salvage title for vintage cars- what's the deal?

[NOPANTS-68]

Thinking of purchasing a second gen Camaro in Northern California. The car has a salvage title and is in need of a brake and lamp inspection from what the owner tells me. It's a running car for under 3K and all I'm interested in is the front stub and the body itself- the rest will be trash. Does anyone have any input on buying a salvaged titled vintage car as far as resale value or special hoops I'd have to jump through to get it on the road? I'm not buying it to flip, but rather to build for myself. The owner's not much help as it had this title when he bought it. The car has minimal front nose damage, that based on today's insurance companys would easily total the car based on the value they would place on it. Just looking for any input before I potentially step into a bear trap. TIA, Dave

[backtobasics]

The rules on title varies from state to state. Some states will issue a clean title, once fixed. Others will always consider it salvage, even if they title it for open road use. The biggest determining factor is insurance, some companies will not offer full coverage, on a salvage vehicle, no matter how nice it is.

[mpozzi]

For California, it will remain a Salvage title. This doesn't mean the car can't be licensed or insured but will affect the overall claims settlement amount in the event damage exceeds the vehicle value, i.e. total loss.

If the car is in good condition and something you can work with, buy it.

If you buy it, take lots of before and after pictures. That way, any insurance sales person or underwriter can see how you've progressed and improved the car. While it won't remove the Salvage baggage on the title, you should get a lot more in the event of a total loss.

Don't forget that most insurance carriers DON'T offer stated value/agreed value policies, only ACV (actual cash value) policies. Huge difference as for an ACV policy, it's a Camaro and worth pennies on the dollar to the insurance carrier.

Cheers,
Mary Pozzi

[NOPANTS-68]

For California, it will remain a Salvage title. This doesn't mean the car can't be licensed or insured but will affect the overall claims settlement amount in the event damage exceeds the vehicle value, i.e. total loss.

If the car is in good condition and something you can work with, buy it.

If you buy it, take lots of before and after pictures. That way, any insurance sales person or underwriter can see how you've progressed and improved the car. While it won't remove the Salvage baggage on the title, you should get a lot more in the event of a total loss.

Don't forget that most insurance carriers DON'T offer stated value/agreed value policies, only ACV (actual cash value) policies. Huge difference as for an ACV policy, it's a Camaro and worth pennies on the dollar to the insurance carrier.

Cheers,
Mary Pozzi

thanks guys. I will cover it under my Hagerty policy along with my Nova, but I understand what you are saying about the post total loss value. I will of course photo document the build as I have done with all the others. Thats the info I was looking for. Thanks again.

[willieboy240]

wait wait... before you buy it. you better think about when its time when you want to sell it. if you put some big money into it. its gonna be mission impossible to get any fair money back out of it. just keep that in mind.

[NOPANTS-68]

I see your point and it rings clear. However I would think that a salvage title may not be as big of a deal for a car that gets restored all the way from the unibody up. I plan on minitubing, caging, and modifying pretty much every aspect of the car. I just have to make sure first that I don't have any issues getting it insured or registered before I reach for my wallet.

[Charley Lillard]

You might check with Hagerty to make sure they will insure it. My opinion is you will lose more at sale time than you are saving by buying it. If you pay 3K for it now when you could buy a non salvage car for say maybe 10K, you are going to lose more than that 7k difference when it is time to sell. If all you can afford is the 3K then it might be what has to work for you but if you can afford the non salvage car I think you are better off in the long run. It is easy to buy a car. It is harder to sell a car and it gets really hard when it has a salvage title. If you were building just a straight track car it would be fine.

[70bird]

My experience with salvage title is limited, but from what I understand it will cut resale value in half, generaly speaking. Just the words salvage title will turn some off as it conjures images of a vehicle damaged beyond repair. Build pics would help with potential resale and insurance negotiations.

That said, muscle/classic car values are somewhat subjective anyway unless they are a 100 point resto. Most guys looking to buy a modified car will not mind as much as long as the repairs are documented, and they are not looking to re-sell (much like yourself).

Personaly, I would buy it if it is what you want. When it comes time to sell, you can always pull your expensive parts back off, if you can't get your price, and fire sale it. By the time you may be ready to sell, the pricing on these cars will likely be much higher than they are now.
Just my .02