Value of salvage title buicks

[richardv6]

ok I have found a nice 87 gn solid roof car 0 rust 59k mile car. Has aluminum heads front mount intercoer 55 lb injs not sure what turbo and good rear end and trans. Paint is super nice. The bad has blown head gasket but no bigge I was building a stage motor anyway.also turbo find has some damage But title shows salvage on car fax. Does not say why. I can get car for 12,5. What's value of this with salvage history. Or does it get to point were it does not matter when you find one in this good shape. Meaning no rust and nice paint. Basically hoe much money differance would their be. Never had a salvage history buick

 

[Boostian]

I would avoid that altogether. Salvage, allegedly 59k miles, if the paint is amazing then it isn't stock paint and the whole car was repainted when it was totaled. Head gasket blown and turbo fins damaged....ok....but no one took the time to repair them?

I'd personally offer 1/4 of that, tops. Sounds like a car that was totaled then never properly taken care of. Last thing I would want to do is stick a 500hp plus stage motor in it and see if it tracks straight when trapping 120+.

Buy a real nice roller for 4-6k

 

[626gn]

Another thing to consider...getting insurance coverage on a salvage title vehicle could come with limitations or some companies won't insure it at all.

 

[Wahoo]

Think of all the muscle cars that have been restored from the junkyard, are they worthless bc they were in a yunkyard/salvage vehicle?

I bought a hot air that was salvage title, it has been in the same owners hands from '94 til I bought it almost two years ago, it's been a salvage on the road longer than it has been not salvage!

If it's super clean and has everything you want I wouldn't let salvage title get in the way.

 

[Wahoo]

Back when they came out they were very complex and were probably very hard to repair when it came to the engine probably didn't take that much to total out.

 

[PaCemkr86]

A salavaged title just makes it more difficult on the resale.

Learn from my mistake .. dont buy one with a salavaged title

 

[buddy]

Unless I was building a pure race car that I never planned to sell, I would never buy a car with a salvage title.

 

[Mark E.]

Mine was a stripped theft recovery salvage title. Made decisions like the roll cage easy.

I have pictures of it stripped, not crumpled. But it does not matter. Had it since 93 and it is not for sale.

 

[richardv6]

ok thanks guys I believe I will just find a nice roller..anyone have one ?

 

[V6sleeper]

Unless I was building a pure race car that I never planned to sell, I would never buy a car with a salvage title.

x2..just what I was gonna say

 

[Nick Micale]

[QUOTE="richardv6, post: 3515611, member: 23732"...... But title shows salvage on car fax. Does not say why. I can get car for 12,5. What's value of this with salvage history. Or does it get to point were it does not matter when you find one in this good shape...........[/QUOTE]

As expected, a question like this will mainly get you lots of opinions, and almost no factual or quantitive answers, so I will try to bring some real-world experience into this discussion?

A salvage title can very among the states and I am only familiar with Arizona which has a "Salvage" title, but for it to be registered for street use it must be inspected by a state official, and will then receive a "Restored Salvage" title.

I have owned GN's with a salvage title that were stolen recovery with only steering column damage done and repaired for ~$100. This certainly does not depreciate the vehicle to 1/4 its book value?

A flood car, accident or stolen recovery could require more extensive restoration, but could be as good, or better, if done right than some of the crappy GN's I have worked on?

Compare the value a desert no-rust, restored salvage GN to an Eastern one which is/or was a rust-bucket, and decide which one is the better to own?

Recently I restored a very nice salvage title Limited that had an unfortunate engine fire, and it under-went a restoration that is now as good, or better, than most Limiteds I have seen lately.

As attrition takes its toll on 1986-7 turbo Buicks, the "salvage title" becomes a less relevant factor than the condition of the car and its history when determining its value to a motivated buyer!

 

[Boostian]

I have owned GN's with a salvage title that were stolen recovery with only steering column damage done and repaired for ~$100. This certainly does not depreciate the vehicle to 1/4 its book value?

If you know the history, ok. How a car with only steering column damage was totaled out by the insurance company is a little odd.

It is a matter of opinion but a majority of people steer clear of salvage title/reconstructed vehicles. Me personally? I wouldn't mess with one. Even one with an engine fire that was restored well. Bottom line is the car was on fire at one time.

To each his own.

With this particular car, salvage title aside, engine damage that for some reason was not fixed shows someone recently didn't care for the car properly.

 

[GNICETRY]

First off, I agree with Nick. In NY if your car is stolen and recovered you get a salvage (907A) title (that is what happened when I was young-could be different now). Can be from a busted steering column or a removed VIN only. I think the history is very important here. Just like anything else. Try to go further on the CarFax and ask to see documentation or reasons to know why it was salvaged.

Secondly, you are getting a salvaged (even if title only) repainted, blown head gasket GN that also needs a turbo (and unknown anything else ?) for 12.5K. That doesn't seem like a great deal to me. You could always wait, there are some nice GN's For Sale here sometimes that are done and not that much more expensive than that.

Lastly, and I will premise this with to each his own, AND we have no idea what the car looks like or condition it is in, but $3000 seems like an insult to offer. Every one of these cars has 'allegedly" miles on them. Just because the car was repainted does not mean that it was totaled. Blown head gaskets and damaged turbo? I wonder how many members with non-salvaged titles have Turbo Regals in their garages or driveways with either of those. Really common with our cars. Many of us on this board have done things to our cars and have had 'accidents' happen that would be considered 'salvage' in many states, including engine fires and collisions.

And to answer how a car with minimal damage (steering column, missing interior etc.) can be totaled out is that the insurance company paid out for the stolen car and then it was recovered. Or possibly the damage was greater than the worth of the car and they totaled it and then the owner was allowed to keep it and fix it himself.
If you grew up in the NYC area, or probably any city area, the very next words out of the mouths of about 50% of the people that say they had owned a GN would be "but it got stolen".

As someone had stated as these cars get older the salvage title will mean less and less and condition will mean everything. When I see an awesome muscle car, I never think 'wonder if it has a salvage history'.

 

[Boostian]

Everyone on here has good points.

I PERSONALLY would not pay anywhere near that going off what you wrote alone. If I saw the car in person, maybe different. Especially if you knew the history.

I think advertising the car with a blown head gasket and damaged turbo, not disclosing the salvage title (guy said he found it was a salvage through CarFax, not that the seller disclosed it) for 12,500 is laughable and deserves a lowball offer. Hence MY price.

 

[corsair231]

Need to find out the why behind the title before the buy.
The salvage title could be from something as minor as a fender bender. My car was involved in a minor accident years ago before the value of these cars started back up. There was nothing but panel and trim damage but the total cost of repair with new parts was enough the insurance company wanted to total the car. I ended up settling on a lesser amount and paid the difference out of pocket for the new parts and kept my title clean. The difference $300. Point is my car could have had a salvage title for a few bolt on parts but would have been the same car I have had since new. Of course this sounds like an argument for a clean title but I did it because I could. If it had been a major accident then it may have been worth it to total the car for a higher payout. As long as it was repaired correctly it would still have been the same car I always had.

As far as this one, my concern is not the salvage title as much as I believe it is overpriced for a not running car needing major repair.

 

[TexasT]

5 figures for a non running, questionable history, obviously been beat on car? Lets step back and assess. Blown head gasket could be, bad crank, flat cam, broken/worn out front cover, cracked head/block. I'm assuming it doesn't run. If it doesn't run, could have a tweaked/bent frame and pulls to one side poor handling problem.

I'm not covering someone else's decision to have a car painted and now tryin to get some of their money back.

If you like the paint and the condition of the rest of the car and can cover the rest of its hidden shortcomings jump in if you think $12.5k works for you. But add up what else you know you will put in and double it along with the purchase price and you might be close to your dollar investment.

I'm thinking you will have north of thirty in it by the time you make a pass where you want it to run. If it is fun and you have the hobby/disposable income, it sounds like a nice car. If this sounds like a money pit, IT IS!

We will expect pix when you bring it home.

 

[TurboDave]

5 figures for a non running, questionable history, obviously been beat on car? .

My sentiments exactly. Somebody has a huge "set-o-nuts" for asking that kind of money for it.

 

[TurboSkunk15]

Its very true when looking for my GN here in ny I ran into quite a few 907a cars.
Def good points made by all, for me I wouldn't pay that much when I can get a car with a clean title for around that price.
However if you are keeping it then who cares if its a slavage title? I just know In my experience that 907 cars are tough to sell, and I've always stayed away from them personally. To each their own
Best of luck.
I've seen pics in a prior ad car looked pretty decent.
http://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/cto/4851993083.html

 

[V6sleeper]

Theirs a lot of Nice clean T's around for that price..

 

[novaderrik]

carfax shows salvage title, but does the actual title say that it's salvaged?