There’s one way to get a great deal on a used car. Buy one that has a salvage title.
Just know what you’re buying when you do.
A vehicle that has a salvage title that means it got totaled – decreed unfixable – by the insurance mafia, after it sustained damage in an accident. This does not mean the vehicle isn’t fixable – or not worth fixing. Nor that it isn’t “safe” to drive (though it might not be).
It just means that the estimated cost to replaced a couple of air bags – plus the cost of repairing the damage to bodywork, etc. – exceeded a certain threshold relative to the “book value” of the vehicle. As a general rule, the insurance mafia won’t pay to have a vehicle fixed if the cost to do that is estimated to approach or exceed 50 percent of the vehicle’s “book value.”
The trap – well-known to those who’ve fallen into it – is that it is very easy to incur damage that costs too much to fix (as far as the insurance mafia is concerned) when a vehicle that is older than about eight years or so is involved in accident, even a relatively minor one. Because by then its “book value” value has depreciated by half or more vs. what it was said to be worth when new and today, the cost of replacing just a couple of air bags (driver and front seat passenger) can easily run to $5,000 or more.
This is because it’s often not just the bags that have to be replaced but also the dashboard and lots pf peripherals and that gets into money.
Anyhow, if you have a vehicle pushing ten years old that was worth say $28k when it was new, its “book value” is now likely to be $12k or so and maybe less. If you have an air bag-equipped vehicle that is 20 years old and get into an accident that causes just the driver’s bags to deploy, the estimated repair cost for that alone could easily cause the vehicle to be “totaled” by the insurance mafia. Even though it’s otherwise repairable and (this is important) a mechanically sound vehicle with many years and miles to go.
But there you go.
What sometimes happens in such cases is the “totaled” vehicle is bought back by the owner from the insurance mafia, because it’s worth more to the owner than whatever the settlement check was. This makes sound sense in cases where the owner knows the vehicle is in excellent shape – other than the accident damage and has been well-maintained, etc. Put another way, he knows that he is unlikely to be able to find a replacement – for the money – that is known to be in comparable condition. For this reason, it is worth it – to him – to repair the vehicle on his own and continue to drive it.
But there’s a catch.
It is that the vehicle is likely to now have a salvage title, which indicates it was totaled by the insurance mafia. That will cause prospective future buyers (as well as a dealership, if you try to trade it in) to shy away from buying it – because it could be that the damage is structural (i.e., a bent frame) and also because in some states, even if the air bags are replaced, if they have not been replaced by a “certified” technician, the repairs are not considered legitimate. Such a vehicle may not be legal to re-register in such a state. It may also be tough to get the mafia to “cover” a vehicle with a salvage title, if you’re wanting more than just liability-only “coverage” (and even then, the mafia might decline). Since we are required to buy what the mafiauses the government to force us to buy – since it is illegal to drive a vehicle that isn’t “covered” – this can can render a perfectly sound-to-drive vehicle effectively useless and so, value-less.
You could do what the government requires to rebuild the car’s title. This generally means replacing air bags and so on to the satisfaction of the government, but it gets into money because even if you are competent to do the work yourself, the government won’t recognize the work’s been done – even if properly done – unless it has been done by a government “certified” technician.
Of course, none of this affects whether the car runs and drives well – or its value to you on that score. If you don’t particularly care about resale/trade-in value, the deal you get on a sound vehicle that just needs some work that you can do is a way to save a lot of money, because the same factors that reduce the book/market value of a car with a savage title work to your advantage as a buyer.
You could even save more money by just dummying up (rather than actually replacing) the air bags, if you don’t care whether they’re there and working and maybe prefer they not be. You can easily “get away” (oy vey!) with this in states where there aren’t mandatory saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaafety inspections.
I know. Cue the wailing and gnashing of teeth.
. . .
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I am the owner of a salvage title Focus ST. For what it’s worth, I saved 50-60% over what a clean titled duplicate would go for. Yes, it’s not 100% perfect cosmetically, as I looked very closely. Whoever did the paint work didn’t mask as well as they should have at a couple spots. However, for what it is, a quick and efficient l, 6 speed manual, turbo car, I can’t complain. It’s a driver, not a show car.
Excellent, 1325!
There are absolutely some great deals to be had; the key is (as you have done) to know what to look for and what to run away from!
If you think you might want to resell it, a salvage car won’t hold value very well.
If you take it to a shop to have the work done it probably isn’t worth it.
But if you’re a good shopper, and good with a wrench (and realistically probably also a wizard with Bondo, or willing to tolerate some cosmetic defects) there’s some very good deals out there to be had.
Pro tip: Bondo doesn’t rust.
Is there any truth to this? : “If you think you might want to resell it, a salvage car won’t hold value very well.”
Imagine, you had a ’69 Chevelle, or a ’67 GTO, but it was “salvage”…
Hell, if I saw an ’80’s F-150 with under 100,000 miles on it, but it was, “salvage” I’d jump at it.
Y.M.M.V.?
I second the comment on looking out for flood cars. Cars from the gulf states can be suspect if they were totaled in the year of (or after) a hurricane. I always like to check the car fax on cars with salvage titles to see where they used to be licensed.
Other than that, it’s a great way to save money.
Well, I had expected some high-pollutan’ response to this reply I posted, but seeing as how I didn’t get one, this applies to your comment too:
Why do you have such a big problem with vehicles which have been submerged? Do you hope your vehicles last Forever?
There’s this infamous FJ I sometimes think of – The Water Dragon – it has a snorkel. Every now & then I see any number of models of vehicles being driven down the road with a snorkel. They always make me smile.
A link to a photo of The Water Dragon’s cousin: https://www.fjcruiserforums.com/threads/march-2022-rotm.752196/
Salvage cars are a buyer beware. I’m no fan of the insurance-government mafia to be sure. However there are lots of cases where a car is deemed worth less than insurance value and it’ll have nothing to do with the airbags.
Floods are a big one and there is almost no way in heck I’d buy a car that was submerged. You’ll often see a surge in salvage title cars in a state that is nowhere near the one(s) that had a flood or hurricane from people trying to take advantage of buyers who would not automatically think to connect the dots.
Cars that are stolen and vandalized badly or cars that caught on fire.
In some states a car that was used in fleets of taxis or was a police vehicle will get a salvage title automatically when they are disposed based on the fact that they are often very well used at that point, probably structurally suspect.
So know what you’re getting.
BTW, didn’t make it clear, I don’t have a problem with salvage titles at all. I bought back an old truck the insurance company totaled, but I’d owned it 18 years at that point and literally knew ever bolt on it. It was T-boned at a fairly low speed so the damage was superficial but significant enough that it needed a new bed and quite a bit of body work on the cab. I ended up making a tray for it and having a body shop repair the cab and truth is the insurance estimates were about right for the damage vs. Blue Book value. That was me buying steel and doing the fab of the tray myself, too. Had I needed to pay for all the work at a body shop there’s no question the estimates would have greatly exceeded market value. I still have the truck 8 years on from that, although the cab is very rusty now under the body work that was done.
Why do you have such a big problem with vehicles which have been submerged? Do you hope your vehicles last Forever?
There’s this infamous FJ I sometimes think of – The Water Dragon – it has a snorkel. Every now & then I see any number of models of vehicles being driven down the road with a snorkel. They always make me smile.
A link to a photo of The Water Dragon’s cousin: https://www.fjcruiserforums.com/threads/march-2022-rotm.752196/
This just happened to my daughter’s 2006 Accord, a five mile per hour slide on ice into a street sign caused $4000 of damage, if we took it to a shop, but an expert auto body specialist who works on the side repaired it to better than before condition for $2400 and we didn’t report it to the insurance company. All for the reasons you mentioned, the car is well maintained and has another 100,000 miles left on it. Title is clean though, no bags deployed.
For sure buyer beware. It probably depends on the state on how easy or hard it is to get it ‘approved’. But once approved, it should be insurable?
I have three experiences with such.
1. Bought an Impalla SS, we loved it, but did notice the rear hop’d a little at speed, but didn’t do anything about it. We started a family, and got a tahoe instead. a year later a guy calls me from 3 states away “did you crash this car?” No. “did you know that the entire rear frame section was replaced?” No, but that explains the hop. Sorry dude. He figured it out that it was totaled and somehow the title was washed. A lesson to me to never buy from a used car dealer ever again.
2. Bought a used 2500 suburban with the 8.1L to tow a big camper, from a dealer. Dealer was not interested in selling me a factory warranty, only a 3rd party. I walked. They called me back and would sell me the factory warranty. 3-6 months later the rear differential started making noise and then soon the head gasket sprung a leak. Weird for a 2 yr old car with 20K on it. Dealer had it for 2 months (with a rental). Turns out it was a flood car that somehow got the salvage title washed. Repair was $15K+ (car was $30?), all covered by factory warranty. So someone at the dealer knew what it was, and why they didn’t want to sell me a factory warranty. Glad I had it. Never dealt with them again.
3. My 90yrs old mom finally got her dream car, a porche. She got hit in the front at a light, one month old. Air bag went off, and they totaled it. Didn’t look like much damage to me. But I’m assuming porche parts are big $ and they totaled it. That would be a good salvage car to get, depending on states that re-approve them easy enough.
OMG, you live in Indiana? “It probably depends on the state on how easy or hard it is to get it ‘approved’.”
That is so gross. “to get it ‘approved’.””
Thankfully, here in Iowa we don’t have that sheet.
Decades ago, we did. I recall filling in rusted out rear inner fender wells with expanding foam so they would, “pass”.
Thank goodness, our State overlords are not as controlling as yours are. …On this subject.
“to get it ‘approved’.””
“Land of The Flea, Home of The Slave.”
My car was salvaged due to the transmission being out. My brother bought it, not knowing the process you have to go thru(in MO anyways) to get it legal. (He put a used transmission in it) You have to apply(& pay) for a special permit, make an appointment for inspection(at least 30 days out) drive it to the highway patrol inspection center, and they check every component, to make sure that no parts are stolen, and the car is safe. I have driven the car almost 5 years, and would trust it to go anywhere. The process was a real pain.
That’s Just fuggin’ nutz, C S Buck!
All that, just for a transmission? WOW!
Yeesh, and OffGrid Doug says, “Come to Missouri”?
No thanks.
Every day, seems like, I learn one more reason why I like Iowa.
[Not that it’s perfect, far from it.]
Thanks for the enlightenment.
That a salvage title is issued based on a determination by an insurance company reflects a business-government partnership.
The insurer decides; the state implements the insurer’s decision in a legal document with legal implications. Just as, if the insurer cancels your ‘coverage,’ the state cancels your registration.
Not sure what a better way would be. But I instinctively distrust biz-gov partnerships.
RE: “I instinctively distrust biz-gov partnerships.”
For good reason, that’s the very definition of Fascism.
…Wrapped in The Flag, for protection?
What a racket.
Lets not forget that there are no aftermarket airbags/SRS parts. When they deploy, you have to buy them from the OEM, so no savings there. In addition, its not just the bags. OEMs have a matrix for a litany of ancillary SRS parts to replace when a bag deploys. Controllers, sensors, seatbelts and possibly a bevy of interior components.
Salvage titles should ALWAYS be approached with caution. Sure, cars get totaled for trivial damages (mostly to significantly older vehicles) or heavy hail damage (which is cosmetic only.)
But then you have unscrupulous rebuilders out there sawing wrecked cars in half, welding them back together and peddling them to morons who don’t notice 48lbs of Bondo holding it together. And anything that has been flooded – run away.
There can be deals found out there, but you really need to do your research.
Hmm, RE, “Lets not forget that there are no aftermarket airbags/SRS parts.”
Why is that? [That’s called, a clue.]
…Anyway, Unless you’re in one of those Uber controlling States, who cares?
It’s better that crap is not replaced.
I dunno, but your percieved bitterness seems unnecessary here, “But then you have unscrupulous rebuilders out there sawing wrecked cars in half, welding them back together and peddling them to morons who don’t notice 48lbs of Bondo holding it together.”
You know, some people, they just want to buy a vehicle to get from point A to point B.
The sawing and wielding, the Bondo, it’s appreciated by some.
Not a bad idea but there still expensive most the time biggest problem is dealing with the government to get the title changed over to a rebuilt title so it’s road legal according to the dictator on high car is the same without the rebuild title just not approved but it can be a cheaper way to get a newer car but the resale value will always be half of one to rebuilt
RE: “but the resale value will always be half of one to rebuilt”
Do you buy a vehicle in order to drive it? Or, as a so-called, “investment'”?
There was a time, when my concern was, am I paying more than scrap value for it?
…Buy it.
Drive it.
When it dies, sell it to the junkyard. Or, part-it-out?
Maybe, come out ahead?
Around here, they call those, “Winter Beaters”.
…Sometimes, if it dies on the side of the road, ya just walk away and go buy another one.
That’s how we used to do it Back in The Day.
Now, excuse me, I have to Update my Browser on my outdated PC with it’s unsupported OS and do a restart.
I’ve bought 2 salvage titles in the last decade and had a good experience with both. Resale is lower, but that makes sense because I got them for a steal! …not much left to depreciate.
I know a contractor who for years only bought vehicles for his business with salvage titles. Trucks and vans from a shop that repaired wrecks, licensed and inspected. They were around 2 years old before the accident and he would use them for 4 or 5 years before he got rid of them.
He found that at that point that there wasn’t that much difference in value between a salvage and a regular titled vehicle at that point due to age and mileage. He only tended to buy the ones that had front end damage.
One of the trucks he bought didn’t even have structural damage just needed a bunch of body panels and trim so it even had a regular title as a bonus.
So if repaired properly and inspected by a qualified technician you trust I wouldn’t have any problems driving one. The biggest problem is that you have to verify that it was repaired properly and it’s a vehicle that you will have to hold onto as they depreciate more
RE: “as they depreciate more”
According to, whom?
Some, Blue Book?