I have been looking at a salvage title 2005 RL. (The more I drive it the more I love it!) It has just over 10K miles on it and is in pristine condition. Black on black. Beautiful. Looks and rides like a new car. It was a theft car out of California, and therefore its title was automatically branded. However, it has never been in a wreck. The price is $31,900. Because it is salvage title, it is out of warranty, although I can purchase 10 year/100,000 mile bumper-to-bumber insurance for it for about $1500. (By the way, the dealer is a neighbor of mine, and I bought, and still drive, a theft salvage title 2002 Accord V6 that I bought from him. That car has been perfect.)

Here are my questions: Would you consider purchasing a salvage title RL? If so, is this a good deal? If you were purchasing it, knowing the reliability records of your own RL, would you purchase the additional insurance? Are there any other issues that I should be considering that you think I might be missing? Thanks for your help.

 

I wouldn't do it, but that's just me. The final cost is $33.5 with warranty. New's tech go for $42 or less and even though mileage is low, there is two years depreciation and you don't know what kind of driving was done by the thieves.

Selling would be a hassle with the title. I'd prefer a new one at $42 or low mileage used one with a clean title at that cost. Might reconsider if budget was tight and the price was lower.

 

that's true. Some states give a car a salvage title if they've been stolen. If you can confirm that then it removes that concern from your decision. However, I would definitely CONFIRM that and not take the sellers word for it. If it's been whacked then I wouldn't go near it.

Regarding the warranty, double check your facts. The salvage title shouldn't release the manfacturer from their original warranty anymore then having an accident does. However, a salvage title will certainly eliminate the car from qualifying for an extended warranty.

Regarding value; it's your call. I'd get the KBB wholesale value and not pay a penny more given the fact that it has a "shady" history. If the warranty is truely void. I wouldn't buy it unless he was offering it for way below wholesale.

 

Before you buy a salvage title car I would have it inspected from bumper to bumper inch by inch. The car could have been in a serious accident and then rebuilt. If you are satisfied that a proffesional and thorough inspection has revealed no flaws (also don't forget the carfax report although it might be flawed its the only way you can investigate the title) then I would go for it, but definitely buy the warranty.

 

I'd buy it. You sound like the "Millionaire Next Door" kind of guy and if you are such a guy, you know $10,000 saved is $10,000 that can be invested in something that appreciates versus autos which, by their nature, are wasting assets. So what kind of appreciating investment are you going to buy with the "saved" $10,000? Berkshire-Hathaway stock is undervalued and well known to be an "appreciating asset" or will you be buying some of the foreclosed property now popping-up in California?

 

i would take it for about $28k because that is the value of it with a salvage title.

 

pshhh. My '05 RL with 9k miles cost me $29k +$400 tax in December. Yes, I'm aware that was a "once in a lifetime deal." Even though your car wasn't wrecked, I wouldn't pay more then 25k OTD. My argument would be the title issue. You can get an '05 with a clean title for around the same price if you look hard enough.

 

If you can get valid warranty coverage maybe buy it, but with a determined search you can find good titled ones for not much more or even less, with original warranty remaining.

$33,500 + ttl doesn't seem like that great of a bargain to me plus there may be costly unknowns later on.

 

I agree, I checked KBB real quick. He's offering you the car at a fair price for a car with clean title. Your neighbor "friend" isn't doing you any favors.

However, I'm still not sure the manufacturers warranty is void. Check into that because it makes a huge difference to me. Even if the warranty is still intact, I would offer him $25k. When you go to sell it in a few years you surely will be in the same boat and have to settle for much less then book value because of the black mark on the title.

 

I would call another Acura dealer and pretend the vehicle is yours. Let them know what happened to the car and ask them if they would be interested in buying it. They probably will not be interested in purchasing it but ask them their opinion. They will most likely tell you that whatever wholesale value is the RL is probably worth half of that. It is way too hard for a dealer to sell it with a salvaged title and most banks will not loan the money to buy it.
I would then tell your car friend what you know and ask to see how much he paid for it. Chances are you will really find out how much of a friend he truly is because he won't tell you.

 

How The Hell??? i'm Hatin BAAAD

 

Looktime, welcome to AZ!

I wouldn't touch a salvage-titled RL with a 10-foot pole, even if it was a theft recovery--there must have been enough damage during the theft (car chase? crash?) to cause the title to be changed. If you intend to go through with this, you must demand a much lower price than what you've quoted.

 

In some states a car gets a salvage title automatically when it is stolen and recovered. It doesn't mean it was necessarily damaged.

Having said that, I wouldn't buy it either unless it had a substantial discount to protect you when it's time for you to sell it yourself.