Any experiences with buying cars with a salvage title? Specifically, I have a few questions:

1. How do insurance companies handle it, i.e. are rates higher?
2. If I were to sell the car down the road, would I have problems with the title/registration, and perhaps have a hard time selling it?

I'm looking at a '03 Accord EX 4 cyl with leather and Navi, 45k miles, asking $14k, do you guys think it's worth it? My friend (who's selling it) is a mechanic who fixes up and sell salvaged cars, and he told me this car has had only rear end damage (to the trunk), nothing else was affected. I rode in it a couple of times and it drives like new.

 

You wont be able to trade it to a dealer, and yes you'll have trouble selling it.

 

Factory Warranty is VOID on the whole car - no warranty if anything goes wrong with the car.
Insurance may spike (not sure)
Problems registering it in certain states
You will not be able to sell it when you don't want it anymore.
Probelems with paint/body if it wasnt done right down the road.

 

Also, i'd question his friendship since he probably got that car for ~$8-$10k after the insurance wrote it off. Maybe even less.

Check ebay for Salvage Accord, I just saw a V6 2003 Accord with 20k miles going for about $10k
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=4601363967

 

Sorry one last thing, it's funny how every single "salvage" car i have seen for sale supposedly had only "Slight damage that was easily repaired" - kinda funny aint it?

If it was so minor, why did the insurance decide not to fix it? Especially with such a new car? Insurance only sends a car salvage if the cost of the repair is greater than the value of the car. So figure what the value of a 2003 accord is, then figure out what kind of damage that accord had in order for the Insurance not to pay it. Makes you wonder.

 

^^ if an accord is worth 20k, and the damage is as high as half its value, it will be salvage. it also depends on the owner....if they really want to have 10k in repairs done or just salvage it and get a check for 20k

i personally dont see anything wrong with salvage. the only time i think you should steer away is when the car has a serious problem that the warranty comes in handy for (ACURA TL TRANSMISSION). as far as i know accords of that gen dont have serious problems.

the only other bad part is you will definately not be able to sell it for what you buy it for. but if you buy a clean title car the same thing applies...if anything, bargain down to 12k. 12k for a 2003 accord is a legit price.

 

No problem buying a car with a salvaged title, better yet that you know the extent of the damage. But remember you'll have trouble selling the car in the future. For $14k, I'd keep it and run it to the ground. Then donate it to non-profit and take the tax write-off.

 

Thats way too much for that car.

 

I'd never buy a car with a salvage title... NEVER...

Insurance is a problem and resale will be nearly impossible...

 

I've owned 2 cars with rebuilt titles - a 94 civic and my current 95 accord. I've had no problems insuring either vehicle and sold the civic for its "good" kbb value - roughly 3200 back in jan 04. A couple of people have offered me around 3800 for the accord, which has a "good" Kbb value of 4k.

I think many of the individuals who talk down about salvage/rebuilt vehicles haven't owned one. I bought my accord salvage, and had my personal friend who owns a bodyshop assist me in fixing it. Not only did I save a bunch but the car runs great.

I would think especially with newer cars such as an 03 accord, Insurance companies would be more willing to total the vehicle because parts would be expensive as would labor. Just because that 03 was considered total doesn't mean that is necessarily sustained HEAVY damage.

I'd say talk him down to 12k, get it inspected by a reliable mechanic and go for it

 

If it was in a accident and it was put together correctly there is nothing wrong with a salvaged title. Like you have been told there would no longer be any warranty on the car, but alot of money can be saved going this route. Selling it will likely be a little harder than with out but it shouldnt be that hard.

 

i had a 1987 escort gt that was an r title, but it was b/c it was theft recovery and the damage to the value was close.
i didnt have to do much work, cept i put on new tires/brakes/exhaust and it ran very well and wass pretty quick. then again it was a ford and once it started having problems they snowballed like a typical ford.

the wife had a celica that she pretty much had to buy since there wasnt anything in the price range and the seller didnt say anything til the very end, oh btw.......


i had checked out the car and it looked fine. she did have a couple of electrical gremlins, since the car was under some water. she eventually sold it to some desis for 1900, which wasnt bad. they took it to their garage to have their mechanic inspect/drive it.

we were crossing our fingers until we had the $$ in hand and they drove away.


never again, but she had to buy a car and it ran fine, it was a time sensitive decision and worked out well, but couldnt imagine what happened to it

 

Some cars that are salvaged are good, and some are bad. First find out exactly where it was hit and then run your fingers between the panels. If you find that it gets smaller or bigger, then it wasn't fixed 100% correctly.

As others said, you can't trade it into dealer, it might be more expensive on insurance, MAKE SURE YOU ASK your agent if they do insure salvaged vehicles!! AAA would not insure my sister if she was to buy a salvaged title vehicle.

As for selling it, YOU CAN but dont plan on it, keep it in the family and run it down. The only way you'll be able to sell it, if the price was dropped dramatically, or the buyer doesn't care much... we've had quite a few cars that were salvaged, and were lucky enough not to have major problems...

 

Thanks for the tips and thoughts guys, much appreciated.

So I guess the general consensus is, if the car is in good condition, and you're planning to drive it until the wheels fall off, then it could be a good bargain?

The other question is, how should I determine the value of the car? I've noticed a few of you said 12k for this particular car ('03 Accord EX with leather and Navigation), which is valued at $17k-$20k range for a comparable conditioned one with a clean title.

Assuming work has been properly performed on the salvage car so that you can't tell where the damages where, and drives perfect, is there a good rule of thumb how much less a salvage title car should be worth, compared to the same car with a clean title?

 

i would say half of it's value, but it's worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it

 

If you want to know for sure if its done correctly, in the area(s) in which it was hit, run your finger in the gaps, and if you feel that it gets wider or closer then it other parts, then you know it wasn't 100% correct, but if you can't tell, then hey, its still good.

Can you find out to see if they used OEM parts to replaced the damaged ones, or was it an aftermarket?