What is a "Salvage Title" ?

[belly dancer]

Can someone please explain to me what a salvage title means?
My local DMV certainly can't.
Thanks.

[Christien]

Salvage title generally means an insurance write-off that has been re-certified for the road. It could be a recovered stolen vehicle, it could be written-off in an accident and rebuilt, a flood repair, really any case where the insurance company has deemed it a total loss and paid it out, and then the car has somehow been certified as road-worthy. The most common one you see is stolen recovery, which is kind of a lousy branding of the title because the car could be perfectly fine, but the branded title immediately knocks 30-50% off the price.

[Mick_D]

Not to be confused with a Bonded title, in which a sale of a car is made and no title transfer takes place. Some states don't require a title to register a car, some do.

[2ndTARGA]

There's also the term"branded title", which is often used as a catch-all phrase indicating that the Title has a "Brand" on it (think cattle branding) The brand (or stamp) could be S for Salvage, T for theft, F for flood, etc. It all depends on the State. Some have a different looking Title that says salvage in obvious location/font, some just put a big stamp on the Title, and others use the same design for all Titles and just add the brand letter in a designated box or area.

[Mick_D]

I know that in TExas you can get a bonded title, and three years later you can apply to have the 'bonded' comment removed. In either case, the title is a blue clear title of ownership. It just means that someone lost the newest title somewhere along the line and it had to be replaced.

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by Christien

the branded title immediately knocks 30-50% off the price.

Not for collectible cars. For the high-dollar collectible, only the current condition and degree of originality matters, not the title status. The originality and title status can be related, however.

For most aircooled Porsches, I don't think you'd have to take a 30% hit on salvage title if the car was repaired to a very high standard and was otherwise in good shape.

[belly dancer]

Thanks to everyone for your help.

This is what the Pelican's all about.

[brianvb]

I have a salvage 04 Ferrari that we restored well and still will be 40% less. I have a saltwater flood salvage 65 356 cab that once restored should be worth 0% less. I think how current the vehicle is really matters.

[gearby]

A Salvage title is not what most think it is. A salvage title is a title to a car that has been totaled. This is where the confusion is: PLATES AND REGISTRATION CAN NOT BE ACQUIRED FOR A VEHICLE WITH A SALVAGE TITLE AND A CAR WITH SUCH TITLE CAN NOT BE DRIVEN ON THE ROAD. It only shows ownership of the totaled vehicle. Once the car is repaired, the car must be certified as roadworthy. It is then inspected and issued a branded title. A "branded title" is a typical title with a totaled or salvaged notation on it. This "branded" title can be used to obtain plates and registration so the car can be driven again. Laws vary from state to state but this is the way it is in Oregon and Washington state. I've purchased insurance salvage cars from both states.

[tom6284]

Really!!!

[gearby]

Nah, I was just joking.

[bpu699]

Originally Posted by brianvb

I have a salvage 04 Ferrari that we restored well and still will be 40% less. I have a saltwater flood salvage 65 356 cab that once restored should be worth 0% less. I think how current the vehicle is really matters.

100% agree...

Ever seen a ferrari 250 rebuilt from a pile of scrap, and 90% new parts? Happens all the time...

A 40-50 year old porsche will be judged based on its current condition...

[bpu699]

Originally Posted by gearby

A Salvage title is not what most think it is. A salvage title is a title to a car that has been totaled. This is where the confusion is: PLATES AND REGISTRATION CAN NOT BE ACQUIRED FOR A VEHICLE WITH A SALVAGE TITLE AND A CAR WITH SUCH TITLE CAN NOT BE DRIVEN ON THE ROAD. It only shows ownership of the totaled vehicle. Once the car is repaired, the car must be certified as roadworthy. It is then inspected and issued a branded title. A "branded title" is a typical title with a totaled or salvaged notation on it. This "branded" title can be used to obtain plates and registration so the car can be driven again. Laws vary from state to state but this is the way it is in Oregon and Washington state. I've purchased insurance salvage cars from both states.

Not from what I have seen... Might be state specific...

The scenario I have seen more often is that the car is fixed, and down the road at some point the title becomes unmarked...

Given enough owners, time, and DMV's, this seems to occur a bunch...

[Otter74]

I'm pretty sure this is state-specific. In some states, salvage titles are indeed as described in the first quote; when the car is repaired, inspected and approved, it is issued a 'rebuilt' title. In other states, such cars (that have been rebuilt) have 'salvage' title. I have seen both.

Originally Posted by bpu699

Not from what I have seen... Might be state specific...

The scenario I have seen more often is that the car is fixed, and down the road at some point the title becomes unmarked...

Given enough owners, time, and DMV's, this seems to occur a bunch...

[techweenie]

Question for people who know AZ policies. I've seen a car registered in AZ with "clean" title papers but listed in Carfax as "branded" due to an odometer discrepancy (34K miles 'disappeared.'). So, does that mean there's an odo tampering brand in AZ? Or is this some random Carfax noise?

[bpu699]

Car fax screws up mileage a lot... It might be flagged in car fax, but irrelevant to the title...

If one coordination challenged minimum wage employee types the wrong info during an oil change, your mileage looks suspicious...

I own a testarossa with 14,000 miles... These cars are never driven.

Ran a car fax that showed my odometer was rolled back, because the smog guy assumed it had 114,000 miles and that's what they entered.

Next guy entered 14,500...

Good luck fixing it...

[gearby]

Originally Posted by bpu699

Not from what I have seen... Might be state specific...

The scenario I have seen more often is that the car is fixed, and down the road at some point the title becomes unmarked...

Given enough owners, time, and DMV's, this seems to occur a bunch...

That happens all the time but it's hit or miss. There was a chance that my last salvage titled car would come back as a clean title. But no such luck. They told me the older the car the more likely it is to come back as clean. I guess it all depends on the person entering the information into the computer.
I did have one car from Florida that was totaled. Seemed to be a regular title but with a salvage notation. Didn't know what the process was in that state.
All of this is very state specific. Oregon and Washington vary in how they inspect vehicles. State patrol must inspect in Washington, DMV'S inspects in Oregon. Oregon is a lot easier than Washington.