KuHL 951

As the title says. On an otherwise 8 of 10 car what do you think a non-accident salvage title would do the price? The CarFax shows the title change to salvage in 1993, the current owner was told it was from theft recovery. It is a very well maintained and well optioned car with 12 years of documentation. Any idea how much it would drop a typical asking price? Thanks

Tom R.

20-25% is my guess. not so much because of the cars condition but because of the difficulty you will have selling it. can you get theft insurance on it with a salvage title?

KuHL 951

Thanks Tom,
Full insurance is no problem here in California once a car is re-inspected by DMV. The car has been registered and driven with the salvage title since 1993. A theft recovery usually is stereo, door locks, ignition, and sometimes wheels. If there was body damage it would have shown up as an accident. I think that if a car is recovered more than 30 days after theft the owner is not obligated to take the car back. The insurance company usually auctions the car off as salvage. Any agents here with more info on how a theft recovery works?

95Juan

is this that red one on CL? or are you planning something behind our backs......

95Juan

i didnt know that you could do that through dmv. i thought it was just a time thing. . my insurance would have cost 1200 every 6 mo. on my '83 supra for full coverage. right now it's less than 600 with the p-car. strange world.

my84-944

While I doubt trading it in to a dealership will ever come up, FYI we do look at the whole salvage title thing as the kiss of death. Sometimes it can effect the trade in value up to 50% or more.
Just keep in mind that we do not buy these cars as an investment anyway, and if it is SAFE than go for it, if the money makes sense. Just don't be thinking it will be worth much in auction or for trade in.

KuHL 951

The only DMV requirement is the safety check you have to get before you re-register it, costs about $50 + new title $10. It will always be a salvage title in California, that can't be changed. Some people buy them here, take them to certain states and restore full clean title. I believe with Katrina that it would be very hard to do that now. It's not the red one on CL and I'm just 'looking' at it and gathering info. Price is right but I think the salvage title should drop it a bit more. I was hoping someone here might have bought a 951 somewhere with a ST. It's not a parts car at all and is in very nice shape.

bearone

i don't really think an insurance co would total a vehicle for stealing a stereo/theft recovery.

why would they pay several $K and then go thru the hassle of selling the vehicle, unless of course the agent wanted it for himself.

salvage is salvage.

they claim it was theft but who's to say.

when i crashed the 87944S in feb05 at the time of settlement with her insurance company's rep the paper work showed that a salvage title would be issued.

i then got paperwork from the state telling me that the car couldn't be licensed with the new salvage title to be issued when i brought the old title unless i had a statement from a certified garage saying that the vehicle had been repaired adequately to be licensed again.

my 0.02.

87951

GOBOGIE

My brother almost bit the bullet and bought a 993 this spring with a salvage title. He eventually backed out, eventhough the car was a cream puff with low mileage, maint. history and was easily a 9/10 in and out. The reason he backed out was he came to the conclusion that it will affect the ability to sell it when he gets tired of it. In reality we have a tendency to keep vehicle from 3-4 years (sometimes longer), but for the most part that's the average. When you want to get rid of it, it's really hard. The guy that owned the car that my brother was looking at, said it was the worse decision that he ever made in regards to purchasing the vehicle.

Now, if you plan on keeping the car forever, it's a mute point. If the car is in good shape and you get a discount because of the salvage title then buy it! Case in point - eventhough we all say that we are never going to sell it... we usually do!

.02

kevincnc

My car has a salvage title because it had front end body damage 10 years ago. I'm the third owner, the owner before me had a bodyshop so he got it cheap and put OEM parts on including hood, fender, windshield, airbags, and re-painted the whole car w/Glasurit paint in the original color. I found it on ebay, and he ended it for $12,000 because his reserve wasn't met after 3 days. With the amazing condition it's in, I think it would have sold for way more considering the miles and condition if the auction wasn't ended. I wouldn't sell it for $20,000 because I don't think I'd find another one like it.

I guess the point is that it didn't matter to me. If the one you're looking at was really never wrecked I can't imagine that it would matter much, considering how undervalued these cars are in the first place.

My insurance co said it would pay $13,000+ if totaled in the current condition, and that the salvage title wouldn't affect that.

Legoland951

I have seen, bought, and taken apart many salvaged 944s and NONE of them are theft recoveries since all of them were wrecked (I have 4 salvaged 944s in my yard right now 3 being used for parts). These are not high theft rate cars and most people don't have full coverage on them anymore so most of the time when its stolen, the owner takes the hit and no salvage title is given since no insurance company is involved. If you are talking about a $2500 car, then salvage won't affect the value too much. However, if you are talking about a $5k car, then I would say it will affect the price by more than 20%. Some people won't even buy a salvaged car no matter how low the price is. I would use a salvaged car for parts and if I were to drive one, I want to be the person buying it from the salvage auctions WITH ALL THE DAMAGE so I know what needs to be fixed and as a personal car, I won't have to care about the resale value. However for most people, there are plenty of 944 turbos in Ca so if I am not getting a really good deal on a salvaged car, I would wait for a clear title car.

Zero10

Personally, as a rule I will never buy a salvage car. Too many places for repairs to be done wrong, places for rust to start, unexpected surprises, broken parts, alignment problems, etc. However, if I could be 100% certain it was a theft recovery, I would knock maybe 25% off of fair market value for the salvage title, and I'd be on it like white on rice.

KuHL 951

Here's the scoop. I guess I won't buy the car. I didn't plan to keep it past spring anyway. I was going to swap a few parts and sell it. The car is an 87. Whatever the reason for salvage it's not visible to me at least without putting it on a rack. The RR wheel well area has been resprayed but is fine from inside the car. Here's work that has been done and all maintenance is documented from a respected local shop. CarFax shows seller is the 3rd owner and has had it for 3 years.

< 15K ago: Clutch, rebuilt Turbo, rear seal, alternator
< 5K ago: Belts, water pump, seals, SS cat-back, UHP tires, new cat

The looks very good both inside and out, has been driven and garaged it's whole life. Pulls smoothly to 1.8-2.0 bar and holds it well. Price would have been $4K. It would be a better car for someone who plans to keep it and drive it, I was just looking to make a buck or two. If I couldn't sell it for $5500 come Spring it's not worth the effort and space taken.


Thanks everyone for all the input.

95Juan

That still seems like a reasonable idea. i can bet that a salvaged 951 in a hot market (spring/summer) would sell for 5500. Especialy if you got a PPI for it, and showed the buyer "hey, everything mechanical is perfect, this is just red tape". and besides, who couldnt use another 951?

Zero10

I would buy a car like that to drive it, not to re-sell it. However, if you were able to get documentation proving that it was only a theft recovery, then it wouldn't affect the resale value as much. If the asking price is $4k, then offer $3k, and go from there. If you could pick it up for $3500, then I'm sure it would sell for $5k+ in good shape, possibly more in the spring/summer.