Lets talk rebuilt titles

[Dawgbrain]

If you plan to have full insurance coverage on it you should probably check with your insurance company to confirm they will insure it for more than liability.

General rule of thumb is a salvage title reduces the value by 25-35%.

A lady hit my son in his '97 80 series last year and her insurance declared it totaled. The damage was minimal but it was a Lexus LX450 and many of the parts are no longer available. It took 6 months to find the parts (bumper, fender, inner fender and molding) but we rebuilt it ourselves. My experience with the inspection process left me thinking they don't care about the quality of the work, they just want to document that you didn't use stolen parts and that all of the lights and idiot lights work.

 

[Just Bill]

 

[payneed]

Tell us more how you learned you lesson
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Sometimes they "rebuild" cars with super flammable parts.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

All I can say is that it doesn't take much to total-out a vehicle.
My 2013 car was damaged in what seemed to be a minor fender-bender in 2017. I drove it home from the accident and kept using it for a month afterward. But because of the number of body panels that were wrinkled, and the fact that it was hit on two sides, it was a total loss.

I agree that fixing it up to look like new would have been prohibitively expensive. I don't mind that the insurance company totaled it.

But I think that since the engine and transmission and all the "running gear" on the car were in fine shape (it had about 90,000 miles on it), SOMEBODY could have bought that car as a 'salvage" and just fixed the things the law says need fixing-- lights, turn signals, hood and trunk latches / release systems-- and sold it to somebody who needed reliable but ugly transportation. A daily driver, not a classy ride that you're proud to be seen in, cruising the Miracle Mile.

 

[3rd Rail]

is Rebuild and Salvage the same thing? What state is it titled?
A friend bought a salvaged Z71 and it only lasted 275k miles. He towed a 5000lb trailer on weekends. That one was a theft recovery-not crashed.
Other salvage possibilities Hail Flood Fire
Plan on a slow resale, deep discount cash deal, insurance exceptions.

 

[spistols]

Re-built or Salvage titles cars are great to buy because they are crazy cheap, in my experience. However, the downside is they are hard as hell to sell and recoup a portion of your money back, because no one wants a "soiled" title car. I have been on both ends- happy to buy cheap and sad to sell for an even cheaper price.

Had a friend buy a late model car, after the massive floods in the Midwest a long time ago. This was a flood car from a dealer. He had major electrical problems and found out that it was a water damaged car after they had to pull out his engine wiring harness which was all messed up due to the water damage.

 

[DinkyDau]

Back in 09 I purchase my 06 Dodge Hemi extended cab with 30,000 miles, it has a rebuilt title..The DMV stamps the title as rebuilt across the front, it now has 163,000 miles on it...Fuel mileage is poor but can't complain, it has and still does serve me well..I did have a mechanic inspect it top to bottom using a lift before I purchased it..I guess I was lucky and I did not purchase it for an investment, only hunting and every day transportation. I am not worried about resale value as I will drive it until the wheels fall off. I also only use Mobil 1 Synthetic, I have it changed every 5k miles or less..I know I can run it longer between changes but I choose not to.

 

[optimumdetails]

I have dealt with many rebuilt/salvage title vehicles. Resale depends on what it is and what damage it had. There are those who won't look at a rebuilt. I recommend having a mechanic check the motor and a reputable detailer or body shop check the body/frame. Carfax is a joke. I break the news every other week to customers that their used car has been repainted. You will have documentation on what caused the rebuilt title but there still could be unreported damage that happened prior. We inspect cars often and measure paint depth which shows damage or other issues.
I would stay away from flood vehicles for the most part but absolutely when if it was salt water

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[whitmo]

If buying from out of state you might want to check to see if anything extra needs done to transfer/register a salvaged titled vehicle in this state. You may have to have it inspected and file extra paperwork.

 

[gh1950]

For a collector or high dollar ride, I would avoid.

This.

For an F150 acceptable risk, you go to the junkyard and get a replacement part.

For a Land Cruiser not so much.

You could have a vehicle that was totally immersed in a flood - no amount of inspection is going to discover the corrosion damage that is going to show up in the bowel of the vehicle years later.

(There are 4000 brand new Kias sitting on the Golden Ray, which itself is sitting on the bottom the Brunswick ship channel. Where do you think those are going to end up?)