title: salvage

[Don Jordan]

what does that mean?  what will that mean for me trying to sell my car?  the car looks and runs perfect.  with all that's going on I don't know if I can take much more.

[joecoozie]

https://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/what-is-a-salvage-title-vehicle.html

[greg g]

New York issuess a Savage title on a car that was evaluated as totaled or repair cost exceeding value of the vehicle.  I had a Honda Accord that I passed down to my daughter, she was hit in a parking lot and the adjusters totalled it and gave us a check for it's adjusted book value, Knowing I could get it repaired for much less than the estimate I bought it back from the insurance company for salvage value, fixed it, basically door, will, and a pillar work plus finishing. For about 800 bucks.  When it was repaired because it was bought as a rebuildable collision damaged car the state issued a salvage title meaning it could no longer carry collision damage coverage. She drove the car 4 more years till he got friend's mother side swiped it backing her car out of the garage.  At which point we sold it to a kid looking for a first car.  Don't know whyours was titled that way unless it was bought from a wrecking yard as a non running vehicle.  

[Jerry Roberts]

I know of a California car that was stolen an striped . It was then purchased and repaired . When it was then sold as a running driving car , it was issued a salvaged tittle . 

[Ulu]

3 hours ago, Don Jordan said:

what does that mean?  what will that mean for me trying to sell my car?  the car looks and runs perfect.  with all that's going on I don't know if I can take much more.

If someone really likes your car, it shouldn't be an issue.

Unfortunately, it's a tough time to sell a car, with everything "going around".

 

I wish you well Don.

[Eneto-55]

Because it is based on the accessed value of a similar vehicle at the time of the damage, it really says nothing about the type or severity of the damage to the vehicle.  A nearly new car that has a salvage title would have been much more badly damaged than an old car with a salvage title.  But as my nephew (who used to work in auto body repair) told me, these modern vehicles with the airbags all throughout the interior can be totaled just because the bags all went off, and wrecked the entire interior.  It is not only expensive to get the new interior, but if you've ever needed to access something behind some of the interior panels, you will know that it is also a really labor-intensive job to replace all of it.

[greg g]

https://www.ocregister.com/2015/10/15/thinking-of-buying-a-salvage-car-heres-what-you-need-to-know/

[kencombs]

2 hours ago, Eneto-55 said:

Because it is based on the accessed value of a similar vehicle at the time of the damage, it really says nothing about the type or severity of the damage to the vehicle.  A nearly new car that has a salvage title would have been much more badly damaged than an old car with a salvage title.  But as my nephew (who used to work in auto body repair) told me, these modern vehicles with the airbags all throughout the interior can be totaled just because the bags all went off, and wrecked the entire interior.  It is not only expensive to get the new interior, but if you've ever needed to access something behind some of the interior panels, you will know that it is also a really labor-intensive job to replace all of it.

Good answer! In some states a salvage title can be changed to a rebuilt title after inspection.  Still may lower it's perceived value, but not as much, maybe. 

 

In my state (OK), titles are color coded.   Green is normal, Red is salvage, Blue is Junk, Orange is rebuilt.  Red and Blue titles cannot be driven on the road.

Typical prices on later models are 20-50% off book for an Orange titled car.

 

On classics, I really wouldn't lower the price I'd expect to pay for one.  So many of our types have been resurrected from junk or wrecked it's almost expected.

[Sam Buchanan]

I really enjoy driving the P15 and I drive it often. However, I realize that a seemingly minor collision will most likely end my relationship with this car.

 

I have classic car insurance through Heacock with a policy that has an agreed value of the car. If the car gets hit and repair estimates come in above ~%70 of the $15,000 value on the policy a check will appear in my mail instead of a repaired car in my garage. But the reality is that all it would take is a crumpled fender and damage to underlying structure or frame and it is a total write off even though most of the car is unscratched. You can barely drive a car through a body shop without coming out with a $10,000 repair bill.....paint can run almost that much even with no repair.

 

So.....I guess the thing to do is just drive the thing, enjoy it, hoping for the best, and realize none of us, or our cars, are going to be here forever. Maybe some ambitious shop rat will buy the salvage and the resurrected P15 will live once again in a few years (with a salvage title!). ?

Edited March 23, 2020 by Sam Buchanan

[blucarsdn]

For the most part, a Salvage Title can be a death sentence to the value of a vehicle. In recent years as the cost of repairs have gotten higher it does not take much damage to total a vehicle.

When it comes to vintage vehicles a Branded/Salvage Title is a different matter. It has become all to common to utilize late model power-trains, chassis, etc., to repair/rebuild vintage vehicles. A common practice is to purchase a complete wrecked vehicle as a source for parts, the vehicle these parts are going to be used in, in many cases does not have a title therefore the title for the donor vehicle is used for the vintage car. 

Some of the people I know discard the salvage title, then file for a lost title, some time they get away with it some time they do not. A friend of mine had a '37 Ford 4dr that was a bare body, he purchased a '95 Impala from a wrecking yard as a donor car. My friend did not bother to register the '37 until it was all done and running. When he had the car inspected for registration he was asked what engine did the car have, he let his ego get in the way, telling the State Inspector it was a '95... Wrong!... My friend had to add all of the emission and safety equipment he had omitted to the car. The car is now registered as a '95, special built, and subject to state inspection every two years.

I have found that most of the shops/mechanics that work on Hot Rods, Vintage vehicles, etc., are not certified to do the work they are doing. I had an experience about twenty years ago with a vehicle that had been stolen and vandalized that changed my whole line of thinking. I know make sure that any new project I start is a complete, rolling vehicle that has clear title and registration prior to me starting any work on the vehicle. By following this path I avoid problems, if I decide to re-power the vehicle with a later model power-train I do so because the vehicle in question is not subject to late model emission/safety requirements.

I could babble on for several pages about the hair-brained, unsafe builds that friends of mine come up with. Wm.

[Sam Buchanan]

It can get weird. I built a StalkerV6 which is a version of the wonderful Lotus Seven with a '95 Camaro 3.4 V6 (Holley four-barrel) and S-10 transmission. It was inspected by the Alabama dept of revenue and registered as a 1959 Lotus Seven replica so it would not be subject to emission testing. Even though Alabama doesn't require vehicle inspections this came in handy when the car was sold and went to an emission-testing state.

 

 

Edited March 24, 2020 by Sam Buchanan

[Don Jordan]

thank you, gentlemen, for the very informative responses.   I feel much better.  At least I won't have to give the car away.  Of course it would be difficult to find a worse time to sell a car.  If I could figure out computers I'd put it for sale on this board.  I'm getting too old.

Again, for all of you who responded, thank you and be healthy 

 

d-

[blucarsdn]

Several years ago there was a very well known custom car/hot rod builder located in So Cal that built some very nice award winning cars.Many of the cars were constructed utilizing donor parts sourced from wrecking yards and aftermarket bodies and/or body parts. The completed vehicle was then titled/licensed as the year of vehicle they resembled; Ergo, now referred to as a replica. Many resembled a variation of a '32-34 Ford. 

The State of California went after the Company because the vehicles did not meet most safety/emission standards.

Several years ago there was a large auto salvage yard here in Ventura. They specialized in late model GM and Ford 4 x4 pickups.

In reality the Company was a Chop Shop that utilized wrecked trucks to re-title stolen vehicles.. A big mess when the CHP and State of CA descended on the place. A fiend of mine had purchased a beautiful Ford F250 4 x 4 from the Company. A visit from the CHP revealed that his truck was a "Johnie Cash Vehicle, One part at a time", some stolen, some wrecked, all neatly packaged with a new title. Wm.