so I'm in the market for a cash used car for my 16yo daughter. Thinking civic/accord Corolla/Camry, Mazda 3, etc. My budget is 12k so I'm looking at mostly late models 2012-2015. There are a lot out there, with low miles. But I'm finding quite a few really good deals on cars with "rebuilt" title status in the ads. They actually look clean! Should I run not walk? Or if I do my due diligence can these be some actual deals? Search car fax and take my chances. Will aftermarket warranty co's treat these cars like the plague? And does that title status stick with the car forever, or fall off after title transfer??
Run away , rebuilt means its been totaled before then rebuilt to usable status in most cases. Do you want your daughter riding around with compromised crumple zones from a previous accident?
Maybe in most cases it's been crashed to a total loss, but there could be any number of reasons that the insurance company paid a total loss claim. It could be as simple as a joyride where the car was ditched in a remote location and the ins. co. payed to replaced it. I bought a car that had a clean title that was previously declared totaled due to hail damage. I wouldn't say to run away, but rather to investigate and find out why it was totaled, then make a decision.
There is just no value in the equation , whatever you think you've saved by buying one , you'll lose because of the title when you sell it later on .
The problem with the rebuild is the rebuilder. If it is built back to before crash status, you are good. if it is just enough make up to pass the inspection, then no. You can find a deal if you do due diligence
my street bike has a salvage title, it was bodywork damage on an old bike, I got 4k from the insurance and glued it back together, the insurance didn't balk at re-insuring it.
Like these guys have said. Make sure it is in good condition mechanically, drives straight, brakes straight, doesn't pull or overheat/leak. Also another good point is to keep in mind the re-sell later on it.
I have owned a few, so has my family. we bought them and repaired them so we knew what was done. if you can get pics of the car before the repairs you can judge how bad it was. sometimes its not that bad at all. I would buy one if I was pretty sure it wasn't too bad to begin with. insurance was never an issue, but yes it will be worth less on the other side when you sell too. unless you plan on driving it till it dies or a very long time, then that doesn't matter as much.
I would def take the car to someone that knows about the car. I would pay close attention to the airbags. It's one of the most expensive things to replace and they have dummy bags that look good as new.
If you buy it from a rebuilder it's probably junk - bought at salvage auction and repaired cheaply. If you buy it from a private party that bought it back for hail damage or something simple it'll probably by alright
This happened to us, oldest daughter spun out on a icy road in mom's car. She went thru a ditch and into a field, car wasn't that bad but when it went thru the ditch it set the airbags off. Would have been able to fix it for a couple thousand but new airbags were stupid expensive and NY requires new so we just let them total it and took the check.
As stated, it depends on the rebuild(er). I have 03 Jeep Rubicon that has a salvage title. The rebuilder is a local body shop owned by a guy I have known for years. He actually built it for himself, but shifting the 5 speed caused his shoulder too many problems, so he sold it to me. It's been very solid in the year I've owned it. I have folks offering to buy it all the time for more than I have in it. So, if you trust the builder, have at it.
Those are the ones you should run from. Some states will mark the title as flood damaged, while some just mark it salvage. Either way, you don't want a flooded car, even if it was just the floor. After a few months all of the unprotected interior metal and the circuit boards of all of the ECUs will corrode and cause major problems. We had a guy have his Prius towed in at my former job. He lived in TX and flew to NY to buy this salvage titled hybrid. He made it from NY to PA when it quit running. I scanned it for trouble codes and there were more codes than I've ever seen in a single vehicle. When I started to investigate, I found all of the seat springs were a nasty orange rusty mess and judging by the rust line, the water had made it up to just about the middle of the steering wheel. Just to get the car running again was an estimated 9500.00 + labor! There were about seven ECUs and the inverter itself that were filled with powdery white corrosion on all of the PCBs. The gentleman got shuttled to the airport and two winters later, we finally towed the car down to our stone overflow lot so we didn't have to plow around it.
I'll definitely check with my agent. Mostly wanted to know what others experiences have been. I would much rather have a clean one owner, clear title for the girl, but some of those prices are intriguing. I do all my own wrenching on my vehicles, except for warranty work, so inspecting myself wouldn't be too bad. Thx for the input, as usual the beeb delivers.
Again, depends what it was written off for. Sometimes theyll write cars and bikes off simply because of $$$ to replace expensive parts vs cost of vehicle. My fiancee drives a 2011 genesis thats a rebuilt title. It slid sideways off the road and right rear section hit something. Maybe an idiot was drifting it. Anywho. The damage wasnt bad, but the airbags went off and a new pass door had to be installed and right quarter pulled out and reskinned. Shes been driving it since 2013 with no issues. And +1 on flood damage. Hell no.
doesn't matter what it was totaled for, with a salvaged, rebuilt title, the unit has been devalued by approx. 35-70% depending on auto, location and market. if it is a salvaged titled car, it should be sold at salvage titled price, not clean title, shape of auto, high end kbb, nada pricing. run fast, run far, unless you are willing to live with the autos past demons, future problems, and HUGE loss in YOUR resale price. people, shops, repair these kinds of cars, and hope someone doesn't know the difference. can you get a value? yes. CAN YOU GET SCREWED BIGTIME??? ABSOFRIGGINLUTLEY!!!!! example: kbb, and nada says clean, avg retail is 10000.00 but, the auto has a salvage title... the actual street value to those that know, is about 5000.00 more or less. if you pay more, it is on you... the insurance company will insure you but, they will not give you full retail for the auto "IF" it were totaled again. they will base the price off the clean cars, and reduce the settlement by their formula for a salvaged title auto. your results may vary. my advice for what it's worth... find a good clean non-wrecked vehicle for your child. peace of mind for you. Ski
I fix several a year. A LOT of late model salvage cars come from the new car replacement plans. It 100% depends on who repairs them. Dummy air bags? If you don't feel comfortable with buying one then stay away. I've bought a few out of Dallas and you guys can definitely buy cars cheaper there than anywhere else in the country, so they'll be room to make money (if you buy for a deal that is)
