Shout anytime. I’m not Pro salvage as much as I am “ if you are going to do it, know the ropes a little”.
Salvage Jeep Note
- Thread starter AndyG
- Start date
This is the issue, from my previous career in auto insurance. Many states have different rules regarding salvage vehicles, and in some cases even a vehicle that just had cosmetic damage and was rebuilt can be a nightmare. From shops not wanting to work on it (rightfully so) to insurance not offering coverage because of a vehicle's history. I have a friend who rebuilt a Chevy Silverado. After the work he put into it, the money he saved is still causing him headaches, because getting it insured in CT at a decent rate has been a nightmare.
A lot of people here will register a salvage in NH, and bring it back to MA and apply for a title. They come back clean.
Yeah, I know there are ways to "wash" the titles. This is borderline ethical in my point of view so its not something i'd want to get into. Also, I don't know what carfax would show relative to this.
Bought a 2004 Dodge Ram 2500 4X4 Quad Cab 5.9L Cumming 6 speed manual 11 years ago that was a salvage title with zero problems since the purchase. Bottom line research what your purchasing. I took this truck to aSoCal Dodge frame specialist and it was dinged for frame damage due to it went to auction due to repossessed and prior to auction the inspector identified a prior owner tack welded a cheap ass brush guard approximate 1" onto the front of the frame which from my understanding weakens the frame and resulted in the inspector (when it got repossessed) dinged it as Salvage.
So, i paid probably 6-8K less due to the frame damage but I will take this truck to my grave that how reliable and fun it is to drive.
So, i paid probably 6-8K less due to the frame damage but I will take this truck to my grave that how reliable and fun it is to drive.
I bought a salvage Suzuki Grand Vitara for my kid's first car. I had to do some work to it but nothing major. Shocks, brakes, AC work, cleaning 50 lbs of dust out of it with an air compressor, new battery. It was handed down from one kid to the other, then sold to another kid getting their first car for the same price I paid for it.
They drove it to the school parking lot where people banged doors into it, backed into it, and generally did stupid kid driving stuff. It was a great first car for the girls that drove it. The neighbor bought their kid a newer nicer car and she plowed into a row of mailboxes with it in the first couple weeks; bashing the side from bumper to bumper. Another's son went through 2 cars in high school and his dad made him buy his own 3rd car. Ours had liability insurance only which kept the insurance costs down.
My brother has a lot of experience with salvaged cars, boats, and RVs so he's taught me what to look for when inspecting. Floods with new cars are the hardest to fix because all the wire connections rust and corrode over time. Theft recovery is typically easier since it's mainly steering wheel and ignition system components unless they took it for a major joyride. The TJ might be one of the few cars that can be totaled for minor cosmetic tub damage.
Cash for clunkers totally destroyed the used car market when I was looking for my kid's first car. So much so, that dealers were asking for premiums on cars with huge rust holes and 150,000+ miles on them. We ended up in the salvage market and it worked out fine. Like people have said, you can get clean title Jeeps with frames that are rusted apart or have more damage from wheeling than many salvage vehicles.
They drove it to the school parking lot where people banged doors into it, backed into it, and generally did stupid kid driving stuff. It was a great first car for the girls that drove it. The neighbor bought their kid a newer nicer car and she plowed into a row of mailboxes with it in the first couple weeks; bashing the side from bumper to bumper. Another's son went through 2 cars in high school and his dad made him buy his own 3rd car. Ours had liability insurance only which kept the insurance costs down.
My brother has a lot of experience with salvaged cars, boats, and RVs so he's taught me what to look for when inspecting. Floods with new cars are the hardest to fix because all the wire connections rust and corrode over time. Theft recovery is typically easier since it's mainly steering wheel and ignition system components unless they took it for a major joyride. The TJ might be one of the few cars that can be totaled for minor cosmetic tub damage.
Cash for clunkers totally destroyed the used car market when I was looking for my kid's first car. So much so, that dealers were asking for premiums on cars with huge rust holes and 150,000+ miles on them. We ended up in the salvage market and it worked out fine. Like people have said, you can get clean title Jeeps with frames that are rusted apart or have more damage from wheeling than many salvage vehicles.
I would absolutely buy a salvage if it was for "my" vehicle. I would NOT buy a flood. I grew up in Houston and have tons of family still there, and any time I've looked at cars, if a Houston one comes up I have to really research. I know that one major flood made a lot of news with the Harvery Hurricane, but it's called the Bayou City for a reason. The place floods all the time.
My experience, find the lowest car speaker you can find, take off the cover and look for a water mark, ha.
The electrical issues from flood cars are miserable, and they can come in random, mind boggling fashion. You can actually repair mechanical, rebuild and new fluids etc, but every sensor in the vehicle the clock ticks faster than before. I think flood is categorized differently here in Texas than Salvage, but I can't recall.
I agree that getting salvage in the South, fixing and selling up north with no rust....heck yeah. A salvage can be fixed all day, and an inexpensive RC lift and a BL lift and some tires, it's not MOAB cool, but it's a solid first Jeep for a lot of folks.
My experience, find the lowest car speaker you can find, take off the cover and look for a water mark, ha.
The electrical issues from flood cars are miserable, and they can come in random, mind boggling fashion. You can actually repair mechanical, rebuild and new fluids etc, but every sensor in the vehicle the clock ticks faster than before. I think flood is categorized differently here in Texas than Salvage, but I can't recall.
I agree that getting salvage in the South, fixing and selling up north with no rust....heck yeah. A salvage can be fixed all day, and an inexpensive RC lift and a BL lift and some tires, it's not MOAB cool, but it's a solid first Jeep for a lot of folks.
Good point. The kid that got my last one is ecstatic. He's got a lifted Rubicon with 33" tires and Bartacts, winch and air, new top and automatic transmission , everything fresh, for 13,500.00
The one I just bought is already spoken for.
Can we all be more careful of what we label a salvage title and a rebuilt title?!? Those are two completely different vehicles in different situations. A salvage title means it hasn't been repaired or inspected after the repair to get a recertified title or rebuilt title. Rebuilt is just that, its been cleared to be safe to drive on the road.
And this whole conspiracy that insurance companies wont offer full coverage is complete and utter bullshit. if it has a rebuilt title, most companies will insure it without issue. In fact, they'd be more inclined to as the value of said vehicle is less meaning if it get totaled, their out of pocket is less due to its diminished value.
Having had several rebuilt titles and one salvage title in my life, knowing what you bought is much more important than the title itself. Our TJ/LJs would be totaled for very little cosmetic damage. Any damage to the front grill, hood, fenders pretty much get totaled out. As long as the frame is good, I wouldn't bat an eye at one of those and almost bought one before china virus hit. Truth is, whats it matter if its been rebuilt to a quality spec? These aren't investments, they're toys.
And this whole conspiracy that insurance companies wont offer full coverage is complete and utter bullshit. if it has a rebuilt title, most companies will insure it without issue. In fact, they'd be more inclined to as the value of said vehicle is less meaning if it get totaled, their out of pocket is less due to its diminished value.
Having had several rebuilt titles and one salvage title in my life, knowing what you bought is much more important than the title itself. Our TJ/LJs would be totaled for very little cosmetic damage. Any damage to the front grill, hood, fenders pretty much get totaled out. As long as the frame is good, I wouldn't bat an eye at one of those and almost bought one before china virus hit. Truth is, whats it matter if its been rebuilt to a quality spec? These aren't investments, they're toys.
He just made one of the points that I think is pretty important... It is amazing how little it takes to total one of these sometimes... I've seen basically parking lot damage total one....
Whether it's the cost of four-wheel drive parts or the difficulty of repair versus the value of the vehicle that kills it I don't know... It is something you can work to your advantage.
I know where a Sahara is right now with 40,000 miles and I declare you can almost hammer out the dent.
I'm not saying that this category is a gold mine... But if you're careful you can get in a vehicle and be very right side up.
How each state and treats the title is not clear to me, but here in the South where they're glad you just have a tag on your car, there is no drama.
Yep, it will most likely flood a lot of places....depending on the turn of this hurricane, it turns up towards Louisiana, you won't get as much rain.
Asked my 76 year old mom to come stay "Nope, never left, never flooded, been in this house since 1978". Stubborn German woman, best ever ,ha..
I think it depends on whether you have the funds to fund a complete build or not. I made a mistake of buying a salvaged Jeep from a DEALER AUCTION!!! Bad deal if I was trying to flip the Jeep but i'm not.
i'm looking to own this for the next 10 years. The damage was on the grille and two fenders it was minimal it looked like.. When I got it and finally saw it in person I was like well shit I messed up.
I got a 2005 with 147k miles for under 4k ... Since then i've invested over 15k and it still looks ugly but I know how the Jeep is built now and everything that's been done to it.
I have new pre-cats/pcm/engine/suspension/sensors/O2 sensors/cooling system/coil pack list goes on and on mechanically the car is amazing now and I know it'll be reliable for years but it was almost 9 months of work to get it up and running.
I could have bought an already built jeep for around 16k but I don't know how the engine was treated or maintained or how abused it's been. It really depends I guess because now MY Jeep is MY Jeep I didn't buy someone else's crappy build it's my own that I did with good components and got the job done at shops that have all sorts of trophies and what not.
The shop that did my engine replacement had a Baja 1000 winner being serviced when I dropped it off.
i'm looking to own this for the next 10 years. The damage was on the grille and two fenders it was minimal it looked like.. When I got it and finally saw it in person I was like well shit I messed up.
I got a 2005 with 147k miles for under 4k ... Since then i've invested over 15k and it still looks ugly but I know how the Jeep is built now and everything that's been done to it.
I have new pre-cats/pcm/engine/suspension/sensors/O2 sensors/cooling system/coil pack list goes on and on mechanically the car is amazing now and I know it'll be reliable for years but it was almost 9 months of work to get it up and running.
I could have bought an already built jeep for around 16k but I don't know how the engine was treated or maintained or how abused it's been. It really depends I guess because now MY Jeep is MY Jeep I didn't buy someone else's crappy build it's my own that I did with good components and got the job done at shops that have all sorts of trophies and what not.
The shop that did my engine replacement had a Baja 1000 winner being serviced when I dropped it off.
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