Technical Are salvage titles really that bad?

I am looking at an OT 70's car. But it has a salvage ***le. Car is in California. Now I never intend on reselling any car I have bought. But what are the downsides to having an older car with a salvage ***le?

 

Every state is different. In my state, if the car is over 25 years old the ***le is not branded regardless.

 

On a newer financing and insurance can be problems. On and old car I'd not worry about it.

 

I wouldn't mind on an old car unless it was high dollar/very desirable.

 

I bought a car with a salvage ***le, no matter. ***le was in the glove box, car was NOT for sale. Great driver, ('57 Buick convertible, I lowered it with 'A' frames in front, shorter coils in rear. Emblem remover from grille, leather interior sanded and stained dark oxblood)
Locals admired it, drove it 3 years. Pretty lady HAD to have it, named my price and she gave me cash.
Really didn't want to sell it, but had 4 hot rods and a '56 Ford Customline 2 dr. hardtop at the time. (Also with a Salvage ***le!)

 

The car will have less value with a salvage ***le and your insurance company may have issues with it.

 

There is a shop/dealership here in town that rebuilds wrecks (actually about five of them in a town of 6K people) with every one of their high end cars sold with a salvage ***le. Salvage in this state usually means insurance total. Then the insurance company sells it through an auction where either wrecking yards or rebuilders buy them.
One of my cars (a 98) came with a salvage ***le and when the ***le came back after I changed it to my name it was clear with no salvage brand.

As hot rodders we probably do a lot more that could be called a salvage rebuild than the shop down town does on a four year old Lexus most of the time. Half a body from here, the other half from there, quarter panel from Brookville, patch panels from ______ all put together with the welder of choice and then a bit of a chop of the top to finish it off. If they gave you a salvage ***le on it rather than a "clear" ***le is that a big deal? Maybe to someone paying mega bux but for me the "It p***ed inspection, it is mine free and clear" is good enough. Any prospective buyer should know that you rebuilt it from the ground up and you probably already showed them the build photos.

 

People used to make a living at fixing wrecks, now the public turns their nose up at them. There was no Carfax back in the day, so you could be buying a fixed wreck, salvage ***le or not.
But Chris had it right...depends on your state.

 

On old cars it's mostly meaningless.

 

If it has a salvage ***le and registered then it has already had an inspection. Go over it with a fine tooth comb, the inspections here are a joke....brake and lamp only....no safety inspection. The salvage ***led cars do go for less and some insurance companies will pay less when it’s totaled again. I would check with your insurance company before you buy it.


Some people do ****py work putting wrecked cars back on the road either through lack of knowledge or cutting corners. Salvaged cars really need to be checked over more thoroughly before buying them.

I also forgot to add that once it's a salvage ***le in California it stays a salvage ***le the rest of it's life.

 

It all depends on the State....you need to talk to your AAA folks in California
Me, I'm buying no more Salvage ***le cars in NM...they don't want old cars on the road anymore

 

Only when you try to insure it or sell it...

 

It is all set at the state level, as has been mentioned.

Insurance companies are largely regulated at the state level. Some won't value a vehicle with a salvage ***le at any more than half of book value, while others will only permit you to get liability insurance on that vehicle (e.g. no theft, vandalism, etc.)

If you are planning on building what will be a high dollar, potentially desirable vehicle, I highly recommend starting with one that has an unbranded, as in not salvage, ***le.

You don't want to find out the hard way that you have built a vehicle that was appraised at $50,000, it gets totaled, and the insurance company won't hand you a penny more than $25,000.

Learn your state laws, insurance regulations, etc., before moving forward.

 

As has been said......buyers will expect lower than low asking price.
Repaired and sold many myself. One totaled twice. It's an insurance company numbers game.
Regardless of ***le status the car is only as good as the repair work.

 

To me it depends on what caused the need for salvage.I knew a guy who had a 69 Camaro with a Ca salvage ***le.It had been flooded.With new wiring,and gauges I wouldn't worry,but if the original electrics were still in the car you could have connection gremlins to chase.On 30-50"s cars it means nothing to me since I expect those cars to have been rebuilt. Expect the guy who buys it from you someday to care though.

 

I love my salvage junk.
Buy em wrecked, fix em, drive the wheels off of em. But I fix my own.
It does affect value.
Some banks won’t loan on em

 

As Chris mentions, every state is different. The biggest h***le is that most insurance companies will not offer collision policies. First, they can't be sure the car was repaired safely and second, if the car is in an accident, there is no way to verify previous damage. Some will give you liability only, but if you kill or hurt someone with a salvage car, be prepared for a legal battle that your insurance company will not help you with.

 

Do you know why it was salvaged and who rebuilt it? Maybe it was the person discussed in this thread: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...-you-do-this-****-and-sleep-at-night.1178780/

Having said that, I would start by asking my insurance company if they would have any problem insuring it, that could kill the deal and you wouldn't need to look and further.

Charlie Stephens

 

In addition to what has already been mentioned..the question is that you question it..just like the next potential buyer will if you decide to sell it in the future, this naturally will limit the potential buyers pool, and we know (if we are to believe the thread-why aren't Hot Rods selling) that that number is shrinking.
If you buy it and intend to keep it, still use it as a bargaining chip in your negotiations.

 

A tri 5 Chevy went thru Barrett Jacksons a few back
Brought money just like the other tri 5s

 

Unrelated but I bought a 4 year old van that had 4 owners. It only had 20,000 miles on it. The first owner was a rental company, one owner had it 2 months. The Carfax says the ***le says it`s blue on about the 2nd owner(along with the ***le), but it is charcoal gray. It repeats itself with the other two owners as well. It has a clear ***le. Did have a conversion van with a salvage ***le. Bought it for a good price and sold it for a bit less 4 years later. Couldn`t tell it ever had any damage. I always told people that it was on the 6:00 news and was involved in a high speed chase.

 

Beginning in 1998 and thru mid 2004 I was licensed as Rebuilder and Repairer a**** other Certificates and I personally 'rebuilt' a few dozen vehicles. Generally, they ranged from 1 to 5 model years old. Upon completion and after State certification a ***le, branded 'Rebuilt' was issued. The standard of quality I produced was such that they met or exceeded new car standards of fit and finish. I sold each of them to local people with full disclosure, including photos, with no issues whatsoever.

As a new and used car dealer for almost 30 years, we occasionally took trade-ins with branded ***les, and resold them accordingly, some at retail, others at wholesale, depending on their age, mileage and overall condition.

Never, not even once that I can recall, has any such vehicle been denied insurance coverage or a bank loan on the basis of it's branded ***le status.

Does the branded ***le affect it's value? The newer the vehicle the more value is a variable issue. But as the vehicle ages and ac***ulates mileage, the value is almost always based on age, mileage and condition, not the ***le brand.

There is in my City a very large family owned salvage operator whose beginnings trace back to the 1940s. They buy damaged vehicles one at a time or in huge lots (as in hail, tornado or flood damaged salvage). They part out a large volume of vehicles, sell off some to rebuilders, and retail a substantial number of branded ***le vehicles of all descriptions. and have been doing this for decades.

There are lot of statements in prior posts that I think reflect rumors, old wives tales and conjecture, not first hand experience. Other statements may be reasonably factual in some jurisdictions. But this subject is not a "one size fits all" by any means.

As it applies to our traditional hot rods, some very astute comments were made as most of our builds are, in fact, 'rebuilders' even if the law doesn't always brand them as such.

Ray

 

Years ago, I bought an 1983 O/T pickup truck that was totaled by the insurance company. the truck had only 2800 miles on it. It had hit a curb, and rolled over, no broken gl***, damaged left front door and fender, roof just a little lower on the p***enger side, one big dent in the bed. Yes, it had a salvage ***le, I had it properly repaired, and drove it for many years until the frame rotted out. If the repairs are done properly as mine was, you can get many miles and many years, out of the vehicle. The big benefit was that I had a truck that had only 2800 miles on it and only cost me 56 % of a new truck

 

It's probably been said before, but the term "total or total loss" says very little about the actual physical condition of the salvaged vehicle. The term is a catch all word that includes everything from smoking heaps to no noticeable physical damage. In general, though, some sort of physical damage has occurred.

"Total (loss)" is always based on economics more than on extent of physical damage. For example, as late models have become increasing (nightmarish) complex, with extensive air bag systems in particular, ripping open dashboards and headliners and door pillar upholstery, along with all their sensors that must be replaced, the cost of parts and substantial man hours can easily economically total a late model vehicle that is otherwise repairable.

Ray

 

Heck of a lot better than no ***le.

 

I recently had a ten year old pickup hit and the insurance company totaled it. I could have bought it back for a decent price, but the insurance company stated that it would be returned only with a salvaged ***le and it could only be insured on minimum coverage, that is here on Washington. I p***ed on getting it back, rather spend my time on my old cars.


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Salvage ***le means look at it hard before buying, ask for before repair pictures. If it is a almost new car there will not be factory warranty even if the car is less than a year old and has a 1000 miles. Older cars may not have much damage to be totaled. I just bought a 2007 car that was totaled with 40,000 miles that only needed a head light hood and windshield

 

Kind of OT ,but 20 years ago Washington state filled up with Russian immigrants .One of the ways of making money by these new citizens......steal a new Honda Accord.Strip it completely.Dump the shell in a industrial park back street.The shell would get picked up by the city,and sold at auction for very little.The Russian who stole it in the first place would be the high bidder.Take the shell home,and put it back together with the very same parts that came off the car.Apply for a salvage ***le,and sell it for pure profit.....amazing,but true...…………..