Buying a salvage titled car and the path to a rebuilt title

Automotive
1

Hey guys,
I know someone on here has some experience with buying a salvage titled car (14 years old) and getting it to a rebuilt title.

  Specific questions are pertaining to an owner doing the work and doing it by purchasing used parts.

  Anyone with experience doing said activities?

Thanks,
Thomas

2

Do only the minimal amount of work on the car to make it street legal before you apply for a clear title. The taxes you pay will be based on the perceived value of the car at that time. Do not spend thousands of dollars on parts, repairs, upgrades, paint, etc, before getting your title…the taxes will be higher. A friend of mine bought a vintage car, over 75 years old, without a title. He spent many years bringing the car back from the dead into an eye popping fully restored car. Once the restoration was completed he then applied for the title. He had to show a ton of parts receipts and the car was finally appraised at over $30,000. His title taxes were based on that value, not the original $1,000 be paid for it. Lesson learned…get your clear title early.

10 Likes
3

The process is very simple. In order to get a rebuilt title, you will simply have to pass a state inspection. So you can do the minimal amount necessary to get pass inspection and you will be ok.

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@richmeyer @obiswill

Guys,
Thank you for your quick replies. I’m waiting for the seller to put down his crack pipe long enough to realize my offer is the best he’s getting.

Thanks,
Thomas

5

This applies to kits or projects of all types.

I have a partial airplane kit. The state will come after use taxes the instant I apply for an “N number” with the FAA. The taxes I pay will be based on the purchase price of the kit, which consists of a bunch of chunks of aluminum and some bags of hardware.

If I finish the plane before applying for an FAA registration, I’ll pay taxes based on the value of the completed airplane.

Registration is the only way the state has to trigger a demand for taxes. Do it early!

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If a vehicle is retitled, does that fact show up in an AutoCheck or CARFAX report?

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When you say retitled are you referring to the titling going from salvaged to rebuilt….the answer would be yes.

That being said I am not looking to resell…I could care less about the car’s value to others….it is just a fun for me car.

1 Like
8

Good. I was wondering whether a salvage title can be somehow scrubbed from the record.

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Multiple thoughts:
1) all a salvage title means is the cost of the repairs was too close to the value of the car after repairs for the insurance company’s liking…

 2) if an individual were to believe a car was damaged to the point it needed repairs that the insurance company would salvage the title they could make the repairs without claiming it…..so even if you have a car with a clean title it doesn’t mean the car never sustained substantial damage…people are sketchy
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It indicates short cuts were taken to get the car back on the road and something is likely still wrong with the car (frame damage, kludged parts, etc.). Yeah, some folks will fix up a car completely but that’s the exception rather than the norm. This doesn’t matter if someone buys it for shits and giggles, racing, off-road use, but it’s never a good idea for an average person wanting a daily driver.

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Sorry Luke. I couldn’t disagree more with you.

A rebuilt title means nothing more than someone spent more than the insurance company was willing to. It has ZERO to do with mechanical performance.

Example salvage title due to hail damage. The car can get a rebuilt title.

There are plenty more cases where insurance companies straighten frames on newish more expensive cars….damage is the same, but no salvage title. It is all about cost to the insurance company and nothing to do with repair quality or car performance.

1 Like
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I think we’re talking past each other. That’s most definitely something still wrong with the car. I didn’t say it wouldn’t be drivable but a car totaled because of hail damage still has something wrong with it - hail damage. Average people reading this are going to walk away with the wrong idea.

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I agree with @lukeiamyourfather.

IMHO, hail damage is the exception rather than the rule: the majority of cars are “totaled” by insurance companies due to collisions, fires, or other accidents.

Much accident damage may not be obvious once a bit of body work is done, and many mechanics are willing to do just enough work for the rebuilt title prior to a quick, possibly naĂŻve, sale.

Even recorded damage from a salvage title might not be complete: insurance adjusters stop looking once damage exceeding the value of the vehicle is identified.

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@lukeiamyourfather I don’t know what you mean by talking past each other, but my point remains the same……no one should choose to buy a car or not by a car based on whether it has a rebuilt title. That only effects/affects the value insurance companies and potentially dealers put on a car. It doesn’t explicitly or implicitly indicate anything about the mechanical condition or visual condition of the car nor does indicate quality of the vehicle.

@HankCowdog you can agree with Luke so you can be wrong too…. :slight_smile:

A car can be totaled for damage that can be remedied by body panel replacement…..I.e. panels on an out of production car are ridiculously priced….you can purchase used panels or panels from someone that bought and never used them for a much lower price from a number of venues.   If the panels are right and the mechanical state was never impacted by the salvage event is the car less valuable?

 The ONLY thing I rely on for judging a car’s condition is a thorough inspection.   The title is merely proof of ownership and a way for the state, insurance companies, and car fax to make and track money.

  Actually, I do use it to negotiate…I beat sellers down with “I see it has events ______.  Do you think anyone will pay you $______ for it with that in its history.”  Then proceed to have my way with them.
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^^^this. 95% of the people who buy salvage titles are looking to make a profit after selling them as rebuilt. Not saying it’s impossible to find a good rebuilt title car. But there people are looking to make as much money as possible. I purchased a salvaged Lexus a few years back which had fender and front bumper damage. I did all my research prior to purchasing the car ie- seeing the pictures from IAA showing the damage prior to repair etc. USAA is the carrier who totaled it which is notorious for totaling out cars for repairable damage unless the client specifically wants the car fixed. So I could visibly verify the damage was cosmetic and the dealer I purchased it from did a decent job with reassembly. Only thing was the passenger side headlight kept retaining moisture which eventually filled to ballast failure etc… more than likely was cracked during the collision somewhere and was just overlooked.

This was the best car I had ever owned up until a flood took it away from me… I mention this because your insurance company is going to de-value the car in the event of a total loss since a salvage title is going to devalue the acv payout and there’s not going to be a carrier to offer replacement cost on a branded title vehicle. Luckily as an agent myself I understood this since day 1 and I actually made money technically compared to what I paid for the car. Still sucks though if your trying to find a replacement of the same car. Another reason how I learned I’d rather have 12 shitboxes vs a few nice cars that are worth actual money…