EVOMMM

I bought a salvaged e30 m3 for dirt cheap drove like dukes of hazard daily drove in NYC for years after that then values exploded had it restored to a very expensive dollar amount at the time now values have caught up to my investment and I don't think I will get rid it anytime soon as well as my 1988 951S
Mike

neunfünfeins

So it doesn't look like this one worked out after all.
[Not because of the title issue, but other reasons I don't want to get into publicly.]
Maybe this thread will be useful for others who are contemplating such a purchase.

kev951

Unless the car is completely refurbished (every last bit leaving nothing out and sparing no expense to make it AS NEW and ORIGINAL)... it will hurt it a $hit-ton... yes .. $hit-ton

Voith

What is salvage title? How does it affect the car?

neunfünfeins

Here in the US, if a loss or damage insurance claim is filed against a vehicle that exceeds a significant amount of its value (e.g, 75%) in repairs, the insurance company may 'total it out' and only pay out out some established value for the car, rather than the cost of repairs.

Next, the car should receive a Salvage Certificate. The owner can either buy it back and fix it themselves, or it can be sold off for parts/scrap. In either case, it can't go back on the road until it has been repaired and pass a 'salvage inspection' to make sure it's roadworthy. At that point, the Salvage Certificate is redeemed and the vehicle is issued a new Title, but the Title will have a brand (stamp) that indicates the car had been salvaged at some point in its history. This Salvage Title brand is supposed to follow it around the rest of its life to inform all potential future owners of this circumstance.

The usual concern with a Salvage Title is a car that's been wrecked, or rebuilt from parts of different cars, and therefore isn't as safe, structurally sound, or reliable.

None of that appears to have been the case with this car however, so it remains a mystery.

Voith

Thanks. Its called totalled car here but it only affects insurance claims. Other than that if it passes (quite rigorous) tech inspection it's good to go.

User 52121

Yep pretty much the same here. Once a car is totaled, it's title is updated to a "salvage" status.

Some states let you rebuild a "salvage" status car and re-register it on the road. In Illinois, a "salvage" car CANNOT be registered for the road, but if you rebuild it (via a certified auto rebuilder) AND it passes inspection, the title status changes to "REBUILT", and a "REBUILT" car *can* be registered and driven on the street.

From a valuation perspective, it's the same though (SALVAGE vs REBUIT)... as the only way to get to a REBUILT status is to once have had SALVAGE status, which means that, at some point, the car was damaged hard enough to be considered a total loss by the insurance company.

User 52121

As for "how much does it impact value".... for SURE it has a HUGE impact on newer cars. 50% or more in a lot of cases.

For race cars (or cars intended to be converted to race car), it has 0 impact.

For old cars like our 944's... I'd imagine that it might actually have less of an impact on valuation. In the insurance company's eyes, it's pretty easy to total out a 944 these days. A small impact will push repair costs (using good parts) over the value of the car easily. That doesn't mean the car is in any way unsafe.