Salvage titles?

[scoutcub]

Considering buying a theft recovery salvage titled vehicle from Florida and registering in Ohio. The only info I can find thus far on the net is an inspection must be done on the vehicle prior to registering, and paperwork must be in order.
Has anyone done this? I realize the vehicles worth will be less, but I'm planning on keeping it for many years. Can't be much worse than my 98 4 runner that I paid 26K for now being worth 4 or 5K.......!
Also, any insurance considerations?
Any advise/experience appreciated!

 

[smstonypoint]

Considering buying a theft recovery salvage titled vehicle from Florida and registering in Ohio. The only info I can find thus far on the net is an inspection must be done on the vehicle prior to registering, and paperwork must be in order.
Has anyone done this? I realize the vehicles worth will be less, but I'm planning on keeping it for many years. Can't be much worse than my 98 4 runner that I paid 26K for now being worth 4 or 5K.......!
Also, any insurance considerations?
Any advise/experience appreciated!

No practical experience, but I would certainly want to visit with my insurance agent and the local Department of Motor Vehicles (or similar).


Steve

 

[George2615]

Check with your local DMV where you would want to register it. Some states won't let you register a salvage or scrap titled vehicle. Others will but there is some paperwork and possibly a trip on a trailer to DMV to show the salvaged vehicle is road worthy. Some states would say a salvage vehicle is for parts only.
In NY you can rebuild a salvage vehicle but DMV will require the builder to take the vehicle to a DMV facility for inspection. They would probably issue a title but it would say rebuilt salvage vehicle on the title. This is to protect any future buyers of that vehicle to be aware it had been salvaged. If you can access your state DMV site do a search for salvage vehicle title.

 

[Car Doc]

I made a good part of my living buying and rebuilding wrecked Toyota trucks for years. I used to be a salvage and used car dealer and sold a lots and lots of rebuilt vehicles.

So what I can offer as advice is talk to the state you are planning on taking the car too and see what they need explain your situation and you may need to talk to different people in the same office to get a straight story.

The usual things are getting the state patrol to do a vin and make sure its not stolen then check and make sure there isnt a lien BEFORE you buy it! Usually the auction has already done that but be sure they did there will be some sort of paper work that states no liens were found it doesn't mean there inst any just none filed that they found!

That can be tricky for an individual to do with all the privacy laws but its not impossible. Then in most states they have salvage rebuilt title status and that is when the car is finished and is road worthy and the state patrol inspects it again and gives the ok paperwork that you then take to dmv and get your tags etc.

It makes some banks nervous but as long as the car is put back together decent even insurance isnt a problem unless you manage to get the insurance co that totaled it in the first place and they wont usually re-insure it fwtw.

The discount on a salvage rebuilt vehicle is dependent on so many factors I cant comment on your situation just so you know there will be one. My cars looked as good as new so the discount was $1000-1500 usually off NADA retail and I never had a bank refuse to loan on one of my cars either. hth

edit: one more thing on a theft recovery fyi the engines and tranys are usually shot or stressed beyond limits and some auctions wont let you start a car before hand! Seems like bs but that's the way auctions sometimes work so be carefull! I have bought them and the dash and steering column is usually bashed up no radios and keys etc that can be a nightmare on a late model. We bought a recovered Camry once that the v6 was blown and that was a real surprise since they are speed controlled by the computer and that was one of those instances were we weren't allowed start the car so I ate an expensive engine. good luck

 

[timswi]

I also used to rebuild "R" titled cars. I believe they made it a little tougher in some states. Title laundries aren't quite as common as they used to be, and that's a good thing for all of us.

Just remember that you should get a hefty discount because of this and so will the guy you eventually sell it to.

Never had a registration or insurance problem.

As was said, theft recoveries are the worst...the drivetrains are usually beaten senseless and are on borrowed time. Although the general bodies are usually OK, the interiors, air bags and wheels are usually picked over.

Built and drove them for years though. If you buy a good one, you can't beat the deal.

 

[Eagleview]

A stolen and recovered car may look OK but be aware thieves are vindictive and like to play a game called "brick it" . They place a brick on the accelerator , start it up and walk away . The engines run at full noise until they run out of fuel . The poor old buyer has no idea what that engine has been through .

 

[Cat_Driver]

Don't forget flood damage. You will be chasing electrical issues till the cows come home.

 

[scoutcub]

Excellent advise from all, greatly appreciated. It's an 08 with less than 3000 miles, but as said who knows what the thieves did to it....it could've been stolen for a joyride, or radio...or.......ouch.

Would an inspection by a expert mechanic be able to detect abuse on the drivetrain? The pictures of it look great....but that's just the pictures.

 

[Car Doc]

scout,

edit: Mostly at an auction all you can do is crawl all over it with your tech that's about it, they normally wont let you tear into anything or jack it up. Least I have never been allowed to do so. If they run and drive they will run them up to the auctioneer trailer and take bids at an open auction. Others are silent and you for sure don't get any opportunity to know if it will run and how well, sometimes all they will tell you is it runs if it will start on its own when they get it, I have only on rare occasions even seen an auction jump a car to get in in line they just pick it up with a forklift and carry it through.

On the other hand there can be light at the end of the tunnel for you for instance. I bought a nice v8 t-bird once theft car that just had the radio missing and the passengers window was down even they didn't even have to break in we rolled it up and drove it right on the trailer! Owner even gave the adjuster the keys sweet deal all around!

I sold it as is to a friend who was service manager at a ford dealer and it was a perfect car he never had a lick of trouble with it and got a car with a big discount to boot he even made money when he sold it later.

The stigma is you just don't know on a stolen car, a wreck is a completely different story you know what happened to it-it hit something and stopped it was running right up to that instant, rollovers are tricky though another set of rules.

And as has been said NEVER buy a flood car there is no end to the problems! I made that mistake only once and it was even recovered from a fresh water sand pit a stolen Toyota truck. I am still around that vehicle it has issues to this day with the air bag wiring.

good luck hope you get a car that will save you money we need all that we can get nowadays!

 

[scoutcub]

Car Doc-

You seem to be the authority on the subject - too bad you're not still in the business, I'd put my order in with you!

It was(is) actually on Ebay, guy bought it for his wife and she ended up not liking it....hmmm.

Was going over the ad this morning, he just made a change from 4wd to 2wd.....after he changed the model as well.

So, it's a no go for me. Still looking for a deal on a 07/08 Honda Pilot!