is clean title doesn't mean it's never been crash it was just not reported to insurance
That is very true!
Thassa fact!!
Yup correct
@@HumbleMechanic is there a way to check a frame foot bend/warp bought a 98' Ford ranger salvage
I ran into a insurance company that wouldn't insure my mustang that I re-did that had a salvage title when I was a teenager. I had the car fixed great and then couldn't get insurance. I ended up "selling" it to a family member in the next state over and having them title it in their state. Then I had them "sell" it back to me and I re-titled it in my state, and POOF just like magic it was no longer a salvage car.
Oh yea.. Title washing is a real thing for sure. I think Tennessee is a state that this is common with.
After seeing a chopped-up Kart Miata pass by a cop at TTU and the cop didn't bat an eye, I started thinking if TN even does emission tests at all. Please note that I was there for 5 days, also, I'm from PR. Then again....we do "inspections" and "emissions" here.
Emissions testing isn't required in the state of TN but some counties do require it. Hamilton County does have emissions testing but just north in Bradley County where I live we do not have emissions testing.
John Cavanagh I believe I was at Putnam County. Hows emissions there?
Putnam is one that does not require testing. There are only 6 counties that do require testing.
8 years ago I purchased a "salvage title" 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan from a private party. It had been in an accident and had front end damage but had been nicely repaired. No frame damage. It had 67K on the odometer and I have put another mostly trouble-free 200K on it since. My advice: if you plan on buying a salvage title, be prepared to drive it till it drops because resale value is terrible. But if you like the vehicle it can be a great deal!
+hugoknight1 good info!! Yeah you basically have a car worth nothing. Technically. Lol
#derrik tie: If it does, it never manifested itself. Tires never wore unevenly and no shakes or rattles. It's about ready to "rust" itself into the scrapyard soon, but it was several years of really cheap driving. Not a bad deal for $4,000.
200k miles on a 4k car? Yeah, not bad at all. Being a Dodge, you got super lucky. My old Caravan was a money pit and it didn't have an R title...
My mom and dad have a 2007 dodge grand caravan with the power sliding doors and all. it has 240k miles on it and still runs great.
hugoknight1, of course there was no frame damage. The caravan does not have a frame.
I work at a body shop. Believe me there are cars on the road that shouldn't be. Including newer cars that had extensive damage that were repaired and really shouldn't have been.
Just be careful when you buy a car, as a lot of ppl out there dont care and will sell you anything to get your money
Si true
What a great advice. Thanks. 😒
"they're looking for things to sell you, so they're going to find all of it." Love it!
:)
That's right. And after the pre-inspection, they take it right back to me to fix those things. We gave them the confidence to buy, and then we followed through. It can make for some very happy situations all around. Rarely do customers pay us for inspections on horrible vehicles...but so many customers tell us later that they wish they had.
Steven S true statement
Steven S i had a buyer take my car to mercedes benz for an inspection and i ended up wasting 2 hours and as a result the dealer came out and told the buyer that my car was damaged before and was repaired. The dealer did not tell him anything he hadnt already known and in the end the dealer tried selling the buyer one of their own cars. So next time you need an inspection dont go to the dealer, go to a private inspector that has dealt with salvage repair and know what a good repair is and what a bad repair is.
Trike er Dealers are in the business of selling you THEIR cars, mechanics like pep boys, are only there to fix YOUR car.
NEVER, EVER buy a salvage vehicle that was flooded! It will have a lifetime of electrical problems.
Not really true. It depends on the water level or whether or not it was misdiagnosed, e. g. someone vandalized the engine and put water in it.
3 yrs ago (2016) I bought my first ever Salvaged Title car (2012 Chevy Equinox)...It is one of the finest cars I have owned and has not given me a bit of trouble....Still has that New smell interior....I don't know what the original damage was...nor did I care to know...as the car looks super good and no repair work is evident inside or out.......I plan to keep this vehicle a long time....I am fully insured (AFI)....
watching your old veds are always as fresh as the new ones. Thank you for the effort, and honesty.
I'm a mechanic and I send your videos to friends who ask me questions to save time. thanks for that :)
I've had clean title cars that brake down on me within the first few months and I've had salvge cars that are solid and run for ever so to me I feel salvge cars are worth it
If I buy a salvaged car that runs and has all its airbags can I insure the car? I live in Florida but the car is in California
"collapse into your face" - without a doubt, one of the funniest things I've heard in a while.
HAHAHA Thanks :)
Yeah that made me laugh aswell :)
I was in "Engineer mode" when he said that. Thanks for helping me laugh after the fact! LOL
I was thinking face time had a whole new meaning. lol
Lol Charles got me on that one. So nonchalant in the delivery 😂
Great video Charles. Opened up my eyes about this topic. Thanks for sharing
Truly great advice my friend. The only salvage vehicle I bought, I bought because I ran into it while I was after a specific vehicle. It was a very reliable and safe for a long, long time. The seller didn't understand how much the salvage title devalued the vehicle, so I couldn't get the discount I rightly deserved. All that said, I did buy a very low mile car, which had a newer better engine in it, with 1 critical mistake. One of the 3, thick, very needed bolts on a motor mount were sheered off and the transmission almost had to be pulled to tap it out and got the motor mount fully attached.
This cost me more money than I saved 8 years prior. So some luck is important, and my case, the luck only ran out a LONG time after I bought it, lol.
This is really interesting to see someone elses experience with salvaged cars, i deal with them everyday and just started making videos!
NICE
Wonderful insight! Thank you for sharing!
Great video and very well explained. Thank you
My current and prior two vehicles are all salvage titles. For each of my prior two, I was involved in accidents caused by the other drivers. Each of these cars were totaled, and the checks given to me by their insurance companies averaged at about 110% the cost of what I payed for the vehicles years prior. Quite a deal you can find with salvage vehicles, of which I paid about 60-80% of the lowest book value. As the video suggests, inspect the crap out of them. If you can find a dealer that does free alignment checks, take it there and ask them if they could give the vehicle a once-over for other concerns. Often you can get all this done for free.
Great info brother. Love the "face" joke.
The BIG thing is how the car is deemed a "total loss". If it isn't worth much to begin with, not much damage is required for it to be a "total loss". Could be as simple as a bumper being torn off.
Brilliant video. Excellent speaker. Thanks a lot
good coverage on salvage titles. could you go over the difference between salvage/ rebuilt/ restored? i know the difference but some other viewers may like the info. thanks for the excellent videos. not a vw/audi tech so your vids are a great help when 1 comes through our shop. Mike, Baltimore
Bought a "salvage" viggen that had a history with a rear end collision. Everything else checked out. You're definitely right in having someone /somewhere with the rep check it out before buying, it helped me dodge a few bullets before finding a gem.
thanks I needed this video always wondered about this
That answered a lot of questions I had, thank you.
Really good information!!! I wish i new this before i bought my first car!!! but i still loved my 98' GLX VR6 Jetta
You explained this well. I picked up on some good tips. After I retire from my present job I want to flip cars as a hobby so this helps a lot, thanks.
+wyattoneable thanks. I love the flip cars model. Something I'm looking at more as well
awesome video! I didn't understand salvaged titles or what was meant by totaled until I had an old car that was backed into by a neighbor I in the rear quarter panel. The plus side was that I got the car for free and I made $850 off of insurance and then sold it for $300. Best car ever.
Excellent breakdown!
Some great advice... respect from NM.
Cheers and thank you
Best video I've seen with real intel. Good job!
thank you!
@@HumbleMechanic i just speak it as i see it. I appreciate you and the video!
I am so thankful to have run across this video. Expert advice, clear explanations, and very thorough. The $150 spent to inspect the vehicle is worth it
I almost bought a salvaged vehicle, and I’m glad I watched this first!
My father bought a modified handicap wheelchair van - a Grand Caravan to be exact. It had a rebuilt title and passed Florida inspection - and the Carfax showed where the van was converted (when it was nearly new) which is a major job (floor is cut out - quite a bit of work). When I titled it in Indiana, it automatically picked up a "Salvage / Rebuilt" title status. Also the odometer mysteriously picked up a TMU status even though the history seemed to make sense. Took a horrible beating on value when it was sold.
Thank you car guru guy!!! Much appreciated!!! Nice beard!!🎅🎅🎅🎅
Bought a rebuilt SRT Charger 4 years ago...I still own it, and still love it.
Was it cheaper then a new one with a good title
Thanks this video was very helpful 👍🏼
Good explanation. My brother rolled his farm truck this winter (2011 Ram 2500 with the Cummins diesel). The cab was totally junk as well as the front clip and bent a rim. The frame looked solid and the bed had some minor scratches. They say a lot of times the diesel pickups get rebuilt due to their high resale value. For a while it sounded like they would send it to a shop to have a new cab put on, and supposedly they would guarantee the work until you sold the truck. They deemed it was a total loss and the truck made its way from Ohio to Iowa after it got sent to
Nice Rogue Nation sticker. Props from southern Oregon.
GREAT INFO! Thank you!
Wow so much info thank you so much!
Really nice video. Well said.
Thanks for the video. Always wonder this. Now I know what to look for when buying a used car.
I had bought a Neon that was in a wreck. Was told it was repaired but after I bought it I found it was not and that it should have a salvage title. But now I know what to look for so it does not happen again.
I was never able to afford a vehicle with AC until I got introduced to salvage vehicles, and now I have a very nice F-150 which is Salvage I fixed it myself, it looked very bad when I bought it from Copart but after I started fixing it and I measured the frame it was perfect it was not out of square so I change the bed and got it registered it's been the best truck I ever have bought, and I bought a Outback with a simple little front end damage all I have to do is replace the radiator support and of course bumper hood and fenders all cosmetic stuff
The Mustang GT project on my page is a salvage title car. What you said about the body lines 5:00 is great advice. You also need to find out what other repairs have been done and check those. The hood and front clip we used where chosen because may be aftermarket but they are very popular style, quality, lightweight alternative. those parts still required a lot of extra body work to make them line up and look well. Work that a lot of people dont do. The fenders however are Light weight Ford fenders. Those gave great lines without any extra work. We left the ford stickers on them which are visible when you lift the hood. We also replaced the engine and completely rebuilt the Transmission and a lot more.You really have to either do the repairs yourself or look carefully to insure the repairs done are Quality and far reaching complete repairs.
Question. What did they check when they gave you the inspection? Asking because I bought a salvage title “water damaged” mustang GT with cobra front end and a new engine with the bullitt manifold and bbk throttle body and jlt intake, fr 500 wheels with Mickey Thompson in the back, apple car play touch screen etc etc They put a ton of money into this car and I drove it 6 HRS BACK to Georgia no problems at all. No leaks no ticks nothing! Car is wrapped grey. Basically could be a show car but I want to daily it. Georgia on the other hand says I need to go through state to get tags. What’s the process?
Check the door jams and engine bay for paint overspray, which indicates damage. Usually it will feel gritty compared to smooth factory paint. Wrenched bolts are a absolute giveaway of repair, tread lightly.
fantastic advice and detail of the salvage title game. if it is just a 2-300 dollar shell for a race car its not a big deal but if you want a safe daily i'd take this guys advice
Thanks sir, great video!
I do a lot of work for a car dealer that deal with mostly rebuilt title (Washington) cars. I personally have a "totaled" or "salvage" car that I've had for 10 years. It was totaled but came back with a clean title. Each state has different thresholds when it comes to what comes back with a rebuilt title. We've had a 6 year old 4Runner that had been vandalized and the keyed paint, broken windows and taillights totaled it and gave it a rebuilt title, even though it really just needed paint and a couple cheaper parts. However, there are cars that do come back with clean titles that have frame damage, like my Legacy. It's still a great car and I have over 270K on it and still love it. Also, Carfax can be off by a mile sometimes. If you can get one for free, go for it, but just keep in mind, it doesnt log everything and sometimes it has irreverent info that will make a good car look bad. Also, a good rule of thumb is that most of the time, rebuilt/savage title cars are worth about a 1/3 less then a clean title version. I had a customer that I helped out with getting a fair value on their 08 Forester that was totaled, again. Over all though, lots of good info for the uneducated for sure! ;)
In Australia we have the Written Off Vehicle Register, or WOVR, cars can be marked as either a repairable write off or a statutory write off. Repairable write offs are able to be put back on the road after an inspection is passed, statutory write offs are never allowed to be returned to the road and are for parts only.
I'd wonder exactly where they draw the line between a major repair job(which statutory says you can't do), and just reusing a lot of the parts(which you can do). Is there some max percentage of parts from the salvaged vehicle? Specific parts that can't be used? How much do you have to replace before it's not the same car anymore?
Quix, I only see people doing that in America to customers who have no credit and have no choice but to over pay for vehicles. While on the surface this sounds horrible. I worked for one and we reconditioned cars way above and beyond what they were worth all the time. You could call that a bad deal, or you could call it giving people value in a situation where other dealers wouldn't.
Written off cars structures fucked
Hitting another car at 60km hr . Would do damage to structure
That has changed in some states now. NSW will not re register anymore due to many incidents of sub standard repairs, use of stolen parts and the rebirthing of stolen vehicles. I wiould suspect it won't be much longer before no car can be re registered in Australia once it has been written off.
There are some exceptions to the rule, but rebuilt cars are definitely on the way out.
You actually did a pretty decent job on this. We bought a salvage title 2014 VW GLI that had been in a pretty minor accident (confirmed by an inspection at reputable body shop). Because the car had like 10 airbags, it easily drove the repair past 65% (the new number some insurance companies are using, by the way). It was a fantastic car...until it was totaled. At that point, you could get really screwed. It worked out fine for us, but therein lies the risk. We bought a car valued at $19k for $11,7k. It could well be worth the risk unless you need to sell it or get a bad judgement after a total.
I have a F350 with a rebuilt title. For a 20 year old pickup body-on-frame it is not as big of a concern to me as if it was a uni-body vehicle. The bed of the pickup was t-boned and needed replaced, which cost more than what insurance would pay, so the owner at the time had the bed fixed. After owning this pickup for a year and a half, one big thing I have noticed is the paint. Because it was rebuilt, it was also repainted and I was not sure what was under the paint when I bought it. Now I am finding where the rust areas are. Overall it has minor rust issue for being in Ohio compared to 90% of the other pickups I see of the same body style, but it went from really good paint to chipping off. Rebuilt status is something that every vehicle has to be looked at separately. Good and bad deals can be found.
Excellent video, thank you! Especially the warning about insurance possibly not covering the vehicle. I am looking at a salvage vehicle with only 396 miles on it, selling for about $27K.
Another issue is getting a title. LOL something I am dealing with now on my miata
@@HumbleMechanic The vehicle I was looking at is out-of-state also, and I am in California. I think I am going to bag it. Based on someone else's earlier comment, I was able to find an image of the vehicle online after the accident, by using the VIN and doing a Google Image search. It looks pretty bad. Thanks again!
Great explanation 👌thanks 😊
Many companies I have dealt with will total a car at 60% of it's total value because they assume that when the repair starts there will be unforeseen things that will normally push the price up. But remember, almost all insurance companies specify new parts and the most expensive OEM parts on newer cars. Those parts can be 3 to 4 times what used or aftermarket parts run so there is a good deal to be had with salvaged cars that were damaged, especially for the do it yourselfer.
thanks Charles ive learnt something new about car design. i never knew wot the ridges where for
What's super cool is, that is just the tip of the iceberg. It's pretty awesome.
Look, clear advice. Thanks.
I dont usually leave comment but this was a huge help! i appreciate it!
Thank you for giving your opinion on this.
I bought a lifted 99 z71 silverado for $2300 because it is a salvage title. If you're younger and planning on keeping it you can score a pretty good deal
But what if you dont get coverage?
great advice man. 👍
Thank you :)
HumbleMechanic you are the man buddy!
one thing my boss tells my customers all the time. if the guy doesn't want you to do a pre-purchase inspection don't buy from them. there is almost always a reason why.
Yeah but the reason why may not be what you think, like that he doesn't have the time to fiddle with it when he's had 10 calls about the vehicle in the last 3 days.
Besides that, I don't want a mechanic fiddling with my vehicles, even if I'm trying to sell them! They're lazy/cheap/dishonest far far too often. That definitely does not mean that all mechanics are rotten apples, not at all, but if NONE touch it, then none have the chance to cause a problem.
lol, sadly that is also true when trying to sell a vehicle, I cringe every time a prospective buyer wants to get behind the wheel and thinking back a few years, you can tell them things like "it has to be stopped and in neutral to switch into 4WD low" but do they listen? Hell no, they don't give a shit because it's not theirs yet. You can even tell them that if they wreck it they bought it, which you'd think would be implied anyway, but if that's not on paper, try proving it in court.
trevonne scott I explained to my sister in law when I was inspecting a car that he didn't want me to check things out...she shouldn't buy it. She did and the engine was no good.
Um....yeah. That happened.
trevonne scott we sell salvaged cars and no matter what car you have a dealership is going to tell you you need something but anyways we let people do whatever they want when we're selling a car but for some reason some people expect us to pay
Thank you very informative \m/
Great info. I bought a 1992 Park Avenue with a salvage title for $1000 that had been t-boned on the rear passenger door. Best money I've spent.
SAGE Advice my man. Thank you
great video sir 💯and cool beard
If I ever consider a Salvage Vehicle, it would have to be priced cheap and pass my personal inspection to my liking. I would also stay away from Flood Cars. They're usually trouble for multiple reasons(electrical problems and mold in the vents are the two major ones) I don't think it's ever wise to buy a salvaged vehicle for resale.Even if you 100% know the reason it's salvaged,the vehicle still carries a black eye being salvage. Great video BTW. Solid, realistic points as usual.
I think the ONLY way I would buy a flood car is if I was going to strip it and use it for something like autocross. But every bit of the interior would be out. Mold ain't no joke!
HumbleMechanic I agree. Track Car or Parts Car only.
In 2004, I bought a 1999 Dodge Dakota with 75,000 miles and a salvage title. It was salvaged due to only slight body damage (new grill, new hood and some paint). It was never under water. 13 years and 130,000 miles later I'm still driving it. At this point I have about $45 per month or ownership in it including all other repairs I've done over the years.
Cactus Bob. Utah is even drier, but apparently not quite hot enough in comparison to Arizona, because flood damage vehicles are still a very bad idea here.
Cactus Bob I'm hardly an expert as it's just what people say. It wasn't first hand. Some of the issues, now that I think about it probably stem from not changing fluids which would be contaminated like transmission fluid.
Other people swore by them as a way to save money...it didn't always work out, but then, they weren't mechanics, they weren't getting them fixed up by someome experienced. ..maybe at the most an intermediate DIY skill level was "taking care of it" thensleves.
Don't forget about misrouted wires and houses that can cause problems down the line. Or components that sat partially open when the vehicle was waiting to be repaired, so now that control unit has the beginnings of corrosion on its circuit board, but it won't actually be bad enough to cause an issue until a year from now. There are also poor welds, missing/incorrect fasteners, incorrect fluids used during repairs, band-aid repairs that work just well enough just long enough to sell it. I actually just saw the last one happen with a flooded C63 AMG. It was reasonably well repaired, but the engine ingested some water. they dried it out and changed necessary parts like oil, oil filter, air filters. But just enough damage was done that over the next thousand miles the #2 piston was just eating away at the cylinder until eventually that piston seized and snapped the connecting rod. Needs a new engine, which is obscenely expensive for a car like that.
You're so right on every point. Any structural damage or structural repair and then it is unknown how the vehicle would react in the event of another accident. I would never buy a car that I know had structural damage it is just not worth it. Engine damage as you said can all be replaced with no worries. Good video.
good post man
i love flipping salvages been a nice lil hustle for me for almost 20 years
I see so many people with performance vehicles change out the kmember for a tubular-style one to lose weight or to be able to plumb turbo piping easier, and still used as a daily driver. That can totally change the way a car can absorb a collision that would not work in your favor.
Saw your Hurricanes sticker. Subscribed! lol
Lol thanks!!!
I bought back my car after an accident to have a salvage inspection done for it because it was older and the repairs not too extensive, what I didn't expect was for the car to fail inspection because of some minor rust on the underside that was unrelated to the accident. I was aware of the issue beforehand just wasn't expecting it to be a flagged issue that would fail me.
I am late to the conversation. But some times the cost of repairs are so high that and not because of the extensive damage either. Body shops inflate the estimate and insurance adjusters go by those or close to estimates. I have seen totaled cars that really have no frame, engine, or transmission damage.
Best vid yet!
I have a 2003 Ford Ranger I bought salvaged about $1600 at cost. Work was done to it to get it to run by my uncle who tows and fix cars from accidents. Passenger Rear wheel side body a bit dented in. Rear window seal were pretty bad, (it was sitting in auction for years) I only had to replace the shocks, fix the power steering pump. Total cost from buying and added repairs from myself and my uncle: $2,470. Other than that, engine and transmission are in perfect condition, structurally sound, needs some grounding work and a pinion seal, U-Joint, Leaf Spring, and possible driveshaft but doubt it. It literally has no value but it's still an amazing truck to keep. 178k and still running quiet and strong.
I bought an '02 Blazer w/ a salvaged title and don't care because I'll own it till I pass. It was a case of the insurance blues, as you mentioned, where the repair is more money than the value of the vehicle. I've already popped the dent in the driver's side out, but will also need to replace some of the curvy sheet metal down by the rocker panel. It'll be completely rebuilt by the time I'm done and will last as long as I need it.
I work near the boonies of san diego, there's plenty of backyard mechanics who fix up cars. Once i saw a car supposedly drive straight while pointed at 2oclock position I made a note not to buy anything near the area.
Absolutely with you on the pre purchase inspection thing. Bought a 2012 Volvo XC60 Back in January. They failed to find (i.e. didn't pull the rear wheels and check) that the rear brakes were within 1000 miles of being metal to metal. Well, about a thousand miles later, I hear a scraping. Not thinking it's the pads given the recentness of the inspection, I take it in and tell them it could be a slide pin or a rock in the caliper cause its only on that side. They called me 6 hours later and told me they put new pads and rotors on for free because they messed up. But hey, they owned it and for doing so they earned a customer for life! Best $186 ever! Quite certain that brake job cost way more than that!
I plan on driving my 2010 Passat for a long time. I was in an accident on I-70 with a suitcase that fell out of someone's vehicle. Going at 70mph, well the undercarriage need major repair as well as a new Turbo and AC unit. After I moved I found a good local mechanic and the first time I took the vehicle in for maintenance, I asked if he could tell if the car had been in an accident and he told me he never would have even guessed it was in an accident. Years later, it still drives like it does when I bought it new.
the only salvage title vehicle i would even think about buying is a hail damaged one... no way would i buy a flood damaged vehicle... too many computers in modern cars, and they can be a real headache
Yes , you will chase electrical Gremlins as long as you own it. Water and electronics do NOT end well. I do automotive electrical for a living so I know..
suspension damage is the critical part in a salvage vehicle...a friend bought a car with salvage tittle. rear tires would wear out in 4 months when with his other cars they would last 5 years. had the tires aligned and found out the rears were not properly repaired, they can not be aligned properly even with max adjustment
I am a auto body technician. If you are in the market of buying a car, chances are you're looking for a deal. Buying a salvage title car is a great option. As long as the car has been repaired correctly then by all means take advantage of the savings. Most people who are involved in wrecks get their cars repaired and think nothing of it so buying a salvage title car is basically the same. Most insurance company's will also let you pick up full coverage on salvage titled cars. The value of new cars depreciate faster than you'd think nowadays. One wreck in some of these late model cars will get you a salvaged title issued anyways. I just gave my 16 year old daughter a late model salvaged titled car. She doesn't know the car has a salvage title and neither does the car! Win win situation.
Exactly, I just bought a salvage 2005 Escape 4x4 with 90K for $750. It only had minor front end damage. Ended up replacing the bumper cover, grill, headlights, hood and radiator. Got all the parts from the junkyard cheap. All told, I have about $1500 into it including fees, towing, etc. Since the car was so cheap, I put the minimum insurance coverage on it, so I'm saving there too. It will be my daughter's first car in a couple years.
What about a collapsed steering column damage
Thank you.
Great video! Howeve,r I don't understand something. Could you elaborate when you say, "have car checked by mechanic before you buy." How can I take a car to a mechanic if I haven't purchased it yet? Again, awesome video. keep up the great work! @HumbleMechanic
Good morning I have a question about Takata airbags I was told that the B6 Passat was part of the recall and I would not be able to get it fixed until June is this true could you do some kind of video explaining this keep up the awesome videos
In many states the rebuilder's application for the "roadworthiness" inspection must include photos of the accident damage, list the repairs made, in some states list the VIN No.s of the major parts used in the rebuild, etc.
Why don't we buyers demand to see the rebuilder's copy of his application?
My current vehicle is a 2003 Windstar that I bought on a salvage title in 2006. It has 177,000 miles and I'm getting ready to replace it. I also put 100,000 miles on a 1980 E150 with a salvage title. No problems with either.
8:55 looks like radio buttons collapsed into your eye sockets hahahaha
Cool observation
I have looked in Salvage and did a lot reading on this... Everything he says here is spot on!
+Jas B thank you!!! Did you end up buying one?
In the US you at least have a salvaged title. Where I live they make one car from three. And I'm not talking about fixing the parts. I'm talking about welding one car from three different bodies. And the owner might not even know it.
Fixing my c3500 dually (rear ended). New rear suspension leaf spring, leaf spring hangers at all points. Used for towing.
I bought salvage rebuild able 300xz for the engine was seriously thinking about just taking the front clip off my other z and fixing it but it a pain to go though the inspection to get certified as a rebuilt and its worth less even tho it two years newer than my other one . In Florida you have Certificate of Destruction which are parts only and Salvage Rebuild which can be repaired and inspected. Once they pass inspection it become a rebuilt and the dmv will place a sticker in the driver side door jam to note that is a rebuilt and legal to put back on the road also some state still may not let you title it in there state. I know Georgia makes you go there inspection even if its been done in another state
My brother had a 98 Sebring that was salvage after a minor accident. He bought it back for $400 from the insurance company and gave it to me. I bought a fender hood light and bumper at a local pull yourself yard from a car that was exactly the same color. When I was done I had a nice car that no one could really tell was ever in an accident. I enjoyed the car for many years before selling it.
Ive always never cared about salvage titles or not, my sisters first vehicle was a salvage jeep(it got rear ended and someone rebuild it) than she bought it after the guys daughter hit a tree with it and I fixed it up for her(it has frame damage until the middle of the steering box) and she drove it for 2 years after trouble free other than regular repairs and sold it and made money on it actually, and I still see it driving around. the bonus on buying a salvage title is that you can start modifying the parts that are broken first(I modified the bumper a bit before I painted it). And we actually used parts off of my fathers old Jeep which was a salvage jeep as well but when he bought it he intended on running it into the ground and knew he was never going to sell it
Another thing to look out for are Lemons that have been fixed and reintroduced to the road. Unless you intend on holding onto these cars until they die it isn't a good deal most of the time. In most cases these barely come with any warranty (12m/12k). Most of the lemons that make their way back on the road (from a reputable dealership) only had problems that were hard to diagnose. In 2013 I purchased a 2010 Ford Fusion with a branded title (lemon law) where they replaced the ECU and sent the car back out on the road. I got it for 12.5 when a comparable model would have sold for 18-19. Then traded it in July 2015 for 2015 Fusion, which had its own ECU problems that went lemon law after 10 months of rental cars.
Honestly, a standard that needs to be set across the board is that if the technician cannot get the issue to reproduce on their own; ask the customer to show you. Go on a drive with the customer. I wound up offering to drive technician around when I found out 7 months into litigation (because you have to continue working with the dealer for repair) and spent an hour with him. We figured out that the issue was when the car would settle when put in park that the car thought it was in gear, causing a NCNS. Unfortunately by the time Engineering came back with a next step, there was a settlement agreement. I had my 15 Fusion for 11 months, and only put about 6k out of 7k on the car.
But I do agree that a salvage car can be a great deal at the right price depending on why it's a salvage, but would never buy one that was totaled with potential frame damage.
It very important that its fix right I put a core support in and repaired the SRS in a car because it was not done when its was repaired previously before i got it. I wrecked and rolled that car boy was I glad I did the air bags wouldn't have deployed other wise. SRS/Air Bag light on is don't buy also it was not a salvage title
Tomorrow im planning on buying a salvage title plymouth 4 door sedan. Looked up the carfax on it, & its satisfactory with the only thing being due is an oil change. As for the ST not sure, but my guess is that cars with similar model & make have had a recall on a part of it that can be upgraded now, this one being a 1998 model.. Planning on asking about the ST before i get serious about buying though.
Best advice is at the end... Only go for the salvage title if it is a great deal. Saving only $1500 on a car that you probably will not be able to resell and has that huge mark on the title is not worth it. But if you save $5000, and you do your due diligence, then by all means go for it.
I have only ever owned 1 car that was a salvage title, but it also was only $800 and was only a total because it was a older Subaru Outback and the damage done to it would have cost more than the car was worth. All I had to replace was the rear tailgate, which I was able to pick up at a U-Pull-It for less than $100. Everything else on the car was in great shape and the engine and transmission were perfect. That being said, I did drive that car knowing that when I got something different, it would be going for scrap and I would only probably get about $150 - $200 back for it.
Yeah, some people see brand new salvaged cars as a good deal. It's really a bad one unless the damage isn't so expensive to repair and you can title wash it, lol.
Yeah, up north in Pa, where I am at, Craigslist is filled with mid 2000's models that usually get banged up because someone forgot how to drive in the snow for a moment and lost control. So the damage might be minor but most insurance companies would rather not pay $6000+ and insure the work for a vehicle that has 150,000 miles on it and is only worth about $4000 at best, so they instead cut a check for the estimated value since that is a lot cheaper. But I have also seen some 2013 and 2014 cars that I know have probably been in a major crash to earn that Salvage title, those are the ones to stay away from.
CodedThreat Oh, because they probably had ultimate damge on them to not be worth fixing.
For the newer vehicles, yeah. If the car is still worth 20k or more, most insurance companies will pay out close to that total to get it fixed if it is mostly cosmetic. They will only total a newer vehicle if the structural integrity of the vehicle is compromised. I used to work at a Ford/Lincoln/Mercury dealer in the body shop, and I saw very few newer vehicles where the insurance person came in and said it was a total loss, unless the A or B - pillars were crumpled cause of a roll over or hard enough of a impact. They do not mess around with that shit or at least not the insurance guys we saw come in. But almost anything else can, and will, be fixed if the vehicle still has good value or if enough money is still owed on it.
We had a 2006 F-250 come in one time (I remember it was the Harley Davidson special model, so was probably close to 60k brand new) that one of the guys had to replace the entire frame of the truck because the insurance company would not say it was a total loss. The guy somehow ended up going off the road and into a ditch where there just happened to be a exposed cement drainage pipe that he landed nice and squarely on. And even though the truck was 3 years old (this was back in like 2009), was close to 100,000 miles and the repair was going to be close to 30k, they had us fix it. It wasn't a very hard job, just time consuming and also Ford took their sweet time sending a new frame out. But that truck by that time and with that many miles on it was probably close to only being worth about 30k, maybe 35k.
So moral of this long post... If you do not know what you are looking for when you are looking at a "Salvage" vehicle, don't buy it, spend the extra money and get a vehicle with a clean title, with a carfax and have your own shop person look at it, just like +HumbleMechanic said.
hey guys help me out. found a 2009 Mustang GT V8 manual transmission for only 6,500$. The guy said that it was damaged at 20,000 miles when the owner rammed with the sidewalk curb at 40 mph damaging the rims. he said the insurance covered him fully so they replaced his car. then the guys dad, having a dealers license purchased the car cheaply and repaired it. the guy says the car works perfect and he hasn't had any problems. he said the reason for selling it is because he doesn't get to use it and needs it gone asap