Buying a car (Salvage Title)? (insurance, vehicle, SUV, mileage)

[LukaLA]

Hey,
So I am going to reduce my budget, as I don't want to spend as much on a car.

So I saw many of ads on craigslist offering "Salvage" title cars... many are small accidents (ofc I will have a mechanic run everything through before buying any). What are your opinions on such cars? And suggestions? tips?


Thanks

[wit-nit]

Salvage car = money pit. There are so many poorly repaired and flooded salvage cars out there it just is not worth the $$.

My daughter had one and she had to dump it after putting in 1000's of dollars when things started falling apart mechanically and electrically going wrong after about 30 days of operation.

There's usually a reason that they are salvaged and some insurance companies won't insure them.

[raveabouttoast]

I'd avoid a salvaged title unless you actually know the history of the car (it was a friend's or relative's).

You could luck out, but it also be a huge money pit with problem after problem.

[thecoalman]

I bought one about ten years ago and just sold it recently. Was as good as any car I've purchased however I never would of purchased it had they not had the pictures from the damage. I was literally walking away after seing it was painted when they pulled out the pictures. The damage was from a deer, you can tell because there was no scratches and it was pushed in as opposed to smashed. Bumper, front quarter panel, grille, lights and the rear quarter on the same side. Apprently the deer spun around and whacked the back side of the car.



Whoever fixed the body damage did a fine job, there was only one minor rust spot on the back quarter when I sold it. I still had the pictures which made it really easy to sell. I actually used them in the CL posting.

That said I wold never buy one without that information because without it you don't what you're getting.

[Electrician4you]

Originally Posted by LukaLA

Hey,
So I am going to reduce my budget, as I don't want to spend as much on a car.

So I saw many of ads on craigslist offering "Salvage" title cars... many are small accidents (ofc I will have a mechanic run everything through before buying any). What are your opinions on such cars? And suggestions? tips?


Thanks

Imo most are slapped together. Once in a while you find someone who fixed one right. But even then you still have a salvaged vehicle you may have trouble unloading when it comes time to move to something else.

[ameridreamNoT]

I would definitely stay away from it. Doesn't matter how much you think you can save in the beginning...your budget will be impacted right after buying a salvaged car. I made a huge mistake on this, so my advice to you is stay away and buy a regular used car instead.

[43north87west]

This question has been answered numerous times at great length. The search feature is your friend.

[BostonMike7]

Stay away. You might get a good deal, but on the other end when you sell it your resale will be lower as well.

Friend bought a salvage car and had so many issues with it. It was involved in an accident but we couldn't figure out where. One day we finally located a main body harness that had been pinched and some of the wiring was damaged. This was never repaired before. Just one reason why i avoid salvage cars unless I KNOW what it was salvaged for.

[Suncc49]

I love salvage title vehicles, but I do my own car maintenance.

If you can get a salvage title car from a rebuilder make sure you get the pre repair photos off an auction site. Just google the VIN #.

I recently got a nice 4WD SUV that was salvage titled for around 50% of FMV with low miles. All it needed from the accident was a rear hatch. Damage was above the frame rails and the everything lined up good post repair.

You can find deals.

NEVER buy a salvage titled vehicle where you cannot know the history of the car.

[M3 Mitch]

You can't really say if cars with salvage titles as a whole are a good or bad deal. Newer, higher value cars that were totaled generally were hit hard, or in a flood, other serious damage, and probably you should avoid them. But an older car with low book value might be totaled for just minor front end damage, stuff that can be repaired 100% by replacing the bent tin with straight tin from a yard and spray the "doghouse" - bada bing, bada boom.

Any car totaled for body damage, I would really like to see photos of the car as it was damaged, before repair. A photo album of the repair job - not necessarily elaborate, just a few shots of as damaged, what was stripped off, what was replaced, what was repaired (particularly I would like to know how deep any Bondo on it is) would go a long way towards selling me on the car.

Same thing with cars with very high mileage. People who don't really know cars will shy away, but a car that's seen a lot of highway miles, with good maintenance, can still be in decent shape with 200, 300K or more. But again only people who really know how to evaluate the actual condition of the car in front of them will buy these.

Final note - listen to your gut. If a car with a "story", salvage title or not, gives you the willies for whatever reason - don't buy it. You don't owe the seller an explanation of this, just say "no, thanks" and beat it.