aggravation

Thinking of buying a '89 5 speed, 97000 miles...
supposing little to no damage caused a rebuild title, all original panels, damage was to rear quarter. Since been repaired as well as timing belt, water pump, hoses, all fluids etc. 1000 miles ago...

Does the fact that it's a rebuild title mean anything? How much would that make you reduce the purchase price?

fbarnhill

I think some banks will not loan money on a salvage or rebuild title. At least that is true here in NC.
However, if it was me and the car was well done, I wouldn't hesitate if it was a good enough deal.

Best of luck

low miler

The actual deduction is really up to you. How bad do you want it? Generally, to a lender, rebuilds take a 30% deduction from a non-rebuilt title car.

Pictures of before and after are always nice, too. It would help explain alot to both you, and any future buyer you end up selling it to someday.

But, personally I would pass on a rebuilt title car. They're almost impossible to ever get rid of. That's why your here asking about it. Just wait, the right one will come along sooner than you think.

Good luck!

docmirror

Yeah, what Todd said. Title problems really reduce your market on an already small market car. Unless you're getting it for just above free. Keep shopping, or lowball the seller big-time.

Doc

Jim bailey - 928 International

I love this....."supposing little to no damage caused a rebuild title" ....RIGHT in order top get a REBUILD title the insurance company MUST decide it is NOT WORTH FIXING !! That happens when the estimates to fix it exceed 50-75 % of the market value the exact number varies by company. The REASON for branded titles "rebuilt" Salvage etc is to alert potential buyers that the car was damaged BUT I have yet to hear of a REBUILT car being sold where the seller says ...." This car was hit so hard there was not one straight panel but with some old parts a lot of Bondo you can hardly tell, just goes down the road a little sideways ". Branded titles make it a "story car" and as mentioned it does have an impact on the value. Cars are totalled when the estimated costs to fix it right are too high so someone else fixes it often for less than right.....

Shark Attack

take it too a frame shop and have it checked.... salvage title get teh seller off the hook for a lot of things..... does it have new tires also? why? becasue the old ones were wearing funny?

JHowell37

Take it from me. My car doesn't have a rebuilt title and it's still a POS. Jim Bailey hit the nail on the head in his post. A better way of saying it is that cars get issued a salvage title when the repair tab is so high that it is no longer cost effective to repair it. You can't properly rebuild a totalled car in a cost effective manner, you have to cut corners. There are plenty out there that don't have salvage/rebuilt titles. Look for one of them.

RyanPerrella

From my experience....

I was very close to buying a rebuilt title S4/5spd in chicago, from pictures it looked pretty good I was willing to pay 6,000 for it I think, and knew it had the title issue. Had it checked out by a porsche shop locally to the seller and said the car was a pos, i couldnt tell it looked straight in pictures but under the body work was a huge mess.

I was bummed that it didnt work out, but only for about 10 days when i then found a nice clean title 90 GT that i bought for less then what i was going to spend on the salvage S4. The GT had engine issues but I remember thinking to myself when i got the GT home about how much better off i was waiting then buying the POS car in chicago.

WAIT WAIT WAIT, and just dont bother with a salvage car, as JHowell said it perfectly there will always be cut corners, AWAYS! People buy wrecked cars to make money off them! not to save the 928's or someting its a money maker, look elsewhere.

RyanPerrella

oh and when you do decide to get rid of the car, you will have to give it away as it will be damn near impossible to sell. 928's are difficult to sell as is, aving one with a crap title even more so.

slider172

I remember a car sold on ebay with a branded title that a rennlist member bought.The car was in Florida. (I wanted to buy it ) I believe the buyer was fvrom Nevada. There were Many threads about the trials and tribulations of getting the paperwork straight on this car. In the end , he bought it CHEAP beacause it had been "totalled' then drove it from Florida to Nevada.This particular car was a one owner car that had been hit in the rear. The owner had it fixed even though it was totalled but the state of Florida would not let him register it because of the way the title was branded. I wish I had it because it was a swweet example. My point it could be a steal.Or a pos but judge every car individually by doing your homework branded title or not.
Also keep in mind that these cars are Expensive to fix , and sadly lost their value at a ridiculous rate so a car can now be totalled with very little damage.

Giovanni

I also was looking to buy the black GT in Chicago. My insurance Co quote me a normal rate even after I told them of the salvage title. They said the rate would be same but it would be a different game if I ever a claim against the salvage car (they would start with a far less value).

slider172

https://rennlist.com/forums/928-forum/177235-certificate-of-destruction-new-title.html

Mike Frye

'...and sadly lost their value at a ridiculous rate so a car can now be totalled with very little damage.'

Slider makes a good point. I just had an estimate for damages done during towing on the car I just got, and because the parts are so expensive, the front bumper, spoiler and paint job came to over $3200. That's a high enough percentage of the book to total it in the eyes of some insurance companies, but it's not what I'd call a total.

The branded title may be the biggest problem with this car, and if you're not going into it as an investment (which would be unwise under any circumstances) you may make out OK with a decent deal. Depends on the car.

macreel

agg..There are ways to remove a 'brand' from a title:
work/sweat, tests, inspections, fees,... Varies from state to state.

But you still have a car with a checkered past and maybe
(/probably) hidden gotchas. Your choice, your passion.


G'luck

hacker-pschorr

C'mon Jim, you are smarter than that. I haven't had half the run-ins with insurance adjusters with salvaged cars as you and Mark. I cannot count the number of cars with almost no damage, with an adjuster admitting he knows nothing about "these cars" so it was totaled "just to be safe" I’ve come across.

Jim Page has a file with hundreds of cars proving the insurance industry is not qualified to determine if a car is fixable. I love it when we find a late model luxury car rolled into a ball, the only part visible showing any type of marking is the badge on the wheel - with a 100% clean title. Sitting next to that car is a driver with a fender dented in - with a junk title. Why such a variance? Different adjusters.

This scenario is even better in states that allow salvage cars to be rebuilt after an inspection (Wisconsin is one of those). So along comes a state trooper (not kidding) to “inspect” the car. The regular “inspector” for Green Bay admits openly he knows nothing about cars.

The entire system is a joke.