Would you buy a car with a salvage title?

[LWJ]

I have bought a few with salvage titles. And, I mostly regretted it.

You can easily buy a usable vehicle under $10K. I just bought a 2000's Sentra for $1301. Mechanicals are great and it has had top shelf care. The clear coat is peeling. It is a POS and always has been. And my clumsy Daughter has transport that she can bump and scrape until it doesn't run.

[matthewb0051]

I've got a couple of Land Rover Discovery 2s that need a new home

I don't do civil law, but I've always wondered if you are exposing yourself to unnecessary liability if you are driving a car that was 'totaled' and therefore has a salvage title. Just a thought.

[rockfan4]

Well, in Wisconsin you can't drive a car with a salvage title. I imagine most if not all states are the same. In Wisconsin, you repair the car, and you have to keep track of the vin of the car you got the parts from if the parts are used. It is then inspected by the State Patrol, or maybe now they have designated inspectors, and they verify all safety systems are operational, and all structural damage is repaired. They also verify the parts didn't come from a stolen car. You then get a "Rebuilt" title, which is what most people mean when they say "Salvage Title".

Now on the other hand, we don't have regular vehicle inspections. So come and drive your rusted out vehicle, and when it breaks in two going through a pothole, that's on you. One of the images burned in my mind is visiting a friend in college, driving the Dan Ryan in Chicago, and a rusty Monte Carlo next to me hits a bump and the whole quarter panel fell off the car.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by matthewb0051

I've got a couple of Land Rover Discovery 2s that need a new home

I don't do civil law, but I've always wondered if you are exposing yourself to unnecessary liability if you are driving a car that was 'totaled' and therefore has a salvage title. Just a thought.

How so? You have to submit all of your invoices and pass a state inspection to get a salvage title and register the vehicle.

[matthewb0051]

It just seems like if a vehicle was taken off the road as 'totaled' then an inference could be drawn as to its roadworthiness or lack thereof and the driver/owner's knowledge. I'm thinking if the prior issue was repaired but failed and was the cause of a new wreck. I may be wrong, but not a risk I would want to take.

But what do I know, I did poorly in torts during law school. No joke.

[cabmandone]

I've owned several. Never really had mechanical issues with them. Mostly halfassed bodywork. A salvage car needs to go through a State inspection on Ohio to be titled. A cousin of mine used to buy flood vehicles if he could see where the water line was and it had to be a freshwater flood vehicle.

[rockfan4]

Originally Posted by matthewb0051

It just seems like if a vehicle was taken off the road as 'totaled' then an inference could be drawn as to its roadworthiness or lack thereof and the driver/owner's knowledge. I'm thinking if the prior issue was repaired but failed and was the cause of a new wreck. I may be wrong, but not a risk I would want to take.

But what do I know, I did poorly in torts during law school. No joke.

There's another brand beyond "Salvage". If it's really wrecked, it gets a "Junk" or "Unrepairable" brand on the title. Cars with that brand are only good for parts or scrap.

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by Shaun @ Tru6

with a $10K budget I don't see why you would consider a salvage title car. $10K buys a pretty nice Honda Civic.

This, all day, every day.

[greglepore]

Originally Posted by rockfan4

There's another brand beyond "Salvage". If it's really wrecked, it gets a "Junk" or "Unrepairable" brand on the title. Cars with that brand are only good for parts or scrap.

This. And every state I know of does the post rebuild inspection process, and you can't register or drive the car until it goes thru it.
The biggest risk in my mind is cheap airbags, they've been know to kill with shrapnel. Which is why I wouldn't buy a collision rebuild. Flood, maybe. Hail, theft, yeah man.

[Rot 911]

Thanks for everyone’s input. I think I’ll just stay away from a salvage car. And you guys are right, there are plenty of decent cars out there for $10,000 that have a clean title.

[Por_sha911]

Originally Posted by scott douglas

with a lot of the 'kids' i've come into contact with during my lifetime, the ones who have some 'sweat equity' involved in the purchase of their cars usually take care of them better than the ones that don't.

+1000

[WMichelsen]

California is strict on some things and loose on others. Salvage vehicles appear on the latter side. My registration specifically says "SALVAGE". Never had an issue insuring it, State Farm, Allstate, Nationwide and Geico at different times (I've had it a long time).

[Rapewta]

I have a good friend that has owned 54 corvettes in the last 50 years. Many years ago he told me ... Don't ever buy a salvaged car. He has provenance. I took his word and have never bought one.

[RANDY P]

1. No, if it gets stacked again it could kill her.
2. Get her a bus pass until she demonstrates the responsibility to maintain a car. Seriously.

rjp

[p911dad]

There's an old saying, "play the tape forward". Meaning think ahead to the day you wish to sell or get rid of the salvage car and think of the risks involved in keeping and using it. There are lots of cars with good titles out there, pick from that pool.

[A930Rocket]

All good points by everybody above.

When I was at university in Georgia, back in the 80s, a friend and I used to buy repos and wrecked/salvage cars. Sometimes it was minor work to get fixed other times it was major work. We were required to show all the receipts and get it inspected by the Department of Revenue.

Did you know that you could make one car out of two, welding the front clip on a 911Targa hit in the front… 😎

[onewhippedpuppy]

A guy I know buys salvage flood cars, especially Jeeps, and rebuilds them. Sometimes he gets lucky and picks something up that didn’t even have water inside, apparently insurance will total entire lots of new cars if it’s not clear which did/didn’t get wet. But he also had a Wrangler where he had to drill holes in the hard top panels to drain out the water. As long as he can verify that it was a fresh water flood, he’ll typically roll the dice.

[unclebilly]

Absolutely.

The very thorough inspections that are required to get a salvage car back on the road far exceeds anything that will take place in a PPI.

[unclebilly]

Absolutely.

The very thorough inspections that are required to get a salvage car back on the road far exceeds anything that will take place in a PPI.

If a $50k vehicle sustains $30k in damage in the first year or so of ownership, it will be repaired.

3 years later, if that same car sustains the same damage, it’s a right off.

Same car, same damage. The second one needs a very comprehensive inspection to get it back on the road.

At 5-10. Years old, not much damage is required to cause it to be written off.

[911_Dude]

Airbag deployment on a medium age car often dooms the vehicle to salvage status, even with relatively little body damage. Airbags cost a ridiculous amount.