The car I'm looking into has a salvage title; however, it's "theft recovery." Is that just as bad as a salvage title caused by a collision? Second owner claims the title is due to a theft recovery. He said the radio, CD changer were removed and the dash damaged, driver window smashed. Do all these things merit a salvage title? I thought it would have to be something like engine removed and other expensive things stolen or damaged to deem it a salvage title. Is there anyway that I can find out if it was not due to a collision? If it's just theft, I don't mind it that much. It's just that I don't want a car that has been in an accident. So, my main question: Is it okay to seriously consider a salvage-titled car that was a theft recovery?

The car is in excellent condition, and everything has been fixed or replaced. I have not look at the car yet, but I need advice on whether it is a smart thing to even look into a car with the dreaded "S" title. THe drive to check out the car is roughly 60+ miles from my location...so, I really want to know if the salvage title is all out important regardless of the excellent condition of the car both inside and outside. Thanks.

If its an older, low value car it doesn't take much to "total" a car. With parts and labor costs a broken windsheild, some scratches and a decent radio could do it. "Salve" means ask questions, questions that could be easily favorable answered.

Theft recovery story: A friend of my brother had his 4 Runner stolen, then recovered. It no longer was in its original condition and the insurance company offered to return it to original condition, he declined, it had been "cherried out": lifted, tires, rims, stereo and some other nice stuff.

Another salvage story - not for the weak of stomach.
I have a friend at work whose 14 yr old son put one of his dogs inside his late model Ford F150 ext cab pick up (my friend breeds dogs and sells them). Unfortunately, the 14 yr forgot about the dog. Anyway, three days later they went to the truck and found that the dog (by this time deceased - it was August in Ga) had chewed EVERYTHING inside the truck - dashboard, wiring behind dash, seats, etc... The ins co totaled it to the tune of about $14,000. My friend received a check for this amt, purchased the truck back from the ins co for next to nothing, rebuilt the inside from parts purchased from vehicle recycling facilities and now has a nice truck for cheap. He is working through trying to get a "proper" title for it where he can get a tag and he did mention that there is still and "odor" but other than that he has a pretty nice truck for next to nothing and put about $12k in his pocket.

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Jim

Car is a 1995 Volvo 850 sedan, 125k on theclock, interior and exterior are in excellent condition. Asking price is about $4450.

Here in Ga you can buy a clean title Volvo with the same miles and year for about the same money if you look hard. I have seen one or two in the Auto Trader here recently. Just food for thought. Good Luck!



later,

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Current stable......
17' Rogue SV 70k
11’ Saab 9-5 NG 94k
10’ e550 4matic 185k

sold
02' e320 210k
00' e430 167k
01' e320 171k (regret sale)
91' 300d 2.5t 300k (sold to ecoofidaho)
79' 240d 177k (old yellow my avatar)
87' 300d 169k (junk but fast)
85' 300tdt 261k (RBM parts delivery)
85' 300dt 68k (one owner cream puff)
82' 240d 250k
84' 300dt 198k (sold to diesel don)
91' 190e 2.3 61k
88' 260e 140k

I see lots of salvage titles at an auction I go to. They go for real cheap, even if they are almost brand new. I would try to find out if it really was a theft or if it was a wreck. If it has been wrecked I wouldn't touch it, no matter how nice it is. You could be putting yourself in an automobile that isn't safe if it got hit or rolled over. Maybe not either...but I wouldn't take that chance. Good luck.

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1994 C 280 117.5k, White (Good as new)
1997 Toyota Camry 149k Miles (Not so pretty anymore)

1990 190e 2.6 95k (Sold-Should not have)
1981 240d Stick ??? Miles...sold

well its like roulette. You never really have the whole story. It could be a simple theft recovery, wreck, or worse a flood damaged car. Unless you are buying it from the owner who had it before it became salvage titled, you just dont know. Insurance companies wont give out that sort of information. The value of the car is signifigantly less.....up to a point (typically after 10 years the difference is less). Newer cars sell for signifigantly less when salvage because there is no factory warrantee in effect, ever. On older cars it becomes a bit different of a story to determine value......you need to have a buyer, and most buyers are aware that the value is X% less on a salvage vehicle. Safety wise, unless you've got pictures of the damage, or repair bill, you just don't know if the safety is compromised......so the question to ask is, how much are you "saving" up front, vs how much risk are you willing to take.....on that 95 volvo you arent really saving that much in my opinion so barter on price or keep looking....BTW make sure that volvo had its timing belt done......they are prone to breakage around that milage

This is very true. Personally, I would shy away from this but there are plenty of "salvage" vehicles out there worth buying ONLY IF you can track down all the documentation as to why it was salvaged. I would never suggest you buying without knowing every detail though.

For example, I know of an older Mercedes much like mine that was salvaged due to flooding from a water main break. Flooding can cause shorts than take forever to find. However, upon investigation they found the water only came up to the carpeting and just barely touched the lower door panels. The seat control modules were blown out or had to be replaced because they caused a short and door panels and carpeting had to be replaced. The car was considered a total loss because somehow the damage amounted to $3,500 and the car was worth $7,000 (nada). This particualr insurance co had a clause stating car was totalled if repairs>=50% of total value. This person bought the car cheap after finding the history and has never had a problem with shorting of componenets and has a like new interior!

To me that's not what I think of when I think salvage. To me that would equate to a real bad wreck that bent the frame, flipped 9- times, flew off a cliff or something, or severe water damage making the car unsafe to drive. But until this example, I did not know there were variations to the word "salvage" and "total loss. Considering my example is prob a best case for "salvage" though, I would avoid most those vehicles. The newer the vehicle, the more damage vs the older the vehicle the less damage it will take to equate the term "total" or "damage."

a quick trip to a good body shop, for a relitivly small fee they can detect even minor collision repair. I would not hesitate to buy a theft damaged auto if it was a very good price and I planned to keep it for a long time in witch case resale value would not matter much........
William Rogers........