Collision shop repair cost sticker shock

[Hans Gruber]

I do not. Is this a serious question, or are you just trying to insult me?

It was a serious question.

 

[mindless1]

^ In most states you take a salvage title vehicle to the state inspection center, then they inspect and issue a rebuilt title if it passes. You take with you the paperwork associated with that.

It's that simple. If your insurance co. wants to inspect it, so what? If it IS safe, no problem. If it isn't, then it's good that they caught any issues that the state inspection didn't. You must get the state inspection in practically (if not entirely) all states anyway.

Clearly you have a mental block and are unwilling to make the effort and that's fine. It's not as though I am trying to sell you one. 🙂

Of course you wouldn't go to a dealership to get a salvage rebuilt vehicle. That would be detrimental because you're getting one to save money and specifically NOT to pay the overhead that a dealership charges on top of that.

 

[crashtech]

It was a serious question.

I run a reputable auto repair facility specializing in late-model collision repair.

 

[crashtech]

Typical conversation with a customer who has gotten a great deal on a salvage title vehicle and THEN comes to have me look at it:

Customer: Can you take a look at my car? The headlamps need aiming.
Me: That's because they are held on the car with plumber's tape and gorilla glue.
Customer: Can't you make them a little better?
Me: Well, seeing as the whole front end is destroyed underneath and there is nowhere for most of the required fasteners to go, not really!
Customer: Goes away, pissed off at me for pointing out how foolish their purchase was.

I've offered free brief inspections that can catch egregious problems for nearly 2 decades, but people seem very proud of their ability to determine whether something is okay or not, even if they know nothing about cars. I've been taken up on the offer a bare handful of times.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Great story. You cannot escape a totaled car when it comes to the DMV. The title will show the car is salvaged.

That would only be if you took the settlement, they took the car and someone else bought and repaired it. Or if you took the settlement, bought the car back from them and fixed it.


If you don't take the settlement, keep the car and repair it yourself, there is no record to show anything. Whether or not the same insurance company will continue to cover it is another matter.

 

[Hans Gruber]

That would only be if you took the settlement, they took the car and someone else bought and repaired it. Or if you took the settlement, bought the car back from them and fixed it.


If you don't take the settlement, keep the car and repair it yourself, there is no record to show anything. Whether or not the same insurance company will continue to cover it is another matter.

That's like arguing with someone who owns a body shop with all the tools to fix a car. Yeah, a totaled car is a great investment if you have the resources and slave labor to fix a car for cheap. If you want a car insured, typically you have to take it to a insurance company shop to have it inspected if there has been previous damage or you are a new policy holder with an insurance company.

 

[pcgeek11]

If you want a car insured, typically you have to take it to a insurance company shop to have it inspected if there has been previous damage or you are a new policy holder with an insurance company.

Where do they require that a car be inspected to get insurance?
I have traveled and lived in many states and have never had a vehicle inspected in order to get it insured.

 

[mindless1]

^ Think he means that once it has salvage on the title, you'll need the state to inspect it to get it legal for use and have rebuilt put on the title (in some states, IANAL and don't claim to know all 50 states' code), at which point it is much easier to find insurance for it.

SO... it's not a matter of "escaping" the DMV, rather that they provide a useful service in getting the vehicle safety inspected for you. It only rubs people the wrong way (besides the modest fee) if they state it needs more work and the owner disagrees. 🙂

 

[pcgeek11]

^ Think he means that once it has salvage on the title, you'll need the state to inspect it to get it legal for use and have rebuilt put on the title (in some states, IANAL and don't claim to know all 50 states' code), at which point it is much easier to find insurance for it.

SO... it's not a matter of "escaping" the DMV, rather that they provide a useful service in getting the vehicle safety inspected for you. It only rubs people the wrong way (besides the modest fee) if they state it needs more work and the owner disagrees. 🙂

That may be what he means, but that is not what he said.

He said an insurance company would have to inspect it typically if there were previous damage or you are a new policy holder.

Shrug

I've never had to in my 50 years of driving and living in many different states.

 

[Hans Gruber]

^ Think he means that once it has salvage on the title, you'll need the state to inspect it to get it legal for use and have rebuilt put on the title (in some states, IANAL and don't claim to know all 50 states' code), at which point it is much easier to find insurance for it.

SO... it's not a matter of "escaping" the DMV, rather that they provide a useful service in getting the vehicle safety inspected for you. It only rubs people the wrong way (besides the modest fee) if they state it needs more work and the owner disagrees. 🙂

That's what I meant. If a car is a salvaged title. The insurance company will want to have a look at the vehicle to make sure it's road worthy and not a death trap. A rebuilt title is different and issued by a state. To get a rebuilt title it has to be inspected by the state to receive that designation.

That would only be if you took the settlement, they took the car and someone else bought and repaired it. Or if you took the settlement, bought the car back from them and fixed it.


If you don't take the settlement, keep the car and repair it yourself, there is no record to show anything. Whether or not the same insurance company will continue to cover it is another matter.

Then you have the personal liability if you sell the car to someone else without disclosing a previous accident where the vehicle was totaled out by an insurance company. This assumes the vehicle has some real value and is not a POS that gets dinged and that's all it takes to get the vehicle totaled out by the insurance company.

 

[crashtech]

In my state the title automatically becomes branded if it's been written off by an insurance company. There are no state-sanctioned inspections except when used vehicles are brought from out of state. Insurance companies often want a simple (not safety) inspection simply to determine if the vehicle is properly described, VIN is correct, and doesn't have obvious collision damage.

 

[mindless1]

Getting a rebuilt title is the very first thing I'd do. In some states, the only time you're allowed to have a salvage title vehicle on the road, it driving it to get inspected so it can be issued a rebuilt title.