salvage title or not salvage title

[hmedic]

okay so here's the thing...when talking power stroke diesel or non diesel...looking at trucks for 1999 upto 2003...does a salvage title matter? these trucks are typically too old to get a bank loan on ....so where is the hesitation or the fear assuming that the vehicles were repaired correctly? most salvage title trucks from this year of that I've looked at were repaired some years ago and running fine... I am trying to trade off a 99 f 250 4 x4 crew cab with a v10..it's been lifted with headache rack in all the stuff ..I got no complaints about the truck other than a gas mileage....so I'm thinking of going back to a stock powerstroke diesel.... who's got thoughts thanks

[Sterling Archer]

The main issue that would concern me (assuming it's running fine) is resale value. Unless you get one hell of a deal on a salvage title vehicle, you're going to take a bath on it when you try to sell it (unless you can find someone that doesn't research the vehicle history or just doesn't care).

I had a buddy that bought a Mustang with a salvage title. The car drove great. You wouldn't have known that it had a branded title from looking at or driving it. In my opinion...he paid way too much for that car though (he fell into the didn't care category).

Would I buy a salvage title vehicle? No. What happens if you were to get in a bad enough accident that your insurance company were going to total it out? You can bet that they're going to give you AT LEAST 15% for a truck with a salvage title vs. one with a clear title. Again...if you get a good enough deal on it...it's a wash. Just my $.02...

[hmedic]

See I am under the same mindset...but I know the truck I am thinking of trading for is a cab and a half...not a crew and I will ultimately just clean it up and use the diesel desire and platform to make another trade for a crew 4x4 diesel...but it us hard to gauge others thoughts on the salvage platform.

[Sterling Archer]

To me...making that kind of purchase is along the lines of gambling. It's a crap shoot whether or not you're going to be able to find a buyer...or lose your shirt on it. You can bet that when you list "salvage title" in the for sale ad that you're going to have every bargain hunter coming out of the woodwork. You aren't going to be dealing with people that have a bank draft (yes...some banks finance vehicles much older than that) and willing to just sign for whatever amount. You're going to be dealing exclusively with cash buyers looking for a steal.

Whether it is house or car shopping...I always ask myself "can I sell/get my money out of this?" before buying it. That's why I bought the truck I did. It's a redneck limousine. They sell like hotcakes around here.

[Kajtek1]

With labor prices at body shops lot of older vehicles are totaled because of fender bender, or theft recovery so salvage title can mean nothing or everything.
Assuming the vehicle has been repaired correctly, if you try to sell it with salvage title, the potential buyers mostly don't understand the issues and scratch it from shopping list just because. Commonly ST will lower the vehicle value 30-50%
That might be good deal if you are buying to keep it and can inspect it by yourself.

[cartmanea]

I've had some experience with salvage/reconstructed vehicles. In my experience, these vehicles don't total unless they have frame damage or severe cab damage. Look everything over closely, hopefully you won't be able to tell what was done. If possible, have the seller point out the work to you. Look closely at door alighnment, look down each side to see if the vehicle is straight or has some weird curve which would indicate a bent frame. Also, look at the cab-box gap, it should be the same on both sides. If it's larger on one side, the frame has some diamond in it and wasn't straightened correctly.

[hmedic]

well good thoughts very interesting to say the least

[BCHauler]

To me, most of the salvage risk is in insurance value. If something happens to your truck, your insurance (or the other guys) won't give you a hill of beans in value for your ride. Say the truck would be worth $10g normally. With salvage maybe its worth $3g. Insurance will only repair to a percentage of the vehicles value. If its 50%, then your coverage is really only $1500. Imagine some jackass runs a stop sign and smashes up your truck. Insurance offers up $1500?!

Of course all of those numbers are made up. They are only there to illustrate my point. To me salvage only makes sense on a vehicle with little value to begin with, otherwise you risk losing too much in the event of an accident.

My long-winded $0.02

[ol'yeller]

I would never buy a salvage titled vehicle. There are so many of these trucks available that don't carry that issue. Every time I see a vehicle offered as a salvaged title, it ALWAYS has the statement that the damage was superficial at best. NEVER does it say the vehicle lay at the bottom of a lake for an hour or that the frame was bowed so bad that the truck is dog tracking. Sorry, but when it comes to used vehicles I always assume the worst case scenario in my evaluation unless I have first hand knowledge otherwise.

[cartmanea]

Originally Posted by BCHauler

To me, most of the salvage risk is in insurance value. If something happens to your truck, your insurance (or the other guys) won't give you a hill of beans in value for your ride. Say the truck would be worth $10g normally. With salvage maybe its worth $3g. Insurance will only repair to a percentage of the vehicles value. If its 50%, then your coverage is really only $1500. Imagine some jackass runs a stop sign and smashes up your truck. Insurance offers up $1500?!

Of course all of those numbers are made up. They are only there to illustrate my point. To me salvage only makes sense on a vehicle with little value to begin with, otherwise you risk losing too much in the event of an accident.

My long-winded $0.02

A salvage title does not affect insurance rates or coverage, only resale value. I have insured two salvage vehicles and my '03 I've had insurance claims on and there was no diminished coverage.

[zmanmike]

I have a salvage-titled 2005 F350. Mine though, was a theft recovery and not a wrecked truck. The dealer I bought it from told me the tires and rims were missing, back seat was missing, andw other things here and there. They were all replaced and I bought it in 'perfect' condition. It was paid off by the insurance company and later recovered and that's why it's branded as salvage. I bought mine to use until it reaches it's useful life. It's got 100k on the clock, so I'll have it for a very long time.

According to my credit union, they only lend half of the NADA value on salvage titled vehicles. At the time of purchase, a clean titled truck like mine was worth $29k per NADA. I used that as a barganing chip and bought mine for $14k.

I think if you are going to buy a salvage titled vehicle it should be based on how long you're going to keep it. It it's a "lifer" purchase then it's a good decision (the truck being mechanically good of course). If you plan on reselling, then it's always going to be worth only half of NADA.

[cartmanea]

Originally Posted by zmanmike

I have a salvage-titled 2005 F350. Mine though, was a theft recovery and not a wrecked truck. The dealer I bought it from told me the tires and rims were missing, back seat was missing, andw other things here and there. They were all replaced and I bought it in 'perfect' condition. It was paid off by the insurance company and later recovered and that's why it's branded as salvage. I bought mine to use until it reaches it's useful life. It's got 100k on the clock, so I'll have it for a very long time.

According to my credit union, they only lend half of the NADA value on salvage titled vehicles. At the time of purchase, a clean titled truck like mine was worth $29k per NADA. I used that as a barganing chip and bought mine for $14k.

I think if you are going to buy a salvage titled vehicle it should be based on how long you're going to keep it. It it's a "lifer" purchase then it's a good decision (the truck being mechanically good of course). If you plan on reselling, then it's always going to be worth only half of NADA.

Salvage titled vehicles are generally worth around 75% of clear titled vehicles, depending on the quality of repairs. The 50% of NADA is just what the credit union is willing to give you a loan on, and that will vary by every financial institution. Some won't touch salvage vehicles, others don't care.

[husky390]

My brother bought a truck with a salvage title due to a theft recovery. It's been a great truck for him and he bought it for a heck of a price.

With that being said, I agree with what was posted earlier about the majority of the people willing to buy a vehicle with a salvage title. They are looking for deals. I personally am in the market to buy a truck right now and even if the truck you are selling has a ton of bells and whistles, is uberclean and priced well below blue book, I'm still going to offer you less than what you are asking because I know you are not going to get the traffic that people with standard titles are getting and I know that I will be in your shoe's, eventually, when I decide to sell it down the road. Just some food for thought.

BTW to the OP, you have a PM about your truck.

[Psyclopse]

I've bought salvage title vehicles before, but I have never bought one that was already repaired. There is a company near me (I use to work for them when I was younger) that sells rebuildables. When you can walk in and actually see the damage and know the repair (because you did it yourself), thats a little different for me. I couldn't just buy a repaired one unless I personally knew the rebuilder. Then again, the only ones I've repaired for profit were clean titled theft recoveries. Everything else has been for personal use or part-out anyway.

I usually go for the easy stuff though. Especially trucks with their bolt-together nature. Bent frame? No sweat, bolt in a good one. Smashed quarter? Bolt on a new bed. Other than being time consuming, trucks are generally easy to deal with when wrecked, compaired to cars and most SUV's. I particularly like theft recoveries- usually little or no body work involved. I don't mind a clean title freshwater flood if I can get a wrecked but running twin to go with it. I avoid saltwater floods altogether.

Around here, people don't seem to mind a truck with a salvage title (rebuilt title once repairs are done). The hit on resale here isn't too bad. When I go to sell one, I have pictures and documentation the whole way through, so people can see it wasn't too bad to begin with. I can't do the major repairs- I just don't have the tools or shop space to do it.

[98SurplusExpy]

As with what others have said; it all depends on the cause of the salvage title. My 250 has a salvage-rebuilt title due to a theft recovery. I'd put it next to any other 250 w/ like mileage and I'd bet the truck that no one would be able to tell which was which ... but, I put mine back together myself with new Ford parts. Saved THOUSANDS vs. non-salvage too!