I'm currently looking for a maxima, preferebly 97+ with less than 100k mile. I talked to my friend who visits Copart auctions every Wednesday and fixes cars that have a salvage title and he said he can find one for about 5-6k fixed and running like normal. My dad got his maxima from him and it looks real good and runs fine. I want to know if it's worth it and what are your experiences with this kind of stuff. I'm not talking extensive damage, maybe like a busted bumper apron, lights...not big stuff. Thanks

 

Salvage Title I'd stay away from.

Auctions are a great place to find used cars cheap. (clean titles) Those cars usually come from dealers that don't want to sell used/traded in cars with high miles. People go to dealers for newer cars, not high mileage vehicles thats why dealers usually just sell them to auction houses.

 

What's wrong with salvage? Besides the fact that it's resale is less, I dont see why they are so bad if it's something minor.

 

A salvage title means the vehicle has encountered damage that caused the insurance company to total the car. Thats usually around 70% - 80% of the book value. (thats extensive on say a 97 Max.) It may have alrealy been repaired once before it got to the auction - you never know.

Stick to clean titles and you'll find yourself a great car cheap at an auction.

 

Salvage CAN be okay. But only if the reason for the salvage title is non-wreck related. ie.. stolen and the whole interior was taken. Or if the engine and tranny was stolen etc... Then you could have a great car for cheaper. But when it comes time to sell it, you going to have to convince the new buyer that the car WASN'T in a serious wreck. But finding out exactly what the reason for the salvage title takes time. I know how to do it but if you are at an auction and need to make a decision that day, it ain't gonna happen

Plus carfax in all of it's wisdom bunches stolen/recovery cars as "salvage". IDIOTS!

 

for Jeff!

You could get a descent car, but you may take a loss when it's time to sell it.

 

You can do what you want but cars have a salvage title for one of a couple of reasons...

1) The insurance co didn't want to pay more for repairs than the car was worth.
2) The car was not *safely* repairable

-Note especially #2 above-

There are certain things that happen to a car in a collision that are engineered in to happen once safely -- i.e. crush zones, collapsed panels, etc. Bending them back so they look straight again compromises the structural integrity of the design and can cause unexpected catastrophic failure at some date in the future. Not certain, but the risk is much greater. Try it with a paper clip sometime.

By way of example, when NHTSA crashes a car for their tests, they actually have guys tha go around and cut the cars in half (at least) because of what I mention above.

There have been several "60-minutes" type shows documenting injuries and fatalities with salvage-titled cars falling apart in an accident (or just driving down the road). While these shows may be somewhat biased and anecdotal to be sure, there is a grain of truth in what they are trying to convery -- just ask an automotive engineer and they can tell you.

Good luck!!

 

I have been to sevral salvage yards and was surprised to find so many salvage cars that were NOT in a car accident. Most of them were theft recovery. Salvages of today is quite different from Salvages of yesterday. You can rebuild a great car and save thousands. Jeff92Se was totally on point.

Just do two things when looking into slavage cars;
1. Get in writing what damage happened to the car. If it's electrical or water damage, stay away.
2. Don't buy it if you plan to sell it soon. If you want to drive it forever, then go for it.

DW

 

I would add to stay away from collision salvage to that list too.

In any case, if a car has a slavage title do not buy it for any more than half the price of its non-salvage equivalent. that way you will have some protection against resale troubles and possible mechanical troubles in the future.

 

I have seen quite a few cars with salvage titles that have been in collisions where the damage really isnt all that bad. The bottom line is that you have to be real careful with what you are getting into though. You have to keep in mind that when someone is repairing a salvage title vehicle they are doing it for one reason only; to make money. Thus, they're gonna be pretty like to half *** it on the repair as much as possible, so that they can make the most money possible. Just my 2 cents.

 

Like Dwapenyi said - if you can find one that's salvege titled but not wrecked - you're sure to get a good deal. I found car for my sis-in-law thru a wholesale auction - 2000 Camry CE with 39k miles for just $5900. It was theft recovered in Illinois. All that was originally stolen was the Stereo, rear bumper and the original rims/tires, all of which were replaced before we purchased it. So far the only problem has been that the water-pump needed replacing and the dealer covered it under the 6/60 warranty.

 

Well, my dad bought his salvaged. 97 Max Se....30k miles, all he needed was a fender, a bumper apron, a headlight, foglights, and a tire. It looked like a 5 mph accident with small damage and it was classified as salavaged. I dont think that was extensive. Ill post pics if i find a salvaged car i like, to see what you guys say.