[anniesx07]

Do you guys think buying a used car with a salvage title is a good idea? what to look for when buying a car w/ that kind of title? thanks!

[[K]Jae]

It is NEVER a good idea to buy a car with a salvage title.
Yes it's affordable but...
From what I understand maintenance on the car itself will be costly because you do not know when it will break down again. I believe a car would be consider salvage the damage to the car in one accident exceed $3000? It would be better to buy a used car that had been in minor accidents without a salvage title compared to one that does.

[Clix]

It is NEVER a good idea to buy a car with a salvage title.
Yes it's affordable but...
From what I understand maintenance on the car itself will be costly because you do not know when it will break down again. I believe a car would be consider salvage the damage to the car in one accident exceed $3000? It would be better to buy a used car that had been in minor accidents without a salvage title compared to one that does.

Salvage titled cars are cars that have been totaled then fixed. Meaning the damages exceeded 3/4 of the car's value.

Buying a rebuilt titled car would be better.

[kelvin6]

A lot of it just depends on what caused the totalling of the vehicle to begin with. Usually you won't know the (true and complete) history of it.

In fact, my old car was considered total, but the the car just needed both front fenders, the bumper cover, and a suspension strut, no frame damage had occured to my car. I don't know for a fact if anyone did try to repair my car after the insurance company auctioned it off or not, but I know it will have a salvage title attached to it, but if they did they got themselves a nice reliable car (just fixing minor issues).

[Adionik]

It is NEVER a good idea to buy a car with a salvage title.
Yes it's affordable but...
From what I understand maintenance on the car itself will be costly because you do not know when it will break down again. I believe a car would be consider salvage the damage to the car in one accident exceed $3000? It would be better to buy a used car that had been in minor accidents without a salvage title compared to one that does.

I purchased a salvage title for my first car and it's gone 30,000 miles with no problems or issues. A car is salvaged when the damage exceeds 51% of it's worth. AKA if you own a Kia that's worth 5k Blue Book and the damage is $3000, it's a goner. They tried totalling off my car after they gave me a quote to fix it...no dice. Fought them and ended up keeping my car and the cash.

Sometimes a salvage can be as much as replacing a set of headlights and the radiator. As long as there is not frame damage that can compromise your safety and the repair was done properly, it can be worth the few thousand less IF it was repaired right!

I will never buy a salvage title again though. So I pretty much contradicted myself.

[lisalee89]

Just bc it is listed as "Salvage".. does NOT ALWAYS mean that the car was totalled. Sometimes, it could just be the bumper or fender or a minor thing. I have a friend and he bought a salvage EVO 8 and it was title salvage. The only thing that was wrong was it was hit on the side of the from bumper and it fell off. The engine, NOTHING else was damaged.
When I heard that, my mouth dropped. I could have had that EVO. I woulda HAVE bought it salvage. Nothing else was damaged besides the dumb bumber, that's it!
I advise you to look into it if you really want it, Salvage Titled, and ask what exactly happened. Look the car through. Good luck.

[anniesx07]

thanks for all the replies. I've talked to a few people and they said to just check out why is it a salvage. If I get a carfax on the vehicle would it tell me how bad the accident was and what was the reason for it to be titled "Salvage"?

[jbigdog123]

Just bc it is listed as "Salvage".. does NOT ALWAYS mean that the car was totalled. Sometimes, it could just be the bumper or fender or a minor thing. I have a friend and he bought a salvage EVO 8 and it was title salvage. The only thing that was wrong was it was hit on the side of the from bumper and it fell off. The engine, NOTHING else was damaged.
When I heard that, my mouth dropped. I could have had that EVO. I woulda HAVE bought it salvage. Nothing else was damaged besides the dumb bumber, that's it!
I advise you to look into it if you really want it, Salvage Titled, and ask what exactly happened. Look the car through. Good luck.

I think there is more or has to be more to this story than what you've described. Considering the value of EVO8 (depending on year), I just can't see a damage to bumper causing insurance company to write that call off and pay a full price to the owner. I've seen some cheaper cars than EVO8 with more expensive damage got it repaired, unless the bumper damage is more than 75% of the car value.

For example, I know a person with 2003 Hyundai Tiburon. She hit a curve traveling ~25 mph, and it really messed her her can. The airbags (both fronts) were deployed, the dashboard was all cracked, the front end suspension was damage. The insurance company quoted $6,300 for the repair and that car is worth ~$9,000 (she paid 10,000 little over a year before the accident) but in the end car was repaired.


As for OP, yeah, see why the car was salvaged and make a decision based on the reason for the salvage. If it was for flooding, then I would definitely stay away from it.

[koneee]

Just bc it is listed as "Salvage".. does NOT ALWAYS mean that the car was totalled. Sometimes, it could just be the bumper or fender or a minor thing. I have a friend and he bought a salvage EVO 8 and it was title salvage. The only thing that was wrong was it was hit on the side of the from bumper and it fell off. The engine, NOTHING else was damaged.
When I heard that, my mouth dropped. I could have had that EVO. I woulda HAVE bought it salvage. Nothing else was damaged besides the dumb bumber, that's it!
I advise you to look into it if you really want it, Salvage Titled, and ask what exactly happened. Look the car through. Good luck.

Yep! My car is salvaged. The only thing that was wrong with it was the bumper because the previous owner got into a car accident where something happened to the bumper but everything else was still good! All they had to do was replace the bumper and it was all goooooood.