Rob 97 993c2

hi,
Look at a car that was a stolen/recovery car in the mid 90s. The current owner (3rd) has it registerred in a different state with a clear title.

Does a car that had a salvage title under a previous owner that has since been cleared (e.g. registered currently as clean title in a different state) get registered normally if i were to buy it?

Also , the current title says "mileage exempt, car is over 10 years old" - what does this mean?

Also, i get different info when ive run carfax on the vin.
vin: WP0AB2962NS420226

Can one of you guys also run the VIN and let me know what you get .. pls PM me. ... pls, no notes saying its uncool to ask.

My fear is that my state's DMV will not let me register the car if it had a salvage title at any point in its life.

brucec59

Check w/ your state's DMV for a direct answer to that Q. Also call your insurance agent. Some insurance companies will not insure a car that has ever had Salvage title.

You didn't ask, but if the word "salvage" shows up on Carfax anywhere in the car's history, the car's value is diminised, regardless of current title.

Stealth 993

The title has been "washed". Once you have a salvage title, it stays that way for the rest of it's life. Some one went through the process to get a clean title. Now it is "clean" you should not have any trouble registering it anywhere.

Registering a salvage car is easy, it's getting insurance & a loan that is hard.

IMHO, find another car.

striker27

If you need to get a loan you should not even think about buying the car!!!!

Chuck W.

Rob My advice is to stay away from it. There are two problems. The first is you are being told that it was salvaged because it was a theft recovery. Unless you have first hand knowledge, don’t trust that information. The second problem is resale. We all buy our cars with the intention of keeping them, but in time most of us sell and move on. The salvage title will not only hurt the resale price it will also cut down the number of potential buyers.

I have bought several damaged cars and had them repaired; including the 993. With the lower end cars like Passats and Audis, I did very well. At one time all four of my kids had cars with salvaged titles. Finance companies won’t touch them. Insurance was never a problem. I have State Farm and they had no issues with them. They charged me the same rate as if it they were not salvaged. Three of the salvaged cars were totaled in traffic collisions (gotta love your kids). Interestingly enough State Farm paid them off at full value ignoring the fact they were salvaged.

Good luck and let us know how it worked out.

roger's 2937

If a car has a Salvage/Restored Title, is it possible to get a clear title for it? Or does it depend on the state where the car is registered?

Rob 97 993c2

thanks guys,
im thinking of the car as the starting point for a DE car as i dont want to have a bad day with my 993turbo, yet, it needs to be driveable to/from the track.

Can someone pls run the vin that i listed and PM me .. ive gotten differerent results when different its been run at different times.

If a ppi checks out, how much of a discount would you try to get over the same car w/o this issue?
thanks again

Bearclaw

PM sent.

Chuck W.

Yes and yes. However, the Carfax will (should) always show as salvaged.

For a 993 I would say 30% off. The newer a car is the more a salvage title hurts it. Same with a classic or collectable. A salvage title on a regular 12-year-old car will not hurt the value all that much. A 12-year-old car is about spent anyway. The 993 is not the normal car nor is it a collectable. However, it is special.

Bearclaw

Someone here a while back bought a car (think it was a 993), later tried to sell it and a potential buyer pulled it up as salvage on Carfax but not Autocheck, or vice versa. It had been kicked around from FL to KY to VA and title-washed, and he had only seen the 'clean' report. Not sure of my facts, but I remember it was a mess. He was last seen trying to collect on the Buyback Guarantee, not sure how that went.
Ugh
I know salvage cars can be operationally just fine, but given the pitfalls I just would not buy one that I didn't intend to turn into a flower pot someday. I did unknowingly buy one for one of my kids years ago, before the days of Carfax. It seemed okay, but she only drove it for less than a year before another kid ran into her and totaled it - AGAIN.
I'm sure it's still running around out there somewhere.

Smiles

Yes, Carfax should show problems with the title, but it is very far from foolproof. They miss a lot of things that aren't reported. A lot.

vjd3

When my low-miles black 95 C2 was totalled (but repairable) in 04, a certain dismantler was willing to pay a good price for the salvage, but on condition that I provide the signed title directly to them and avoid the insurance company process for it. I didn't do it.

Sometimes, even a clean title is not so clean, you know?

The salvage wound up being bought by a bodyshop owner in Worcester MA who rebuilt the car. It's running around somewhere now, I'm sure. On a correct title, one hopes.