Salvage titles

[amrozhp]

Anyone have any thoughts regarding cars with salvage titles? Have you purchased one? Are my fears unjustified, such as it's future value, were repairs done to factory spec, etc?

And doesn't a cars value take a big hit? I see cars for sale with salvage titles yet at prices that don't seem to reflect it's status. It seems you have some leverage as a potential buyer when dealing with the seller.

There are other issues to with how your local DMV handles cars with salvage titles as well as what your insurance company thinks of it.

If you have any thoughts on the pros and cons, please let me know.

I hope everyone is doing well. Thank you!

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[pedro2u]

IMO/experience, salvage title cars are hard to sell, even when their value is highly depreciated. You're looking for the buyer who would be keeping it until its no longer usable since he'd have trouble selling it too

[BADCLOWN]

I think it depends on WHY its salvaged personally. Financial/DMV/insurance institutions all view them one way. To an enthusiast or someone that knows anything about cars that is worried about selling down the road I think it depends on the reason its salvaged and the type of work done. I wouldn't touch a flood car with a ten foot pole. But, if the car was salvaged for a specific, what I would consider not serious, body damage incident I would consider it. Years and years ago I almost bought a friends 2004 .:R32. It had a salvage title (not by him but previous owner) because he was sliding it around, hit a curb, bent/destroyed some drive train components in the back and they totaled it out. All those parts were able to be replaced perfectly fine and the car was completely normal after the fix. I instead got an Imola Yellow 20th anniv. GTI due to liking the cloth interior better than the leather .:R32 interior.

If you're worried about future value, I don't think a salvaged car is for you. That car wont hold or appreciate in value and likely has already lost any value it did have.

[az3579]

Salvage titled cars are definitely worth less, regardless of what the damage is. Insurance companies sometimes also won't insure a salvage titled vehicle, and it also limits the car's use in some instances such as ridesharing platforms (salvage is not allowed last I checked). Some state DMVs require special things to be done just to allow you to register it, such as special inspections.

[fredo]

Years ago, I was looking for a Mini Cooper. Found one in decent shape. When I ran the Carfax it came back as Salvage. The seller never mentioned that. If I knew ahead of time, I would pass and save the $120 PPI.

[wstr75]

My ZHP does not have a salvage title. It has 122K miles. A used Walker Mower of the same age (2004) sells for about the same price as my lovely, well maintained ZHP and the Walker Mower's original sticker price was about $9500 vs my ZHP's approximate $52,000 list price (convertible with navigation, back-up sensors, cold weather, etc. goodies).

I long ago resigned to be an owner and not a collector. If a ZHP convertible like I own with more than 100K miles now sells for about the same price as a Walker Mower of the same vintage, it is the market assigning values to the two assets. It is tough fighting market perceptions. Getting back to the salvage title aspects, 1) if one is content to be an owner and not a collector, 2) the vehicle's damage is not impinging on its performance or safety, 3) the car is going to be driven, utilized as a BMW should be for one's personal pleasure, 4) the amount invested to purchase and maintain the vehicle is not a significant drag on the prospective buyer's present and future lifestyle, and 5) the prospective buyer can handle owning a vehicle that will perpetually have a diminished value in the eyes of prospective buyers, then I say buy the car for a heavily discounted price and enjoy it to the fullest.

Here's two quotes from Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Prize winner for Behavioral Economics and a heck of a guy at figuring out what makes all of us tick:
"Nothing in life is quite as important as you think it is while you're thinking about it."

"I would not advise people to buy a car or house without making a list. You will probably improve your intuitions by making a list and then sleeping on it."

[Karl Lazlo]

Salvage titled cars are definitely worth less, regardless of what the damage is. Insurance companies sometimes also won't insure a salvage titled vehicle, and it also limits the car's use in some instances such as ridesharing platforms (salvage is not allowed last I checked). Some state DMVs require special things to be done just to allow you to register it, such as special inspections.

BADCLOWN and az3579 sum it up really well.

I bought a salvage and rebuilt it.

The key is KNOWING what caused it to be a total - hail, fire, impact, water... Having a branded title doesn't mean that the car was repaired properly and completely, just enough to pass the state's inspection process. With that said, the inspection process is less of an inspection of safety, completeness repair, or roadworthiness; it is an inspection to prevent the repair being done with stolen parts.

Because of those reasons, salvage titled cars do lose value compared to their non-branded counterparts.

While I have not had problems insuring my salvage M3 (state inspection was another story), it doesn't appear to be a total loss (even to trained BMW people), and I wouldn't use for any type of rideshare service, I have no reasonable expectation of getting close to market value for my sweet SGM M3.

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?17081-Lazlo%92s-2002-M3-Project