Hey guys,

What’s your take on salvage title scion tC’s?
Worth the buy? Pros / Cons?
I know it can be a hit or miss depending if you plan on building a “race” car(bent frame) or simply need a reliable daily driver for as many years as possible. Has or does anyone here currently own a salvage title tC?
Any known or common problems that start to pop up?
Problems with the DMV or Insurance companys?
Just trying to narrow down my search and looking to get feedback on those who have owned them or currently own a salvage title tC, All personal experience and stories are greatly appreciated!
Thanks

 

no 2 salvaged cars are the same. some are salvaged because of tremendous damage, while others get the title due to harmless theft. you have to investigate how the vehicle earned that title. 3 of my previous salvage experiences:

1. Accident. My cousin bought a 2003 Corolla that was salvaged because it was hit head-on. Major mechanical repair was done to fix it. She needed cheap transportation and luckily the car never had any problems afterwards.

2. Theft. My uncle got his Accord EX V6 stolen. The thieves stripped the entire leather interior, airbags, radio, seats, dash, and wheels. No accident, no mechanical damage. Insurance felt it was too expensive to repair so they cut him a check and salvaged it.

3. Title. My mom had a 1991 Accord with 200K miles. The headgasket blew so she sold it to my friend's junkyard for $900. The junkyard replaced the motor and it ran like new. By California law the car earned a salvage title simply because it went under ownership of the junkyard.

 

a friend rear ended a car with his ten year old Accord. the insurance company salvaged it and cut him a check. he bought back the car from the insurance company for cheap. then we replaced: the front bumper, bumper rebar/support, one headlight, radiator support, and radiator. the car ran perfectly for another 3-4 years before he sold it.

 

It really just depends on what made the car a total loss. In most states, a car a declared a total loss when the appraisel to repair the car exceeds 75% of the cars appraised value. Some states have different thresholds for different kinds of damages, Virginia for instance considers a vehicle totalled at 35% if the damage is water related (flood vehicles) and if a vehicle is 5 years or newer and/or worth more than $10k, if the appraisel of the repairs exceeds 90% of the value, they will only re-issue a title as a parts-only car, which means it can never be registered for road use again.

A car with a salvage title can be properly repaired to factory specifications and be just as safe and reliable as a non-salvage vehicle, but they'll (almost *see West Virginia) always have a lower value because of there branded title history, which means that if they get involved in another loss, they'll be totalled again because they'll be worth less money.

I've settled total loss claims where it was a 198X ford taurus with a huge dent in the side of it from a collision, the car was a total loss because it was only worth 1200, and the work to repair the large impact to the body work exceeded 800. The car was still drivable, but state law prohibits it at that point.

Some times cars are declared a "Constructive total loss" which is the length of time it takes to repair a car, plus the cost of paying for the person's rental makes it too expensive, or maybe a part is on delayed back order (like a wiring harness to an expensive european car), thus the costs indirectly related to the repairs cause the car to be declared a total loss (also called "non-economically repairable)

Sometimes a car is declared a total loss because it was stolen and stripped for parts. no collision involved, but the cost of replacing everything is too much. Somebody buys the shell, puts a new (or lightly used) interior from a wrecked one, and viola, a perfectly good car with a salvage title.

So it depends on what totalled out the car, how well it was repaired, and what your states laws are regarding a salvage title vehicle and insurance are. Do insurance companies insure cars with salvage titles? yes, do we always know about it? nope, sometimes even the customer doesn't know they've bought a salvage titled car until they wreck it, and we run the VIN's history and find out it was totalled once.

Another caution, if you do buy a "salvage" car, make sure you check all over to make sure the VIN is the same all over. especially if it was a theft claim.

 

1. A car may have a salvage title + be 100% good when repaired:
Car in NJ can get a salvage title if it is under 8 years old + in a car accident + considered a total loss by a car insurance co. if the repairs are more than the value of a the car. At this time, the insurance co. will keep the car + give you their book value $$. Or the owner has the option of keeping the car if he thinks he can repaired the car for less and/or you know the car has low mileage + runs great. etc. But, upon getting the car back, the insurance company will ask to be paid the salvage value cost for what they would get $$ for the car. Example: $9,500.00 car book value minus $2500.00 salvage value = $7,000 insurance check to you. You would then need to go to the M.V. Main office to get the title back which now would SALVAGE on the title + be reinspected to get a operable salvage title. Check you MV laws for more info how to get a operable salvage title.

Exception for me: was my car 2004 xB 49K miles was over 8 yrs old + considered totaled. I kept my original car title + made $2800.00 on the deal. I only had 1 side damaged + got my whole car repainted 2 tone from my body shop guy + better than new. LMFAO

2. A car may have a salvage title just because it was a thief vehicle + repairs needed at the time of loss exceeded the retail value of the car.

3. A car may have a salvage title just because it was a LEMON vehicle or in a flood.


You must be careful + do your homework( ie Carfax, police report) + find out all you can about the car before buying a salvage ( ie bent frame, air bag deployment, flood car) .


Buyers need to be aware that at resale time the value will probably suffer.


But, beware that you may only carry liability insurance on salvage cars because the pay out would be so small if wrecked that it's not worth the premium for full coverage. Even if an accident is someone else's fault, their insurance company will not pay you much when they see a salvage title.
Good Luck.....

 

^^^ What he said. Just be warned, while these people are talking about positive experiences, it does swing the other way pretty bad as well. You could have a radiator that will never stop leaking or a head gasket that'll blow on you as soon as you drive off the lot, etc. etc. etc.

They're cheaper cars, but always consult your insurance agency beforehand to make sure you know how your rates will be affected.

 

Thanks guys, DRAXCALIBER so when one buys a salvage car, in this case CALIFORNIA. There shouldnt be any issues at the DMV with registering it? Also besides CARFAX($$$) is there a free cheaper way to find out the true reason it was marked a salvage car? Id like to find out before even wasting the sellers time with questions and meeting up to inspect and drive the car

 

What exactly do you mean by how my rates will be affected? What happens?

 

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/If_you_buy...nce_sky_rocket

Lot of information, but some insurance companies will refuse coverage.

 

unfortunately, i'm on the east coast, so I only really know about salvage for Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and to a lesser extent, Washington DC and Pennsylvania.

When it comes to getting insurance on a car like that, it depends on what the underwriters for the car rate the salvage title risk, on the liability side, you're driving a vehicle that could potentially have a mechanical failure due to improper repairs and cause an accident they'd have to cover, on the flip side, collision and comp coverage could be less because they stand to lose less money if the car is a total loss.

In some states it makes no difference, for instance in West Virginia, if the car is repaired to the point that the damage that caused the car to be totalled is no longer noticible, it gets titled as a "Reconstructed" vehicle, and in a total loss claim, we can't take a deduction for the salvage history on the VIN, and they pay the same premiums as a non-salvaged title vehicle. but when re-selling the vehicle, they'll probably sell it for less money as a reconstructed title is not as desirable as a clean titled vehicle.

seriously, sometimes cars are repaired so well, you can't even tell it was a salvage title. I did an inspection for an E46 BMW 3 series once, car was gorgeous minus damage from the accident, I was shocked to see how low the value was once I got the report back, but low and behold, a couple years ago in Texas, it was declared a total loss, don't know what for exactly, but it was sold to somebody in another state, fixed up, and then resold in MD to our customer who was none the wiser. Neither of us knew the car was totalled once before the loss until we got the VIN report back.

sometimes it is obvious though, i had a chevy cobalt for one claim, and the passenger side of the engine compartment was all chewed up, even though the damage from the accident was on the driver's side. I was reviewing the loss facts and trying to see if the impact from the collision could have twisted up the passenger side, but it was clear once the report came back, it was a salvage title, only this time, whoever bought, repaired and resold it just slapped new body panels on and left the gnarled frame rail and apron as is. I can't believe the customer didn't notice it when they bought the car.

 

Thanks guys, really helpful. It would be nice to get something that has been fixed correctly but i guess even after the inspections one cant really tell how good its going to hold up until a few months or years go by. Unless one signs a aggrement with the seller stating the engine is problem free and will last at least another 50,000miles but I'm sure almost no ones going to promise that seen as you dont know how the person will take care or abus the car once they leave your driveway.
Besides CARFAX($$$) is there a free cheaper way to find out the true reason it was marked a salvage car? Id like to find out before even wasting the sellers time with questions and meeting up to inspect and drive the car

 

search the VIN on google...'s that only thing I can think of that's free

 

Hmmm would that even work? lol Or are you joking?

 

In California a car can lose it's salvage title if it registered out of state, then registered in California again. Be cautious of CA cars that were registered out of state.

 

I think paying the $$$ for a carfax or autocheck is worth it - it's pretty expensive ($40) up front but it could potentially save you thousands of dollars in the long run. If you're thinking of purchasing a salvaged car make sure you know all the circumstances in which it was deemed salvage.

 

Great advice in this thread. Everyone basically said what I had planned to say already!

The only advice I would give is to make sure that you plan on keeping the car for awhile before you buy a salvage title. Selling them is quite a pain, and everyone lowballs your lowest offer. Trade in value is nil, so you are left to private party sales for the most part.