Salvaged Title?

[chris_collins]

Hey all,

I 'm looking at buying a 2002IS, Red, Manual, Under 10k miles, but it has a salvaged title. Supposedly only the door was hit in the original accident, and has since been replaced.

1. Does this sound bogus? i.e. would a hit only to the door necessitate a 'salvage' title or is he probably not telling me about the whole damage?

2. in the long run is this going to greatly hinder my re-sell value?

3. How much $$ should i try to get him to take off for this 'salvage' car? (he's looking for $18,9000)

Thanks for all the help.

'chris

[SKperformance]

slavaged always lowers a cars price

also get a good body shop to check it out ,that is the only way to make sure it is "just" what ever they say.

[VBdenny]

I would spend a little time and research before buying the car. It sounds like a flood car to me. The insurance company is usually required to convert the title to salvage when the damage exceeds the cars value and they pay it off. The idea behind this law was to keep people from recycling wrecks and flood cars. A girl I know at work bout a perfect 99 Nissan for about $1500. It had been flooded and you can't even tell.

Right, people make a lot of money off doing this. In some states, getting a salvage off a title is as simple as getting a state inspection done. Certain states have loopholes that allows the less than honest to actually "wash" the title, so it's previous history is erased.

I read about this on the internet. Do a Google search for title washing or something like that and see what you come up with.

I am assuming that you have already run a CarFax on the VIN

[feen78]

i'm in lawenforcement a salvage car can be a good buy if you want to go through the process and the paper work. you will need a state inspection and all the other nspections that your state require you will also need form the prior owner the reciepts of the replaced parts with price and vin numbers. in other words if they fixed you need proof from them for registration. you have to prove the vehicel is ready for the road

[monarch]

A car with a salvage title can be a good buy if the problems are fixable and have been fully fixed And the problems are not necessarily always collision damage. Example: several years ago I bought an old '74 toyota pickup in near new cosmetic condition with only 67,000 miles for only $400, but it had a salvage title because the exhaust manifold had a crack and so engine couldn't pass Calif. smog. I fitted a new manifold on the engine and then it passed smog and ran like new. Absolutely no collision damage and the truck has been reliable for the past 7 years.

[chris_collins]

That's all great advice, thanks.

I guess the main things are this:

1. I've seen plenty of salvaged cars run fine and be great cars cuz i mean, they're fixed and they just don't have a perfect record. But...

2. Does a salvaged title stay on forever, therefore killing its chances of reselling for near what its worth?

3.I mean, it seems like a good buy to buy a cheap car that's gonna run fine and never sell for anything anyway, but an IS isn't cheap even with a salvaged title, but i assume a salvaged title will dramatically depreciate the value down the road in a couple years.

any comments?

thanks, 'chris

[bartkat]

The big depreciation should be taken on this sale. I'd say the car should sell for $14,000 to $15,000 tops. Then try to get a clean title for it.

You should be able to buy a 2002 IS for with a good title for around $20,000