Just for accuracy, a salvage title is what one gets when a car is deemed damaged beyond economical retail repair by an insurance company.

A reconstructed title is what one gets once the car has been repaired and inspected.

The public tends to run away from " R " title cars depressing market value. However, they can be a good value to someone that knows the cars, what to look for and is going to run the car until it is junk.

Regardless, you might be able to determine when the car was crashed and repaired by looking at issue dates. The DMV might be able to offer a history as well.