Theft / Salvage title?

[DKREDT]

I am thinking about buying a 2001 Maxima SE theft recovery that will need a fender and door to be "right".

The car will have a special title due to theft recovery. How much will this effect the value?

I can buy the car for about $7500 and put around $2500 into the body work, have a nice car for $10,000 that would run me around $13,500 - $14,500 at the Nissan off lease auction.

I was wondering if the title issue would have an impact on the ability to get a loan on the car and any insurability issues.

Anyone out there have any answers for me?

Thanks,

Joel

 

[salvageV6]

Since it will be going to a new owner that being you, you might be responsible for getting the salvage off the title with full safety inspection and all in serious scrutiny by your DMV office.

Probably need a clear title before you could register it.

That in itself would be difficult I would think.

I'd check on that before deciding to buy it.

Just my .02.

 

[cwelk87gn]

My family has a few salvage yards and we deal in mainly used auto parts but we also do a few rebuilders too. While the laws vary from state to state, once a car is stamped rebuilt there's no easy way to get rid of that "Salvage Title". Especially with Carfax and todays internet savy buyers. In a nutshell, here's what you can expect, once the car is repaired, someone from your state will come out and inspect it to make sure it doesn't have any stolen parts on it. Then they will stamp it "Rebuilt". From then on out it will always be a "Rebuilt" car. What this means to you is that most car dealers won't really want the car if you were to try and trade it in. However, selling the car to an individual shouldn't be a problem. I am driving a 97 F-150 with a rebuilt title "theft recovery" and have it insured with State Farm..no problem. The only catch is if you ever were to total it, they will usually deduct 10% or so off its value. One more thing, some states require you to have a rebuilders or dealers license to have it inspected...you might want to check on that. If you have anymore questions, just email me

 

[turbojimmy]

I have family in the rebuildable wreck biz and the general rule of thumb is that if you're buying a car with a salvage title you better like it a lot because you're going to own it for the rest of its days (or take a beating trying to sell it). I only buy salvage/rebuilt cars that I know I will keep "forever". My GN is a rebuilt total as is my daily driver. My dad's '99 Camaro SS is a rebuilt total, too. If you're willing to go through the hassle you can wind up getting a lot more car than you could afford otherwise, but people get freaked out over that little "R" (rebuilt) on the title. I can get "clean" titles from Maryland, but Carfax still shows the total.

States vary on their willingness to accept "R" titles. NY for example won't take "R" titles from any other state - you have to go through the theft prevention inspection even if you've already gone through it in another state. NJ will take a reconstructed title through their Special Titles Unit without an inspection (but a salvage certificate will require a full inspection). If the car is rebuilt on the up-n-up you have nothing to worry about. Bring the car in, they inspect it and issue a new title.

Jim