Buying salvage/rebuilt title truck

[Hatchet Jack]

I'm in the market for a new to me huntin truck, i'm pretty set on a well used tundra from the 2007 - 2010 years.

I've never bought a salvage title vehicle before, but i see some good deals on them pop up every now and then and always disregard them. Any tips on what to look for when buying a salvage title truck? For example i'm looking at one that from what i can tell from the pictures only had body damage to the grill, bumper, front fender etc., no damage from the radiator back. Seems like it could be decent.

I don't rotate through trucks very often so resale isn't a huge concern, mostly just reliability.

thanks

 

[JRMiller]

Its a long list. If you dont have the eye of an experienced mechanic do not buy any of them period.
There are some that are ok, but its a very, very small number.
Auto business 25 years

 

[BRTreedogs]

I've had a couple. Its a real crap shoot.
I know you said resell doesn't matter but fyi they are almost impossible to get rid of.
But both mine were reliable. The Tacoma had damage to the front steering I had to repair even tho the guy swore it was rear damage only.

It also depends on how new it was when totaled. It used to be 50% now some insurance companies are 75%.
Thats alot of damage on a 50k truck.

I can't remember what sights specifically but the last time I was car shopping if you Google the vin number 6 ways to Sunday sometimes you can find the pictures from the auction and can kinda see how bad it was damaged.

But the Tacoma i bought was old enough that it hadn't even been repaired when I bought it. So on an older truck it may not have been so bad.

But in general I stay away.
Alot of times if you shop hard. Are willing to take a flight and the lower interest on a new truck the cost gap closes quickly.

 

[nobody]

I'm in the market for a new to me huntin truck, i'm pretty set on a well used tundra from the 2007 - 2010 years.

I've never bought a salvage title vehicle before, but i see some good deals on them pop up every now and then and always disregard them. Any tips on what to look for when buying a salvage title truck? For example i'm looking at one that from what i can tell from the pictures only had body damage to the grill, bumper, front fender etc., no damage from the radiator back. Seems like it could be decent.

I don't rotate through trucks very often so resale isn't a huge concern, mostly just reliability.

thanks

Like @JRMiller said above, buy with caution. Resale may not be a huge thing to you, but another thing to consider is your insurance and a potential loan on it. Many banks and credit unions won't loan on a salvage title vehicle, because they've already been declared a "total loss," so they technically, in the eyes of the institution, aren't worth any money because they've had more money put into getting them running again than they're worth. You're already upside down in it from day one as far as they're concerned. Additionally, lots of insurance companies won't insure a salvaged vehicle because of the same reasons as stated above. If they do insure them, they charge more lots of times.

Also, lots of them have underlying issues that can go unknown for years. Weird stuff like electrical problems and weird tire wear that just can't be accounted or planned for that ends up costing you tons of money in the long run.

Bottom line, you can buy the truck cheaper, but everything else will probably cost you more. Sometimes you get lucky, lots of times you end up hosed. Personally, I wouldn't touch one with a 100 foot pole.

 

[KsRancher]

I bought a salvage titled truck in 2009. The truck was a 2003 Chevy duramax. There is a local guy that goes to the auctions. I told him what I was looking for. He called in month a said he had what I was after. I was just wanting a feed truck. I was going to put a bale bed on it. This one was hit in the back. It had 205,000 miles on it. Bought the truck for $5500, put $750 in it no counting the bale bed. I drove it to Colorado this past year on an elk hunt. Even drove it over Hagerman Pass. Currently has 376,000 miles on it. Doesn't use any oil on a 7,000 mile oil change. I wouldn't be afraid to buy on if I knew the buyer from the auction. And was really specific on what I wanted and what he bought to fit that

 

[willfrye027]

I'm in the market for a new to me huntin truck, i'm pretty set on a well used tundra from the 2007 - 2010 years.

I've never bought a salvage title vehicle before, but i see some good deals on them pop up every now and then and always disregard them. Any tips on what to look for when buying a salvage title truck? For example i'm looking at one that from what i can tell from the pictures only had body damage to the grill, bumper, front fender etc., no damage from the radiator back. Seems like it could be decent.

I don't rotate through trucks very often so resale isn't a huge concern, mostly just reliability.

thanks

I feel your pain. I searched for months for a 2nd gen Tacoma and quite a few salvage title ones came up in my price range. Ended up getting super lucky on a non salvage title 06 with 108k miles that I basically stole for what I paid.

I would just refresh Craigslist every couple hours for a month looking for a clean title and you might get lucky living close enough to a major city!

 

[kuhn4]

My wife currently drives a mini van that I bought as a salvage vehicle and had a good mechanic friend repair. Fairly minor front end damage, low miles, 1 year old. I have had a lot of problems with it over the last 5 years. I think very few if any of the problems are related to the quality of the repair work. As someone else mentioned, insurance. My options of insurance carriers that would insure it were limited and definitely more expensive. Looking back, I would NOT do it again.

 

[X-file]

I have a different take on it. A salvage vehicle was running and driving at the time that it was totaled and the owner probably didn’t intend on getting rid of it. Not the same as someone wanting to unload a vehicle through trade due to mechanical issues. Also a total is based on damage to value. I would stay away from late model vehicles with a salvage title but an older vehicle may not have had substantial damage. Reputable rebuilders will have pics of the damage prior to the rebuild. Loans and full coverage insurance can be tough to get. I also know many rebuilders that are more meticulous than some of the body shops that do repairs but on the other side there are also many builders that try and trim their margins in what I’d consider unethical ways


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[unclericco]

My best buddy bought a salvaged Suburban about 18-19 years ago. He had to put a new tranny, new seats and some other stuff to make it useable. I told him not to buy it but needless to say, he hit the jackpot with the purchase. He had it up until last winter when he sold it but it was an extremely reliable vehicle and gave him many years of family use for vacations, pulling his camper and toy trailers, etc. He paid it off in like 2 years and had it forever with no car payment. We still talk about what a great deal it was so there are some good ones out there evidently.

 

[Jbehredt]

Can be a great way to get more vehicle than you could afford otherwise. If you know what you’re looking at and your mechanic, body man and painter really know what they’re doing.

 

[czyolman]

Not a lot of savings the way they are priced in my area.

But the main thing for me is the paranoia one might cause. Thinking every time I heard an odd noise out of the truck I'd be thinking a half done repair was coming apart. Would it get me home?

 

[JeffRaines]

One thing a lot of people overlook when it comes to car purchases is how much something costs over time.

Take, for example, a salvage title vehicle. Higher interest rate loan - yes, if you have the cash to pay outright this obviously doesn't apply, but if you need to get a loan for the vehicle you're going to be paying more in interest than you would on a non-salvage title vehicle.

Then the cost of insurance, and any potential repairs.

Something tells me if you added all of the above together over the life of the vehicle/loan it would ultimately be cheaper to buy the more expensive vehicle with the clean title.

 

[Marmots]

I would avoid buying a salvage or rebuild in a fast-paced auction environment. Anything with that designation is worth the time and money to take to a mechanic for an inspection.

Even if you're mechanically inclined, it's a good idea to just pay someone to put it on a lift so you both can get a really good look at parts from all angles.

Rebuilds are a crapshoot. I've seen good looking trucks that showed subtle signs of flood damage and would have been full of electrical gremlins forever. On the other hand, my sister has spent the last decade driving a very cheap and reliable Honda that was totally written off because a deer ran into the side door panel.

 

[bozeman]

My first car was a 'salvage' Honda Accord over 20 years ago, which a friend bought from me and his wife still drives it to work...........if you can know what you are getting, I see no issue. My son will be 16 in 1.5 years and he will probably get a small truck like this.....

 

[Missahba]

The answer depends on why it has a salvage title. Stolen recovery or rear end damage might be ok to buy. Fire can sometimes be, depending. Flood and rollover never. Front end usually not, because there’s too much that can never be back to normal up front. I had a Honda Ridgeline with a salvage title due to a rear end hit that only damaged the bumper support and hitch (I saw pictures). Bumper was done ehen I bough, and I replaced the hitch. Never had a problem and sold it to a friend when I got a company truck. Friend still has it. I have a friend who buys them for a driver training business. No financing, driven until the wheels fall off. He gets rear end or stripped only. Good record for him.

 

[lmeyer]

I've done this and my experience has been good so far...
I bought a Nissan nv 3500 with a salvaged title 2 years ago. It was rebuilt already when I bought it. With the Vin, I was able to find the auction pictures of the damage. It was all body damage on the driver's side, it looked to be side swiped by a big rig. I had the seller take it to the local dealership and an independent mechanic/ body shop and run through everything on the check list, it cost me about 350 buck to do but I was able to verify that the drive train was in good shape with no signs of repair or damage. And the frame had no bending or warping or signs of being repaired and verified straightness and dimensions. The only place you can tell it was worked on is where the new panels were welded in.

I've had no problems with the vehicle since we have bought it, besides a door rattle which is common even in new ones.

As for insurance, my rate was the same as a new one. However, I was warned the the payout may be low if I ever totaled the vehicle. I payed cash for it so can help you with finance part.

 

[ND_Hooligan]

I've purchased multiple salvage titled vehicles. Never had a problem getting a loan on them nor have I had an issue with insurance (either rates or coverage). In fact my daughters salvage title car was totaled in an accident last year, some clown thought it would be fun to pull hood levers (happened to multiple vehicles and living in a tiny town sometimes locking car doors isn't a priority) and the insurance company paid me full value of the car (we had full coverage on it) because it had been repaired.

 

[PAhntr91]

I’m a collision repair technician for a living. If you know someone that’s a mechanic or body man definitely have it looked at. Personally I have no issue with rebuilt cars or trucks. My buddy’s shop does them all the time. It just depends on who repaired it. Pennsylvania requires an enhanced inspection to make sure it was done correctly. There are some butchers out there believe me. Obviously the car was totaled for a reason. Which just mean it was it costs more to repair than the car is worth. Could be a small bump and the bags went off could be a lot of different factors. I would just have it looked at. Maybe find out why it totaled and where the repairs were. I’ve fixed some really slammed cars PA has lower repair rates than most states so we fix a lot.

if you need some help just pm me. Like I said I do that stuff for a living and my buddy runs an enhanced inpoection station

 

[AKBC]

My experience is that front damaged vehicles are more likely to have hidden damage. One car I fixed had a front end problem that didn't show until the car had been driven for months.

 

[def90]

Don’t do it! I learned my lesson with my work truck. I couldn’t afford the Toyota which I wanted so I settled for a Dodge Dakota. When running the carfax the Dakota in question had been owned by a county in SEast Co for about a year in which there was then a note on the carfax that there was front end damage but it was not a salvage title so I figured it was something minor. Everything cosmetically looked great, it drove straight, and I saw no signs of a major collision repair when I looked it over. the truck then went to a farmer in NEast Co for about a year and a half before I bought it. Had 54,000 miles on it and so far over the last 5 years I have replaced the clutch 3 times, had the whole front end suspension rebuilt, and the engine just went out last month at 170,000 miles. Now after a work trip down to Santa Fe and back the transmission grinds going in to 5th gear so the syncro is going on it, double clutching helps a little bit but doesn’t solve the problem.

Each time I fixed it I debated buying a new truck but then decided to do the fix for a couple grand (hey, I’m already $10k into it so why not) vs putting $10k down on something new and then pay another $500 a month the next 5 years. I think I’ve payed for this truck twice now, total nightmare.