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Only if you know the repairs were done right and you're not going to resell it. Salvage titles are a tough sell. Some insurance companies won't even cover them and most banks don't do loans on them. If it's a car you don't care that much about and you plan on running it into the ground and scrapping it when you're done, it might be worth a shot. Otherwise, I'd steer clear.
I bought a '01 Park Avenue with a restored salvage title from a local dealership in October 2010. It was an "emergency purchase".
The A/C did not work.
The transmission, which was already beginning to function strangely about a month after I purchased it, eventually degraded until it totally failed in January 2012. Thankfully I was able to get it replaced almost for free by a virtuous man who answered my posting on Craigslist.
Worst of all, though, was the body. I'm guessing the unibody was deformed in an accident. I had a four-wheel alignment done last September, and it drove perfectly straight...for about a week. Now I always have to have my hands on the steering wheel (can't take them off even for two seconds), as it veers severely to the right.
On the positive side, I never had any trouble getting liability insurance for it. I'm not sure about comprehensive though...
Best suggestion...buy a Carfax report for $20 or $30, enter the VIN number, and see what the car's history is. Why was it considered a total loss? Was it simply stolen, or did it have body damage?
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