Salvage Title Car: Pre-Owned Alternatives

If you can afford to pay cash for a car, then buying a salvage title car may allow you to purchase a quality car at a huge discount. Salvage titled cars are cars that have been totaled by an insurance company. This is to say that the insurance company felt that the car was beyond repair or simply didn't want to invest in the repair of the vehicle.

Reasons Insurance Companies Total a Vehicle

There are many reasons that an insurance company may choose to total a particular vehicle. For instance, the vehicle may not be completely destroyed or beyond repair, but the insurance company may total the vehicle to avoid increased coverage liability for other reasons. In these cases, total vehicles are very repairable and can make for excellent value alternatives to other used cars.

Perhaps the company offered to total vehicle in exchange for an insured party’s agreement not to pursue further claims for medical bills or other damages. Regardless of the reason, salvage title vehicles can be an excellent way to save a lot of money.

Salvage Title Vehicles - Where to Find Them

Most of the time, insurance companies dispose of salvage vehicles at salvage or junk title car auctions. These damaged vehicles are often sold for very low sums of money because of the damage that is present in them. Many types of people purchase I was title vehicles with the intent of repairing them and selling them at a higher price. However, you can find an excellent personal use vehicle as well.

Other Considerations

Salvage title vehicles will have a special type of title issued by the state that registers the vehicle. Typically, salvage title vehicles are titled as such and may not be sold without disclosing the fact that they are salvage title vehicles. Furthermore, most insurance companies will only ensure salvage title vehicles for limited value amounts, and in some cases, may not insure salvage title vehicles of all.

What to Look For

When shopping for a salvage title vehicle or attending salvage or junk title vehicle auctions, you should look for vehicles that you believe can be repaired or restored fairly inexpensively. If you or someone you know is skilled in car body repair, then these types of auctions may offer an abundance of vehicles that you're able to purchase and work on or repair

Regardless, always shop for salvage title vehicles that can be repaired for less than the ultimate end value of the vehicle. Also, keep in mind that the value of the salvage title vehicles will be nowhere close to the value of a an identical model used car—even if the vehicle is restored to 100% working condition.