Great video, but you left out two key points: 1. NEVER buy a flood car, you will NEVER get the electrical system reliable. 2. A car that has taken a really hard hit, will have future reliability issues in areas all over the car, even among systems that were not in the damaged area.
burrito rustler not always the case. I have 20011 mkz awd. Bought with 4500 miles, now has 85k miles. No problems. Key is fixing it properly and not skipping anything. $39k car for total of $10k with floods is wether the motor is good or not. I bought it to drive it whick is another important point as flood cars have horrible resale.
I advised a customer against buying a Lexus ES 350 that was in a flood as an insurance salvage. He towed it to my shop and I gave him an estimate and he was pissed and towed it to another shop who quoted him less and went with them. He drives it now and it always breaks down at least monthly. He's a friend of my friend but didn't/wouldn't listen to me or my friend and keeps dumping money to get it fixed. NEVER BUY A FLOODED INSURANCE SALVAGE VEHICLE, ESPECIALLY IF IT WAS FLOODED BY SEA WATER.
burrito rustler A flood car isnt always a bad idea. Sometimes the insurance totals the car because they dont want to be liable. For resale flood wont be as good. Ive owned a flood genesis before and it never gave a single eletrical issue. Only thing is the starter went. But that was because my battery was so bad that when you charge it fully with a charger it would not start if you left the radio on for 3 mins before starting. Never buy a german car that was flooded. Too much to risk. Seen many chevys get wet inside with the waterline super high without issues. And ive seen Volkswagens with low waterlines inside and lots of eletrical issues. Buying a salvage car is always a risk. Study and think worse case when considering one
Alex Petrenko basic tune-up like spark plugs, engine and transmission fluid. Also new wheels and tires but I put the original wheels back on when I sold it. A parent bought it for his son as a first car at the time.
You need to be lucky that the car didn't have an pre existing 'issue' before the accident. This is where so many salvage rebuilders fall on their face. Fixing the bodywork only to find the headgasket has blown or the transmission slips
Toby the Glen that is so true my wife crashed my Subaru WRX Insurance Society fix it only to find that the timing belt had broken during the accident and there was head damage total top end rebuild on top of the body work
When buying these cars you have to inspect the car in person or bite the bullet and pay a mechanic you trust to look at the car... Always stick to a local auction salvage where got can easily drive back and forth to
Odds are better that a salvage vehicle won't have a pre-existing condition. The owner wasn't trading in the car or getting rid of it, the cars I select at the Insurance auction clearly had owners that loved and babied them before they wrecked. When an owner gets rid of a car intentionally, its often for a reason. When a car has an insurance event, the owner had no reason to get rid of it.
BigMemory True if an owner had no intention of selling or trading they 99% of the time take very good care of it especially if it's fairly new... I bought a car that the floor mats almost in like new condition, leather seats glossy as can be, clean trunk and everything
I don't want to sound racist but I have to say it so I'll say it as friendly as possible, them far far southerner know how to paint, they either do a shit job that still looks better than a moderate white guy (see how it's not racist no more... fuckheads) or do it right that can be somehow cleaner than the factories robot, either or they have it in their DNA to paint cars. lol
I own a salvage titled car. My experience has been mostly OK with it. What I have learned is that when buying a rebuilt car with a salvage title you should assume it was repaired with the cheapest parts the builder was able to locate. I have replaced cheap wheel bearings that only lasted 30 thousand miles. My front bumper cover looked good when I bought the car, but the low quality paint job is peeling 4 year later. You get what you pay for. I know that I paid less and I got less.
I had a Ford 99 Winstar Mini Van, Yrs ago & the Insurance Company totaled my Van out!!!!! I had 2 go & get my stuff out of my Van, I saw sooooooo many crashed up cars, Tht was still drivable!!!! They totaled it @ an Auction, I learned something new!!!!!!!
I got lucky I have a 2003 chevy venture and last month the engine lost a cylinder and the mechanic said to sell it for 800.00 or whatever I get . Then the next morning a tree fell on it . The damage was 2700.00 and kbb said it was worth 3200.00 in very good shape so I got 3500.00 for it man did I luck out . So somebody can buy it at a auction for parts
Buying a salvage vehicle really depends on the type of damage. I bought a 2012 Acura TSX that had been sideswiped. There was no major frame or engine damage. Just cosmetic. The doors and fender were fixed by reputable body shop. the owners had proof pictures. Got a great price on it and it only had 20,000 miles … almost new like. I'm very happy and love the car
Got a 2010 Corolla for my little bro that was salvage, and luckily it turned out just fine after just changing a bulb in the dash. In the future though I may stick with non salvage just for the better resale value haha.
That's what uneducated people do, "ASK" for a figure above market value for a salvage vehicle, either because they don't realize it depreciates the vehicle so much, or because they hope the buyer doesn't realize it. Plus, just because they're asking, well those are the vehicles that stay on the market for a long time due to being overpriced so it is normal to see a disproportionate # of them for sale at any one time.
I bought a salvaged 06 Buick Lucerne, CXL...85 k miles, leather, electric everything, V6...hoped to get a year out of it. I had my mechanic look at it, and he said with a little work the engine should run for ever. There are hidden gems, but I would suggest getting it check out for sure....some great buys out there if you look around.
There are a lot of us out here that could never afford our dream cars new.....but certainly once you are fit enough to do most of the work yourself it really makes sense to have a go at at least one of these projects...I know I certainly will.
i will say this. UK and US rip customers off. Poland, if you bought the car, the car is yours. The insurance company does NOT buy the car off you. The car remains yours even after the insuance settlement has been claimed. How does that sound for you. nice for me..
no no no. the insurance doees not buy the car off you. Our insurance company never takes your car when they settle. They just pay up regardless. if the car is a right off, the car is still yours... Problem is, you have to choose wether you want to give up the car or not. With us, it does not make a difference. the car is yours regardless of costs. You eiother get the monies to repair it or buy a new one. it is entirely your choice... If it is written off, they insurance company do not want your car, you keep it. or you crush it. They have no hand in the matter all. If you want it repaired then again you get it done yourself or you select a garage and they do it. In the uk, they take your car, they assess it. Then and only then they say, you will be paid out for the car. If they pay out the car is automatically theirs to do as they please. errr no thats not right. They assume claim of the car regardless.... again that is not right. nothing give the insurance company the rights to you car...
point being is this. you paid your insurance to protect you. If you house is burnt down. the insurance company does not own it nor do they buy it off you. Why should they apply this to cars. which ever way you cut it, everyone gets ripped off.... they buy the car from you at a dirt ball price to resell it to get their money back. simple.... insurance is a risk, they gambled they lose. The house always wins...
Do you do mechanic and body work on the side for other people or only for yourself. If yes what area do you live in. I have always agreed on 90 percent on everything you have always said and I think you're pretty smart person
Very good explanation between savage and rebuilt. I purchased a savage/rebuilt Civic 2000 on 2003 for $6000 and drove it for over 200K+ miles w/ no trouble. I did have to give a new paint job 5 years ago. Just sold it last year for $3000. Not bad? It did rattle and shake a bit, but nothing to worry about. I guess, if the engine is still in good shape, one should consider buying it carefully. I could have used your video 16 years ago...Thanks much!
I also have a an Audi A6,but it’s a 4.2 engine,and I love that car.i have a abs and traction light on though,and it doesn’t accelerate the same anymore because of it
Insurance company makes assessment from cost of new parts from original manufacturers. That might b how the cost of repairs and fixing go up to 50-70%. What if we buy parts from salvage market. It's super cheap to get good parts from car scrap sellers. In that case the cost should come down within affordable limits.
Lots of good info in this video. I've been daily driving a SALVAGED title for over a decade. No A/C. Cheap $700 to buy. then $700 in parts from a parts yard. Lucky me same color cars.
I was looking an an older Prerunner. The owner made sure we were in love with it before telling us it had a salvaged title. He said he did the work himself, it looked amazing inside, outside and underneath but had no before pictures which I thought was convenient for him. I called my insurance and they said they don’t insure salvaged vehicles and dealerships will not take as trade in. Also since the guy was asking full retail price we walked away.
Also don't hesitate to look at used damaged or storm damaged fleet vehicles. Fleet vehicles like the little trucks O'Reilly auto uses and Auto Zone uses for deliveries and stuff also end up sold at auction often for mile limits or damage done which is often superficial and minimum but won't affect the drive train. Most of these are well maintained if you can snag one damaged at auction with low miles. Fleet vehicles they tend to assemble with used parts from previous years also so they can have odd seats, odd dash assemblies and so on even to strange rear end gearing from older year left over parts to save those companies buying them a bit of money on their purchases. Doesn't make them bad choices though. I snagged a 03 Silverado x fleet truck that way with 52 thousand original miles. It has a 2000 year seat in the 03 and a 02 dash and knob assembly, and if I were to look I"m sure other parts are mix and match to save cost but it has been a great truck and highly reliable for a 3500 buck purchase.
I own one of these rebuilt/salvage title vehicles (2008 Chevy Equinox LTZ AWD 3.4 6 cyl) for a very specific purpose and was aware that it was a very big gamble. My main reason for this decision has to do with a very tight budget that I now live on as a retired person. Have had it for over three years and done mostly rust repairs underneath and and regular maintenance. There is evident shoddy body repair but acceptable to me. Fortunately mechanically and electrically everything works well. The major thing, for me was finding and fixing a water leak into the interior passenger side. It took me and my wife (believe it or not she helps me with almost everything I do) many hours of testing, looking, head scratching, to figure out how the hell to fix this. Finally we think the leak has been "fixed". Bottom line is them I am satisfied with my decision but it had to do with "luck" not with logic nor with knowledge. The people, in my experience, who rebuild these salvage vehicles are not the top nutch repair individuals in technical knowledge nor honesty, nor good ethical values. They skimp and trick the repair in every way they can. For instance they will not install all the airbags, welding and reinforcement are shoddy or borderline acceptable, amateurs, beginners, etc. Your insurance company may not want to insure because they may also be taking a legal risk, etc.
We bought a salvage 2012 GMC Yukon XL. It was stolen and they stripped off the front end. A friend of mine (body shop) rebuilt it and we bought it for 28K. It had 2000 miles on it. Mostly by my friend who rebuilt it. We love this truck. If you can get the right vehicle and do a PROPER rebuild on it...and you plan on keeping it forever, then salvage is the way to go.. This truck has a value even with a rebuilt title of $37K. I wish I could post a photo of it here. It's Black with 22" Chrome Wheels. and it's baller. Great Video. Try to find a Salvage Vehicle that the Airbags have not deployed. Insuring your vehicle. Make sure your auto insurance will insure a Salvage Titled Vehicle. We have Erie Insurance. My agent had to do a prepurchase inspection on the Truck. All he had to do was see it. There was no checklist or invasive inspection. We pulled up. He looked at it and said congratulations. That was it. Good Luck. :)
So for me personally, buying salvage cars would be good if its just an a to b/ diy repair kinda deal... However for car flipping, which i'm thinking of getting into... Purely clean titles only
I only ever buy cars from auction it's where most of my income comes from if you are jumping in to a auction always remember those cars are there for a reason it is always a risk do my greatest advice is to buy a car that leaves you enough money to work with always set yourself a budget as well
Anthony Espinal hey I was thinking about getting into that type of "business". If I give you my contact info would you be willing to talk to me maybe give me some tips?
I love this video very important information that i didn't know at first. In my situation i was driving a 98 Town and country i rear end another van ,only putting a big dent in there tailgate,while my bumper ,headlights and the outer plastic bumper grill combo got pushed in. My radiator,compressor and dual electric fans were damaged too. The insurance company totaled my van out because the damage exceeded the value of the van. So they cut me a check for $1280 but asked did i want them to let them tow the van off my property(i got it towed home cos coolant spilled all over the road and i needed a tow)So, i told him no and kept my van and they deducted the cost of the tow and a few other fees and i got back $900 plus kept my van and fixed it myself, not perfect but runs and drives like normal. Replaced the radiator,compressor,headlights,actual metal bumper wasn't damaged just the plastic outer bumper grill combo and fog lights and electric fans and harness with wires. I was able to bring my 98 town and country back to life and use the funds from the insurance check to do so it is very possible to keep your car and put it back on the road as long as it's not really totaled beyond repair.
They salvaged my 2008 135i and payed out 16,000 and sold it back to me for 3k. Only thing wrong was a single broken headlight and bumper and the car was good as new . Best deal of my life .
I bought a 2015 Honda civic ex fully loaded kbb values 17,500 only thing replaced was the rear bumper i paid 7800 with 15,xxx miles on it so yes killer F deal lol
Bought a Salvaged 04 G35 coupe 6 speed manual value I've seen in $9500 I got it for $3700 been driving it for 6 month no problems at all I love the car
All a salvage title is, is to let the purchaser know it has been in a wreck, flood, etc that way no one is liable after the fact if any other incidents occur. It is all about liability.
Many (if not all?) insurance companies will not provide collision coverage for a salvage or rebuilt title. Makes owning an expensive rebuilt prohibitive, unless you are willing to walk away from the vehicle if the accident is your fault.
Thanks Soo much for sharing! I was looking at some salvage vehicles but they say New York is hard for salvage vehicles to pass inspection. All the parts that are replaced/repaired must have a VIN and bill of sale. I bought a Salvage 1993 Lexus sc400 . It ran Good but almost a year later I started to have electrical problems so I sold it.
Great Report! Question: What about buying a Salvage car that has been repaired. Example: A shop near me is selling a 2018 Civic loaded for about $10,000 with 9500 miles.
I bought my friend's Mom's old car with a salvage title. It had a bad dent in the driver side door. Found a new door at a junkyard, it was even the same color so it didn't need painting. $150 for $1200 for the car
I buy and sell Salvage vehicles in Copart and IAA and the first thing that I always watch is the Engine and Transmission. If this 2 components are in excellent shape I can buy on the Auction and then fix the body damage...The worst part is when Im going to sale the vehicle, always I have to reduce from 30% or 40% less than a dealer...
Well done and presented. It would have been helpful to explain an insurance company's willinges to insure a Salvage vehicle. Those that would.... won't do "Full Coverage".
This is much different than what I expected and needed. I (we) are constantly confronted with all-fixed and repaired salvage-title vehicles on Craig's List, Offer-Up and Letgo and Ebay. Those are the decisions most of us need to make, to buy a fixed up salvage car or only stick with clean title. What are the "buyer-bewares" and insights about buying such?
Hey there! Please make a video on the top 10 most reliable cars and SUV's under $10k. I don't know if others think alike but I would prefer to go past the $5k in order to get a newer/better vehicle but I wouldn't know how/where to look for. Hope you actually get to read this and, if sounds good to you, then give us another great video! Cheers!
I was given a 97 Camry LE with 197,600 on it. It has new brakes, tires, timing belt and water pump, as well as new hoses. When the car was on a lift, a bit of oil was found but not from the area you spoke of in your "most reliable cars for less than $1500". Suspension seems to be a bit soft, so I guess struts and shocks are in order. Let me know your thoughts
It all comes down to one thing, if you dont how do work on cars, stay away from salvage cars but If you are smart and know you are getting a good deal and you can fix it, go for it, why paying 10000 dollars if you can get for 1000 plus a little bit of your time to fix it
In Georgia you can 't drive on a salvage title. Has to be rebuilt to be driven. Recent changes in the law prohibit DIY repair to upgrade from salvage to rebuilt.
Same in NJ. If you want to get the title cleared you have to tow the repaired vehicle to the DMV where they inspect it and deem it road worthy. If it does not pass their inspection you have to tow it back and repair what the DMV did not pass. Usually not worth repairing totaled vehicles, unless it's an older vehicle. On older vehicles they don't change the title to salvage they just crush em.
Some years ago I bought 5 or 6 cars from Copart's online auction. The first car turned out to be a real good deal the others not so good. While I kept three of the cars my estimate to repair was much lower than reality. Plus Copart did not reveal that the frame on one was bent and failed to show pictures of one major damage area. It took me a long time before I got around to working on the car and by then all the damage was revealed but too late to go back to Copart. The other thing that got me was the auction premium, the membership and assorted fees they charge you. Would I do it again not likely. I do not have a dealers license so that makes it more expensive.
You can have a good car for cheap by getting a salvaged car. I had a 1998 Honda Accord that I sold with 289k miles and my dad bought It at about 126k miles, sold It to my brother then he sold It to me. The car still had the original engine and transmission. And my dad has a salvaged 2006 Silverado 2500HD with 300k+ miles. I currently have A 2003 Honda Accord that I got for only $3,300 after the dings were fixed with 72k miles, the car now has 118k miles and no check engine light has come on soo far.
I know that buying and fixing up salvage cars is this years big thing, but I still stand by the old school thought ... stay far away from salvage cars ... to fix up to resale and try to make money on ... when you don’t know what your doing. Yes, you might win big, but more likely your lose bigger!
I went to go retrieve personal property from a car that was totaled once, and when I saw the way the guy in the forklift handled mine and other cars at the salvaged yard, I made a note never to buy a salvaged car. They don't give a shit about those cars. Didn't even bother to lift it from the steel frame just slid it under the belly any which way and dropped them around like they were nothing. Not to mention the people buying and fixing them up to sell probably cut a lot of corners to maximize their profits. They few thousand dollars saved aint worth the risk imo.
Glad your Audi worked out, but you did not tackle the subject of how to do the paperwork/inspection once you work with/fix the salvage vehicle. Obvious it's worth less, but how do the insurance company treat these when they are re-insured?
I guess it depends on the damage, A lot these cars have hidden and probably mechanical damage, A lot of CZcamsrs are jumping on the copart/iaa bandwagon buying salvage cars and doing shady body work and selling them as is, If i was flipping cars i would only buy clean title vehicles and if i bought a salvage car i would buy it for myself, Some of these cars are totaled beyond repair, Some even buy flooded vehicles.
Running a free VIN check can be very useful even you're actually looking for salvaged cars. We're used to getting vehicle history report to sort of avoid salvaged cars, even dump some shortlisted cars if they show anything that says "salvage" brand. But a vehicle history report from Carfax/AutoCheck (paid) or VinCheck.info (free), for example, is really about what the car has been up to in the past and knowing this info can help you decide if you're buying it or not as well as if it's priced right. Also, if there are hidden problems you may want to fix right away to restore the car's good condition. VinCheck.info only asks for either the VIN or the license plate number to get a full picture which is what you want to be able to know where the car is at (condition) and what can you do with it. If you're looking to rebuild it then better to find out the history yourself before driving or selling it. Obviously, you will need to have it inspected by a mechanic and do some road testing, and more.
Also, the cheaper the market worth the less the claim has to be for it to be salvage. 1985 chevy? Fender bender, totaled. Cost to fix? Cheap. 2017 toyota? It'll take a significant accident to be salvage. Or at least, costly for everyone involved.
Through my experience its always best to take it to a mechanic or a reputable body shop before buying any car especially a salvage title car. Some dealerships or individuals may cut corners to to save money on repairs.
Always good to check the Carfax. Sometimes Carfax will tell you what kind of accident its been in and where. So when you go look at car, you have an idea what to look for.
Typically only shady dealerships do salvage vehicles. Usually it is the opposite that not only does a dealership have no interest but they will sell their trade-ins at auctions to get rid of them instead of diluting their inventory with them. If you find a dealership selling a salvage vehicle, I would not buy ANYTHING from them and tell my friends to avoid them too. The thing is, a dealership markup is so much that by the time that is added, you'll probably be paying at least 50% more than the vehicle is really worth so if the price doesn't reflect that, something very bad was found by the dealership to cause them to get rid of it like that instead of just diverting back into the auction stream for someone else to buy there.
+Stinky Cheese Are you suggesting used car dealerships can hide the fact that a car may have a salvage title? I don't know how that is possible. Eventually the salvage title will come to the new owner but still stamped Salvage. If that was not disclosed at time of purchase that dealer would now have a big problem. Same goes for flood vehicles that everyone seems so paranoid about. Maybe I just don't know how a salvage title Is scrubbed? My understanding is once a insurance claim is paid for salvage or flood the title is branded for the rest of that vehicles life.
Nice Video..this is my 2nd time watching this video, Can you please talk about buying a salvage car from a third party that have already fixed the car like you did, and decided to sell it. If it's worth it, I am trying to buy a used Porsche, somehow they are beyond my reach except for the salvaged title which are more affordable. Thanks keep up the good work. BTW, Congrats on your new property.
my question is whether the computerization of cars, e.g. since around 15-20 years ago, makes hard hit cars much riskier in the long run?? i.e, for impossible to fix electrical issues etc?
Great video, but you left out two key points: 1. NEVER buy a flood car, you will NEVER get the electrical system reliable. 2. A car that has taken a really hard hit, will have future reliability issues in areas all over the car, even among systems that were not in the damaged area.
Agree. It's also why I never wash my car's engine and engine bay.
burrito rustler not always the case. I have 20011 mkz awd. Bought with 4500 miles, now has 85k miles. No problems. Key is fixing it properly and not skipping anything. $39k car for total of $10k with floods is wether the motor is good or not. I bought it to drive it whick is another important point as flood cars have horrible resale.
I advised a customer against buying a Lexus ES 350 that was in a flood as an insurance salvage. He towed it to my shop and I gave him an estimate and he was pissed and towed it to another shop who quoted him less and went with them. He drives it now and it always breaks down at least monthly. He's a friend of my friend but didn't/wouldn't listen to me or my friend and keeps dumping money to get it fixed. NEVER BUY A FLOODED INSURANCE SALVAGE VEHICLE, ESPECIALLY IF IT WAS FLOODED BY SEA WATER.
Got gtr , flooded
,
Nothing wrong with it !!;)
burrito rustler A flood car isnt always a bad idea. Sometimes the insurance totals the car because they dont want to be liable. For resale flood wont be as good. Ive owned a flood genesis before and it never gave a single eletrical issue. Only thing is the starter went. But that was because my battery was so bad that when you charge it fully with a charger it would not start if you left the radio on for 3 mins before starting. Never buy a german car that was flooded. Too much to risk. Seen many chevys get wet inside with the waterline super high without issues. And ive seen Volkswagens with low waterlines inside and lots of eletrical issues. Buying a salvage car is always a risk. Study and think worse case when considering one
I bought a salvage celica for $1200 back in the days and it ran perfectly. I sold it for the same price after driving it for a year and half.
After you put how much money into repairs?
Alex Petrenko basic tune-up like spark plugs, engine and transmission fluid. Also new wheels and tires but I put the original wheels back on when I sold it. A parent bought it for his son as a first car at the time.
I forgot to mention that the car didn't have ac
I did the same with a honda prelude 20 years ago in LA for 1 year.. Only repair i did was a new radiator.
ok scotty kilmer
You need to be lucky that the car didn't have an pre existing 'issue' before the accident. This is where so many salvage rebuilders fall on their face. Fixing the bodywork only to find the headgasket has blown or the transmission slips
Toby the Glen that is so true my wife crashed my Subaru WRX Insurance Society fix it only to find that the timing belt had broken during the accident and there was head damage total top end rebuild on top of the body work
@Toby the Glen....You hit the nail on the head, Some of these cars are so totaled and have extensive frame damage they are only good for parts.
When buying these cars you have to inspect the car in person or bite the bullet and pay a mechanic you trust to look at the car... Always stick to a local auction salvage where got can easily drive back and forth to
Odds are better that a salvage vehicle won't have a pre-existing condition. The owner wasn't trading in the car or getting rid of it, the cars I select at the Insurance auction clearly had owners that loved and babied them before they wrecked. When an owner gets rid of a car intentionally, its often for a reason. When a car has an insurance event, the owner had no reason to get rid of it.
BigMemory True if an owner had no intention of selling or trading they 99% of the time take very good care of it especially if it's fairly new... I bought a car that the floor mats almost in like new condition, leather seats glossy as can be, clean trunk and everything
Thats an impressive paint job with rattle cans!!
I know, right? There's no way in hell I could do that
Especially the blend job
Ya thats awesome I wouldn't even be bothered by the orange peel can barely even tell
I don't want to sound racist but I have to say it so I'll say it as friendly as possible, them far far southerner know how to paint, they either do a shit job that still looks better than a moderate white guy (see how it's not racist no more... fuckheads) or do it right that can be somehow cleaner than the factories robot, either or they have it in their DNA to paint cars. lol
I own a salvage titled car. My experience has been mostly OK with it. What I have learned is that when buying a rebuilt car with a salvage title you should assume it was repaired with the cheapest parts the builder was able to locate. I have replaced cheap wheel bearings that only lasted 30 thousand miles. My front bumper cover looked good when I bought the car, but the low quality paint job is peeling 4 year later. You get what you pay for. I know that I paid less and I got less.
Best car mechanic youtuber on the site
along with Scanner Danner & Chris Fix
And South Main Auto
And Scotty Kilmer!!
Scotty is more knowledgeable than all three together.
Not the best, but top 5.
What??? how did this go from buying a salvage vehicle to spray painting a car!
I had a Ford 99 Winstar Mini Van, Yrs ago & the Insurance Company totaled my Van out!!!!! I had 2 go & get my stuff out of my Van, I saw sooooooo many crashed up cars, Tht was still drivable!!!! They totaled it @ an Auction, I learned something new!!!!!!!
I got lucky I have a 2003 chevy venture and last month the engine lost a cylinder and the mechanic said to sell it for 800.00 or whatever I get . Then the next morning a tree fell on it . The damage was 2700.00 and kbb said it was worth 3200.00 in very good shape so I got 3500.00 for it man did I luck out . So somebody can buy it at a auction for parts
You cut the tree in middle of night?
Buying a salvage vehicle really depends on the type of damage. I bought a 2012 Acura TSX that had been sideswiped. There was no major frame or engine damage. Just cosmetic. The doors and fender were fixed by reputable body shop. the owners had proof pictures. Got a great price on it and it only had 20,000 miles … almost new like. I'm very happy and love the car
Mystifies me as to how 19 people could give this s thumbs down. Ratchets, you are one of the best in your genre in CZcams.
I like your informative videos and distinctive voice/accent. Thanks for your good tips and sharing your knowledge.
Maybe he's single. Ask him.
Ask him out. 😂
I ended up buying a 2012 Hyundai Veloster 16,000 miles fully loaded - 5 year ago and still running 🏃😎 and now 73,000 😁💵 saves money
Got a 2010 Corolla for my little bro that was salvage, and luckily it turned out just fine after just changing a bulb in the dash. In the future though I may stick with non salvage just for the better resale value haha.
Its all about the profit and how bad is the damage. Also great results with the rattle cans
For some reason in southern California people want the same price for a salvage titled car as a clean titled car.
bbhdrtuvjg same in the SF Bay Area. I don’t understand it! That’s why I never bought salvage title vehicles ha!
20 year old Honda. 100k+ miles. Mismatched wheels/tires. At least one premiered body panel or rattle-can paint job. Salvage title.
$10,000.
2001 is300 5speed 200k miles salvage title $7,000 all day long in socal
That's what uneducated people do, "ASK" for a figure above market value for a salvage vehicle, either because they don't realize it depreciates the vehicle so much, or because they hope the buyer doesn't realize it. Plus, just because they're asking, well those are the vehicles that stay on the market for a long time due to being overpriced so it is normal to see a disproportionate # of them for sale at any one time.
In my country to
I bought a salvaged 06 Buick Lucerne, CXL...85 k miles, leather, electric everything, V6...hoped to get a year out of it. I had my mechanic look at it, and he said with a little work the engine should run for ever. There are hidden gems, but I would suggest getting it check out for sure....some great buys out there if you look around.
There are a lot of us out here that could never afford our dream cars new.....but certainly once you are fit enough to do most of the work yourself it really makes sense to have a go at at least one of these projects...I know I certainly will.
I bought a wrecked honda accord years ago. In those days I had 4 ASE certifications and knew what I was buying.
i will say this. UK and US rip customers off. Poland, if you bought the car, the car is yours. The insurance company does NOT buy the car off you. The car remains yours even after the insuance settlement has been claimed. How does that sound for you. nice for me..
You can do that in the US too. You negotiate with the insurance company how you want to settle the claim.
no no no. the insurance doees not buy the car off you. Our insurance company never takes your car when they settle. They just pay up regardless. if the car is a right off, the car is still yours... Problem is, you have to choose wether you want to give up the car or not. With us, it does not make a difference. the car is yours regardless of costs. You eiother get the monies to repair it or buy a new one. it is entirely your choice... If it is written off, they insurance company do not want your car, you keep it. or you crush it. They have no hand in the matter all. If you want it repaired then again you get it done yourself or you select a garage and they do it. In the uk, they take your car, they assess it. Then and only then they say, you will be paid out for the car. If they pay out the car is automatically theirs to do as they please. errr no thats not right. They assume claim of the car regardless.... again that is not right. nothing give the insurance company the rights to you car...
point being is this. you paid your insurance to protect you. If you house is burnt down. the insurance company does not own it nor do they buy it off you. Why should they apply this to cars. which ever way you cut it, everyone gets ripped off.... they buy the car from you at a dirt ball price to resell it to get their money back. simple.... insurance is a risk, they gambled they lose. The house always wins...
jason puttock #
That`s why that county is insolvent
Do you do mechanic and body work on the side for other people or only for yourself. If yes what area do you live in. I have always agreed on 90 percent on everything you have always said and I think you're pretty smart person
Very good explanation between savage and rebuilt. I purchased a savage/rebuilt Civic 2000 on 2003 for $6000 and drove it for over 200K+ miles w/ no trouble. I did have to give a new paint job 5 years ago. Just sold it last year for $3000. Not bad? It did rattle and shake a bit, but nothing to worry about. I guess, if the engine is still in good shape, one should consider buying it carefully. I could have used your video 16 years ago...Thanks much!
Got my fox body salvage theft recovery , they never cleared the VIN 6 years later my dad got arrested for driving a stolen vehicle 😂
I also have a an Audi A6,but it’s a 4.2 engine,and I love that car.i have a abs and traction light on though,and it doesn’t accelerate the same anymore because of it
Insurance company makes assessment from cost of new parts from original manufacturers. That might b how the cost of repairs and fixing go up to 50-70%.
What if we buy parts from salvage market. It's super cheap to get good parts from car scrap sellers. In that case the cost should come down within affordable limits.
Lots of good info in this video. I've been daily driving a SALVAGED title for over a decade. No A/C. Cheap $700 to buy. then $700 in parts from a parts yard. Lucky me same color cars.
I was looking an an older Prerunner. The owner made sure we were in love with it before telling us it had a salvaged title. He said he did the work himself, it looked amazing inside, outside and underneath but had no before pictures which I thought was convenient for him. I called my insurance and they said they don’t insure salvaged vehicles and dealerships will not take as trade in. Also since the guy was asking full retail price we walked away.
Also don't hesitate to look at used damaged or storm damaged fleet vehicles. Fleet vehicles like the little trucks O'Reilly auto uses and Auto Zone uses for deliveries and stuff also end up sold at auction often for mile limits or damage done which is often superficial and minimum but won't affect the drive train. Most of these are well maintained if you can snag one damaged at auction with low miles. Fleet vehicles they tend to assemble with used parts from previous years also so they can have odd seats, odd dash assemblies and so on even to strange rear end gearing from older year left over parts to save those companies buying them a bit of money on their purchases. Doesn't make them bad choices though. I snagged a 03 Silverado x fleet truck that way with 52 thousand original miles. It has a 2000 year seat in the 03 and a 02 dash and knob assembly, and if I were to look I"m sure other parts are mix and match to save cost but it has been a great truck and highly reliable for a 3500 buck purchase.
I own one of these rebuilt/salvage title vehicles (2008 Chevy Equinox LTZ AWD 3.4 6 cyl) for a very specific purpose and was aware that it was a very big gamble. My main reason for this decision has to do with a very tight budget that I now live on as a retired person. Have had it for over three years and done mostly rust repairs underneath and and regular maintenance. There is evident shoddy body repair but acceptable to me. Fortunately mechanically and electrically everything works well. The major thing, for me was finding and fixing a water leak into the interior passenger side. It took me and my wife (believe it or not she helps me with almost everything I do) many hours of testing, looking, head scratching, to figure out how the hell to fix this. Finally we think the leak has been "fixed".
Bottom line is them I am satisfied with my decision but it had to do with "luck" not with logic nor with knowledge.
The people, in my experience, who rebuild these salvage vehicles are not the top nutch repair individuals in technical knowledge nor honesty, nor good ethical values. They skimp and trick the repair in every way they can. For instance they will not install all the airbags, welding and reinforcement are shoddy or borderline acceptable, amateurs, beginners, etc.
Your insurance company may not want to insure because they may also be taking a legal risk, etc.
We bought a salvage 2012 GMC Yukon XL. It was stolen and they stripped off the front end. A friend of mine (body shop) rebuilt it and we bought it for 28K. It had 2000 miles on it. Mostly by my friend who rebuilt it. We love this truck. If you can get the right vehicle and do a PROPER rebuild on it...and you plan on keeping it forever, then salvage is the way to go.. This truck has a value even with a rebuilt title of $37K. I wish I could post a photo of it here. It's Black with 22" Chrome Wheels. and it's baller. Great Video.
Try to find a Salvage Vehicle that the Airbags have not deployed. Insuring your vehicle. Make sure your auto insurance will insure a Salvage Titled Vehicle. We have Erie Insurance. My agent had to do a prepurchase inspection on the Truck. All he had to do was see it. There was no checklist or invasive inspection. We pulled up. He looked at it and said congratulations. That was it. Good Luck. :)
So for me personally, buying salvage cars would be good if its just an a to b/ diy repair kinda deal... However for car flipping, which i'm thinking of getting into... Purely clean titles only
I only ever buy cars from auction it's where most of my income comes from if you are jumping in to a auction always remember those cars are there for a reason it is always a risk do my greatest advice is to buy a car that leaves you enough money to work with always set yourself a budget as well
Anthony Espinal hey I was thinking about getting into that type of "business". If I give you my contact info would you be willing to talk to me maybe give me some tips?
Bought 4 salvage cars had them for a long time no problems but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be weary I just got lucky 🍀
I love this video very important information that i didn't know at first. In my situation i was driving a 98 Town and country i rear end another van ,only putting a big dent in there tailgate,while my bumper ,headlights and the outer plastic bumper grill combo got pushed in. My radiator,compressor and dual electric fans were damaged too. The insurance company totaled my van out because the damage exceeded the value of the van. So they cut me a check for $1280 but asked did i want them to let them tow the van off my property(i got it towed home cos coolant spilled all over the road and i needed a tow)So, i told him no and kept my van and they deducted the cost of the tow and a few other fees and i got back $900 plus kept my van and fixed it myself, not perfect but runs and drives like normal. Replaced the radiator,compressor,headlights,actual metal bumper wasn't damaged just the plastic outer bumper grill combo and fog lights and electric fans and harness with wires. I was able to bring my 98 town and country back to life and use the funds from the insurance check to do so it is very possible to keep your car and put it back on the road as long as it's not really totaled beyond repair.
Well I'm impressed. Thank you for the warning.
The auction.... "What is he saying" hahahaha!
They salvaged my 2008 135i and payed out 16,000 and sold it back to me for 3k. Only thing wrong was a single broken headlight and bumper and the car was good as new . Best deal of my life .
I bought a 2015 Honda civic ex fully loaded kbb values 17,500 only thing replaced was the rear bumper i paid 7800 with 15,xxx miles on it so yes killer F deal lol
norcalsvt 03 7800? dumbass!
Bought a Salvaged 04 G35 coupe 6 speed manual value I've seen in $9500 I got it for $3700 been driving it for 6 month no problems at all I love the car
Your one of the best. The information is always interesting and your editing is really good.
Rattle can paint job turned out well. Just do a mild sand and a cut and buff and it will be great.
All a salvage title is, is to let the purchaser know it has been in a wreck, flood, etc that way no one is liable after the fact if any other incidents occur. It is all about liability.
Many (if not all?) insurance companies will not provide collision coverage for a salvage or rebuilt title. Makes owning an expensive rebuilt prohibitive, unless you are willing to walk away from the vehicle if the accident is your fault.
Thanks Soo much for sharing! I was looking at some salvage vehicles but they say New York is hard for salvage vehicles to pass inspection. All the parts that are replaced/repaired must have a VIN and bill of sale. I bought a Salvage 1993 Lexus sc400 . It ran Good but almost a year later I started to have electrical problems so I sold it.
I think if you plan on keeping it for the rest of your life until the wheels fall off it's a good option very very hard to sell a salvaged vehicle.
Great Report!
Question: What about buying a Salvage car that has been repaired.
Example: A shop near me is selling a 2018 Civic loaded for
about $10,000 with 9500 miles.
great information, but might want to address overspray - unless you don't care about pissing off your neighbor(s) with a potentially costly mistake...
I bought my friend's Mom's old car with a salvage title. It had a bad dent in the driver side door. Found a new door at a junkyard, it was even the same color so it didn't need painting. $150 for $1200 for the car
That’s one helluva spray can paint job!
In some states, registering a salvage title vehicle can be a real hassle, so I'd recommend checking out the laws in your state before buying one
Michigan,anyone off the street can't buy them without a salvage title license
+Walter Frederick
Yes but I bet they need to be inspected before being returned to the road.
I buy and sell Salvage vehicles in Copart and IAA and the first thing that I always watch is the Engine and Transmission. If this 2 components are in excellent shape I can buy on the Auction and then fix the body damage...The worst part is when Im going to sale the vehicle, always I have to reduce from 30% or 40% less than a dealer...
So you're getting 30-40% of the bluebook value?
Thank you for making all these videos it helped so much, you are hilarious and very informational. Thank you!!
Well done and presented. It would have been helpful to explain an insurance company's willinges to insure a Salvage vehicle. Those that would.... won't do "Full Coverage".
What about buying a fixed up salvage car?
I bought an civic 4 door automatic with the intention to keep it untill it dies.
This is much different than what I expected and needed. I (we) are constantly confronted with all-fixed and repaired salvage-title vehicles on Craig's List, Offer-Up and Letgo and Ebay. Those are the decisions most of us need to make, to buy a fixed up salvage car or only stick with clean title. What are the "buyer-bewares" and insights about buying such?
I picked up a 2016 Scion FRS with 17k miles for $4500
From where?
@@dmoore215 Copart auto auctiom
@@JohnStax98 i heard of that website is it any good
@@dmoore215 Thats the only place I get my cars. 0 issues so far!
@@JohnStax98 witch category u go for
I’m looking to buy a Salvage title car in Poland and the cars body looks perfect
A6 looks great! Looking forward to the update vid
Great video señor. Thanks a lot. We want more of this ones. Very informative. Blessings.
Many major insurance companies will not insure cars with salvage titles. Those that do you'll end up paying more than if it had a clean title.
Great job on the video. Do a video on car auctions- how to find etc. So cal area palm springs
Hey there! Please make a video on the top 10 most reliable cars and SUV's under $10k. I don't know if others think alike but I would prefer to go past the $5k in order to get a newer/better vehicle but I wouldn't know how/where to look for. Hope you actually get to read this and, if sounds good to you, then give us another great video! Cheers!
Toyota and Honda, that's all you need to know.
I was given a 97 Camry LE with 197,600 on it. It has new brakes, tires, timing belt and water pump, as well as new hoses. When the car was on a lift, a bit of oil was found but not from the area you spoke of in your "most reliable cars for less than $1500". Suspension seems to be a bit soft, so I guess struts and shocks are in order. Let me know your thoughts
It all comes down to one thing, if you dont how do work on cars, stay away from salvage cars but If you are smart and know you are getting a good deal and you can fix it, go for it, why paying 10000 dollars if you can get for 1000 plus a little bit of your time to fix it
Audi Man. You are my hero! :-) Oh, and horsepower, too.
Spray Can's paint job on a Audi A.6 men you tacking mind power vision to the Next level✔
You did good on the painting the car I couldn’t tell the difference but then again I’m a normie
You are knowledgeable and articulate. Thank you.
Glad to see an update on the C5! It looks great already! What's next for the build?
In Georgia you can 't drive on a salvage title. Has to be rebuilt to be driven. Recent changes in the law prohibit DIY repair to upgrade from salvage to rebuilt.
Same in NJ. If you want to get the title cleared you have to tow the repaired vehicle to the DMV where they inspect it and deem it road worthy. If it does not pass their inspection you have to tow it back and repair what the DMV did not pass. Usually not worth repairing totaled vehicles, unless it's an older vehicle. On older vehicles they don't change the title to salvage they just crush em.
In Michigan,anyone off the street can't buy vehicles with a salvage title.Has to have a salvage title license to buy them
Some years ago I bought 5 or 6 cars from Copart's online auction. The first car turned out to be a real good deal the others not so good. While I kept three of the cars my estimate to repair was much lower than reality. Plus Copart did not reveal that the frame on one was bent and failed to show pictures of one major damage area. It took me a long time before I got around to working on the car and by then all the damage was revealed but too late to go back to Copart. The other thing that got me was the auction premium, the membership and assorted fees they charge you. Would I do it again not likely. I do not have a dealers license so that makes it more expensive.
Nice video. I would enjoy a video with you road testing the finished Audi.
Talk about pros and cons about changing an engine. What do you think?
Great video.
I have my eye on a 350Z with relatively low miles, good CarFax report (aside from the fender damage), and fairly cheap ($3,500). Soooo
You can have a good car for cheap by getting a salvaged car. I had a 1998 Honda Accord that I sold with 289k miles and my dad bought It at about 126k miles, sold It to my brother then he sold It to me. The car still had the original engine and transmission. And my dad has a salvaged 2006 Silverado 2500HD with 300k+ miles. I currently have A 2003 Honda Accord that I got for only $3,300 after the dings were fixed with 72k miles, the car now has 118k miles and no check engine light has come on soo far.
I know that buying and fixing up salvage cars is this years big thing, but I still stand by the old school thought ... stay far away from salvage cars ... to fix up to resale and try to make money on ... when you don’t know what your doing. Yes, you might win big, but more likely your lose bigger!
I bought a 2009 Honda civic coupe for 2200 with 100k,has no problems and replaces 2 lights,
Here for the Audi update
I went to go retrieve personal property from a car that was totaled once, and when I saw the way the guy in the forklift handled mine and other cars at the salvaged yard, I made a note never to buy a salvaged car. They don't give a shit about those cars. Didn't even bother to lift it from the steel frame just slid it under the belly any which way and dropped them around like they were nothing. Not to mention the people buying and fixing them up to sell probably cut a lot of corners to maximize their profits. They few thousand dollars saved aint worth the risk imo.
These videos are great. Keep up the good work.
Where do you go for your auctions?
Glad your Audi worked out, but you did not tackle the subject of how to do the paperwork/inspection once you work with/fix the salvage vehicle. Obvious it's worth less, but how do the insurance company treat these when they are re-insured?
That Audi looks awesome! You are a pretty damned good painter using canned paint.
Another great video!
I guess it depends on the damage, A lot these cars have hidden and probably mechanical damage, A lot of CZcamsrs are jumping on the copart/iaa bandwagon buying salvage cars and doing shady body work and selling them as is, If i was flipping cars i would only buy clean title vehicles and if i bought a salvage car i would buy it for myself, Some of these cars are totaled beyond repair, Some even buy flooded vehicles.
Running a free VIN check can be very useful even you're actually looking for salvaged cars. We're used to getting vehicle history report to sort of avoid salvaged cars, even dump some shortlisted cars if they show anything that says "salvage" brand. But a vehicle history report from Carfax/AutoCheck (paid) or VinCheck.info (free), for example, is really about what the car has been up to in the past and knowing this info can help you decide if you're buying it or not as well as if it's priced right. Also, if there are hidden problems you may want to fix right away to restore the car's good condition. VinCheck.info only asks for either the VIN or the license plate number to get a full picture which is what you want to be able to know where the car is at (condition) and what can you do with it. If you're looking to rebuild it then better to find out the history yourself before driving or selling it. Obviously, you will need to have it inspected by a mechanic and do some road testing, and more.
How about cars with rebuild titles?
How about cost to insure?
Won't a company charge more?
You should always check the before and after photos of a Salvage car.
Yes! The AngryJoe of Automotive.
RadioactiveX lmao 😂 I
Very helpful information, thanks!
The audi came out amazing
I'm thinking of buying one for myself.
Recovered stolen vehicles are the best. Minor to no damage.
A little disappointed that the video did not stick with the pros/cons of salvage, but went in all sorts of directions.
Awesome vid!!, Can you make a a video on lemon law cars ? Thanks
Also, the cheaper the market worth the less the claim has to be for it to be salvage. 1985 chevy? Fender bender, totaled. Cost to fix? Cheap. 2017 toyota? It'll take a significant accident to be salvage. Or at least, costly for everyone involved.
What about a salvage vehicle that has been repaired and is being sold at a dealership?
Through my experience its always best to take it to a mechanic or a reputable body shop before buying any car especially a salvage title car. Some dealerships or individuals may cut corners to to save money on repairs.
Always good to check the Carfax. Sometimes Carfax will tell you what kind of accident its been in and where. So when you go look at car, you have an idea what to look for.
Typically only shady dealerships do salvage vehicles. Usually it is the opposite that not only does a dealership have no interest but they will sell their trade-ins at auctions to get rid of them instead of diluting their inventory with them. If you find a dealership selling a salvage vehicle, I would not buy ANYTHING from them and tell my friends to avoid them too. The thing is, a dealership markup is so much that by the time that is added, you'll probably be paying at least 50% more than the vehicle is really worth so if the price doesn't reflect that, something very bad was found by the dealership to cause them to get rid of it like that instead of just diverting back into the auction stream for someone else to buy there.
+Stinky Cheese
Are you suggesting used car dealerships can hide the fact that a car may have a salvage title?
I don't know how that is possible. Eventually the salvage title will come to the new owner but still stamped Salvage. If that was not disclosed at time of purchase that dealer would now have a big problem.
Same goes for flood vehicles that everyone seems so paranoid about.
Maybe I just don't know how a salvage title Is scrubbed?
My understanding is once a insurance claim is paid for salvage or flood the title is branded for the rest of that vehicles life.
Dude Hahaha I been thinking about a g37 for a year and been doing research it’s the reason I’m watching the video
Nice Video..this is my 2nd time watching this video, Can you please talk about buying a salvage car from a third party that have already fixed the car like you did, and decided to sell it. If it's worth it, I am trying to buy a used Porsche, somehow they are beyond my reach except for the salvaged title which are more affordable. Thanks keep up the good work. BTW, Congrats on your new property.
I hate living in the midwest i gotta go a good 4 months with no painting
my question is whether the computerization of cars, e.g. since around 15-20 years ago, makes hard hit cars much riskier in the long run?? i.e, for impossible to fix electrical issues etc?