Guys,
If a car is in great condition (as per PPI, and my trusted mechanic) and has low mileage, What would be the downside of it having a salvage titled?
How would it impact the resale value?
Any experiences or comments?
Thank you.
Rodrigo.

 

I think a rule of thumb is a 45% hit based on sales I've seen, but it depends on the model. Turbo's will always hold up a bit better with a branded title.

 

A salvage title will always severely impact a cars resale, expect the selling price to be 30-50% less than a comparable non salvage car. Some insurance companies will not offer comprehensive or collision on salvage cars as well.

 

It's a '98 cab with 36k miles on the clock.

 

With a salvage title it should be a $25-27K car. It's heavily dependent on why the title was salvaged and how long ago. If it was theft-recovery in 2001, the car will be worth more. If it was flooded 3 month ago... just stay away at any price, but it's worth about $12K for parts.

I'd say 25-30% salvage title price hit, sometimes more, depending on situation. Let's take this cab, for example. Somebody looking for a low mileage cab is likely not buying the "need" car, rather the 'want" car. So they would be much less likely to want to deal with any salvage stories. Thus about 70% of the potential market has just disappeared. If you compare this to a salvaged 1998 Camry, for example, where someone would be happy to pay $3K, instead of $5K for the car... that's 40% lower price but you probably still have 805 of potential market plus a whole bunch that simply was not looking above $3K range for a self-propelled transportation.

 

With a salvage title most bank will not finance, most insurance companies will not insure. Of course it's always going to be branded, and be hard to sell.

 

My experience with insurance companies are that they WILL insure them, but in the event of a total loss, their payout will be in line with a salvaged title. Seems fair.

 

Having a car with a salvage title is like dating a girl who once killed an old boyfriend she was dating.

Personally, I'd stay away.

 

The problem for me when I was considering a crash damaged and rebuilt Audi was that all of the car dealers I chatted to about it said they'd never accept such a car as a trade-in so if I ever wanted to sell it I'd be having to do it privately.

(So I bought a straight Audi instead and lost a breathtaking amount in depreciation over a year when I traded in on my 993. Fun times. Still married though...)

 

Thank you guys.
The good thing is that bad ideas die fast...... Moving forward.

 

OP-

If you've decided to pass on a low-mileage '98 cab

"in great condition (as per PPI, and my trusted mechanic)"

" with 36k miles "

please share with us where it may be.

There might be someone here who is not concerned with re-sale value but just wants a great car and is figuring to drive it unabashedly.

BUT, more important, it would be good to know what car it is in case a dealer decides to wash the title and it comes up for sale again in the future. Just as an Iris Blue one did recently.

Thank you very much.

Best Regards,

.

 

hmmmm

http://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/cto/3475870512.html

 

These stories crack me up... If you were running an insurance company would you "let" a car be totaled that truly had no damage and write a $40k++ check just to make a customer happy? Yeah...NO

Insurance companies are in the business to make money, they only total a car if it is cheaper for them to pay it off vs. fixing it minus some deduct for risk of cost overrun, issues with the repair, etc. That is why most companies only total a car when the damage exceeds ~75% or greater of current market value. Anybody who tells you otherwise is simply naive or not educated on how the process works.

Here is the sellers ad copy "1998 PORSCHE 993 CABRIOLET 6 SPEED SILVER/BLACK LEATHER WITH 35,990 ORIGINAL MILES
EXTERIOR IS A 9.5/10 PAINT IS LIKE IT CAME OFF THE SHOWROOM FLOOR
INTERIOR IS 10/10 PERFECT......THE CAR IS IN ALMOST MINT CONDITION.
NEW KENWOOD HD STEREO WITH BLUETOOTH REMOTE JUST INSTALLED WITH NEW SPEAKERS.
THE CAR LOOKS AND SMELLS LIKE NEW.
CAR FAX VERIFIED STORY
IN 2003 THE CAR WAS IN A ACCIDENT.THEY SAID THE CAR HIT A CURB AND HAD RIGHT REAR WHEEL AND SUSPENSION DAMAGE.THE CHASIS IS STRAIGHT WITH NO INDICATION OF PAINT WORK.
I DID SOME INVESTIGATING AND FOUND OUT THE CAR WAS OWNED BY A COLLECTOR THAT WENT TO THE DMV AND CHECK OFF SALVAGE TITLE.( NOT THE INSURANCE COMPANY)"SOMETHING SMELLED FISHY"
I HAD THE CAR INSPECTED BY A VETERAN PORSCHE MECHANIC IN BUSINESS FOR 42YRS AND HIS BODY WORK PEOPLE.I HAVE A LETTER FROM HIM SIGNED WHICH I WILL PROVIDE TO THE POTENTIAL BUYER THAT STATES HE HAD THE CAR ON THE LIFT FOR MANY HOURS.HE BROUGHT IN EXPERTS TO LOOK FOR ANY DAMAGE.....
HIS CONCLUSION"THERE IS NO TRACE OF BODY WORK OR PAINT WORK"ALL PARTS ARE OEM AND THE SUSPENSION IS ORIGINAL.NOTHING HAS BEEN REPLACED.I HAVE OVER 70 PICTURES I CAN FORWARD TO BUYER.THE CAR WAS DRY AND NOT A TRACE OF LEAKS OR ISSUES.IN HIS LETTER HE STATES THIS CAR IS ONE OF THE NICEST HE HAS DRIVEN AND SEEN IN A WHILE.HE WORKS ON PORSCHES EVERY DAY.
SO I DID MORE CHECKING AND FOUND OUT THE COLLECTOR WAS ONE OF THOSE **** COLLECTORS AND MY GUESS HE MIGHT HAVE HAD SOME CHIPS ON THE FRONT AND INSTEAD OF HAVING IT TOUCHED UP OR PAINTED HE DECIEDED TO TOTAL THE CAR OUT BECAUSE IT WASNT PERFECT AND HE HAD OVER 30 CARS INSURED WITH THE INSURANCE COMPANY."

 

A car with herpes. You can treat the disease but you can't get rid of it.

 

$37K is a big number for a salvage example at a reasonable 35% reduction for the branded title you need to believe car would be priced near $50K as a clear title, thoughts?
Rich