advice on salvage title

[mspiegle]

My girlfriend has been looking to get another car and she found a 328I. The car is very cheap but has a salvage title. The current owner says the car was broken into. I ran a carfax on it and got stuff like:

"SALVAGE TITLE/CERTIFICATE ISSUED"
"JUNK TITLE/CERTIFICATE ISSUED"
"REBUILT TITLE ISSUED"

Are those normal for a car that was broken into, or does that mean the car was really in an accident?

[MR 325]

A car will not be salvaged from a break in, no way in hell.

It's been wrecked and repaired. [Carfax is golden]

[kailuaboy]

its been wrecked, you can check the obvious stuff like vin numbers on the front fenders.

[s0urce]

The owner is either a liar or was lied to if he bought the car assuming the above about the title. Regardless you'd be buying a car from a liar or an idiot.

[Il Duce]

stay the fuck away from salvaged cars, just do it. trust me.

[e9nine]

stay the fuck away from salvaged cars, just do it. trust me.

I have had 4 or so salvaged cars to date with no issues.

If the car was vandalized during the break in, it will end up with a branded title.

[KangamangusDriver]

Look it over very well. check the frame, fender alignment. look for overspray/etc. Make shure the car can be aligned correctly and properly.
If you look it over and feel that it is a overall good vehicle, consider it.

Somtimes you can get a good deal on a salvaged vehicle.
I have in the past.

[HST]

I've seen salvaged titles for break-ins cuz the interior was so trashed the insurance company totaled the car.

[s52e368]

acutally a friend of mine recently had his sec gen mr2 broken into..

they totaled it... shitty if you ask me..

[Rigmaster]

Lots of opinions here- but most appear to be based on what they've heard or what they *think* should happen, not reality. IMHO, some of you guys need to STFU unless you know what you're talking about.

First off, the rules for salvage titles vary from state to state, so you need to find out how these things work in your state (or the state that issued the salvage title).

I can tell you how it works in NC, because that's the state I'm most familiar with- some states are the same or similar, and some are different.

In NC, a car CAN be issued a salvage title if it is a "theft recovery"- that is, it gets stolen and then recovered. There can be no damage, or there can be lots of damage. Usually what happens is- the car gets stolen, the owner reports the theft to the insurance company (and police). The insurance company will usually begin processing the claim, and if the car is recovered undamaged or with minor damage before the claim goes through, the car will be returned to the insured (owner). If the claim is fully processed, and the insured (owner) receives his settlement for his stolen car, and THEN the car is recovered- the insurance company will generally just run the car through the insurance salvage auction, as if it were a total- since they paid it off already. Some insurance companies will offer it to the owner once it's found, but most owner's let them keep it, many have already spent the $$$ on another car.

It would be unusual for a car to simply be "broken into" and end up with a salvage title. In NC, a car can be "totalled" if it is damaged by collision or theft in an amount that exceeds 25% of it's fair market value. I guess in the case of a BMW, it would not take too much damage to cost 25% of the value. Think about it- if someone broke into that E36 (or any E30) and then slashed a couple of the seats and damaged the dash trying to yank out the stereo- it would probably be considered totalled based on the 25% damage figure.


Salvage cars can be, as some have mentioned, really good deals. They can also be complete POS nightmares. If you can get a thorough pre-purchase inspection (make sure you tell them it's a salvage title car), AND get the car for a really good price, then I would not be afraid of a car with a salvage title. The problem is finding out exactly what happened to cause the car to receive a salvage title, and that can be virtually impossible. If your DMV allows you to research ownership records, you might be able to get the name of the person who owned the car when the damage ocurred. If so, you could contact them and ask them what REALLY happened, that would probably be a good idea if you can swing it.



Good luck.

Bret.

[Dave]

Bret is right - it varies a great deal from state to state.

If the car checks out and she is not worried about resale - then go for it. If it is a high dollar car (i.e., something that should be 30k, that you are getting for 12), then she'd better be committed to keeping it as it will be harder to sell. If its an e30 - fuck it, these are cheap cars to begin with - just make sure it is thoroughly inspected before she buys it.

[e9nine]

Something more constructive: For a vandalized e36, make sure the electrical doo-dads work. STILL inspect the suspension etc. Some cars are classified incorrectly and it could have been stolen and vandalized in which case someone could have joy ridden the car and then took crap out of it/destroyed stuff.

In this case, when you say it's priced very cheaply...have a PPI done on the car in order to validate your savings. Sometimes you can luck out other times you can get screwed.

I end with the typical "buyer beware" phrase.

[cheades]

Doesn't take much to total out a car if they stole the stereo, messed up a lock, and trashed the dash. Let alone the seats, like everyone has said make sure to look over the susp and check all the fenders to see what has been replaced. If you know what was damaged for a salvage they can be a great way to save a few thousand bucks.

[Digitalwave]

A car will not be salvaged from a break in, no way in hell.

It's been wrecked and repaired. [Carfax is golden]

I love when admins spread misinformation :(

Rigmaster, thanks for the great information. You are a vital asset to this web site.

spiegle, I think the car is definately worth checking out now that you are armed with the knowledge given to you in this thread. If you are very thorough and careful you might find a great deal in this car.

[parkerbink]

These days if the airbags (as many as eight) HIDS, seats, wheels & tires etc are stolen the car gets totaled and a salvage title would be issued.

I looked at many Land Cruisers including one that had a clean CA. title but was salvaged in AZ. Someone got a clean title somehow in TX., then someone brought the truck to CA. with the TX title & shazaam clean CA title. Be careful.