I'm salvage title ignorant

Most insurance companies will not issue a policy on a salvage title vehicle, those that will have sever restrictions and high price tag

 

once salvage, always salvage. it's an insurance company think. these are state rules, and vary.
here's a primer, i'm not familiar myself.
what-is-a-salvage-title-vehicle.html

 

In my neck of the woods, you can't get a salvage title rebranded unless you can show the inspecting officer all of the necessary receipts to prove your repairs did not use stolen parts.

So if a seller wants to unload the car on you without completing that process, you'd better make sure you end up with all those receipts too, and you believe them. And you don't think that, umm, might be the reason the seller wants to unload it on you.

 

You would want to buy a washed title?

That is illegal to do anyways.

 

Yeah, laws vary by state. Some states are very restrictive and don't allow re-branded titles, while some states are more lenient. My state allows the re-branded titles after inspection. I did it on my own car 2008 HCH when the insurance company called it totaled after a minor fender bender due to the cost of repair exceeding the value of the car. The damage was largely cosmetic bodywork and the car was perfectly drivable. So, I purchased my own now totaled car from my insurance company and had it repaired, and got it rebranded. It was a lot of work and long waiting. Unless you are sure to be able to recoup the cost and time, no auctioneer or junkyard will try doing something like that.

 

It may depend on the insurance company and what coverage you want on the car. There may be some restriction on buying coverage for the car, collision or comprehensive, but I did not have any problem buying liability only on the totaled car that I purchased back from my insurance company and repaired and re-branded. No premium increase. The insurance company was GEICO.

 

Yep Colorado allows it, as well. They require an inspection within 60 days of getting a salvaged title and if it passes you get a "Rebuilt from salvage" title which just means the vehicle is road-worthy.

Since Colorado is #2 in the nation with hail damage (to homes and cars), we even have a special provision for cars damaged by hail, "Extensive damage to your vehicle's roof usually results in a total loss even if the car is still in peak driving condition. ... The title will be labeled 'salvage' with a special notation if the cause is hail damage. Salvaged vehicles are difficult to insure because it's difficult to estimate their value." I've never owned one but hear folks are only able to get liability car insurance with extensive hail damaged cars.

Check on your Nevada DMV website for more Nevada-specific info.

 

While a vehicle with a salvage title needs to be inspected before it can be driven in our state and may be in perfect condition, a salvage title usually makes its value less, sometimes half as much, as a similar vehicle with a "clean" title. I have a 2002 4Runner Limited 4WD I bought a couple of years ago for $4500. I am happy with it as a utility vehicle and snow runner. I have seen similar 4Runners in my area go for $8K or higher with much higher miles because they don't have a salvage title.

 

A Salvage title means the car was damaged beyond the cost to repair it (reasonable resale value). Most insurance companies will only sell liability insurance for a car with a salvage title - usually mandated by state law.
Some insurance companies will try to refuse to insure a salvage titled car; which is illegal since most states mandate drivers carry liability insurance. I ran into this issue when I was in high school. I repaired an old first gen Corolla. Replaced the hood, fender, grill and straightened out the soft steel frame. I had talk to the regional manger of the AAA office to get liability insurance for that car. Sold it 18 months later with 15K extra miles on it and made $500 profit from it.

IMHO; I wouldn't buy a newer car with a salvage title - because the damage had to be substantial for an insurance company to write it off. You definitely don't want to by a car that was flooded, you'll have all kinds of weird electrical issues - due to corrosion from being under water.

 

In years gone by a salvage title car was $1k-$2k when the same car with a clean title was five times the money. But they were easier to evaluate than today's highly complex vehicles. Buy a salvage title hybrid? No way.

 

I have never bought a "salvage" title hybrid, but I have bought a "rebuilt" title hybrid a couple of times, and they were ok.

I bought them from an outfit that specializes in rebuilding hybrids. The state inspectors who have to approve the "salvage" to "rebuilt" title rebrands are on-site regularly and know the folks.

In both cases, I drove the car away as soon as the inspector had been there and approved the title change. Insurer would not insure the car as "salvage" so I had to fax them the state paperwork showing the "rebuilt" title application had been made and passed inspection. The actual rebuilt title came in the mail later from the state.

 

Out here in Ca.; there is no distinction between salvage vs rebuilt title car - the "salvage title" will always be stamped on the "pink slip". In order to get it legally road worthy again is a simple brake & lamp certification, and an insurance certification. The insurance company will do a walk-around to determine if they will sell you comprehensive and collision insurance, document any damage that won't be covered by the policy. I haven't rebuilt or purchased a salvage titled car in over 30 years - but it amazes me that some of my neighbors would buy and put their kids into them. I'm not saying they are unsafe; but they could be, if you don't do a deep dive into the cars' history. Don't take the current owner's word; he/she is currently wearing a "car salesman's hat".

Ray, you could probably pick-up an older Prius - very cheaply. The CARB CAT replacement is so expensive, insurance companies usually write-off the car - rather than fix it. Beware, your probably so used to your PP, going back to a regular Prius will be like driving one of those old high school VW bugs. LoL Double check the car's VIN and CarFax report to make sure that's the only issue with the car.

 

That's true of any used car. My two purchases of rebuilt Prii followed one aborted purchase of a "clean CarFax!" used Prius from a typical used-car dealer. They let me take it to a Toyota dealer nearby for a look-see, who took me under the lift and showed me all the evidence the thing had been all collision-worked and re-straightened and re-painted from the guggle to the zatch, and when I mentioned that to the used-car dealer, he professed to have no knowledge at all about any of that, and again waved the all-clean CarFax at me. I passed on that one.

Out of curiosity, I did pull the same car up on CarFax again a few weeks after not buying it, just to see how they would show my trip to the dealer that discovered all the unreported collision work. It showed up as "maintenance inspection completed."

By contrast, what I liked about the rebuilt-buying experience is that the rebuilder is completely up-front about all that. There are only a few hybrid models they specialize in, they know them inside and out, they've got a yard full of them to pull parts from, they show you photos of what the one you're buying looked like before rebuilding and after, and they aren't trying to just flip a car and hope you won't notice.

To me, those points all show up on the + side of the ledger.

 

i think it's very important that any used car buyer down the line knows that a car has been rebuilt to whatever extent.
it's hard enough to know the extent of most any accident you didn't personally witness, and the quality of the repair.
our daughters 04 prius was hit by a deer. $5,000. repair at a dealership, but the tires kept wearing quickly and unevenly. no one could figure out what was wrong.

i wouldn't trust a salvage because there are too many unscrupulous rebuilders, or sometimes you just can't find all the problems, even though the car seems fine upon inspection and driving.

 

The used "clean CarFax" Prius that I looked at and didn't buy looked to have had more damage rebuilt than a good fraction of the ones sold by the rebuilder—just not reported, and not noted on the title anywhere.

Difference was, the rebuilder was up-front about it.

 

As people have mentioned, a "salvage title" varies massively by State. I've lived, and worked, in New England all of my life. I have friends in all 6 New England States and NY.

I would be very cautious of a salvage title. As people have mentioned, a salvage title means that the " 'Non-biased' Insurance Company" determined that "the vehicle could not be restored to factory specs, without exceeding the value of the vehicle".


For example, in Mass, to have a salvage vehicle pass "inspection", for major parts (~20 e.g. hood, fender, door, etc), the bills of sale are needed, along with the VIN number for ant part from a used vehicle.
Other than that, the vehicle has to pass the Standard Mass Safety(brakes, headlights, no rust holes, etc) and Emissions Inspections.
So, as long as the vehicle "looks okay" and passes a basic inspection, then it's good to go. It doesn't matter if the frame was patched with wet paper towels. Throw a ton of under-coating in the area, hope the inspector doesn't check for rust in that area "with the 'screw-driver' test", and the sell the car to someone.

Where as, in Conn, it's a PITA to get a salvage title. Many things are need, even before an inspector starts poking around. Photos of the vehicle before the repair. Photos of all welds. Photos of all body seam sealers. Photos of the frame/support after all work in done. Photos, photos, and more photos. Of course, like with home inspections, the DMV inspector knows the work of the big body shops. So, those inspections go quicker.
But, for a non regular, the DMV inspector "looks closely for job justification". That is, he looks for any minor thing that is not 100%. Hence, his job and performance justification.
Imho, for the consumer, that's a good thing. For someone trying to keep their sentimental car, that can be a huge road-block.


Therefore, if a salvage vehicle was fixed and registered, then "what magic happened" to make the extremely experienced insurance company be incorrect in the cost verses value of the vehicle?
Imho, the answer is none.
Sometimes, the person, and a "friend", may have fixed the car themselves. In other words, in that case, non-professionals did the work.
Other times, car flippers may have bought the vehicle, had their low-paid mechanics and body-people do a cheap and quick patch-up job, and then sell the car, knowing very well that there's a very high chance that the vehicle won't last for even 2 years.

I've been working on cars for many decades, I've rebuilt many engines, replaced trannys, replaced doors, body panels, welded frames, and so on.
Still, I'm not a professional auto-body person. To work on a car, it takes a non-professional (like me), much longer than it takes a professional. Other than my own person vehicle, or for a family-member, it wouldn't make sense for me to spend a lot of time fixing a salvage vehicle.


Btw, it is possible, and it happens a lot, that for a number of reasons, a person will keep a salvage vehicle, and have the work done professionally. Sentimental, and rare/hard-to-find vehicle are very common reasons.
However, that person is not going to then just turn-around and sell the vehicle. It is of course possible, that "life events" result in the need for the vehicle to be sold (layoff, new baby, relocate, etc).


Longish answer.
But, a few years ago, a friend in Mass almost bought a salvage vehicle. I convinced them to first have an ASE certified mechanic inspect the car. Needless to say, after the mechanic's report, my friend decided to pass on the vehicle.


Good Luck!

 

CarFax gets their data from insurance companies, dealerships, and large auto repair organizations (chain stores). A car can avoid a salvage title stamp by not reporting the accident to a insurance company and/or not filing a police report; a misdemeanor offense BTW. Then getting it repaired by a "shade-tree" mechanic, "under the table", or simply selling it outright to an unscrupulous used car lot. It's a win for everyone involved here, except the consumer - that gets stuck with a potentially unsafe car.

Caveat Emptor

Unfortunately this happens a lot around here, since the number of uninsured motorist is around 25%. The last two people that hit me was uninsured.