Salvage Titled Vehicles

[Bob B.]

Has anyone ever looked in to buying a used vehicle with a salvage title?

We are in the market for a used mini van, and are looking at Chrysler Town & Countries. We've found one for sale by owner. It has a salvage title. The owner claims it was in an accident and had rear end damage.

It's a 2010 with 58,500 miles, asking price of $11,900. It also has things like back up camera, dual DVD players, leather heated seats. I took it for a drive, and it seemed to drive fine to me. Asking prices for other similarly aged T&C's with similar miles are in the 16-18K range. Most of the others we've found locally do not have all the options listed above.

ASSUMING we had the van checked out by a trusted mechanic - and it checks out OK with him, would anyone touch a salvage titled vehicle with a 10 foot pole?

[creditcardfree]

My first thought is no I wouldn't, but I'm not sure if that is the logical and financial answer or emotional one. I wonder how it affects insurance coverage. You may not be able to get collision coverage, so would be out the money if it were in another accident.

[Bob B.]

Thanks for the reply CCF. I talked about it with the maintenance man at my building. He knows a local collision guy, and he had a hunch this guy would be familiar with the vehicle/accident (I live in a very rural location, everyone knows everyone).

The collision guy did know the background story, and he said walk away, so we will.

[creditcardfree]

Good that you got some more information to help with the decision. It can sometimes seem to good to be true.

[MonkeyMama]

I think I'd put that in the, "If it sounds too good to be true" pile. Good networking!

We personally have never bothered to touch anything like that with a ten foot pole. We live in a big city and there is always an abundance of slightly used vehicles for a GREAT price. So we have never dealt with any salvage titles from a cost/benefit/hassle factor. Shopping in the "below market" range, it is the first question we always ask, to rule those out.

[97guns]

lets see, hes asking 12K so blue book must be around there somewhere. for it to have a salvage title the insurance company considered it totaled and payed off the owner, so consider it having a good 10K in damage, if he says it was rear end then probably mostly body work. front wheel drive vehicle doesnt have any real drivetrain in the rear end so very little mechanical probably got damaged.

[ua_guy]

Sounds like a good decision to walk away. Salvage-titled vehicles can be a good value depending on the specific circumstances of the collision (or even unrecovered thefts), but you really have to know your stuff. I worked in the insurance industry for a while...On the whole, I probably wouldn't touch most salvage vehicles with a 10-foot pole. The reality is, there's a lot of really cruddy shops and guys working out of their garages that buy up damaged vehicles and fix them very, very cheaply, and not to any recognized standard. Once they're fixed up, they hit the auction block, or Craigslist, and someone willingly pays for a nightmare on wheels that appears to be a good deal (but isn't!).

A good range to keep in mind, should you encounter another appealing salvage branded vehicle is the selling price should be generally 25%-40% less than book/market value. Again, it really depends on the severity of the damage and the quality of the repair.

[LittleGopher]

My family has had good experiences with salvaged vehicles, but I agree, you have to check over the car very well (and it helps to know more than a little about them,) and gather as much information as you can about the vehicle. Perfect use of your small town network with regards to the one you found!

We were looking for a cheaper used car for one of my daughters to drive. This was during the aftermath of the Clash for Clunkers program, and so there were cars that were either very old, or newer and expensive, and nothing in between. I think I may have cried for all the destroyed decent used vehicles We ended up buying a salvaged Honda Accord for her, and it's been a very good car.

Years ago, my brother's van was hit and totaled by his insurance. He was allowed to buy it back as salvaged. The damage was mostly on the body, so he pulled and pounded out the squished parts - it wasn't the greatest looking van around, but it was cheaper than anything else they would have bought with the insurance money, and knowing the care and upkeep of the vehicle because he had done it was priceless.

Definitely, buyer beware, and isn't it always when buying a used car! Good luck!!

[LittleMissSplendid]

If this were a vehicle you wanted to fix up as a hobby or use it as scrap parts then that's one thing. If this is going to be your primary vehicle then I'd say you should pass. Salvage title vehicles are not only more hassle because of the repair needs, but it'll be a pain to find an insurance company willing to insure them and what little coverage they might offer is terrible. You should be able to find a used vehicle in much better condition within your price range if you keep looking.

[kork13]

Yes. My family has an unfortunate level of experience with salvage-title vehicles. Long story, but my father bought my younger brother a salvaged car without consideration for about $8k. $8k in repairs and 1.5 years later, the motor mount sheared off (secured loosely with 1 bolt instead of 2) & effectively "fell out" while he was driving cross-country. So we had to get him a new car. He looked around at some cars, and one of the nicest-looking ones was another salvage title (same story, "rear ended"). We took it to my in-laws' mechanic, and he found that the body work was really shoddy... places that should have 2 bolts securing the bumper only had one, and other bolts weren't properly secured all the way. Other stuff that should have been secured by a bolt only had a plastic clip. Rightfully so, he recommended against the car, and we avoided it like the plague.

Lesson learned: when an insurance company totals a car and someone buys it to fix up with a salvaged title, they tend to go cheap. They typically do the absolute minimum to get a car driveable, but no more. Purchase a salvage-titled car at your own risk & peril.

[cypher1]

In terms of purchasing a salvage title vehicle I would say it depends on your knowledge of vehicles, being aware of why its salvaged/history, and if you're still comfortable purchasing it.

I focus on history, as I've had good luck with mine. Three different examples:

The first one I ever got was a 6yr old Honda Accord that was a salvage-theft recovery and saved ~4000 off similar models. Seller had repair papers for replacing the airbags (at the time those were a big deal for theft), ECU, CD deck, and speakers. Nothing mechanical was damaged or needed work.

Two summers ago my Toyota Matrix was totaled out due to hail damage and at the time the car was 9 years old, ran perfect. Insurance paid me double what I paid for. Instead of buying it back since I had another vehicle, in hindsight I should have kept it for my brother.

Five years ago I bought my cousin's CRV after it was totaled for 1500. I put another 2000 into it for sending to a frame shop to straighten, replaced 1 wheel along with strut/spindle assembly, fender, inner/outer tie rods, upper/lower ball joints, axle, alignment, front seatbelts/airbags.

It sounds like a lot of work but the only expensive costs were frame shop and airbags, everything else I fixed myself. For the money, I can honestly say its the best car I've ever gotten, as I'm still driving it today.

If you work on your own cars, its a no brainer. But for a lot of people salvage isn't always the best option. In my experience you get what you pay for, but for those cars you can really get some good deals if you know what to look for.

[maynard]

In some states you can't register a vehicle with a salvage title. Check first with the DMV and your insuranve company

[scfr]

My salvage vehicle story Part 1:

http://scfr.savingadvice.com/2007/02/17/our-new-car-with-a-checkered-past_22423/

My salvage vehicle story Part 2:

http://scfr.savingadvice.com/2007/08/29/sold-a-car_29772/

[jasminecox]

I had one!

[GoodSteward]

It's a risk for sure, but really any car can be. Some are lemons, so even new can be a pain. I guess if it is discounted enough, it might be worht looking into. However, if it was enough damage to total it(thus the title), there will probably be more issues later down from this. Rearended or not, that engine and transmission were jarred bad. I'm sure the life on those just took a hit. Adding to that, those vans have horrible reliability ratings(check JD Power), and I personally think this would be asking for a problem.

I own a Toyota Sienna 07. Love it. I like minivans a lot, but I stay away from Dodge/Chrysler. I know someone who has an 06 Sienna with 230k miles, and they were given a dodge grand caravan that's an 08 I believe with under 100k miles. They prefer the sienna, and have less trouble with it.