Looking at a Used 911 SC - Rebuilt Salvage Title?
 

I found a 1979 911 SC at a relatively good price, and learned it has a rebuilt salvage title. Is that reason to run? The car appears to be in good shape, but I'm not sure if I want to proceed seeing as its not in-state so I can't easily inspect it before moving to the PPI stage.

I'm working on getting more info from the seller, he's the one who told me about the title status. Is a rebuilt salvage title generally a warning to run?

One would think with salvage title you would be able to buy at a much cheaper price then with a good title. I would make seller give you a major discount on the car. You will get less when you try and sell.

Run. It could be a money pit you could never sell

It is more a sign that you need to look closely at the car,and have a PPI done if you do not know exactly what to look for. I work in the autobody industry and can tell you that it is possible to correctly repair a car that has a salvage title. Please keep in mind that regardless of how well it was repaired it does affect the value of the car. How much is relative to the sentiment of the buyer regarding this issue.

For me,unless it is an extremely rare,or desirable car that I otherwise could not locate,I tend to stay away from salvage vehicles as they are usually harder to sell.

Hope this helps

It is a rebuilt salvage title, which means it passed a general "this isn't falling apart" inspection by the state.
Ohio Salvaged Vehicle Regulations and Consumer Protections at DMV.org: The Unofficial DMV Guide

I have sent a car through the Ohio salvage inspection process. It is nothing more than verifying the car was not rebuilt with stolen parts. There is no safety inspection. You bring the vehicle, and receipts for all parts. A deputy then compares what was replaced with what you have receipts for. It everything matches you get a rebuilt title. If something doesn't match up you have to come back with more receipts.

Try to find out what the damage was. I've purchased cars from insurance auctions before. Sometimes it is very minor.

-A Jeep that merely tipped up on its side- Easy fix to go beat around the woods
-A couple of good running complete 944s that are now race cars- Not sure why they showed up at an insurance auction- Theft recovery?
-Longhood 911 that had a minor engine fire. Perfect candididate to dump the whimpy 2.4 and stuff in a 3.2.

Also-

Has the car been owned by the same owner for a long time? Used as a daily driver?

I put all these cars back together for my own use, so I wanted them done "right". Might be different for a guy who is just flipping cars as quickly as he can. If he bought the car a short time ago, and slapped it together just to sell, run.

Seller says he has had it for 14 years, and has done a lot of upgrades on it. New paint 2 years ago. I'm waiting for more info.

A very large percentage of salvage cars are flood damage. If the car was bought by the insurance company the cost to replace the interior at retail would have far outstripped the value of the car.

On a 79 911 that is probablyh giogn for what- $7K how bad can you get hurt? Get a PPI and you'll know exactly what you're up against.

I've both purchased salvage cars and repaired them myself and purchased repaired salvage cars. So far I'm right at 50%- 3 were nightmares that I never could sort out and I bailed out of them for a slight loss- 3 were incredible, solid, great cars that i STOLE and sold years down the road for a profit.

I am currently driving a salvage title as an every day driver-my Porsche also has a salvage title. You pay less but you sell for less--I have been lucky...

If salvage do to severe accident, price must be dirty cheap for me to consider.
If salvage do to minor accident (sometimes ins. company salvage a car which is closed to nothing), or was stolen, AND it has been long time ago which all (or most) problems are already sorted out, I'll go for it for sure. because you will get getter price, and most issues are done repaired/replaced.
he owns it for 14 years after the incident. That is a good sigh. Purchase car fax see if it indicate what was the reason. Find a good mechanic to look at it.

I have repaired many 911s that were inspected and became rebuilt cars. Just make sure
you get the documentation and pictures of the before during and after process.

Ive seen a salvage title created at the salvage pool on an SC that the targa top was stolen off, I guess it has to do with relationship to value.
Bruce

Got some more info from the seller. The dealer he got it from 14 years ago said it had been stolen, hence the Rebuilt Salvage title. He had it stripped way down and repainted 2 years ago, and sent some pictures of it stripped for the paint. He says they didn't find any signs of major repairs while doing that.

Based on this, I'm feeling more secure. Thanks for the advice, I think I will get that CarFax and continue to pursue this. If I can get a reliable car for a few K less, particularly one that's been proven for the last 14 years, it would be a nice way to have money extra for tools.

I will say that you need to know

when you go to sell it - other people WILL RUN
it could be really tough to re-sell....really really tough

just sayin

Salvage title is normally decided by an insurance company, anything from a theft recovery to a crumpled total wreck. A thorough inspection by an autobody tech will turn up any major body repairs. A salvage title limits resale value and insurability value. Most states also have non-repairable titles in addition to salvage titles those are reserved for severe frame damage. I have a 911sc with a salvage title that suffered an engine fire. engine is still good deck paint is blistered, wiring is toast, put the engine in another car and it runs perfect. am in the process of cleaning up the fire damage on the body. paid 5k. Unibody cars are easy to salvage i bought a volvo s80 t6 with a minor rear end hit that wrinkled the floor pan in the trunk. low mile car that runs perfect for $1200 cost $75 for parts to fix it. If you can find the insurance company documents on the salvage you will have a detailed list of all the damage that justified branding te title

now THAT would make a good track/race car. better than taking something nice and dropping the value of it.

as long as the Chassis is straight and the running gear is in good condition this sounds like a perfect car. especially if your going to modify it and make it your own. Perfect car... well for someone like me! get it checked out and if it looks clean, offer appropriately. good luck!

It's all very subjectivehttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/ear.gif . In my experience (& I've owned rebuilt title vehicles before & don't hesitate to own another). I've seen some vehicles with clean titles AND clean carfax that were in far worse shape than ones with rebuilt, salvage, hail/storm damage write off or theft recovery :rolleyes:. Just be vigil in your PPI & as you would if it were any other vehicle (with or without clean title/carfax) when it comes to your personal inspection outcome expectations. Make sure your insurance is not an issue to insure it & that you can register it in your state etc. Don't rush into it as you hopefully wouldn't with any other vehicle, it sounds like you're on the right path of gathering info. step by step. & ensuring you're satisfaction is met at a comfortable level before committing, :) Good luck

Thanks for all the input. I've decided to be open to the car, but I won't prefer it over some of the full-records cars I'm looking at. Still, 14 years with the same owner and no major issues is about as good as can be expected with a rebuilt salvage title.