Salvage Titles | MotorWeek FYI

You really need to be cautious if you’re shopping for a used car online from a third-party like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace because in the end it could be hard to get a license plate. Stephanie Hart shows that there are resources that can help you before you sign on that dotted line.

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[dohc]

Another key point imo is what state the car was registered in. In the past, I looked hard at places like South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, and definitely Florida. Most recently that would be California and Texas. I try to look at even the town to see if a flood happened while the car was registered there .

[PANTYEATR]

A year ago i took my truck to get aligned. The tech doing my alignment got into a wreck on the shop property with my truck and a Suncoast utility truck. Their insurance wanted to total my truck since it was a 2002 with 250k+ miles. My truck is in perfect mechanical and body shape since I'm a 25+year diesel mechanic and automotive enthusiast. I refused their claims of being totaled and wanting to label it salvage. The truck will stay with me for my lifetime and never be sold. It's ridiculous what insurance companies will total your vehicle for...

[saulgoodman]

Not all cars that been in an accident are salvaged titles. The insurance companies just don't want pay to fix it.

[JSSIX]

Bought a Honda Accord with a salvage title, had it for over 3 years. Best car I have ever had so far.

[Chicagoguy]

Hail damage are the BEST deals !! I live in the south where we get LOTS of hail storms in spring. Got hit in a BAD hail storm and I was able to keep 3 hail damaged cars after state farm paid off with CLEAN titles also !! Made on those cars when I sold them lol

[martyi]

My SUV was hail damaged and due to the amount of dings it was totaled, my insurance company gave me the option to buy it back with a salvage title, (came out 10k ahead) so that's what happened, although i had to wait 4 weeks and was not able to drive it until i could get state inspection then was issued a rebuilt title through BMV, hail damage isn't noticeable from a distance the dings didn't break the paint and you have to be right up close to detect the damage, still driving SUV today after 5 years since the storm all good!

[benmudn]

My rule of thumb on salvage/rebuilt titles is the trade-in value is the "new" retail value.

[marshalmagooo]

In South Carolina, you can register and insure a Salvage title vehicle, however only with liability insurance. So if you have to carry full coverage you are SOL

[dave]

I was a collision facility manager for years and dealt with this on a daily basis. Here in the state of Wisconsin a current model year vehicle and back 7 years (2016) would be considered a total loss when the damage hit 70% of the vehicles current value. Vehicles older than 2016 had a 100% threshold. This gets to be a very touchy subject as you never know what damage you are going to find even once repairs have started or what kind of crazy price increase you may uncover. I remember a Dodge Ram that needed a new frame. All of our collision estimating software said that the frame was $1, 200.00. When I called to order the frame (this was right after Daimler got involved with them) I was told that the frame was now $5, 200. Scratch one Dodge Ram.

[GrthxAlot]

I bought a "clean" car that ended up being salvage with a laundered title years ago. Apparently it was possible by having a car re-titled in certain states to clean it. Hopefully they closed that loophole. I'm wary of any used car now.

[edwardsimmons]

This is actually educating because I am planning on buying my first vehicle

[oreally]

Salvage cars are usually a nightmare, but buy one ONLY as a second car or beater car..

[pipedreamin]

Buying a salvage titled car in itself is not a bad thing, as long as you know what you are getting into, and pay the appropriately reduced price. Over the years I have always made it a habit to take the seller to the DMV and do the transaction of money for title while standing at the counter, that way there are no surprises. It also doesn’t hurt to run a full vehicle history report of your choosing before agreeing to purchase, they can sometimes catch stuff that might get missed otherwise.

[SavageBunny]

My brother in law bought a Salvaged 2020 Denali truck here in California for his dad in Missouri, he shipped it over, when his dad registered there it came out as a clean title.

[WhiteAndNerdy]

I bought a salvage title car last year but it was priced accordingly. I also do my own mechanical work. For the most part though, Id advise normal people to stay away. Haha.

[josocalify]

Thank you for a very helpful and practical video!

[anthonyfigueroa]

The more u know! !!👍👍 thanks. Do more stuff like this. ☆☆☆

[Doc]

I always do a CarFax using the VIN number.

[emmmartmursu]

First don’t buy any flooded vehicle
When is is a vehicle that was in a accident and was fixed properly and passed your state DMV inspection then this vehicle became a rebuilt title vehicle and then can be insured no problem

[bjornegan]

Salvaged toyotas with 150k miles are still going for over 20k from 'reputable' dealers..