I'm looking to spend at most, $6,000 on a Ford F150. I'd prefer to keep it down near $4,000, but for the right truck I could go as high as that.

Looking at Craigslist exclusively, and it's not going well. The Sellers are stupid, manipulative, shady and the trucks are over-priced by about $1,000. I saw a 2007 and the asking price was $11,000 last week. I never knew there were so many people driving Ford F150's that were also smoking crack.

Anyways one thing I've noticed is that a large percentage of these F150's have "Salvage" titles or "Rebuilt" titles. First I wonder if "Salvage" and "Rebuilt" are the same and 2nd I wonder what that actually means. Obviously some insurance company somewhere totaled the vehicle, and then someone else came along and fixed the truck, but now that it has this oddball title what does that mean to me, the possible future Buyer. Does it stay "Salvage" after I buy it? Or "Rebuilt"? I don't get the point of changing the status of a title from (whatever it was) to (something else) if at the end of the process it eventually turns back to "normal". Should I just avoid all these vehicles with the oddball titles? If so why, and if not why not?

 

While it can vary by state, a good general definition for a rebuilt title (used by CarFax and others) is:

A "rebuilt title" is placed upon a rebuilt or reconstructed vehicle that previously was a salvage vehicle but has now been repaired and restored to operation. These vehicles are often severely damaged before they are rebuilt, and refurbished parts are typically used during reconstruction. In most states, an inspection of the vehicle is required before the vehicle is allowed to return to the road.

Normally, a car becomes a salvage vehicle after an insurance company has declared it to be a total loss after an auto accident. It then can be sold ("AS IS") to an automobile rebuilder to be used either for parts or to be restored ("rebuilt").

In general, a salvage vehicle cannot be driven on the highways or have a valid license plate. A salvage vehicle must be repaired (if that is possible) to become a rebuilt, roadworthy vehicle.

 

You should get a DEEP discount if your buying a REBUILT title...... Most people will stay away from the truck due to potential problems... Don't pay any where near the Blue Book value for that..

 

Right. Like I said a lot of crack-addicts selling Ford F150's on Craigslist. One guy was feeling generous and said he's include the toggle switch he bought but did not install to work the horn, since the OEM horn switch was gone due to the air bags being deployed at the time of the accident that caused the truck to be totalled. Asked the guy's wife if he replaced the airbags and she said "No", like it was no big deal. He wanted $1,000 over KBB for this truck.

 

It's worth setting up an appointment with a good repair shop, to look over a prospective purchase. Maybe combine it with a test drive. The seller should have no problem with this. In fact, just mentioning it can often smoke out a sketchy seller to begin with. Be tactful about the way you present it, just let them know you want a pro to check it out completely while on a lift, for hidden damage or previous repairs, evidence of flood damage or a dangerous condition in the suspension, steering components, brakes etc. It really protects both the seller as well as the buyer in a way. People will balk at spending $100 though, even though spending $5000 for some strange reason, and then he signs up here and bitches about all the stuff wrong with their "new" truck.