SPIN OFF FROM ODOMETER FRAUD: SALVAGE TITLE CARS

[tvguy]

Do you own one?
Would you buy one?
They are outside my comfort level even though I know people who would own nothing but a salvage title car, and they never seem to have any issues. But they do tend to be people who are mechanics or work in the auto industry in some capacity.
@Klayfish your imput?

When I see a Craiglist ad that says "salvage title due to minor accident" I fall back on my up bringing that it got a salvage title because it wasn't worth fixing

 

[Mizzoufan]

Yes, I have several times and would again.

 

[Klayfish]

Depends on why it has a salvage title. That can happen for many reasons...accident, flood, theft, fire. Even within an accident, it could be cosmetic damage or it could be severe structural (most cars don't have "frames" now, they're unibody). Some examples:

I'd never buy a flood car. You may luck out and be perfectly fine. Then again, you may have electrical issues with it for eternity. When we see a car with water in it, I require it to be totaled, no exceptions.

Recovered theft. Yes, I'd buy it. Sometimes cars go missing for months. Insurance company pays for it and then it shows up, perfectly undamaged. That's a perfectly good car with a salvage title.

Dodge Viper...not that many shop for them, but there are tons of them running around with salvage titles. Why??? Because the "hood", called the clamshell, is over $20,000 by itself. Headlights are about $2k each. So if you bump into something and just damage the hood and headlights, plus the bumper cover, the car is a total loss. With zero structural damage. Easy to fix and put back on the road. Lotus Elise have this issue too.

Old cars with sideswipe damage fall into this issue too...just cosmetic damage all down the side, but repairs cost more than the value of the car. So it gets a salvage title, but has cosmetic damage only. If it's mechanically sound, it's a great buy.

Then there are newer cars that get smashed hard, bought by shady shops and slapped back together. I wouldn't touch one of those. But if it's repaired properly by a good shop, I'd buy one...we did buy one for DW many, many years ago.

Buying a salvage car can be very good, but it's not something I'd recommend for a novice or "non-car" guy/gal.

 

[tvguy]

Depends on why it has a salvage title. That can happen for many reasons...accident, flood, theft, fire. Even within an accident, it could be cosmetic damage or it could be severe structural (most cars don't have "frames" now, they're unibody). Some examples:

I'd never buy a flood car. You may luck out and be perfectly fine. Then again, you may have electrical issues with it for eternity. When we see a car with water in it, I require it to be totaled, no exceptions.

Recovered theft. Yes, I'd buy it. Sometimes cars go missing for months. Insurance company pays for it and then it shows up, perfectly undamaged. That's a perfectly good car with a salvage title.

Dodge Viper...not that many shop for them, but there are tons of them running around with salvage titles. Why??? Because the "hood", called the clamshell, is over $20,000 by itself. Headlights are about $2k each. So if you bump into something and just damage the hood and headlights, plus the bumper cover, the car is a total loss. With zero structural damage.

Old cars with sideswipe damage fall into this issue too...just cosmetic damage all down the side, but repairs cost more than the value of the car. So it gets a salvage title, but has cosmetic damage only. If it's mechanically sound, it's a great buy.

Then there are newer cars that get smashed hard, bought by shady shops and slapped back together. I wouldn't touch one of those.

Buying a salvage car can be very good, but it's not something I'd recommend for a novice or "non-car" guy/gal.

We have a lot of 2 or 3 year old Prius' on Craigslist here for sale with salvage titles. I suspect Toyota would not honor the 10 year 150,000 mile battery warranty on one of those cars.

 

[tvguy]

Yes, I have several times and would again.

Did you have collision coverage. I have heard that insurance companies won't sell collision coverage, or will only sell limited collision coverage on a car with a salvage title.

 

[okeydokey]

Another interesting discussion for us. When the insurance company declared my sons car a total loss, they gave us the option of a check for 5400 for them to take the car, or a check for 3300 and we could keep it. If I could get it repaired for the 3300, I would. But would the value of the car then be seriously depleted because it was declared a total loss by the other guys insurance company.

 

[Klayfish]

We have a lot of 2 or 3 year old Prius' on Craigslist here for sale with salvage titles. I suspect Toyota would not honor the 10 year 150,000 mile battery warranty on one of those cars.

Yes, I was actually going to mention the Prius...but didn't want my post to go too long. The Prius is often totaled when hit, especially in the rear. That's because it brings a very high salvage value at auction. Most cars will not be totaled until damages reach 70 or 80% of value, but I will routine have a Prius totaled around 50%.

As for insuring them, it varies company to company. Many will insure them for collision and comp, but you'll get paid less for it if it gets totaled...again.

 

[tvguy]

Another interesting discussion for us. When the insurance company declared my sons car a total loss, they gave us the option of a check for 5400 for them to take the car, or a check for 3300 and we could keep it. If I could get it repaired for the 3300, I would. But would the value of the car then be seriously depleted because it was declared a total loss by the other guys insurance company.

My son and DIL just went through this. My son had a 2006 Taurus and had a crash 4 weeks ago. We just figured since the car had 160,000 miles on it, was 11 years old, and a blue book about about $1,000 it would be a total. Damage came to $6,000, less $1,000 deductible, so insurance portion would have been $5,000. They went out and bought a new used car, only to have the insurance company the next day say they felt due to the car's condition, it was worth fixing! They ended up asking for the total value, which was $3,000, less $1.000 deductible.

 

[mom2rb]

A few years ago, I might have done it. Now there are thousands of flood cars in Houston. Three years of floods have destroyed all of my faith in used cars right now. When my son needed a used car, I had my brother find one in Austin.

 

[Meriweather]

Never had one, would never buy one.....but then I don't even like used cars.

But....DH was in a minor accident a few weeks ago and his van came back as totaled. It runs fine. It only had a dented rear fender (he was rear ended), but that van had back up sensors and some kind of special lights.
He was offered $9000 for it (he paid about that 10 months ago) or $7000 and the van. He took that. He had to get it inspected for safety and get the title moved to a salvage title.
All is well. When it comes time to sell, he can deal with that then.

 

[mnrose]

nt

 

[chartle]

I follow a guy on Youtube that buys these cars. He also sort of window shops and talks about cars he finds online and what he thinks about fixing them and how much it would cost but he also shows "what the xxxx" cars that have minor damage and are considered totaled. He showed a Tesla that had minor rear door and rear quarter panel damage and it was totaled.

There is also a guy that bought 2 Teslas, one major front end damage and one flood car and now he has a 2015 Tesla that in the end cost him $6,000. As for warranty he can't even buy parts from Tesla, get software updates or use the app since his title is marked salvage. Even though he got it switched to some other category that makes in legal.

 

[Klayfish]

I follow a guy on Youtube that buys these cars. He also sort of window shops and talks about cars he finds online and what he thinks about fixing them and how much it would cost but he also shows "what the xxxx" cars that have minor damage and are considered totaled. He showed a Tesla that had minor rear door and rear quarter panel damage and it was totaled.

There is also a guy that bought 2 Teslas, one major front end damage and one flood car and now he has a 2015 Tesla that in the end cost him $6,000. As for warranty he can't even buy parts from Tesla, get software updates or use the app since his title is marked salvage. Even though he got it switched to some other category that makes in legal.

If he bought a salvaged Tesla, odds are he isn't even able to drive it. Tesla is making it nearly impossible for them to get back on the road, which renders their salvage all but worthless (the body panels are not salvageable due to how the car is constructed). It's a nightmare for insurance companies...total nightmare.

 

[chartle]

If he bought a salvaged Tesla, odds are he isn't even able to drive it. Tesla is making it nearly impossible for them to get back on the road, which renders their salvage all but worthless (the body panels are not salvageable due to how the car is constructed).

It's a nightmare for insurance companies...total nightmare.

Like i posted its now 100% fully inspected street legal. He has a channel that documents his journey including 2 trips to the DMV to get all the paper work together to remove the salvage and one really quick state inspection because the shop that did it had never seen a Tesla. but yes it was a major hassle and he documents his struggles with the company.

He even has gone to a Super Charge station and it worked. He was afraid he have been blocked in the system but he thinks since he is not getting OTA updates, the system hasn't told his car he can't use it. (?) Also with the deal where you get charged if you sit a station too long he tried calling them to setup an account or something just in case he had to pay and they were mostly saying his car no longer exists. He was amazed since he has only ever charged it from a 120 volt circuit where it a few miles per hour vs. like 120 per hour super charge.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfV0_wbjG8KJADuZT2ct4SA/videos

It's a nightmare for insurance companies...total nightmare.

Yea thats why even a small fender bender totals a car. One channel was saying it may have to do with all the sensors and paint thickness and having to use a Tesla certified body shop.

 

[Klayfish]

I'll have to try to look at that video later, but I'm willing to bet there's something more to the story. Not in a nefarious way, but some interesting details I'm sure. It's got nothing to do with the DMV, it's Tesla themselves. If they get wind of a car being in an accident, they are very particular about requiring the vehicle to be repaired at a "certified" shop. That shop charges insane labor rates. If the vehicle isn't repaired there, Tesla will refuse to sell the shop any parts nor will they allow the vehicle to be updated. They may even disable it.

Tesla's usually won't total with just a fender bender, but they are a nightmare to repair. Their ridiculously low salvage value actually makes it more likely they will be repaired rather than totaled. Some carriers are even writing Tesla specific policies now, due to all the issues the company has caused.

 

[chartle]

I'll have to try to look at that video later, but I'm willing to bet there's something more to the story. Not in a nefarious way, but some interesting details I'm sure. It's got nothing to do with the DMV, it's Tesla themselves. If they get wind of a car being in an accident, they are very particular about requiring the vehicle to be repaired at a "certified" shop. That shop charges insane labor rates. If the vehicle isn't repaired there, Tesla will refuse to sell the shop any parts nor will they allow the vehicle to be updated. They may even disable it.

Tesla's usually won't total with just a fender bender, but they are a nightmare to repair. Their ridiculously low salvage value actually makes it more likely they will be repaired rather than totaled. Some carriers are even writing Tesla specific policies now, due to all the issues the company has caused.

As far as I can tell he did all the work himself or used non Tesla shops for paint. Like I posted as far as Tesla is concerned he car no longer exists, he has videos of him trying to get the minimal amount of info from Tesla and as soon as he gives them the VIN the call is shut down.

As far as a Tesla being totaled for a fender bender. This is shorter version of another video that also explains why it cost so much to fix body damage.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

As a daily driver, not unless it was my own car previously.

If I’m looking for a shell with which to build a street rod or a race car, sure.

 

[tvguy]

Like i posted its now 100% fully inspected street legal. He has a channel that documents his journey including 2 trips to the DMV to get all the paper work together to remove the salvage and one really quick state inspection because the shop that did it had never seen a Tesla. but yes it was a major hassle and he documents his struggles with the company.
.

In many states a SALVAGE title can be changed to a REBUILT title, but it can never have a "clean" title ever again. Thanks for the link, I will watch it.

 

[tvguy]

Like i posted its now 100% fully inspected street legal. He has a channel that documents his journey including 2 trips to the DMV to get all the paper work together to remove the salvage and one really quick state inspection because the shop that did it had never seen a Tesla. but yes it was a major hassle and he documents his struggles with the company.

He even has gone to a Super Charge station and it worked. He was afraid he have been blocked in the system but he thinks since he is not getting OTA updates, the system hasn't told his car he can't use it. (?) Also with the deal where you get charged if you sit a station too long he tried calling them to setup an account or something just in case he had to pay and they were mostly saying his car no longer exists. He was amazed since he has only ever charged it from a 120 volt circuit where it a few miles per hour vs. like 120 per hour super charge.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfV0_wbjG8KJADuZT2ct4SA/videos



Yea thats why even a small fender bender totals a car. One channel was saying it may have to do with all the sensors and paint thickness and having to use a Tesla certified body shop.

Watched the video. This is the BEST reason NEVER to buy a salvage or rebuilt title car. The guy out and out says he has "never ever worked on a car before" let alone rebuilt a wrecked one.

 

[Squirlz]

Watched the video. This is the BEST reason NEVER to buy a salvage or rebuilt title car. The guy out and out says he has "never ever worked on a car before" let alone rebuilt a wrecked one.

From him. You forgot to say "from him". Everything you see or hear is not an absolute.