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Owner bought it damaged with salvage title already attached to it (at a discounted price) and then did the work him/herself?
I knew of a body shop that would do that years (well, decades now) ago on cars that were brought to their shop after an accident and after an adjuster would write the car off. They looked for cars without mechanical or minor mechanical damage and no frame issues from the accident, then would make an offer to the insurance company. If accepted, they would keep the car and do the body work themselves and then through it out onto their parking lot with a for sale sign in the window.
I think of them every time I see a car for sale at a local garage.
And, for reasons posted above, I'd avoid a car with a salvage title.
Given what you posted about the cars having no frame and little or no mechanical damage, I'm not following why you think the car would be best avoided. I would say that if the price is right, and you don't intend to "flip" the car anytime soon, particularly if the shop documented the repair with photos showing original damage, that the frame was not bent, etc. - why not buy it if the price is right?
Now of course a car that you can't find out (evidence, not hearsay) why it was totaled, I would not want to buy that car.
I think also that salvage title cars are mostly for people who really know cars, who have done some body work and some wrenching, and are capable of checking the car out themselves and would recognize signs that it has been in a flood, etc. And to guys who are OK that there is *some* risk that the car will turn out to have problems you didn't see before you bought it.
If the Owner / Seller did all of the work himself, how did the vehicle receive a Salvage Title?
As with most, if not all, Vehicle Reporting Systems (CarFax, etc), the information originates with the Insurance Company reporting the damage / accident.
Am I missing something here?
I think i heard if you take the pics of the damage and then write a report of how you repaired it then that's how you get the title. It was a deer accident so i guess it got reported to insurace that way. I'm not sure.
But we decided "No." I appreciate all the answers and comments. IF the car was cheap enough we may have gone for it, but the price was not super-low. We had a mechanic look at it and he thought it looked great, but after he found out about the title - even he said nah.
Edited to add: Neither of us are mechanics. We have a good, trustworthy one, but he charges - of course!
Cars do not have frames anymore. So, it is difficult to tell whether there is any remaining damage to the unibody. However more commonly with salvage title the ongoing issues are electrical. Car wiring is so complex that if they have to tie into the existing wiring for any reason, they almost always mess it up. A shade tree guy that touches the wiring is pretty much guaranteed to make a mess of it. Even dealership mechanics (where they have electrical specialists) make a mess of it when the get tonot the wiring harnesses. The final thing to be aware of/avoid. If the car has been in a flood, or hurricane, you do not want it for any price. Not even if they give you $500 to take it.
I would steer clear of salvage repairable. These cars are often repaired quickly and cheaply. The modern car has way too much electrical parts to take the risk.
You can get lucky though, but it is a gamble just to ride a nicer newer looking car. You could end up buying any old used car and get stuck with a lemon, but the risk is slightly greater with a salvage title car. If you have pictures of damage before the accident, It may be more appealing. Light rear end damage is not so bad, Hail damage, not so bad if fixed right, side quarter damage not so bad (as long as the rocker panels are not affected). Flooding is bad, Front end damage is bad, rollover is bad.
If he hit a deer, oh boy that is not too good, depends. Hitting a dear at 65 miles per hour is serious damage. A dear easily weighs over a hundred pounds. Hit head on, I could see a need for a hood, windshield, bumper and cover, lights, radiator supports, potential front end drive train parts, and airbags.
Way back in the age of the dinosaurs, I bought a Pontiac Sunbird from a used car lot. Everything seemed fine and I waited the requisite three weeks to get the title, and discovered to my dismay it had an Oklahoma salvage title. Unfortunately by then I was stuck with the car. That thing ran FOREVER. I had only one minor problem with it the entire time I owned it until it finally crapped out on me five years later, and it had been driven a lot when I bought it to begin with.
I think you shouldn't prejudge cars by any specific factor: being previously wrecked, mileage, this specific problem or that. Every car, like every home, relationship, and person has its own issues and quirks, and it's up to the potential owner to decide if it's worth the effort to deal with them. The car hit a deer. OK. Drive it, get it inspected by a body guy and a regular mechanic, and decide if it's worth it to you. If it's in decent condition, you can probably get it for a song because others will automatically rule the car out without even getting it checked.
If you do your research, have proper documentation of the fixes, have a trusted mechanic look it over, AND plan on keeping it until it dies, then go for it.
Make sure you really like the vehicle as it will be very hard to resell.
I might, depending on the situation. An old car doesn't need too much damage to be totaled. Regarding deer damage, I struck one this past summer... or it struck me, to be more precise. Repairs came to $4,000. He barely clipped the edge of front bumper but broke a bracket that required a new bumper, then there were very small dents in the front right fender, front right door, rear right door, rear right quarter panel and rear bumper. The deer walked off, btw. I stopped in the next town and bought a roll of white duct tape (to "match" the paint), taped down the front and rear bumpers which had popped out, and the damage was hard to spot. It was a 2015, so the damage wasn't close to totaling it, but the same damage on my wife's old car would have totaled it.
Similarly, a few months later someone hit the same car from behind as I was parked on the side of the street. Damage was restricted to the rear bumper and rear quarter panel area, but it cost $10,000 to repair. That would have totaled most cars more than 4-5 years old, but it was still a fairly innocuous collision. The other driver was probably traveling 20 mph or so but hit the bumper on the outside edge so that it didn't provide any protection -- just broke off the corner and let the quarter panel absorb the shock.
The car still drives like new, looks like new, and basically was repaired to new-like condition. If it had been 2-3 years older when it happened, it probably would have ended up with a salvaged title. However, it *might* have been repaired by cutting a few corners too. I'd want details, details, details when buying a car with a salvaged title.
Given what you posted about the cars having no frame and little or no mechanical damage, I'm not following why you think the car would be best avoided. I would say that if the price is right, and you don't intend to "flip" the car anytime soon, particularly if the shop documented the repair with photos showing original damage, that the frame was not bent, etc. - why not buy it if the price is right?
Now of course a car that you can't find out (evidence, not hearsay) why it was totaled, I would not want to buy that car.
I think also that salvage title cars are mostly for people who really know cars, who have done some body work and some wrenching, and are capable of checking the car out themselves and would recognize signs that it has been in a flood, etc. And to guys who are OK that there is *some* risk that the car will turn out to have problems you didn't see before you bought it.
I meant for reasons posted above in the thread. Sorry, I was not clear in post - that's on me.
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