Used Cars w/ Rebuilt Titles

[Gun Smith]

I have been trying to help a young friend find a decent used car.  I've had very good success finding and purchasing used vehicles for myself over the years on Craig's list.   Yes, you do have to weed through the scams and such, but it usually doesn't take too long to find a decent deal on something.

 

That's not what I'm finding this time.  Something that has happened repeatedly is that when a decent car at a decent price comes along, it has a rebuilt title.   Meaning the car has been most likely totaled by an insurance company.  And, when an insurance totals one, it means it costs more to repair the car than what its worth.  Very seldom it can be because the car was stolen and recovered after the insurance had paid off.   

 

Every time I call about one of these rebuilt title cars it is just about always someone with a foreign accent.  They always say the car had a busted head light and dented finder, but they fix it very good.  One even told me he buys them at insurance auctions and flips them.   There are warnings if you google "rebuilt title" about how these cars are fixed quick and cheap.

 

Any of you guys know anything about these rebuilt title cars?   Seems there is a bunch in Nashville.

[Murgatroy]

Eh, I had a Buick totaled on me a few years ago. All it needed was a new fender, headlight and nosepiece. It was ten years old. I put a new headlight in it, drove it for another year then sold it cheap to a buddy of mine. He and his wife drove it as is for another couple of years.

 

So, they can be alright.

 

But Jose is probably not selling you an alright one if you catch my drive.

 

If the cost of repairs is more than like 70% of the cost of the car, it is a write-off. On a ten year old car, that doesn't have to be a lot of damage. Check the airbags. If they blew and have a blank in them, walk away.

[2.ooohhh]

There are always a bunch of cars that hit the auctions after large natural disasters, I used to work on a late model BMW that was in katrina, had all kinda of strange electrical issues. One day pulled the carpet out to trace wires and literally found a waterline on the sheetmetal behind the pedals. Replaced the entire body harness, and all the control modules under the waterline and it fixed nearly every problem. It also cost the customer over $6k in repairs. Be wary and check the insurance flood car database.

[knewcomb]

I drive a truck that has a salvaged title. It was rear-ended so there was no engine damage. I bought it from a guy that buys salvaged titles and rebuilds them. You can find some good deals through salvaged titles as long as it doesnt have engine damage or serious frame damage.

[Mike.357]

the flood stuff bothers me,  trust no one.

[TripleDigitRide]

I know someone who buys totaled vehicles and repairs them to sell. Most are pretty decent cars. Flood damage is the biggest problem. The damage can often be hidden fairly easily, and the electrical issues may not appear for quite a while after the flood damage has occurred. It sometimes takes a decent period of time for things to begin rusting to the point where you'll begin to have electrical issues.

A friend of mine recently purchased some sort of KIA SUV/Cross-over thing with a rebuilt title. It was totaled after a rear-end collision. They did a great job at repairing everything to the point where you couldn't hardly notice anything was ever wrong with it....until it rains. They couldn't get the body/roof area above one of the back doors quite perfect, so there's a decent leak when it rains. Unless you compare both sides of the vehicle in that particular area, you'd never notice it had been repaired.

[vontar]

With all the flooding in the north east lately I would not want to jump on one.

[hipower]

Having worked in the auto parts field for quite a few years, I feel I can say that there are some real good deals out there in the "rebuilt" market. But like everything else, you must be knowledgeable in what you are buying. And that's where the problems come in. 

 

You need to know a little about a lot of things to be safe. Mechanical and bodywork are probably the 2 biggest issues to watch for. But in the last few years, the number of flood vehicles that get sent back into the retail market is increasing. With the lower percentage of value required to total a car, and the sheer volume of insurance claims; Insurance companies are selling more and more vehicles to rebuilders than previously in an attempt to recoup some of the payout losses. 

 

Really boils down to how much you know and how well you are willing to research a vehicle before buying.

 

"Let the Buyer Beware" is a good place to start.

[Sam1]

the flood stuff bothers me,  trust no one.

 

 

This ^ flood cars have everlasting issues, especially with electrical later on in life. I used to buy salvage motorcycles and flip them about 1-2 per year and would ride them for about 1/2 to a full season before selling them just to make sure they were ok. Did it for fun, not for money - but I also ran into a lot of people that did it for money and would take a lot of shortcuts, and not fix issues properly or play dumb with the customer just to sell it. 

 

You have to either know what to look for, or have the vehicle checked out by someone that does, but I wouldn't have any issues with a rebuilt title itself - as a matter of fact, our '98 s10 has a rebuilt title (hit a deer, popped airbags). And it has outlasted multiple other vehicles

[pcrc11]

Just make sure it is a vehicle you will drive until it drops, as it will be doubly hard for you to sell it when you are done with it.

[runco]

I for one have not been enticed by the salvage title autos.  However, I do know some people who have purchased really nice vehicles, discounted of course for the rebuilt title, however when it became time to get another vehicle, they had great difficulty in getting rid of their ride.  It takes a special group of people who will buy these vehciles as a daily driver.  Though I am likely as cheap as they come in this area, I have never stooped to engagement in rebuilt titles, but when I do buy a car, I never buy used from a business, and if I am buying new, I do a tremendous amount of due dilignece, and I negotiate, negotiate, and negotiate, and try to find as much leverage that I can against a new car dealer, i.e. other markets, that may not be reasonable to others due to distance, but for me, its not a problem, its an adventure and a high.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Depends on what you want the car for. If it is to impress the neighbor, don't do it, but if you do your due diligence

and can work on them you can get deals. I have a 06 Ford Focus and an 04 Ford Taurus still in my driveway, that

have served me well. Focus had 4400 miles on it, front end and I had to put the front bumper cover, air horn and

a few sensors, plus driver air bag and sensor on. 2600 to buy it, about 1600 in parts and it has 50k miles on it

and still running fine. Taurus had 44k miles about the same damage and cost, but I didn't straighten the left fender

support and it has a little over 100k on it and runs just fine. I don't mind paying for parts if I can beat a new car price

and drive it for a long time. Besides, it kept me out of car payments for 20 years.

 

I had a 99 Lincoln Continental that was rebuilt by me, also that I sold that had almost 300k miles on it. I hope it is still

kicking. I liked that car. I had a total of about $6,000 in it. Bought it in 2003 and my wife drove it back and forth to

Nashville about eight years before I took it to the motel for me.

 

I had a 94 Explorer that ended up in a pond one night, years ago. That one went to the junk yard. I couldn't get the

fishy odor out of it. :D

 

All my wrecks were bought off Ebay and I think they were good deals. They served their purpose.

[runco]

Depends on what you want the car for. If it is to impress the neighbor, don't do it, but if you do your due diligence

and can work on them you can get deals. I have a 06 Ford Focus and an 04 Ford Taurus still in my driveway, that

have served me well. Focus had 4400 miles on it, front end and I had to put the front bumper cover, air horn and

a few sensors, plus driver air bag and sensor on. 2600 to buy it, about 1600 in parts and it has 50k miles on it

and still running fine. Taurus had 44k miles about the same damage and cost, but I didn't straighten the left fender

support and it has a little over 100k on it and runs just fine. I don't mind paying for parts if I can beat a new car price

and drive it for a long time. Besides, it kept me out of car payments for 20 years.

 

I had a 99 Lincoln Continental that was rebuilt by me, also that I sold that had almost 300k miles on it. I hope it is still

kicking. I liked that car. I had a total of about $6,000 in it. Bought it in 2003 and my wife drove it back and forth to

Nashville about eight years before I took it to the motel for me.

 

I had a 94 Explorer that ended up in a pond one night, years ago. That one went to the junk yard. I couldn't get the

fishy odor out of it. :D

 

All my wrecks were bought off Ebay and I think they were good deals. They served their purpose.

Did you ever consider the risk of liability on the vehicles you sold.

[kieefer]

I haven't checked into this but a friend at work just finished working with his INS agent on repurchasing his recently totaled 10 yr old Escort. Didn't sound like much damage and it was something he wanted to repair since he had some money in it on other repairs. 

Anyway he told me that being the car was over ten yrs old that the title would not be called a rebuilt title. He said the INS Agent told him that any car over ten yrs old doesn't have to have a rebuilt title to be resold.

 

Again, this info is something I haven't cared to check into, maybe those that have experience with rebuilds can make this clear? 

[dou44]

a guy run a red light and hit my wife's driver fender and it messed up some of the hood.insurance tolaled it because it was 10 years old.i got lucky they other guy insurance payed me for the car and i got to keep it .i ended up spending $250 for the replacement finder and hood at a junk yard.i do auto body so i painted it my self and had money left over.

[Murgatroy]

I haven't checked into this but a friend at work just finished working with his INS agent on repurchasing his recently totaled 10 yr old Escort. Didn't sound like much damage and it was something he wanted to repair since he had some money in it on other repairs. 

Anyway he told me that being the car was over ten yrs old that the title would not be called a rebuilt title. He said the INS Agent told him that any car over ten yrs old doesn't have to have a rebuilt title to be resold.

 

Again, this info is something I haven't cared to check into, maybe those that have experience with rebuilds can make this clear? 

That is so.

 

When my Buick was totaled, the title was not branded.

[frankmako]

you can find some good rebuild cars at a very good price.  at one time you had to take pictures of all sides of the vehicle before you started work.  after all work is done you had to take pictures of all sides again.  these pictures were looked at by the inspector before you got a rebuild title.  i know a guy in poke county that buys these car at a local auction and then rebuilds them.  most of the car don't have much wrong with them.  i would make sure the air bags are in. he does not buy cars that the air bag is out.   this type of vehicle is one that you would drive untill the wheels fall off.  resale will be hard because most people do not understand the system.  but you can get a high end vehicle for a cheap price, just drive the wheel off of it.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

"at one time you had to take pictures of all sides of the vehicle before
you started work.  after all work is done you had to take pictures of
all sides again.  these pictures were looked at by the inspector before
you got a rebuild title."

 

That's the way I understand it for a car less than four years old. It may have changed since 04.

I've rebuilt four in my garage since about then.

[Sam1]

"at one time you had to take pictures of all sides of the vehicle before
you started work.  after all work is done you had to take pictures of
all sides again.  these pictures were looked at by the inspector before
you got a rebuild title."

 

That's the way I understand it for a car less than four years old. It may have changed since 04.

I've rebuilt four in my garage since about then.

 

Not sure how it is here, but in KY we actually had to take the motorcycles to the clerk for inspection. They had a checklist of mechanical issues to verify then would issue a rebuilt title as long as it passed. If all they require are pictures in TN, that would save a lot of hassle

 

<edit> also we had to show either receipts for the replaced parts or shop receipts showing that an actual repair shop did the work - for the parts that resulted in the bike being totalled.

Edited February 3, 2013 by Sam1

[Monkeyman2500]

I was in the auto body field, I would stay away from these. I have seen a few good ones, but all were built by guys for themselves. There may be a few good deals out there, but unless you know what to look for I would avoid them.

[Erik88]

My GF's Carolla was totaled during the hail storm that hit Knoxville in Spring of 2011.State Farm totaled the car out but we were able to buy it back for very little.

 

Cosmetically the car is a disaster, it looks like a golf ball. Mechanically it's a great car and we will continue to drive it for years. The only downside is that it's now a "salvage" title which means she can't get full coverage insurance and most car dealerships don't want to take it in on trade.

 

We've been living in Florida for 19 months now and we are still unable to convince Florida to give us a title for the car. We have been driving around on TN tags this entire time because they keep jerking us around.

[daddyo]

I bought a rebuilt '98 Chrysler Town and Country with 12K miles from a friend of mine who made a business out of buying them wrecked and then a mechanic friend put them back together. It wasn't a bad vehicle, but it did have some problems.

 

I haven't bought a rebuild since.

[Murgatroy]

I would be more comfortable buying an as-is wreck and rebuilding it. Nothing hiding.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

My GF's Carolla was totaled during the hail storm that hit Knoxville in Spring of 2011.State Farm totaled the car out but we were able to buy it back for very little.

 

Cosmetically the car is a disaster, it looks like a golf ball. Mechanically it's a great car and we will continue to drive it for years. The only downside is that it's now a "salvage" title which means she can't get full coverage insurance and most car dealerships don't want to take it in on trade.

 

We've been living in Florida for 19 months now and we are still unable to convince Florida to give us a title for the car. We have been driving around on TN tags this entire time because they keep jerking us around.

Florida probably wants to see it rebuilt. Might be a problem, eh?

[Erik88]

Florida probably wants to see it rebuilt. Might be a problem, eh?

 

Already did that. Still not good enough.

 

We've been to the DMV here in Orlando 4  times and each time we visit they tell us we need to do something different.