Salvage title

[aeroman]

should you run or can you get enough of an inspection to assure that its okay to buy?

What does it do to the value?

Thanks

[Laneco]

Salvage titles scare insurance companies, bank and most normal people to death. You may find the vehicle will not be insured for its real market value or that a bank will not loan on it. The bank issue is pretty huge because many people have to take out a loan to buy a porsche.

A car can be a rusty wrecked blown up piece of junk and have a clean title. It can have a salvage title with no damage simply because it has been "lost recovered". Expect to pay 25% to 50% less than the regular value due to salvage title. Expect to get 25% to 50% less for the vehicle if you are in an accident and someone's insurance company must pay for your vehicle.

I've owned many salvage title vehicles. Usually ones we bought and repaired ourselves. The car doesn't know its "salvage". If its a good car and properly repaired it will keep right on driving.

That said, I would suspect that a Porsche with a salvage title will be very difficult to sell at anything approximating a clean title value. Inspect carefully, pay a diminished value and plan on keeping the car as long as possible.

angela

[SoCal911T]

I would say it depends what state you live in, why it was salvaged and whether or not you ever intend to sell it.

For example, I just bought a salvage title BMW 323i that was a theft recovery. The insurance company paid the claim and when it was recovered, because of it's age, wanted nothing to do with it. The only thing wrong with it was a missing stereo.
I had to have it inspected by an official California lamp & brake test station and then have the VIN verified by a DMV inspector and that was it.
The DMV lady said there around 5 million cars with salvage titles in Cali.
Because I don't plan to sell the car and it was never in an accident, it was a good route for me.
Depending on what state you live in and the reason it was salvaged, it could be a problem if you plan on reselling because a salvage title is a red flag to most people.

[rnln]

to me, it's ok with these requirements:
Test drive run good. PPI good.
Not salvage because accident, frame is original. Hope fully stolen and they don't touch electrical. Just stole the engine and tranny.
The incident was long time ago (yearssss). Reason I prefer this because in those years, POs would repair all flaw, if there is any. Car has not been in storage. It's been out on street and POs drive them normal
Most important, LOW PRICE.

[keez]

I bought my 65 Chevy II in California with a salvage title and when I brought it back to MD, registered as historic vehicle and received a straight, clear title. DMV clerk said for a car that is 40 years old, she would be amazed if it had a clear title after all of these years. I don't know what would happen when I bring it back to California and re-register but for now it's titled as b eing clean. Newer cars are another ball of wax. JMO

[Miguel Antonett]

I would NOT go there :-(

It could turn really expensive w/o any chances of payback

[SLO-BOB]

It all depends. For example, I bid on a 911 RSA that had a salvage title. It was documented that the car was recovered as a "theft fraud". The original owner tried to get a payout from insurance and had the car parked somewhere. The car was taken from him and sold off at auction as a salvage car. The was perfect. It eventually sold for $25,100. That is about $10,000 less than the same car with a clear title but otherwise identical. So, my thoughts are that if you get the car for less, you can have a damn fine car for way less money. However, know that the resale will be corrospondingly low.

That is the ideal salvage title situation. Others can be far worse. Right now there is an 87 Carrera Cab on Ebay. It looks like, and is listed as a C2, which as we know they didn't make in 87. Upon closer inspection you see a 3.2 motor in a car with C2 parts. The Carfax reveals all sorts of issues including flood damage and odometer rollback. The buy it now price is $20k. I wouldn't touch it for half of that.

Other issues-No financing. Cap 1, E-loans, and my bank would not finance the car. I would have had to use my own money. Insurance was an issue, but doable. A thorough PPI is a must.

[rattlsnak]

People make way too big a deal over salvage titles. They are great way to get good cars. When I say cheap, usually 10-20% off of market value. We have a 96 993 TT in the shop right now that will be totaled. It has a light hit on the rear. The estimate is $42,000 on a value of 65,000. This car can be completely repaired for less than $15,000 by using used and dealer cost parts. It will be auctioned off for @ $20K. SOmeone will buy it, fix it, have @ $35K in a 65K car. Not bad.. Happens everyday... Would any of you buy a 993 TT for $45Kish?? I sure would. (assuming financial resources) Would I would be scared of a salvage title? NO.. I have had three salvage titled 911 cars with no problems whatsoever. Just do your homework.. Im quite sure there are some bad ones out there!

[wcc]

Personally I wouldn't do it just cause of the unknown factor. Besides that there are plenty of good deals out there on cars with clean titles if you look. The ONLY way I would do it is if is some sort of rare model, super exotic, or way outside of my price range that a salvage title brings the cost down into my price range. But I wouldn't do it for say a 911, Boxster, etc, but maybe a GT3, 993TT etc. Then do TONS of research to protect your wallet. Plus you may have to learn to live with some squeaks and rattles.

[therotman]

I bought a "theft recovery" car once.

After a couple of alignement shops could not get the tires to last more than 5k miles I took it to a bodyshop that found extensive damage and were willing to try and fix the bent frame for more than the car cost me in the first place.

I will not do that again.

[SoCal911T]

Originally posted by wcc
The ONLY way I would do it is if is some sort of rare model, super exotic,

The BMW I bought was hardly exotic but is somewhat rare. It's grey market version with headlamp adjusters, washer/wipers and it also has this cool, rare oil tank feature. It's also much lighter than it's U.S. market counterparts.
I was able to find out the history of the car before I purchased it and only paid $1,500 so it really was a no brainer. I could part it out for much more than I paid if worst came to worst.

I would be much less likley to buy a salvage titled car if we were talking big bucks.

[wcc]

Originally posted by SoCal911T
I was able to find out the history of the car before I purchased it and only paid $1,500 so it really was a no brainer. I could part it out for much more than I paid if worst came to worst.

I would be much less likley to buy a salvage titled car if we were talking big bucks.

Why would you by a salvaged car for $1500 when you could get a clean titled car for say $2500. There really isn't much difference here so it really isn't a 'deal'. So what's the point? But on the other hand that 993TT that was brought up earlier is a savings of roughly 20K. Now that's a savings!

EDIT: I don't know what your car is worth. I just made up a number so don't be offended by it.

[zotman72]

My SC is a salvage titled vehicle. I did my homework, coupled with a PPI and the seller was straight (group911 here on Pelican). The car was a theft recovery, platinium Weissach with only 80K on the clock. It had been bought at a Police auction in San Diego and then driven up here to Denver by the seller. It has been a joy to own for three years now. YMMV

[SoCal911T]

Originally posted by wcc
Why would you by a salvaged car for $1500 when you could get a clean titled car for say $2500.

Why wouldn't I buy it? In the BMW crowd the Euro spec cars are worth a lot more than the U.S. spec cars which is the only reason I bought it. They don't have the big, ugly impact bumpers and other safety BS, they're lighter and in my case, I've got a lot of Euro only features. The car has 100k and the paint is pristine . If this had a clean title I wouldn't sell it for less than $6K. There might not be anyone who would pay $6K however.....................

[SLO-BOB]

Originally posted by SoCal911T
The BMW I bought was hardly exotic but is somewhat rare. It's grey market version with headlamp adjusters, washer/wipers and it also has this cool, rare oil tank feature. It's also much lighter than it's U.S. market counterparts.
I was able to find out the history of the car before I purchased it and only paid $1,500 so it really was a no brainer. I could part it out for much more than I paid if worst came to worst.
[/IMG]

That was a frickin steal!-no pun intended. Selling the bumpers alone would recover half your investment. Cool car. I would buy it in a heartbeat.

Btw-what's the oil tank for? I've never seen that.

[wcc]

SoCal911T - It sounds like you got a heck of a deal on your car. But I guess all I'm trying to say is that when we're talking 5-6k we aren't talking about a lot of money. When it doesn't involve a lot of money it really doesn't matter if it's a clean title or not. Cause if you drive the car a year or two you got your money out of it. But the higher end stuff there is more potential for a greater saving. That's all I'm trying to say.

You have a few nice cars sittin' around there!
Is that a 535is next to it?

[group911@aol.co]

I'd bet that a lot more people get ripped off by regular titled cars by not doing their homework than by "Salvage Buyers" that did. Just because your car is "Regular Titled" doesn't mean it doesn't have issues. Always do your homework and be happy if you got a deal on a salvage car.

[rnln]

I agree with several people on Salvage title, rattlsnak group911@aol.co and wcc... if the car is in good condition and the price is lower than normal market price, I'll go for it.