Truck was totaled - how to get salvage title

[8675309]

you should keep it,that doesnt look bad at all. to be honest im a little
in the dark about how they are doing things now. if you are planning
on keeping it for the long haul,contact your insurance and ask if there
is any difference in the rates you would pay for a salvage title vs. a
rebuilt one

check out this thread from a few years ago:
http://www.theoutdoorstrader.com/threads/salvage-title-rebuilders.5301/

 

[jmartinroe]

I tried it about 30 years ago. Lots of trouble. Contact you insurance co to see if they will insure it. Pain in the ass, hard to sell afterwards. Had to take it to the state inspection station south of Atlanta. You were supposed to tow it to the inspection station. 30 years ago the inspection was under $100.
Really think about it.

 

[SouthernSlammed]

I tried it about 30 years ago. Lots of trouble. Contact you insurance co to see if they will insure it. Pain in the ass, hard to sell afterwards. Had to take it to the state inspection station south of Atlanta. You were supposed to tow it to the inspection station. 30 years ago the inspection was under $100.
Really think about it.

Not so much a difficult process, other than not knowing clearly what to do, it is however time consuming if it is your only means of transportation!

My best recommendation is to eat a little of the cost of Insurance Co estimate, and have them write it as high as they can without totaling the vehicle! They will have you probably sign a waiver that they are not responsible for any supplemental damages.

 

[prestige30165]

Not so much a difficult process, other than not knowing clearly what to do, it is however time consuming if it is your only means of transportation!

My best recommendation is to eat a little of the cost of Insurance Co estimate, and have them write it as high as they can without totaling the vehicle! They will have you probably sign a waiver that they are not responsible for any supplemental damages.

Try to negotiate with insurance company. What ever you are getting in total, try to get them to pay you that amount for repairs.
I did this a few years ago when my daughter wrecked her car. State Farm totaled it and After several phone calls I got them to
just write me a check for repairs.

If you do the salvaged title route it is a pain and value of vehicle will be considerably less. It will have a rebuilt title(not salvage title) after they inspect and pass it.

 

[letusbuyyourcar]

There is an auto salvage on the Houston / Peach Co line that rebuilds totaled vehicles. But their main hustle is doing the GBI approved inspection you will need for a " Rebuild Title". The name of the business is McLeod Auto. Sydney McCleoud is the owner. If you can get the phone number he can tell you all you need to know.

 

[rockyfatcat]

I went through this with my daughters car. It was a 1990 honda civic with a new motor. It was stuck by a student driver and damaged at the left rear wheel.. After changing out the components that caused the rear wheel to cant at a funny angle I felt it was safe for use on the road.

The inspector didn't care if it was safe. He said he didn't care if there was an engine in the car. In order to get the car signed off by the state I had to replace a fender and fix door dings on the opposite side of the car! All that was old damage that was there when I bought it.

One of the gigs was the right front wheel well was missing the liner. That was unacceptable because the idiot inspector felt that water might splash on the battery and cause a fire.

I Had to pay $100 for this idiot to tell me all the cosmetic things he didn't like about the car. Reasoning didn't work. I asked him to identify any safety issues that would keep this vehicle off the road. His answer was in terms of that he didn't want to see my ugly car on the road. So after fixing his dislikes, I paid another inspector another 100 dollars to reinspect it.

You will have to surrender the title and the plate to the insurance company. The vehicle must be towed if it needs to be repaired or inspected. The inspection is 100, and when you get your paperwork together after it is inspected it costs about 120 to get the state to reissue a salvaged title. Then you take the paperwork to your county and buy a new license plate and re register your car.

If you are thinking of doing this. Look over the body on the entire car and plan on fixing every f*cking dent or ding. If you're good with that, press on!

 

[AO3CoxUSN]

Damn, I hate that you got hit. Take it YOU are OK.?

 

[Salmonfacesalad]

Whichever way you go vit'll end up with a salvage title if the insurance company writes it off. I suspect the unibody structure has been compromised, hence the write off.

Unibody? I thought trucks had frame rails.

OP, time to make it an off-road rock crawler!

 

[Gunanddoglover]

It is your truck do with it as you wish. I have been in the automotive collision industry for 36 years, I am a ASE master tech and have hundreds of hours in continuing education and manufacture specific training. It ain't worth it rebuilding a total. What looks cosmetic can have structural damage behind it. Trucks have full frames with the cab being a unitized assembly bolted to the frame. The frame may have damage and you may not see any physical signs. That's my 2 cents.

 

[hamburglar3]

So I took the advice of some sage ODT members through private messages. I pressed the insurance company to raise repair estimate as high as possible and stroke me a check. I am signing an agreement that the check is all i will get regardless of what i find. took a friend who is a body shop specialist - only cosmetic damage in expensive places.

So I get cash and no clouded title. I asked the insurance claims rep why they didn't offer this option - "we only give to people who ask for it - otherwise we total and pay"

I see a win. Thanks for all the advice and points of view,.