The Mystery of Selling Salvage Title Cars
There is a lot of mystery around selling salvage title cars and owning them. Is it illegal to sell them? Can you drive a car with a salvage title? Am I sentencing myself to doom by driving one? Simply put, salvage means that the car’s damage, whether it be physical or legal, exceeds the value of the car. The insurance companies also deem it unsafe to drive on public roads.
These kinds of damages include, but are not limited to:
- Flood damage
- Vandalism
- Hail damage
- General non-repairability
It’s important to know that once a car’s branding is salvage, it can never have a clean title again. We’ll get into what that means further down. As far as if should you buy a car with a salvage title, that is entirely up to the individual. There are instances where a vehicle’s branding is salvage, but not because of damage done to the vehicle, but for insurance purposes. The most common example of this is theft recovery. A vehicle that has been stolen and later recovered is deemed salvage because the owner of the stolen vehicle had already been paid out by their insurance company in most cases. The insurance company then deems it as salvage even if the vehicle is in perfectly driveable condition. So, you can better understand what a salvage title entails, let’s talk about the other kinds of car titles as well.
How Does Salvage Fit Into Other Types of Car Titles?
There are a few different kinds of car titles, each with their own rules and regulation. Let’s go over each title and what they mean. If you don’t have your title, go here to find more information about finding a replacement title!
Clean/Clear Title
The easiest kind of car title to deal with is a clean title, or clear title depending on who you are talking to and where you live. Does clean title just mean no accidents? Yes, but there is a little more to it. A clean title means that the car has not been in any major accidents, has never been stolen, and doesn’t need any major, expensive repairs that keep the car from being functional. This is the most desirable car title because it ensures that the car is in proper driving condition and provides peace of mind to potential car buyers.
Rebuilt Title
The next easiest title to deal with is a rebuilt title. What is a rebuilt title’s meaning? Well, there are some salvage title car owners out there who love a car so much that they would rebuild it to its former glory. These cars start out as salvage titles, but a DIYer with determination and skill, thinks it would be awesome to rebuild it to pass inspection and make it driveable again. This is the best-case scenario for most salvage titles as they can never have clean titles again.
Salvage Title
Believe it or not, salvage titles aren’t even the worst car titles to deal with! We’ve covered what causes a car’s salvage branding here, but here’s a quick checklist to remember.
- Can never be branded as a clean title again
- Can be rebuilt to pass inspections and rebranded as a rebuilt title
- Cannot be legally driven on public roads
Junk Title and Dismantled Title
A vehicle with junk branding is completely inoperable and unsafe to drive on public roads. It’s only use is as scrap or parts. What about a junk title vs a salvage title? Junk titles are not repairable, where salvage title vehicles can go through rebranding and become a rebuilt title once repaired to pass multiple inspections. Junk titles are very similar to a dismantled title except that a vehicle with a dismantled title can only be used for parts.
Who Buys Salvage Cars?
There are several different ways to sell a salvage vehicle. We’ll give you some of the most common and a few pros and cons of each below. You can read more about where you can sell your car here!
Craigslist
A glaring issue with selling a vehicle on Craigslist is the lack of monitoring or protection provided by Craigslist. Craigslist scams are rampant because of this, not to mention that there are a ton of weirdos who make a living selling and buying things on Craigslist. If you like the attention of hundreds of emails, texts, and calls every day about how someone wants to buy your car for dramatically less than your asking price, then Craigslist is the way to go.
Social Media Marketplaces
These kinds of unmonitored social marketplaces have a lot of the same issues that Craigslist has. There is a bit more protection because you will have more information on a potential scammer through their social profile, but scammers and fraudsters are still rampant.
Salvage Car Auction
If you have a salvage vehicle that you think is still worth some serious cash, then this might be the best option for you. Crashed supercars, one-of-a-kind vehicles, things like that will do the best in salvage car auctions. There are very few buyers out there who want to pay very much at all for a salvage 2004 Toyota Corolla, or Honda Civic.
Auto Salvage Yard
These yards often consist of hundred, maybe thousands, of vehicles from a variety of different makes and years. The goal for these salvage yards is to sell parts to car enthusiasts or DIYers who want to rebuild a car to earn a rebuilt title. If you plan to rebuild your salvage vehicle, an auto salvage yard is not a bad place to look for some replacement parts.
Do You Just Want To Sell Your Salvage Car for Cash?
If after reading this guide, you’re as exhausted as we are then we know the best solution of all! CashForCars.com is looking for people just like you who are selling their salvage title cars! While all these other solutions require you to go from place-to-place trying to get the best quote for your vehicle, all you need to do is call us! We provide competitive offers for your car, and provide free, salvage car pick-up! Just go to our online offer form and see what you could get for your salvage title vehicle!
Go here for any further questions about how to sell your car!
