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#1
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Salvage titled car in TX??
Hi everyone,
I have a line on a 1987 190 D 2.5 turbo. I think he is asking $1250 or so He says the car had a "light hit" up front. He is waitnig on a radiator, and he says the only dmage is on the plastic tank on the rad. I am intrigued by this model/year for all the obvious reasons, but pretty scared of a salvage titled car. Should I be?
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Current Mercedes 1979 maple yellow 240D 4-speed Gone and fondly remembered: 1980 orient red 240D 4-speed Gone and NOT fondly remembered: 1982 Chna Blue 300TD Other car in the stable: 2013 VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI / 6-speed MT |
#2
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Every car I have owned in the past 20 years has come from a salvage auction, all with salvage titles. When you're looking at cars 20 years old or greater, the slightest accident, the most minor fender bender is adequate to declare the car a total loss. A tiny dent in a rear or front bumper can total a 20 year old car. If the damage is still unrepaired it gives you the opportunity to look at it. Is it as simple as a damaged radiator that needs to be replaced? The cars you need to be wary about are the fixed ones, the ones where the car has a (rebuilt salvage) brand right on the title, and the owner has no pictoral record of what the damage looked like, nor the damage estimate from the insurance company. That could be two cars welded together to make one. A carfax report doesn't always help either. Take a look at this car. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___91350SDL-350-SDL-TURBO-DIESEL-THE-NICEST-ON-EBAY-FLA_W0QQitemZ290297639332QQddnZCarsQ20Q26Q20TrucksQQddiZ2282QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=i tem290297639332&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=65%3A7%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318
it has a clean carfax but look at the drivers side under the hood the load leveling system, the glow plug relay and the anti-lock braking actuator are moved up near the fire wall, the car didn't come like that, it sustained some catastrophic damage to the front drivers side and the person putting it back together hadn't a clue how to put it back together to make it look like it did prior to the crash. An older a car even like this 1991, if the owner buys the hulk back from the insurance company , it does not get a branded title in some states. Older cars with salvage titles, cars with clean carfax titles it's always the same, buyer beware. But in this case you can see the damage before and after.
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jcciem '94 SL5000 60,000 '91 350SDL 545,000 '91 350SD 197,000 '00 E55 AMG 77,000 |
#3
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If that is all you are paying what difference does it make? If it was a $2K-$4K car then maybe, but not at the price quoted. Salvage titles don't scare me too much for these cars because the investment isn't earth shaking.....
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Jimmy L. '05 Acura TL 6MT 2001 ML430 My Spare Gone: '95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black '85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White '80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed '81 300TD 240K "Smash" '80 240D 230K "The Squash" '81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John |
#4
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Thanks to both of you - very helpful!!!
Jimmy, is it hard to get a salvaged title transferred or the car insured here?
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Current Mercedes 1979 maple yellow 240D 4-speed Gone and fondly remembered: 1980 orient red 240D 4-speed Gone and NOT fondly remembered: 1982 Chna Blue 300TD Other car in the stable: 2013 VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI / 6-speed MT |
#5
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It can be hard to get a non-titled car registered, but a salvage title is still a title, so it is more of a case of buyer beware.
I would think liability ins. wouldn't be a problem.....
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Jimmy L. '05 Acura TL 6MT 2001 ML430 My Spare Gone: '95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black '85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White '80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed '81 300TD 240K "Smash" '80 240D 230K "The Squash" '81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John |
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