[FrozenMBZ]

What do you guys (and gals) think about buying cars with salvage title? I tend to avoid it but I can see how Insurance companies and declare a old car salvaged for a minor accident.

What do you think? To buy or not to buy?

Thanks.

 

[tusabes]

It's completely dependent on the type of damage

It takes very littl to total a w220 since parts are expensive , it can have very minor damage and still drive perfectly

Or it can be a car with frame /suspension damage that will never run right

The fact it has a salvage title means nothing without knowing what damage occurred

 

[Deplore]

Personally, I never buy salvage title cars.

Here in CA, insurance companies tend declare a car a total loss (ie, salvage) when the cost of repair hits or exceeds 75% of the car's market value. Some insurance companies have different thresholds.

However, if the car has, for any reason whatsoever, has frame damage, it's ground for immediate total loss -- because straightening out the frame can very easily run into 5 digits (and that's if you don't section the frames from another car, but that's a totally different story).

Costs of parts, materials, paint, labor, shop fee....it adds up real fast. Hence why older mercedes whose market value are <$5000 tend to be declared as a total loss.

Now, frame damage is the REAL reason why I never buy a salvage title car. Safety is compromised, the vehicle rebuilder may have cheaped out when rebuilding the car (happens far too often), handling is different, the car drives differently, etc.

 

[bondavi]

Salvage titles are a form of permanent damnation. Be damned.

 

[2Evil4U]

I picked up an I30 for free with a salvage title. Rebuilt it, and finally sold it at 265k miles. It's still going as far as i know.

It was water damaged back in 1998 as far as I could determine but it ran like a top for a long time.

Really depends on the type of damage.

 

[Extreme Dimensions]

As others have said it depends on what kind of damage was sustained to make it salvage title. Vehicle Theft for example is not a huge deal. Frame damage and flood histories are the two I tend to stay away from. Even frame damage if properly repaired isn't completely horrible. I would recommend getting an independent inspection when dealing with any salvage title car.

Thank you,
Irving

 

[TexFinn]

For some they will work for others not. I'm one of the latter. Just a personal preference.

Cheap cars definitely get written off easier for just minor damage due to the price of the repairs. Nowadays airbags are making things really expensive, too, even in minor accidents.

But since you never really know what happened (unless you are provided with info/pics of the repairs), I have decided to stay away from them.

 

[oldmako]

As already mentioned, I'd buy one IF I knew exactly what was wrong with the car. I'd like to see pics, and paperwork detailing the damage and replacement parts.

Of course, the car would have essentially zero resale. But, I tend to drive mine until I shoot em, so it probably wouldn't matter to me. Hell, you hit a deer and bust two headlights on a newer generation car you're already into the thousands.

 

[2Evil4U]

Hell, you hit a deer and bust two headlights on a newer generation car you're already into the thousands.

No joke here. I saw a Kia Optima hit a medium sized dog at about 55mph a month or so ago. There was nothing left on the front of the car under the hoodline. It looked like a bomb had gone off.

 

[bbirdwell]

FWIW, in Texas, if a car is declared totaled due to cost of repairs, and *any* major body part (hood, fender, door, trunk) is replaced to bring the car back to original appearance, the title is salvage. So...if the insurance company declared the car totaled due to repair cost, and all one did was replace a front fender and repaint the car, "Salvage" is on the title.

If I were going to keep the car for a decade or so, *and* I knew the quality of the work and what was replaced, I'd consider a salvage title. I would not purchase a salvage title with the intent to sell it later without much effort.

 

[TIREFRIAR]

As many have mentioned, getting a salvage titled car depends on many factors. First off, the notion that a car with frame damge is automatically deemed total loss is completely false. With very few exceptions of body on frame vehicles, today's cars are unibody. Although the front section has lower rails that appear to be tradional frame rails, they are usually welded pieces. The rear section of car structures are welded assemblies of panels and reinforcements that easily get damaged in even what appears to be "light" impact. The structure can shift and "squaring" it usually requires the use of a frame machine or in case with primarily high end German cars, a jig bench. Any work done on a frame bench is deemed at frame time and is qualified as frame repair. Furthermore, many auctions deem any damage to welded on (as opposed to bolted on) structural parts such as radiator supports to be frame damage and declares the cars as such. The decision to declare total loss on the car by insurance depends on many factors including the salvage bids that the car can fetch. The ins co then adds the value of the bid to the cost of repairs (sometimes adding 20% for supplemental repairs). If the bid+repairs is greater than the ACV of the vehicle, then insurance will lean towards salvaging the car, paying off the owner and cutting its losses.

I would not buy a newer car with a salvage title due to the complexities of today's cars and the lack of knowledge at many shops that put these back on the road. Reputable shops are generally "too busy" to rebuild salvage title cars - exceptions do happen when owner persists. Usually the salvage cars are brought back to life in order to make profit and so you can expect a lot of cost cutting involved - pricey parts that should be replaced are usually repaired, extensive use of aftermarket and sub par quality parts, etc.

I would definitely stay away from any newer cars with front end collisions due to all the electronic and mechanical components that can and usually are affected. Flooded cars are a definite no no as well.

Older/vintage cars are a different story. They can be salvaged just due to cosmetic damage. Also, much older cars are also much simpler with virtually no electronics hence less risk. Anyway, hope this helps.

 

[cascade]

It's completely dependent on the type of damage

It takes very littl to total a w220 since parts are expensive , it can have very minor damage and still drive perfectly

Or it can be a car with frame /suspension damage that will never run right

The fact it has a salvage title means nothing without knowing what damage occurred

EXACTLY.

 

[alabbasi]

I have a salvage license and buy a few salvage cars year. I don't buy to sell but instead buy to tinker and for that purpose they seem to make better projects then the cars that had sat for 20 years in a field.

As others have indicated, when a car gets old, it does not have to be hurt badly to total it and in many cases, if the owner had full coverage on the car, it was a pretty nice car before the accident.

You do need to know what you're buying though and if you're buying one that's been rebuilt, you need to be sure that it was fixed right.