Don't Ever Buy a Rebuilt Salvage Vehicle! Ep. 5.290 

You nailed this one Steve. My Bro.-in-law Is a used car dealer dealing in salvage vehicles. I worked for him part time for several years.Your example of the hail damage is a good example of when it is no more risky than buying any other used car. I bought, repaired and drove salvage cars for years,. but everything Steve has said I agree with wholeheartedly.

A scam a few years ago was for a car to be stolen, stripped down to it's core, and the shell left at the side of the road to be recovered by the police. The shell is recovered, and sold at auction by the insurance company. Guess who the successful bidder is, the crew that stole the car. Miracle of miracles, they have all the needed parts to get it back on the road! I think this one of the reasons that the documentation is now needed to show where you got all the parts to rebuild the car.

What if I bought a rebuilt salvage Toyota manufactured RV? PEAK LEHTO!

I agree with you however in my history I’ve sold a few rebuilt salvage vehicles. When I sold the repaired vehicle I had a photo legend of all the repairs. Where the frame shop had done repairs, etc. I made money and saved buyers a lot of money because I cared about my work and reputation. Typical buyer was the farmer that was thrilled to buy a newer truck with 6,000 miles on it, expertly repaired, and thousands cheaper. Good info for the unknowing people. Enjoy your site.

Thanks, you just saved me from a bunch of headache

Steve, I kind of agree with you in a sense. I wouldn't buy a rebuilt automobile someone else rebuilt however, I have rebuilt numerous vehicles for my own use and got over a million miles in total on them all combined. I am 68 years old and never had a car payment. How did I do that? I saved money and fix salvage cars. Can even calculate how much money I have saved over the years. I believe it is one main reason I was able to retire comfortably.

Many "clean titles" are more dirty than a rebuilt title 🤣

400,000 Views! You have more viewers than CNN!

Found a 2023 Subaru that was rebuilt, look up the vin and find the pics before it was fixed. Looks like it hit a deer, the hood was dented and the windshield was caved in a bit but everything else was fine. I think theres degrees of rebuilt. Still debating if I should look into it. $10000 under msrp.

One of the worst things to buy, A salvaged Blue Toyota RV. Wink

Salvage titled vehicles, if purchased at a low enough amount, are often great for donor parts.

Your shirt says how little you actually know.

I worked for an independent insurance adjuster doing photo shoots of wrecked vehicles for the damage estimates/appraisals. I got curious about maybe buying salvage vehicles myself as I was surprised to see what was being totaled that didn't seem to have that much damage, got me to thinking why do some cars get totaled so easily? So I asked a few questions of the insurance/adjuster industry people and one guy told me his theory is car manufactures are purposely making cars overly complex with a multitude of expensive parts and manufacturing techniques that they're making them be cost prohibitive to fix on purpose with high parts and higher labor costs... it's a conspiracy by the auto manufacturers to get cars totaled easier, just so they can sell you a new one. It's always about money and it's a consumerist society, this guy might be right, I wonder what does Mr Lehto think of this guys theory?

My wife found my current daily driver, a 2011 focus, 1 year old and reconstructed with 18k miles on it for 10 grand when the blue book (assuming no wreck) was 15. I've got 227k miles on it and my only gripe is that the hood didn't get as many coats of paint as it should have and the paint is fading/failing. No complaints here.

Vehicles are money pits. I am a mechanic, and even doing all my own work, they are money pits. There is no such thing as a good deal when it comes to anything with wheels.

You can buy wrecked autos that has more damaged than a salvage tilted auto because some autos are sold by self insurance companies that sell there wrecked autos. I have sold and rebuilt lots of autos that I sell for half the price of an auto with a clean title. I'm 70 years old an have been driving wecked autos most my life. I think its crazy spend all that money to buy an auto with a clean title just because of the paper work of a title. I have never had anyone complain I sold them a bad auto.

I've had more problems with cars that had clean title that ones with rebuilt titles.

I've had alot of luck with Salvage vehicles... mostly because of the insurance company totaling out a 10-20 year old car for a small fender bender... ~ I would agree if it was a newer vehicle but for a car that totals out at 5k of damage, thats barely the cost of a fender and paint

Plenty of people are driving 70% repair damage vehicles which have most the problems of a rebuilt title.

Wow, I feel lucky. Bought a salvaged Corolla, drove it problem free for ~10 years.

Today's "internet car lots" are full of these things.

I only disagree with this in situations where you have good, older, reliable cars that have little actual value and get some small body damage and once you factor in all the paint and labor totals them out. My Father’s business still uses an old e150 van that had the back doors crushed in while parked in a our lot by the corner of a semi truck trailer, but then still close and remain closed while driving. It now has a salvage title and has been good for several since. Now obviously this is only one circumstance among thousands of others and many like you said can be very dangerous and avoided like the plague. Just wanted to put it my .50 cents was all. Love the content and will continue to keep watching, been a fairly longtime subscriber and have enjoyed every minute.

Going to buy a salvage RV.

Early last year I bought a '08 Honda Civic with a 5 speed that has a salvage title. It was hit in the rear corner 9 years ago and you can't tell by looking at it. It only has 130,000 miles and it runs great. I only paid $4,300 and its my favorite car Ive ever driven. Sure these salvage cars can be sketchy, but I asked a lot of questions, test drove it and I am happy to have bought it.

In 2016 I saw this 2015 dodge challenger RT 5.7 hemi with salvage title, had no driver window glass and ignition was broken! (S.C.) sitting in a auto insurance company, about 5 cars their! All said 100% AS-IS ! Buy it before you even get inside it! Plum crazy purple on black leather! Only 3kmi, said salvage title only! We can only insure with basic insurance only! No full coverage what so ever! But it was only $5,000 dollars!!! I at 54 years old just stood there and flash back to the 70's came into my brain 😂 I bought the car, I fixed the ignition with new keys and new window! Oil changed! I got basic insurance and here it is 2020 and it's my fun car! 45,500 miles now and just proper maintenance and fresh set of tires! Absolutely needed nothing else what so ever! 😁

My daily driver is a rebuilt/salvage vehicle. It's a 2008 Honda Fit that had 70K miles on it when I bought it in 2013. It was salvaged b/c it was damaged front and rear in an accident. I picked it up for only $5,100 completely "rebuilt"...and it looked pretty much brand new when I bought it. Fast forward to now, the car has 160K miles on it and runs like a top. I've never had a single issue, just normal maintenance and wear and tear. I expect it will be running a decade from now. It's very economical, cheap to insure and probably the best car buying decision I've ever made. I do acknowledge that I probably got really lucky :-)

I'd be willing to bet that alot of junk yards affiliate themselves with thieves.

Steve, in all the years I worked in retail shops I always felt bad for those who bought a rebuilt salvage vehicle. Here in California they are required to pass a certified brake and lamp inspection to get a title. These are usually handled by private garages similar to those who do smog inspections. I guess if the car stops and can be seen at night, that's good enough for the state. Sadly, most of my customers who owned a rebuilt salvage car are those on a limited income who can't afford to buy anything else and are unable to get financed for a better car. They spend their last dime on a car from someone who promised them the car is a reliable road worthy automobile. It breaks my heart when I have to tell them the car is as unsafe as it is unreliable. I can't believe anyone with a heart would sell something like that to a family struggling to make ends meet. But it happens all the time. And try suing someone who has sold a rebuilt salvage vehicle to an unwitting customer. It would be nearly impossible to prove the seller deliberately sold an unreliable car. As you pointed out in a prior video, used cars are sold as is. You buy it, you own it; end of story.

The only way I'd buy a salvage vehicle is if I was going to rebuild it myself, it's the only way to know for sure if it's fixed.

Older cars are often salvaged if they have minor body damage because body damage is very expensive to repair. You can get a great deal with a salvaged title if all that's wrong with it is minor body damage. Hail for instance can cause a very serious amount of body damage but the car is still fine. Not pretty but completely road worthy.

I bought a 2006 4runner with 97k, had a rebuilt/salvage title last summer. Bought it 3k under blue book at the time. NO frame damage, I saw a progression of photos taken during rebuild. My AARP insurance covered it, and not with any penalties. 10k miles later, my car not only looks new, feels new, a full diagnostic from Toyota came out in excellent shape. I lucked out.

I had a mini van I hit a deer with and the insurance give me what I paid for it a year earlier and I could keep it. I Bought a $1000 dollars worth of parts and put them on in an afternoon with a neighbor.

I bought a salvage 2006 Honda Element with 180k miles on it for $2500 and 4 years later with over 210k miles and it’s still running like a champ. Best car I’ve ever had by far!

I bought a truck with a salvage title that had a front end collision. It had been repaired by insurance afterwards. It had a hole in the antifreeze tank when I bought it and I patched that with plastic epoxy. It was a great vehicle and I got it cheap. I never had a serious problem with it.

If you're ever curious about a salvage title car you see listed, try Google image searching the VIN. You can almost always find pictures of the car from the auction site and see the damage. Some are pretty shocking that the were rebuilt.

Samcrac would appreciate being called "sophisticated"

I have purchased several salvage vehicles, one of them was a current model year with 4k miles. They each had pictures of minor body damage and documented repairs. I've only had one bad experience and I learned alot that time.

There are also websites that can track a car's auction history so you can see what it looked like beforehand. Also a concern is some states are very casual in their salvage-rebuilt inspections.

THANK YOU! all i needed to know. REBUILT does not = FIXED

Only buy rebuilt if the seller proves the damage and then receipts for the repairs

Johnny cashes Cadillac got away with it. He did it "One piece at a time"

I buy salvage vehicles every week. sometimes they are nothing more than a scratch on the fender yet the insurance company still slaps a "salvage" title on them. what really needs to happen is to set parameters on how damaged vehicles are declared. there's many times I'll come across vehicles at the insurance auction that are wadded up into an unrecognizable pile with a clear title while a car with nothing more than a broke headlight is junked and can never be put back on the road. go to www.iaai.com or www.copart.com and see examples of this

I've had a vehicle that just needed a new frame, body, interior, and drive-train and electrical and coolant system. all those parts were available at the junkyard! the only thing that wasn't bad was the vin plate!

You ought to do a video on cloned vehicles too while you are on a roll like this..

Considering the quality of some of the auto manufacturers today, I would think the cars should have a salvage title coming off the lot.

In my state, if you have a salvage certificate and want to get a rebuilt title, you pay the sales tax and registration fees. Doesn't require an inspection and can be done completely over the phone and by mail. If the vehicle is a total loss, and the owner keeps the vehicle, you don't even get a branded title if the vehicle is more than 6 years old.

There are some very limited exceptions. I bought a 1990 (heaven forbid) Nissan 300ZX, that had some quarter panel damage. To effectively repair said car it would have required an entire repainting of the clear coat, therefore maxing the value to damage of the vehicle.

I've been fixing these cars full time for 40 years and nobody out there fixes anything that is not repairable all the cars hit too hard are sold for scrap parts and a lot of cars with little damage are still scraped for there parts, look how much money all the parts are worth. This guy clearly doesn't know much. Better advice would be do a Google search for common problems for that make model and year and read reviews on google maps about the person your buying from.

Back in the mid 80s, the shop I worked at used to buy totaled Subarus. We would weld the front of one to the back of another. The owner would sell them out in front as his daughter's college car. No salvage titles back then.

The Werefrog bought a salvage title 9 years ago, and that car still runs perfectly. The alignment might be a bit off, but it was in a second accident 6 years ago.

My wife has driven a salvage car for 10 years and we have a rebuilt Acura that has no issues for 1 year, good cars can have there issues too, there are not many laws about salvage or rebuilt in sc

I have rebuilt a few cars but for my own use and what I would consider minor damage but other then that I knew what I was doing. You can google the vin and if it was at auction at one of the bigger places like copart and see what was damaged. But Like you said almost no insurance co. will cover the car and stay away from flood cars in fact I feel flood cars should be marked non rebuildable or for destruction only although one thing is that insurance companies are quick to total a car if any airbags deployed and that does not take much but ...do not buy a rebuilt vehicle. It come with headaches built in

My salvaged Ford Ranger is going strong and reliable more than 12 years later.

lol if everything checks out on a rebuilt car except for the fact that it is "rebuilt" is NOT the same thing as a dead horse, the car equivalent to a dead horse would be a car with no engine or a destroyed transmission and that certainly wouldn't "check out"

I'd buy one of Samcrac's cars anytime...but in general, I would agree with you. In my town, there is a dealership that specializes in selling rebuilt highline vehicles, like Audi, BMW, etc. What do you think about that Steve?

having been an auto body tech for 25 + years I have seen both ends of the salvage vehicle spectrum .I've seen cars that I would have drove coast to coast without question and cars I wouldn't have drove around the block.it's a grey area ''let the buyer beware''

Bought a camper in MI with a salvage title. Had roof leak looked like very minimal damage. Paid a contractor $400 to fix where tree limb hit it, paid a mechanic $100 to sign form with his cert# and cop looked at it signed paper and got me a rebuilt title. Has gave me many years of fun. Have to be very careful when doing this.

Man those receipts would be so easy to fake. Most junkyards do not say what make/model/vin the parts came from

Right on, Steve! Around Y2K, a friend bought a low-mile Infinity from a "preacher" who taught divinity studies in SW MI. I think the title he received was a clean MI title, but when it was titled in our state it came back as salvaged and he needed to take it to a state safety inspector. In the bill of sale, the seller put in the word "salvage" but never mentioned it at any point. A fantastic lawyer from Kalamazoo got involved, and he spent over a year fighting and finding out about the "man of God" who sold the car. It turns out this guy had quite a racket going. He had a regular salvage used car lot going. He had his college body shop program rebuilding salvage cars for him to sell. He burned lots of people including a MI state trooper (who he gladly refunded later). Very few people got their money back, but he did buy this car back for the purchase price about 2yrs after it was purchased (and not driven, but stored inside). The car was TOTALED on the dealer lot with about 700mi on the clock. It looked great, but was obviously repainted and had many mismatched or missing fasteners. It drove straight, but upon closer inspection had multiple rows of broken spot-welds after being straightened (around the front strut towers). It had coolant and power steering leaks. The power steering was serviced with the wrong fluid. A full tank of gas caused the interior to stink of raw gasoline. The preacher went on to sell real estate and TV projectors (I suspect bought through his college). The most successful wolves pose in sheep's clothing.

An inspection station also test the horn 😀

As a Toyota driver, LOVE the shirt Mr. Lehto!

Very good video, great points. Buying a salvaged car is not for the faint of heart!

I know in some states salvage means the insurance paid out which means a stole car that has been paid out on is a salvage .

I think it depends on the use, the condition, and other factors. For most people, rebuilt salvage title is something to stay away from. However, for some applications a rebuilt salvage title could be a deal if a person knows what they are doing, are familiar with working on cars, and understands what they are getting into. Buying rebuilt salvage title can be OK if the following are true; * A person who is an experienced mechanic and knows what to look for and what to avoid in terms of damage and how to fix it. * Someone who wants a custom project car and is committed to the customization and knows how to fix or remodel cars snd build them to fit their own specs. * Someone buying a car for parts * A person who buys a car for off-roading, track racing, demolition derby, farm only use, or other non-daily driver specialized uses. * An auto shop class by a school district or community college for teaching students to fix cars Remember rebuilt salvage might not come with a warranty, may not be rebuilt to original specifications, may have major defects, and can be difficult to insure. So proceed with caution if you do choose to buy one.

I picked up a 94 mazda with a salvage title as a winter beater and it ran so well I ditched my bimmer and drove it for the next couple years.

2002 BMW M5. Totalled and bought back from ins company. Replaced everything but engine from shock towers fwd and upgraded suspension. Better than new after. I will never sell it though.

Great video & information Steve, thank you!

There is nothing wrong with a rebuilt salvage title car..... IF you know how it was damaged before and how it was repaired. I got a Jeep for half off normal price at copart. Got a new passenger door and $700 later the bodyshop had me fixed up. I paid $3500 for a $7000 jeep and it runs and looks as good as any "clean titled" one. Dont automatically pass on salvage cars, often the work can be done by the shop in spare time for a much cheaper NON insurance rate. Sometimes cheaper cars can be totaled because of simple stuff like a door needing replacement and nothing else.

Hey Steve, as I am a auto tech, I have seen some good and bad salvaged titled cars. But most of the work I see from autobody shops always has flaws, most is hidden under the replaced parts, heck they even buy used parts and charge the people and insurance companies factory new prices.

These cars should be parted out and not allowed on the road again.

We love salvage vehicles but don't trust Car-fax. go to a pay site like autoauctions.io where you get reports like where else it has sold. We love the ones totaled for hail damage the most. We buy them and make sure they're dependable and safe so we can provide them for those who can't afford to buy one. They don't need to look good, just be a safe, dependable vehicle. (Church affiliated)

My son gave me rebuilt a salvaged vehicle; HOWEVER, he works exclusively on that type of vehicle all day long. If it was from any other person, nope!

My story about buying a salvage vehicle: I was buying a used Geo Metro. Just before I signed, the dealer stopped me and asked me to wait, then took the title and left the office. She came back with a manager. She had noticed that the title showed about a thousand MORE miles on the odometer than the car's odometer showed. The manager asked me to hold off buying while they investigated it. I got the VIN and looked it up the next day and saw that the car was declared salvage. I looked up the value on a salvage vehicle of that type and it was about a third of what I had been ready to pay. The next day the dealer called back and they didn't mention it was a salvage vehicle (though I'm sure by then they knew) but rather said that the odometer reading wasn't accurate and offered to take about 25% off the price. I replied that I wasn't willing to pay that much and the dealer asked me how much I was willing to pay. I replied with the salvage value and they accepted instantly, which worried me a little. Anyway I bought it and other than replacing the alternator (which I did myself, that car was ridiculously easy to work on) we got a lot of use out of it over the next few years and never had a single problem. I looked the car over very well and could never figure out why it was declared salvage. When I sold it I told the buyer it was a salvage title and they were fine with it. I sold it for the same amount I paid for it. With what I know now I wouldn't buy another salvage vehicle, but that time really I lucked out.

Thank you Steve.

Bought one for my daughter once.They didn't even tell me it was a rebuilt vehicle. I didn't find out until I got the title. It was okay until we got some emissions problems then we had to get rid of it. Don't buy it too many things could go wrong.

What about a rebuilt salvage RV ?

About 1 1/2 to 2 years ago one of my cars was totaled due to a collision with a deer. The deer jumped across the road and hit the right front side of the car. The car was 16 years old and only had a value of about $2,000. The estimate was that it would take about 1800 or 1900 (including labor) to repair so the insurance company totaled it out. Aside from the cosmetic damage, there was nothing wrong with it. The headlight that the deer hit was still working. I suspect that this vehicle would have been fine if someone would have wanted to put the money and time into it.

Thanks, Steve. Listening to your videos over the past few days and I was wondering exactly what a salvage title is.

Only buy a salvage car if you know about cars and can inspect/fix them yourself. The person who doesn't know what a transmission does shouldn't be buying a salvage car.

Steve, you missed the most important part of a salvaged car. That is, many times component part are welded on to a wreck that do not fit correctly where you may not align the wheels properly. Also the welds may be of inferior quality causing parts to break. And finally, the car is built with crush zones that may not offer the same crash protection after they are straightened. And if that is not the worst thing, I have heard of air bags stuffed with old shorts to hide the fact that they do not work!

*insert Tavarish rebuttal here

I only buy rebuilt title cars for that juicy discount. Fix em up myself for cheap.

Wow Steve great topic.I never planned to buy a vehicle with a salvage title but thanks for the info.There are many channels here on utube that buy salvage title vehicles at auctions,repair them then sometimes resell them.Some are very expensive and even some super cars including a dodge viper.I hope noone has lots of regrets.

Infotainment center in Cyrillic... Hospodi pomilui!

I have a truck that with a rebuilt title. It was totaled by an insurance company from cosmetic damage

This dude is crazy 😭 I sold and drove over 20+ rebuilt title vehicles 😁 I drive a rebuilt Honda CR-V right now & I been to California & back to Iowa with it no problem!

I recently detailed a 2013 Nissan Versa. As I was washing the driver’s side door jam , I found a small metal tag. It said “ Tennessee rebuilt/salvage vehicle “. The owner never knew it ( they bought it used 3 years ago ).

I bought one when I was living in Florida... a honda civic..well really a pair of them... front and rear clip. I knew the people that did the work. The honda had what was almost a zipper across the passenger compartment.. cutting torch to both.. then weld the two ends together. Ran fine for about 5 years, until the front end suspension started to rust out. Paid $2 K for the car and got great gas mileage and good ride for 5 years. I knew what I was getting and the work that was done held nicely. I lived close to the gulf, so I knew rust would be a problem.. and had it inspected with great regularity..Trade in value was zero, of course...

Iam a first time car buyer iam soooo glad u told me how things work with rebuild titles and especially with insurance companies and rebuild titles

My brother-in-law buys rebuilt salvage cars all the time to use in demolition derbys.

What about rebuilt salvage RVs?

I sell them everyday,. Have a Ferrari 428 and a Lamborghini Gallardo that I kept and have been driving them for eight years.

Being salvaged is a percentage of damage on the vehicles worth. HID headlights and front clip damage can send most cars on the road into totaled status...as cars age the likelihood of being totaled goes up. Cars are component machines, anything not considered frame is replaceable..but we all live in our perceived reality.

I agree with this video. My little story: I had a 91 Mustang with over 250K on it. A deer ran out in front of me and got the marker light, fender and hood. That's it. Marker light, fender, hood. The damage was limited to a 1/4" deep 6" area on the hood and same on the fender. The marker light was only cracked and the bulb still worked. Due to the mileage: totaled. The guy even took 100K off to see if they wouldn't total it and no go. The car needed no work other than the damage, I had taken care of it, but there is NO way to know if you are not me, so I still wouldn't recommend buying it.

What if it's a sweet Audi R8 from Samcrac with a $300 welding job to fix a $100k car?

Depends if rebuilt or crashed. Some cars get their airbags, seats, glass stolen, or hail damage and they get totaled. Those are the deals. Major crash damage.

I used to work for a company that provided mainframe computers to car dealerships (late 80's, early 90's). A dealership was hit with a flood. They found the mainframe 5 blocks away. I got it with about 5 pounds of silt in it. Never buy a car that's been in a flood. Silt is very fine and gets into EVERYTHING. The cars can be cleaned up and look great. They won't last 5,000 miles before major problems appear.

Love my "R" title '05 Civic EX coupe. Everything works fine. Passes safety inspection every year. Looks great, runs great, drives and stops straight. 30-40+ mpg. Had it 5 years now. I use my daily drivers until they're almost dead, so resale value means nothing to me. No need for collision/comprehensive on 15+ year old car.

Great advise. Even the experts can get fooled, unless you know and trust the person that did the rebuilding, it is best to stay clear of these vehicles

Great Job Steve. I agree with everything you said.