Quote:
Originally Posted by emoore924
In PA a salvage title is the first of two steps to get a car back on the road. It brands the car as a total loss which cannot be driven on the road again. Then, if you repair the vehicle (assuming that can be done) AND you have a "special" inspection of that vehicle to be sure all the damage/loss has been corrected, you can have a "reconstructed" or "R" title issued for the vehicle. With insurance, tagging, titling and inspections, you may drive that vehicle on the road again.
The inspection is stringent. And the devaluation (and repair) follows the vehicle because of the branded title.
As was mentioned, getting insurance for an R title car can be a challenge. Insurance companies don't like them because there can be compromised structural integrity and that can mean risk to passenger safety.
I have heard that some states don't continue the "brand" if the vehicle title passes through their state. I would be interested in hearing whether someone knows that indeed is the case.
This Salvage to Reconstructed title may not work the same way in all states.
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There are states that are known as "wash" states, meaning you can clean up the title but I've only heard of people doing this when they have a car that had a "parts only" title. Many states have two tiers of salvage:
1. Salvage Rebuildable
2. Parts Only, FL even goes one step further and calls it a Certificate of Destruction
The trick I've heard people talk about is to sell the car to someone in a state like KY which only has one kind of salvage title, all are technically rebuildable. So you can start with a parts only title and end up with a rebuildable title, but it's still branded, even if you pass state inspection and get the car tagged again.
NY makes it really hard on cars with salvage history. My car was damaged in 2005, rebuilt, and retitled to be driven again. I had a branded title from FL, but a ready to go title. NY still made me go through their salvage inspection, as if the car was just fixed, rather then 15 years before. It passed, it's tagged and on the road, but still carries the Rebuilt brand and will forever. But it was a nerve wracking wait. Thinking I had put all this money into this car, which had a clean rebuilt title and NY could for whatever reason say they would not honor the other states rebuilt title and not let me drive it in NY.
---Adam