• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

how much is my car worth? (question about salvage titles)

H

hans007

Lifer
2.5 years ago i bought a 2001 nissan altima gxe limited edition with a salvage title (it was bought by my dads friend from an insurance company auction)

apparently it had in a minor rear end collision, and the trunk door and rear bumper were damaged .


anyways i got the bumper, a tail light and , the trunk hood all fixed as well as a new muffler. so now the car works like new , even looks new, as outside of that damage nothing was wrong with the car.


anyways, i am thinking about buying a new car (possibly a used bmw from the same place i got my current car, salvage titles again) in about 3 months, and was wondering how much this car would be worth because of the salvage title.

its got nearly 34000 miles on it and is in good condition with little visible wear outside of dirty floormats.


my dad believes $5000 is reasonable, but i am thinking i could probably get more so i want you guys opinions on what a smart way to sell this car would be and how much the salvage title does to the sale value.
 
ehhhh there are dumb buyers out there......put a for sale sign on it now at a price that makes u happy....
and take yer time selling it.
5 grand? shoot i may buy it for that much
 
Good luck because a SALVAGE titled car is the kiss of death, they're VERY hard to sell.

I know from personal experience.
 
Oh I better mention when i was in high school my friend bought a Honda CRX for 3000$ he put all types of goodies on it...and had a horrible time selling it, even though everyone loved his car.......he sold it for 1200$
 
An educated buyer would know it's only worth half of what the book value is. Course if it looks ok, you might find some schmuck to buy it, although I don't like being dishonest with people like that.
 
Originally posted by: RossMAN
Good luck because a SALVAGE titled car is the kiss of death, they're VERY hard to sell.

I know from personal experience.
Click to expand...


It is a kiss of death. Most car dealers wont give you 50 cents for it, and others will freak out if you even drive it on their lot, they want no association with something like.

I think 1/2 of book is a pretty good rule of thumb, although it may bring more if you are completely honest and upfront with prospective buyers. If you have pics of the damage and it doesnt look bad, I might even show them that.

I wonder why is was given a salvage title if the damage was as slight as you are describing it.?
 
Originally posted by: Sluggo
Originally posted by: RossMAN
Good luck because a SALVAGE titled car is the kiss of death, they're VERY hard to sell.

I know from personal experience.
Click to expand...


It is a kiss of death. Most car dealers wont give you 50 cents for it, and others will freak out if you even drive it on their lot, they want no association with something like.

I think 1/2 of book is a pretty good rule of thumb, although it may bring more if you are completely honest and upfront with prospective buyers. If you have pics of the damage and it doesnt look bad, I might even show them that.

I wonder why is was given a salvage title if the damage was as slight as you are describing it.?
Click to expand...

apparently a lot of cars are given salvage titles in small accidents because the current owner was in some sort of insurance scam, etc.


a lot of stolen cars are marked salvaged also.




 
True, I've heard that if your car seats were stolen and new seats are replaced it's marked SALVAGED.

But in my experience when I tried selling my SALVAGED 94 Corolla, it was nearly impossible until I found a sucker (I did disclose it was a salavage but they still bought it).
 
I used to auction salvage title car as a part time job in the early 90's. Back then alot of people were unfamiliar with salvage title vehicles therefore is was quit easy to sell. Fast forward today, first question most buyer will ask "Is the vehicle Salvage title?". So to save yourself unwanted phone calls I would disclosure Salvage Title on the ad. BTW I am in Cali where most Photo Buy & Recycler Ads are salvage title vehicles. Good luck.



 
Originally posted by: RossMAN
Good luck because a SALVAGE titled car is the kiss of death, they're VERY hard to sell.

I know from personal experience.
Click to expand...

I'd say $5,000.00 if you sell it to a stupid moron. Salvage title means a lot. You won't be able to get a lot of $ back. Don't expect to get a lot of $ back either.
 
Originally posted by: Nocturnal
Originally posted by: RossMAN
Good luck because a SALVAGE titled car is the kiss of death, they're VERY hard to sell.

I know from personal experience.
Click to expand...

I'd say $5,000.00 if you sell it to a stupid moron. Salvage title means a lot. You won't be able to get a lot of $ back. Don't expect to get a lot of $ back either.
Click to expand...

True, the trouble is finding a moron willing to shell out $5k for a SALVAGE titled car.

I will NEVER buy a SALVAGE titled car ever again.
 
Originally posted by: Nyical
Don't you by Law have to tell perspective buyer that it has a salvage title
on it?
Click to expand...

It's normally already written on the title of the car. Since it did go through an insurance auction if the person was to look it up on carfax.com (which I recommend) it would state that it is a salvage title.
 
Well if the insurance company looks at the cost to replace the car and it's more than what the car is worth, they'll just salvage the car and pay you what the car was worth. You can (sometimes) buy your car back and fix it with your own money or it goes to an auction like what happend here. Majority of the time people then (mechanics) buy the broken cars, fix them up and re-sell them for a hefty profit. My friend does this a lot where I live.
 
Originally posted by: Nocturnal
Originally posted by: Nyical
Don't you by Law have to tell perspective buyer that it has a salvage title
on it?
Click to expand...

It's normally already written on the title of the car. Since it did go through an insurance auction if the person was to look it up on carfax.com (which I recommend) it would state that it is a salvage title.
Click to expand...

My car title was a different color than a regular title it also had stamped on it

SALVAGED - TOTALLED VEHICLE although the only damage was to the front 12" of the car, that's it.
 
Originally posted by: RossMAN
True, I've heard that if your car seats were stolen and new seats are replaced it's marked SALVAGED.

But in my experience when I tried selling my SALVAGED 94 Corolla, it was nearly impossible until I found a sucker (I did disclose it was a salavage but they still bought it).
Click to expand...

a lot of the cars i've seen at his place are like this.


my dad bought his 2002 acura mdx for $22000 including repairs , and well, the only thing wrong was the grill on the front had been smashed and so had the front bumper.


like ive been to the guys shop, drove 2 salvaged bmws around (one only had 2500 miles on it) and well, you couldnt tell there was ever anything wrong with them, sinec some of these cars for some reason are declared a "total loss" with barely any damage on them (i.e. some of them had a passenger door get hit by a car, and well replaced)
 
hans007 - Your dad got a great deal on his Acura MDX but if he ever tries to sell it, he's going to lose A LOT of money.

Hopefully he plans on driving it until the wheels fall off.
 
Originally posted by: RossMAN
hans007 - Your dad got a great deal on his Acura MDX but if he ever tries to sell it, he's going to lose A LOT of money.

Hopefully he plans on driving it until the wheels fall off.
Click to expand...

ROFL sorry but this just made me LOL literally.
 
Originally posted by: hans007
Originally posted by: RossMAN
True, I've heard that if your car seats were stolen and new seats are replaced it's marked SALVAGED.

But in my experience when I tried selling my SALVAGED 94 Corolla, it was nearly impossible until I found a sucker (I did disclose it was a salavage but they still bought it).
Click to expand...

a lot of the cars i've seen at his place are like this.


my dad bought his 2002 acura mdx for $22000 including repairs , and well, the only thing wrong was the grill on the front had been smashed and so had the front bumper.


like ive been to the guys shop, drove 2 salvaged bmws around (one only had 2500 miles on it) and well, you couldnt tell there was ever anything wrong with them, sinec some of these cars for some reason are declared a "total loss" with barely any damage on them (i.e. some of them had a passenger door get hit by a car, and well replaced)
Click to expand...


Sometimes the naked eye or the regular joe can't see/tell what is wrong but you don't know if the frame is bent etc. There are many things that could be wrong and just not told about. Mechanics sure do know how to fix cars up to the point where you can't tell hence why they sell salvage cars for so much.
 
Originally posted by: XCLAN
ehhhh there are dumb buyers out there......put a for sale sign on it now at a price that makes u happy....
and take yer time selling it.
5 grand? shoot i may buy it for that much
Click to expand...
Hehehe!
That sounded funny!


😀 :beer: 😀
 
Originally posted by: Nocturnal
Originally posted by: hans007
Originally posted by: RossMAN
True, I've heard that if your car seats were stolen and new seats are replaced it's marked SALVAGED.

But in my experience when I tried selling my SALVAGED 94 Corolla, it was nearly impossible until I found a sucker (I did disclose it was a salavage but they still bought it).
Click to expand...

a lot of the cars i've seen at his place are like this.


my dad bought his 2002 acura mdx for $22000 including repairs , and well, the only thing wrong was the grill on the front had been smashed and so had the front bumper.


like ive been to the guys shop, drove 2 salvaged bmws around (one only had 2500 miles on it) and well, you couldnt tell there was ever anything wrong with them, sinec some of these cars for some reason are declared a "total loss" with barely any damage on them (i.e. some of them had a passenger door get hit by a car, and well replaced)
Click to expand...


Sometimes the naked eye or the regular joe can't see/tell what is wrong but you don't know if the frame is bent etc. There are many things that could be wrong and just not told about. Mechanics sure do know how to fix cars up to the point where you can't tell hence why they sell salvage cars for so much.
Click to expand...

yeah, his friend is his business partner for a computer business, the car thing is just a side thing his friend does. i guess he trusts the friend.

sigh.... tough decision for me. this resale stuff sucks. maybe i can sell my car in fs/ft


 
Originally posted by: Nocturnal
Originally posted by: hans007
Originally posted by: RossMAN
True, I've heard that if your car seats were stolen and new seats are replaced it's marked SALVAGED.

But in my experience when I tried selling my SALVAGED 94 Corolla, it was nearly impossible until I found a sucker (I did disclose it was a salavage but they still bought it).
Click to expand...

a lot of the cars i've seen at his place are like this.


my dad bought his 2002 acura mdx for $22000 including repairs , and well, the only thing wrong was the grill on the front had been smashed and so had the front bumper.


like ive been to the guys shop, drove 2 salvaged bmws around (one only had 2500 miles on it) and well, you couldnt tell there was ever anything wrong with them, sinec some of these cars for some reason are declared a "total loss" with barely any damage on them (i.e. some of them had a passenger door get hit by a car, and well replaced)
Click to expand...


Sometimes the naked eye or the regular joe can't see/tell what is wrong but you don't know if the frame is bent etc. There are many things that could be wrong and just not told about. Mechanics sure do know how to fix cars up to the point where you can't tell hence why they sell salvage cars for so much.
Click to expand...

Fo sho.

When I bought my SALVAGE TITLED 94 Corolla it ran just fine, looked perfect. Once you pop up the hood you could see that was brand new and the first 12" of the car. However there's other parts of the frame/body which the average Joe's eye doesn't know what to look for. Took the car to my mechanic who spotted about 10 "tell tale signs" that it was a salvaged title before I even told him! That $50 inspection was well worth it, he must have spent at least 40 minutes on the car.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top