Need advice on what a "Salvage" title means

[pd123]

I'm negotiating on a car that is a good price, what gives it the good price is a "Salvage" title but the seller claims that it had the following damages, "Minor accident in the back- the trunk and a little bit of right-rear fender" Does his explaination of the damage jive with a salvage title? He claims the car is still under manufacturer warranty. Tomorrow I can check to see if that is true.
BTW, The car has been repaired and looks like it's brand new.

[gear02]

Please, please get a carfax report. I think something's a little fishy...

[pd123]

Please, please get a carfax report. I think something's a little fishy...He is supposed to fax me the carfax report, but maybe I should pay for one myself.

[Memo]

Definitely pay for one yourself. I would not trust it at all.

[gear02]

He is supposed to fax me the carfax report, but maybe I should pay for one myself.

Oh yes. It's a good investment at this point. I wouldn't trust anything he sends you. If he told you that the car has a salvage title and yet has that little damage, I'm betting he's hiding something. FAXING YOU A CARFAX REPORT?? I bet he's making some changes to it.

[Daedalus]

I'm not sure what detail Carfax will go into regarding previous damage to the vehicle. My guess is it will only state where, when and perhaps by whom the title was changed. Carfax has some value in what it states, but it is by no means comprehensive. It only reports what gets reported.
I believe state laws dictate what constitutes a salvage branding, so it could mean different things. I believe in a lot of states a car can be labeled salvaged based on the insurance company's decision to write it off rather than fix it, which implies that the cost to fix the damage properly is estimated to be more than the vehicle's worth. It will always have the brand on its record. I would pass or, at the very least, have a private pre-purchase inspection done.

[pd123]

Well, I got the Carfax report. It is well worth the money. It shows that this 2006 had 3 owners. The first had a major accident in SC and had damages exceeding 75% of it's value. It shows that the manufacturer voided the warranty. I expected to read something similiar to what I read. Tomorrow, I will call the manufacturer with the VIN to confirm that the warranty was voided. If it was not, I may still consider it since I live nearby, the owner said I can test drive it and take it to my mechanic to be checked. I greatly appreciate the input for this forum.

[Markel]

I would run away from this transaction. You have clear proof that the seller is telling you bald-faced lies. Don't trust him as far as you could throw the car.

[ray]

I would steer clear of any vehicle that was tagged as Salvage. Typically those vehicles do not undergo the same scrutiny when it gets repaired as it does on the initial production line. If this thing lost 75% of it's value, I'm betting the cheapest mechanic out there put it back together.

[JohnyRosco]

a lot of Katrina flood cars are showing up on the market...they can mask a lot of that damage and reverse a lot too but the carpet and upholstery will show mold spots that you can NEVER get rid of...will stink too :D

[mechmike0034]

I'm negotiating on a car that is a good price, what gives it the good price is a "Salvage" title but the seller claims that it had the following damages, "Minor accident in the back- the trunk and a little bit of right-rear fender" Does his explaination of the damage jive with a salvage title? He claims the car is still under manufacturer warranty. Tomorrow I can check to see if that is true.
BTW, The car has been repaired and looks like it's brand new.

A "Salvage Title" typically means that the car at one time has sustained enough damage to have been totaled by an insurance company. The actual definition differs from state to state, so you might want to check with your state's DMV.

This also means that factory warranty is void. Check with your local dealer's service department.

Finally, many insurance companies will not write a policy covering a vehicle with a "Salvage Title" - this is something else to check on.

If you are getting a loan, make sure your lender is OK with a "Salvage Title" as well.

I bought my son a very cheap salvage title beater to learn to drive in, but the salvage title was issued five-plus years ago. If it has held together that long it should hold him long enough to get some experience. I only have liability insurance on it, which my insurer had no problem writing. I also have very low expectations to go with my minimum investment. If he makes it a year without hitting anything or without me having to spend major money on repairs I'll be happy. If the car ever suffered a major expensive failure I'd just junk it.

[Napoleon54]

If this car was rear-ended (consitent with the damage you described) you might be looking at something like a bent frame that even your mechanic wouldn't pick up on. It could be easy to fix cosmetically but still have serious problems...

If the car has changed hands since the accident then it is possible the seller isn't even aware of other problems. Or perhaps he's willfully ignorant of them. I dunno if this is possible or how you'd do it, but it would be great to get ahold of the original repair estimate and see what was originally wrong with it.

I dunno, it's a tough call. If you feel good about it and aren't getting any bad vibes from the guy, weight that against the potential risk when making a decision. Good luck!

[johnnymk]

A friend of mine bought a car with a salvage title in NJ.

It involved a lot of red tape to get the car registered there. He had to take the car to the Motor Vehicles Bureau were it was inspected very carefully. Plus there was some other things which delayed the registration process.

Check your State's laws regarding Salvage titles.

[MikeD]

I would run away from this transaction. You have clear proof that the seller is telling you bald-faced lies. Don't trust him as far as you could throw the car.

:stupid:

The fact that the seller has already tried to mislead you should be enough for you to kill the deal.

Yeah, it may be a good price...and when you get in that situation, you can almost taste the deal going down. It feels good. But the best bet is probably to back out.

[thresher]

If the deal sounds too good to be true... he's counting on your greed. Back out now. "Salvage title" is Latin for "found another sucker". I did that once in my early 20s on a super clean (looking) Toyota 4X4 - my dream truck. After spending $3k in 3 months on additional suspension problems and finding out the warranty was nixed I sold the truck at a huge loss. Painful learning experience. Maybe you can learn from my mistake.

[MrGreg]

It's a bad sign if it's a 2006 and has had 3 owners. Why do people keep selling it?

[clutchy]

salvage title just means it's been wrecked. Although there are numerous things that could have gone wrong in the process. A bent frame would be my #1 concern.

[DarkFury]

BTW... here is what Carfax says about it (but based on what folks have already said in this thread, you guys mostly already know what a Salvage Title is...)



http://www.carfax.com/Definitions/Glossary.cfm

Salvage Title - A Salvage Title is issued on a vehicle damaged to the extent that the cost of repairing the vehicle exceeds ~ 75% of its pre-damage value.. This damage threshold may vary by state. Some states treat Junk titles the same as Salvage but the majority use this title to indicate that a vehicle is not road worthy and cannot be titled again in that state. The following ten States also use Salvage titles to identify stolen vehicles - AZ, FL, GA, IL, MD, MN, NJ, NM, NY, OK and OR.

Personally, I would stay far, far away from this transaction. Bad things can happen with a deal like this.

[cheapie]

see if you can get an extended warranty on it

:hihi:

[guiseppewv]

Run away!!! Run away!!!

[DarkFury]

see if you can get an extended warranty on it

:hihi:
j00 real funnae... :heh:


Even I wouldn't take that bet. :D

[pd123]

The car has a voided BMW warranty

[Prngr44]

The car has a voided BMW warranty

That means it's not under warranty.

Didn't the seller tell you it was under warranty???

[Houdini]

The car has a voided BMW warranty

BMW warranties are pretty good. If it's voided, something bad happened and/or the owner did something to it that resulted in adverse effects. (note- by federal law, the warranty can only be voided for that reason if the modification DIRECTLY resulted in the needed repair. So if you change, say, your taillights or something, and your stereo, coils, or power seats screwed up, it still has to be covered.)

That said, I'd avoid this car. As mentioned, it may likely be a Katrina car or the result of some other catastrophe, even one caused by the owners. And rest assured that it has been wrecked. I'd definitely at the minimum, have it checked by and independent, reliable, honest BMW repair shop. Many are great, are owned by enthusiasts and members of BMW CCA, and will not screw you over. I have such a shop here that I take mine to for stuff I can't fix, and I trust them completely. And they've never overcharged me, and even have pointed out things to watch for. A search on BMW forums may yield one in your area. Don't take it to a stealership that will charge you a helluva lot to give it a cursory look. Take it to someone that is as interested in your car as you are.

H <--has to rewire his taillights this weekend b/c a short I caused a few months ago has recently caused me problems. The freakin wire harnesses (mail and female sides) melted. For the record, I had installed, rather well, an Infinity Basslink (a great sub for people with limited space and want to fill in factory radio inadequacies.) Problem is, after a minor fender bender, the speaker shifted, one of the power wires popped out and grounded itself to the ground lead, resulting in a direct + to - short and, firery wires, and a mild car-b-que. Melted some stuff. I have to either find a new harness and rewire it, or just directly the taillights with some solder and heatshrink (no wirecaps for me.) I also had taillight problems when it was under warranty, but the stealership just took out the bulbs, rubbed them on the ground to clear off "oxidation" and put them back in. Worked for a while. Now I have bad taillight indicators. I traced the problem myself. Now I have to fix it, get some new trunk liner (so it doesn't smell like an electrical fire) and put a heavy gauge power wire in to rewire the power to the sub. WITH a fuse on the hot wire from the battery. That was my mistake. Figured it would blow a BMW fuse, which it didn't do.
/rant

[pd123]

This car has a salvage title, my insurance company confirmed they won't insure it, it has a voided warranty and yet the bidding is up to over $18,000. To make it a harder deal to swallow, the seller only has a rating of 13 and never sold a car before and believe it or not even at over $18,000 the reserve has not been met. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Must-be-Sold-Almost-New-Excellent-Condition_W0QQitemZ250082195491QQihZ015QQcategoryZ6007QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[DarkFury]

From the link pd123 posted above...

BMW : 3-Series

Must be Sold .Almost New . Excellent Condition


Vehicle Description

This vehicle is in excellent condition. It has no any mechanical or cosmetic problems. Driver is not a smoker. It does not have heated seats nor navigation system.


You couldn't write a better "Carfax commercial" than that.... :heh:

Some sucker is gonna get LICKED on that one. :2far:

[thresher]

Holy SMOKES! Never once mentioned it was a blue title? Friggin Yankees. (There are plenty of dishonest people down here too, just thought I would take the opportunity to disparage New Jersey) :)