Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I wouldn't take advice from people over the internet on whether to buy or not to buy a salvage vehicle. This, as Omaha has stated, is purely a case by case type of situation. Everyone here is just spewing conjecture, you should have a knowledgeable person come and inspect the vehicle with you.
Salvage vehicles can be gems as well as complete swindles... beware.
I'd already decided not to buy the car before I started the thread. I was, and am, simply interested in the opinions of others who know more than I. And I'm finding the discussion quite interesting indeed. Many thanks to all who've responded.
I have a car with a salvage title sitting in my shop, undergoing restoration (slowly). It was in a wrecking yard because a front CV joint separated, and tore up the steering linkage and left brake lines. Then the dingbat kids at the wrecking yard did some damage, too. Anyway, about $300 worth of parts, and a few hours work, and it is a driveable car again. NO body damage, NO frame damage.
I bought a Honda CX500 out of a wrecking yard some years ago, had to get a salvage/bonded title for it. The wrecking yard said the engine was siezed. I got a key made, installed a new battery, inflated the tires, cleaned the fuel system, and it fired right up. I eventually sold it, and the ;last I heard it was still in use.
The bottom line is, a "salvage title" is just a piece of paper. It means nothing. what is important is WHY the title is identified as "salvage".
Remember, at today's prices, it doesn't take much to be several thousand dollars worth of labor, parts, and paint!
I'd already decided not to buy the car before I started the thread. I was, and am, simply interested in the opinions of others who know more than I. And I'm finding the discussion quite interesting indeed. Many thanks to all who've responded.
Well to be clear then... I would certainly buy a salvage vehicle if everything checked out with me. Alot of people look at salvage vehicles as maybe say a stereo system that someone has thrown to the curb for the trash man.... sometimes these vehicles are indeed junk and sometimes they are fine, or just need a small amount of work.
I drove my 1995 Nissan 300ZX without issue for several years and it was salvaged as a theft recovery. This didn't surprise me because it was stolen and recovered while under my ownership as well.
Something I would want, and something that would be smart for the rebuilder of a previously totalled vehicle to do, would be photos documenting the original damage and the progress of the repair. Generally speaking if the damage is limited to sheet metal, particularly hood and front fenders, this can be repaired completely. If the unibody (or frame on older cars) is bent, it *can* be fixed right but this takes more expertise than just bolting on a new "doghouse" (front tin).
Good point that the higher the book value of the car when it was totalled, the more suspicious I am of it, more than say $15,000 worth of body work is a good bit of tin bending...
As someone who has bought rebuilders to resell, I would be leary of buying other peoples rebuilds. I have been to salvage auctions many times. These days in Iowa anyway, anyone can buy at these auctions. There are plenty of backyard "bodymen" out there who have no clue as to what it takes to properly fix a wrecked vehicle. I personally would never buy one to fix that has had the airbags blown (personal preference), I also don't like to buy any newer car that has any severe frame (unibody) damage. The steel used in the cars today, isn't the same as it was say 20 yrs. ago. Everything is built with high tensile strength steel, welding on these unibody cars today can cause some pretty severe unseen problems with structural integrity. I have seen cars cut in half and repaired, with half of one car being attached to half of another. I would personally never buy one of theses fixes, the structural strentgh of the chassis isn't what it was when new. I've bought several deer collision vehicles that were easy fixes, and as others have said, the older the vehicle the less damage it takes to total them out. Sometimes just some minor vandalism will be enough to total out the vehicle, with no real important damage done to the chassis. I would never buy a salvage title car unless I knew the builder very well, and I wouldn't sell a fixed car that I wouldn't personally drive. That's the way I am, unfortunately there are a lot of very unscrupulous people out there who will sell you the biggest piece of junk out there and laugh all the way to the bank.
The first was basically a throw away car that was only supposed to get me by until I went away to college and if I happened to have a 'learning experience' with it then it wouldn't be a huge loss. Invested $2k in it, fixed it up ourselves, drove it for 3 years and then sold it for $2500. Considering there were a few matenance things along the way we probably broke even.
The second was a '94 Full Sized Chevrolet Truck that had an interior fire. A friend of my dad's rebuilt it (he did this stuff as a hobby) put all new everything on it that had gone wrong and by the time he was done it was pretty much good as new. Sweet truck too....Mark III conversion, All black with burgandy interior. I ended up paying $10k for it and drove it for 5 years. When buying the next vehicle the dealer still gave me $6k credit for it.
What I'm tell you folks that are hard core against salvaged vehicles is that i've come out better financially on these two vehicles than I ever have on any car before or since that wasn't salvaged. Just my 2c.
As a rule of thumb, I would stay away from them. The only case I would consider it is if the following conditions are met:
The vehicle has all teh proper paperwork to be able to register
There is documented proof of exactly what caused the salvage title and the repair therof
That damage is notsomething that will create ongoing problems or serious enough to affect the saftey or performance
The price is FAR lower than comparables
And finally you can deal with the difficulty of selling and insuring it
I have considered buying certain salvage cars like the Lotus Elise that have special curcumstances. That particular vehicle is easily declared "total loss' due to its complete fiber glass body that is very expensive. Break a few panels, and its done. But if you are will to repair rather than replace, it can be fine. Even still, the 20 percent savings are not really worth it in the end.
Any car that is a total loss due to larges amounts of collision damage is generally bad
Wrecking yards are just that...wrecked or junked cars.
Salvage yards are the places that have stolen and wrecked...theft and stripped cars recovered after being lost for over 30 days...owner paid off...missing engines and interior/seats (Porsche etc).
Most are Insurance owned and licensed body shops put in a sealed bid for some of these cars that are sold every month. Friend of mine bought three cars at one time from the same insurance company with his higher bid over others. I had bid higher on one car that he got but he had a package deal in his favor.
Saw a Porsche Carrera sans engine and seats...no body damage at the lot. Good deals are out there.
Steve
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
