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Buying rebuilt/salvage title vehicles? any tips on what to look out for?

PingSpike

PingSpike

Lifer
There's a toyota tacoma pickup for sale at a dealership advertised as rebuilt title, seems like a pretty good deal. But I don't know much about rebuilt titles. I live in Vermont, but haven't had much luck finding what exactly the inspection for a rebuild title entails here. (Its different in every state as I understand it)

The advertisement says they give you the carfax report.

FYI: Its a 98 tacoma 4wd regular cab, 2.7 i4, manual. 115k. They want ~$5000 for it.
 
I'm not a big fan of rebuilt vehicles. I have had a few, but they were "salvage" titled and they were theft recovery's. Theft vehicles are usually not beat up too bad. If you trust your own skills or know a really good mechanic, and you get a detailed list of the parts that were replaced to rebuild it, then you might be ok.

Be careful, as some states require you to have a rebuilt titled vehicle inspected, and if it doesn't pass, oh well, you're out of luck.

Bob
 
Generally they are not worth it.

Salvage/Rebuilt means totaled. Could have been wrecked, a flood victim, stolen, etc. etc. I have seen two cars (one wrecked in front and the other in the rear) cut in half with a torch and the good pieces welded together.

In the case of a car/truck that has been wrecked and rebuilt, you are looking at a vehicle that has already absorbed a large impact. The way cars are built today, crumple zones and other design elements put in place to protect passengers are "used up" or at least compromised and diminished when a car is in an accident.

I would never trust my safety (or my families) to a vehicle with a salvage title.
 
The biggest problem with them is getting rid of it later. Lots of people are like Valvaline and just won't buy one no matter how cheap you list it for. If its cheap enough and is just something you want to drive into to the ground I wouldn't worry to much about it. Just have a mechanic look it over. My last mustang was a rebuilt title car and I had no problems till I went to sale it. I got a good deal when I bought it so I didn't really lose any money but it did take a long time even though it was a highly desirable version and less then half the price of anything like it.
 
Thanks for the points guys. The vehicle in question is advertised as "rebuilt" so that means it passed an inspection for road worthiness I believe.

What do you guys think of the price? The KBB retail (excellent) is like 6,870.
 
Originally posted by: ValValline
In the case of a car/truck that has been wrecked and rebuilt, you are looking at a vehicle that has already absorbed a large impact. The way cars are built today, crumple zones and other design elements put in place to protect passengers are "used up" or at least compromised and diminished when a car is in an accident.
Click to expand...
^That would be my biggest concern too. Ideally, you'd know exactly how the vehicle was damaged.
 
What to look out for? Rebuilt and Salvage vehicles. Dont do it.

Even if you do find a good deal, it is going to be INCREDIBLY hard to resell down the line, and I know this from experience.
 
Originally posted by: PingSpike
Thanks for the points guys. The vehicle in question is advertised as "rebuilt" so that means it passed an inspection for road worthiness I believe.

What do you guys think of the price? The KBB retail (excellent) is like 6,870.
Click to expand...

Not cheap enough to be worth the hassle. Needs to be around 50% of market value to make it worth it. My mustang would have been worth around $5k-6k with a clear title. With the rebuilt title I sold it for $2200 and it took two months.
 
Originally posted by: PingSpike
Thanks for the points guys. The vehicle in question is advertised as "rebuilt" so that means it passed an inspection for road worthiness I believe.

What do you guys think of the price? The KBB retail (excellent) is like 6,870.
Click to expand...

And they want $5k? No way.

The problem with rebuilt is that you can never get a great deal...there's always someone else willing to buy it up for more than it's worth, since after all "it's cheaper than KBB". They don't realize how much less car you're getting for your money.
 
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