Will Buying a Rebuilt or Salvage Title Vehicle Be the WORST Mistake of Your Life?

[@whynot16384]

My son bought a salvage title car to save some money and a month later he got T-Boned which then totaled it out. The insurance paid him $1800 more than he paid.

[@macbook802]

So he risked his life for 1800 bucks. He probably wouldn't have got in an accident if it was a good vehicle

[@whynot16384]

That's a stupid reply. There was nothing wrong with the vehicle. And just so you know getting T-Boned is from the side. You can't stop an idiot from running a red light no matter how good or expensive the vehicle is. Not every car has been in an accident with a salvage title. do your research. this video that car was a pos. They aren't all that way. @@macbook802

[@MAnW1TDApLan]

⁠@@macbook802that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever read 😂

[@R_Tower]

@@macbook802 Lmao😂

[@timmy7194]

I don't get why your assuming he got in accident on purpose

[@brianrosenlof388]

I bought a rebuilt corolla to commute with about 10 years ago. It has been the most reliable vehicle ive ever owned. It looked great when i bought it. 10 years in though, i can now see they did a shoddy job on the paint. The hood is peeling badly and looks aweful. Still runs flawlessly though. My daughter now uses it. I don't regret buying it at all.

[@shawnhill4779]

"The hood is peeling badly and looks aweful." That can often apply to Toyotas that were bought new and are now 10+ years old

[@fpereyra7603]

I actually think they did a good job if u bought it 10 years ago and u had no other issues but paint which is normal depending on what state you’re in.

[@brianrosenlof388]

To be clear, it's not that it just started recently. They replaced both the bumper and the hood. The bumper started shedding it's paint within a year or two. The hood started shedding it's clear coat about three or four years in. Just saying that ten years in, it looks really bad. Especially since the hood and bumper are the only parts with any paint issues at all. But, yeah, mechanically, no issues. For the price I paid, and considering how long it has lasted, I'm happy overall. I would do it again.

[@jbandt]

What I think is funny is people listing salvage title vehicles on marketplace for the same price as comparible clean title vehicles.

[@mr.mr.3301]

They are all over Facebook marketplace around here. They are often listed by individuals with Eastern European names.

[@ML-lg4ky]

Yes someone needs to dig into this phenomenon.

[@nihontoman]

I'm from Georgia (not the US State, the other one, in Caucasus) and 50% of people here drive a salvage title cars which they bought on copart or iaai or other similar auctions, shipped it here and rebuilt it for cheap. that's how I got my lower milleage 2012 xterra pro4x for about 10k USD including all the costs. I bought it from copart fpr about 4k usd and the damage was just the fropnt left wind, front upper control arm and the tire was blown out.

[@1ryanlc]

I bought a rebuilt 2022 Chevy Colorado z71 from eBay last fall. It had less than 3,000 and I paid under $26,000, so far it's been fantastic!

[@soundshopvlogs]

2 of our 4 work trucks we bought were salvage title. Both engines were under 10k miles. The truck was still sold to us for about half market value of if it was working. Thankfully, we have an amazing mechanic and a great body guy. In the end, we saved about 10k on each, compared to if we bought same truck in good condition.

[@jackiejorpjomp]

It's a roll of the dice with salvage/rebuilt title cars. Ive bought two cars with rebuilt titles due to collisions and they've just had minor issues like alignment being off and occasional electrical gremlins. Biggest headache is selling it when you are done with it.

[@jacknimble1]

Isn't any used car purchase a roll of the dice if you don't really know what you are looking at? How many vehicles are sold on marketplace because they need work? Most vehicles sold at a salvage auction were solid cars before they were hit. I agree with the resale hassel because most people are brainwashed to be scared of them.

[@AnontheGOAT]

Frame machines make quick work of any alignment issues.

[@NHDude]

As an insurance estimator, another tip I would add is make sure all of the fasteners of the suspension are torqued correctly. It's not a good time when your previously totaled vehicle from suspension damage losses it's new (insert suspension part), from prior experience.

[@christopherhale580]

I purchased a 2000 Tacoma with a rebuilt title several years ago. There were some challenges licensing it when moving from Idaho to California. But once that was sorted out, the truck was great. I put close to 80k miles on it, and ended up selling it for what I purchased it for. I am glad you guys did this review because this can be a really good option for follks.

[@alwaysawn9110]

the one thing I would add when shopping for your rebuilt vehicle, if it’s new enough for it to have both, is to make sure the vin number is in tact and both match.

[@jr_boostedlsx_obs9316]

I bought a vehicle from Copart that was never wrecked in the first place. It looked like they did some sort of insurance scam. Front bumper headlights were all in the back of the vehicle. Put it all back together truck looks great.

[@bigpoppa1992]

I bought a 2017 lincoln mkx with a rebuilt title. It was reliable for the few years I drove it. Then I traded it in for more money than i bought it for.

[@aaronbehindbars]

When my wife and I were shopping for her new car a couple months ago, we initially were looking at used Honda HR-Vs. I found one that looked like a good deal from a dealership. It was 2 years old with 2X,XXX miles. Then I looked into the deLer and figured out they specialize in branded title vehicles. They were asking a couple thousand dollars less than similar vehicles that were certified used at Honda dealers. I said NO WAY, therr isn't any universe where a salavge title car, however good it may have been fixed, is worth that close to a clean title vehicle! They were still asking those crazy covid used car prices. A few years ago, we bought for my wife a 2 year old Buick Encore that was an ex-rental (horrible idea as we learned). It haad been wrecked in the front and passenger side. It probably had structural damage vecause it kept chewing up right front strut assemblies. That car had a clean title, ptobably because it never went through insurance for repairs. That's the kind of thing that scares me on salvage cars, so I wouldn't touch one at all. I suppose for a winter beater, it might be alright, but where I live doesn't have real winters.

[@rich6246]

We just bought my dad’s old Xterra with hail damage for my soon to be driving daughter for her first vehicle. Its a rebuilt title & once we get a new hood it’ll look almost perfect.

[@IQToms]

Quite a few mistakes in this. States (or any government agencies) have zero to do with declaring a vehicle as salvage. Vehicles get salvage titles for only one reason: the insurance company decided it's in their financial interest to pay the insured the book value of the vehicle rather than paying to fix it. Every salvage title vehicle will have been owned by an insurance company at some point. Vehicles that an insurance company has not paid out on will never have a salvage title no matter how much damage it may have received. Also, the whole rebuilt thing is very much state dependent. In South and North Carolina nothing is required to register a salvage vehicle and no 'rebuilding' or inspections of any kind are required. I've done it dozens of times. Also, recovered thefts get salvage titles (assuming insurance paid out on them) even if they have no damage at all.

[@tomcook8897]

For a teenager or winter beater a cosmetic salvage is a great idea

[@LafemmebearMusic]

I hear you. Also can I gently say that initially I wondered about the safety of the teen not having a vehicle that is as safe as it’s supposed to be? But also I did just watch a video about a company that specializes in rebuilding vehicles and selling to the public. If it was from somewhere like that, I’d definitely feel comfortable letting a teen drive the vehicle. The history of the rebuild is what concerns me.

[@joseCalderon1976]

I bought a Versa with a rebuild tittle. I drove it and it drives like a normal car. And it has a good old 4 speed automatic transmission. No CVT crap. We'll see what happens with the passage of time

[@finerbiner]

If you need cheap transportation and understand that resale will be a hassle, you can get low cost transportation. My son got a salvage CRV and he has been driving it for 5 years. He paid $5,000.

[@Fordfan08]

I've got an 08 F150, rebuilt, Xlt trim in 2011, It's been the most solid and reliable vehicle I've ever owned

[@andyman7931]

Ive had 2 rebuilt title vehicles. One was great, the other not so much. If I didn't do my own maintenance there would have been large bills as the repair on the second wasn't done well. There's another type of salvage title vehicle that wasn't mentioned in this video which I've lately had great success with. Lemon law cars are also listed as salvage and with an extended factory warranty can be a bargain. I've had 2 of those with great success.

[@raymond_sycamore]

You should buy the cheapest reliable transportation possible that you can easily maintain and work on yourself. Period. Wake up, people!

[@macbook802]

Never buy salvage unless you know the history

[@miket8909]

But what if my paint flakes, surely that's a good reason for $1000 month payment 😅

[@aaronbehindbars]

That's a naw from me, dawg! I can afford to drive a newer, under warranty vehicle as can my wife. No headaches with breaking down and they're pretty nice vehicles. We aren't rich, but we live well. No car payments and we can both drive these for the next 15 years.

[@alexchavez787]

Money comes and goes don’t be a 🐈

[@tenacious645]

Some people get a lot of joy from their car. You only live once. It's worth enjoying yourself if you can afford it

[@petermandics1517]

Worth mentioning that not all insurance carriers will offer policies on salvage-titled vehicles.

[@omarmandujano6772]

They will as long as you rebuild the title because at that point it’s blue again

[@Bdub1952]

My rides are an '06 AWD Element and an '03 2 door Vitara 4WD, both with rebuilt titles. I've put 70k on the Element and 20k on the Vitara. Got both of them for about 60% of retail, and they've been reliable here in the Idaho tundra.

[@Lane-jq3ed]

Great info fellas.....insurance and reselling the vehicle are usually the boogers of owning a salvaged title

[@greggc8088]

Crazy thing in Georgia-advelorem tax for a rebuilt title vehicle is same as regular title meaning they think it's value is just as much even though I pay way lower.

[@wwz1011]

I bought a 2002 F150 with a rebuilt title. It was 3 months old and had 3,700 miles on it. I had it 12 more years, put 130,000 miles on it, pretty much trouble free. Only problem was when I sold it. Buyers were convinced that anything with a rebuilt title is garbage. I had to pretty much give it away. So if you keep your cars a long, long, time, no problem. If you get new car fever after a couple of years of ownership, then I would not recommend it. I paid cash for it, so I don't know about financing. I also had another car, obviously it had been wrecked, but it still had a clean title. My understanding is if the prior owner didn't make an insurance claim, it won't be salvaged. Needless to say, when I eventually sold it I had no problem as it still had a "clean" title.

[@sbishopvt4650]

Pro tip if you buy a 3. Check the trans fluid. They put atf in my 6 speed Lucky i had good friends at my local shop.

[@sbishopvt4650]

They only charged me for the part so I tipped my boy that much aswell. Saved me a couple stacks.

[@bobcoats2708]

I wouldn’t buy a state certified rebuilt title car without a pretty thorough inspection. I doubt all states have a rigorous inspection process, and I wouldn’t want to count on that alone.

[@butterbeantx]

Yep, in Washington state the state patrol inspects salvage vehicles before issuing a rebuilt title. It's not anything more than a cursory inspection to make sure the lights and signals work, All of the major body panels are intact, the hood trunk and all doors open successfully ,and the Airbag light is turned off. You could hide a lot of shoddy work and never get it discovered in that inspection. So getting your own inspection when buying a rebuilt car is always a good idea. you don't know how good it was rebuilt and any inspection it got previously may not be very thorough.

[@davidrudd9846]

Frame damage but I don't straighten frames are not recognized in most states now

[@CalgaryGuy71]

Also keep in mind that these newer vehicles with a bunch more electronics could have many more problems.

[@dathat555]

Be aware if you are planning to travel with the vehicle to other countries, Mexico for example, a salvage title is often not allowed. A 'rebuilt' title however is usually okay.

[@mrfunatparties6763]

Whats sucks is getting an inpspextion appointment to be able to drive it on the road

[@adrianrafaelmagana804]

Very helpful video, thank you for sharing your wisdom!

[@dameinfriday9275]

In Louisiana I bought a rebuilt title car and got it inspected was a great running car but after getting a good insurance rate ,a month after my insurance more than doubled and even though it was liability only so I would verify with your insurance if the cost

[@jacknimble1]

When was the last time any insurance company asked to see your title before insuring it?

[@wraps_and_decals_by_daniel]

Bought a salvage and well it was cheap RWD and well 2 door. Just what I needed to start drifting and for fun. Still drives well lol

[@justinpimentel8569]

Best winterbeater I have had with good winter tires on it your set Mazda 3

[@brianmartinez5612]

Glad I found this video. Im literally in your area. Thornton, CO. I recognized much of the areas you're driving. Anyway. What are your thoughts on a car that was T-boned. No engine damage, but frame damage. Trst driving the car it seems fine, but not sure how much a bent frame can be fixed?

[@tracybrooks215]

I did and it was a bad mistake, the people I bought it from didn't even tell me.I found out after I took it to the Nissan dealership, the the cvt jamco transmission did work right when it got hot,the car had been wrecked and the miles wasn't right on the dash,total nightmare that pos Nissan altima 2 dr coupe,it is still setting in a scrap yard

[@ldstirling]

When you say that you need to have documentation about repairs being made to a Salvage vehicle in order to have it inspected and issued a Rebuilt title, what exactly do you mean? Do these repairs have to be done by a shop? What can you do to document these repairs if you DIY? The whole point of getting a Salvage vehicle is to save money, and I'm not going to want to pay a shop to do certain repairs, or replace certain parts that I can simply buy and do myself. How do you document DIY repairs?

[@jamesbeemer2477]

Nothing wrong with salvage title I owned several for the past 20 years. If you don’t maintain them or get them with in a lower mileage period of 120 thousand or less or do the researcher on what was damaged. Like a truck if you had a rear end collision of a reconstruction title and the frame is compromised I recommend towing no more then one ton till you get a fabricator to strengthen it and inspect the work ever year for cracks or send it to a shop to pay 5 grand replace the back half of the frame. Do your home work on common problems and fix them before it happens. It’s worth it if you don’t want to spend 30 grand for a 5 year old vehicle with low mileage and you want to pay 10 or 12 grand

[@anthonyc1883]

Oh, man I remember that footage from Andre's near submersion in the pond. Awesome! :-) :-)

[@garretlewis4103]

That old Omni/Horizon didn’t have horsepower, it had bunny power. 😁😁😁

[@ZIGZAGBureauofInvestigation]

Salvage machines I had One [got it in 2003 in Cal.w/front damage.] paid $750 for a 1991 Mercedes 190E w/80,000 miles, spent a good $3000 / One other of the Unstoppables machine. Son Has it now ! Would I do it again ? Not, that brand - Parts are very coslty.

[@germanlopez745]

What about theft recovery vehicles?

[@Thermool]

I’m driving a rebuilt 2021 Tacoma V6. It was totaled for what amounts to a side swipe that dented the driver side bed and back door. No other damage was done. And it was basically new in 2021 at 5k miles. It’s got nearly 70k today and no issues. Just changed the oem tires and they wore normally

[@miket8909]

If you so buy salvage, make sure you dont pay clean title price. IMO 20% less for salvage seems fair

[@Rick-vg2pz]

50% less

[@robervin9107]

Awesome wisdom guys ❤

[@tedadamgreen]

I really appreciate this video … very educational!

[@MultiPurposeReviewer]

Huh. There must be something that's happened with my car or state that I don't know about, because I've had a salvage title on my car ever since it was totaled (one of the taillights got shattered), and I've been driving it ever since I got the light fixed. Am I technically not supposed to be driving it? (Edit: I do have current registration and have since I bought the car).

[@petermavus4131]

What Carfax didn’t sponsor this vid ?

[@josephshealey]

Question. If I buy a rebuilt title and it was already registered to a person after the rebuild. Will it still be a problem for me to register it?

[@johnsanford3596]

What about the factory warranty? A low mileage rebuilt car could, in theory, still be within the factory warranty period.

[@kevinbarry71]

Worst mistake of your life? Not unless you marry it.

[@maverick_trail]

lol true

[@kevinbarry71]

You guys are assuming too much; the depth of that inspection depends on the state. There are some states that only verify that the car and the major components are not stolen.

[@metalavenger23]

So long as you acknowledge that you will probably get nothing for it when you go to resell it later it’s good.

[@6ftgemini838]

As someone who bounces from car to car frequently I will never buy a salvage title car. They're a pain in the ass to sell.

[@ambrizje90]

My family bought these 3 times .. all 3 times was great..but still risky af 😅...

[@derrellpill2932]

Insurane can be tricky for wrecked cars.

[@JCiL4Ever]

Y’all did Andre dirty with that B roll 😂

[@aceofspades6667]

Looking at an 2019 audi rs5 for $35k with rebuilt title. Clean tiles equivalents go for around $50k+. Not sure what to do with it 🤷‍♂️

[@Daunte1984]

What did you end up doing? I m looking at a 2016 Audi A5 for 13 k, with 115 000 km in Canada. About 10 K in savings .

[@williamconrad1087]

I checked in to this and my bank said they will finance these vehicles but I would face market rate interest plus 3%.

[@briankatz3955]

3:13 ... you're welcome!

[@heathwirt8919]

The huge panel gaps tell you it's either a Tesla or not repaired properly.

[@thundermite1241]

Bought a 08 sorento ex with rebuilt title it was ran into a ditch guy we bought it from the guy who rebuilt it it came with a ream of photos that totaled into the thousands of the process of the repairs he did we paid 3k for it it had 40k miles on it drove it to 140k miles when i tried to dodge a steel desk on the highway clipped it on the front right broke the entire steering rack and it took the right tire rim and tore a bunch of other parts on the passenger side but the desk got launched off the highway without hitting anyone else and i somehow managed to get the thing on the left shoulder and stopped there i somehow was uninjured inshurence gave me 5k to replace it and was not found at fault cause the dash cam caught the guy whos trailer it fell off of he was found at fault

[@daveroush4896]

What did you do Andre? Trying to drive over water?

[@WheresHerb]

I've had 3 salvage title vehicles and haven't had any problems with them.

[@macbook802]

Then why do you have to keep buying them

[@andreydrekinakh]

All my cars have rebuilt titles 😂

[@zachc1297]

If you cant turn a wrench, but a salvage or rebuild for cheap and then use it to learn. If you have to take every car problem to a mechanic, you will burn through the savings in labor costs quickly. This coming from a channel that buys used Range or Land Rovers and dont do their own (these two may but most of them dont) maintenance is a red flag on its own.

[@fpereyra7603]

I honestly don’t care if it’s rebuilt clean or whatever I would rather buy rebuilt now that I think about it u get about 50% off newer car and lower mileage I’m always a sucker for a good deal since I’m not buying a new car to take that massive depreciation hit on it no thank you.

[@djb1634]

Salvage title just means it will cost more to fix the vehicle than the vehicle is worth. The vehicle could be saved but at what cost.

[@MattKremer39]

I love salvage title vehicles as they can be a great value, but it depends of the type of vehicle (previous owner/s) and if you can verify the type and extent of the damage. I currently have a few, and my 2013 Cadillac CTS-4 3.6 has been amazing for the past 3 years. You definitely need to go into ownership with an open mind, because many times the bodywork/paint was done just to get the it ready for sale. Mine was hit in the right rear, not too bad, but the work is less than desirable. I love it though. **a huge benefit is being able to google the vin, which will usually show the damage when the vehicle was for sale at auction***

[@jamesm568]

Most of your classic cars have a salvage title. Every situation is different.

[@jobu9224]

VGA should not be on the road. They are a safety risk to all drivers.

[@olkh5242]

This guy said price for rebuild title should be 20-70% less from clean title. Buy at least one salvage car and do all work and I will come to you and will pay 70% less from clean title. Some rebuild much cleaner than clean title. Stop tell ppl what to do.

[@macbook802]

Never buy a salvage title car unless you know and approve of the history. If you do buy, it's half of the kbb value

[@ML-lg4ky]

Avoid like the plague.

[@mattcampos2032]

This is dumb already about salvage in my state and othr states i know of salvage literally everything and anything especially older vehicles it could literally be just a fender and headlight the body shops charge insane amounts of money so insurance salvages 🤦😂

[@sbishopvt4650]

I'd buy that all day if body is straight. Gotta 2012.

[@kamryn7496]

I wanna buy a 13k mile 2023 Nissan frontier 3.8L v6 for 19.000$ wonder if it be worth it the bumper an fender were replaced I looked at it and you can’t even tell it would have a salvage title body work looks good 2023 Nissan frontiers are selling for 30k

[@jamesonpace726]

A-feared Ima gunna hafta pass....

[@Beary98]

I bought ONE clean titled rig. It definitely shouldn't have been clean titled. There seems to be no difference in the real world to me

[@sbishopvt4650]

Nice looking ford lol

[@laszlocsorba5753]

Go vegan and fruitarian.