Is there normally issues with a branded salvage titled car 💰

[Runnin' Rebel]

It's a 2016 Honda Accord with 8000 miles. It would be an auction vehicle. I saw the accident pictures and it was front end damage but after it was fixed it looked brand new which of course that's what they want it to look like.

I'm not sure what to think but for 7000.00 it looks like a decent deal for daily use for REBEL Daughter now that she's moved home. Her other car was a 2006 Saturn Ion and had 45,000 and bought in 2008 but now has 120,000 miles and it's beat up and at the end. She used through high school and college.

Does the Honda have a factory warranty anymore ? I'm thinking it doesn't ? I probably should have it totally inspected prior. Does the insurance companies have any issue with these?

Is there anything else I should do or look out for.

[Danny83]

No factory warranty also you can get full coverage insurance in most states, however it costs more to get insurance and tags. The car was salvaged because it had several thousand dollars worth of repair typically 40% of bluebook. Now it just depends on how the work was done. Typically I stay away from salvaged however I have sold more then 22,000 cars and have sold about 300 salvaged units. Take the car to get a brake and lamp inspection costs about $70.00. Make sure no airbag lights are on.

[Letsgodiving]

Typically an insurance company will total a vehicle when the cost of repairs exceed 75% of the market value. Considering this is a late model vehicle that is a lot of damage. Probably structural damage, unibody frame, airbags etc. Vehicles are getting more sophisticated every year and the repairs are more complicated. Many repair facilities have trouble just keeping up with all the manufacture requirements and therefor vehicles are not repaired properly. This can affect proper air bag deployment, crush zones etc. and can be a significant safety issue.

It sounds like a good deal but at what risk?

[swils8610]

It depends. For me and the Dealerships I run we don’t sell them. We have taken them in on trade and the value is pennies on the dollar vs a non wrecked car. Also like Danny said it depends who did the repair work. The ins company declared it totaled. I had an accident with a new VW Touareg 2 years ago. Sticker price was 59k. To me the car guy it didn’t look that bad. The ins company totaled it. It only had 1100 miles on it. Sensors, airbags, and the main wiring harness had been severed. For me I’m out. Concerns would be does the Honda still have the structural capability it once had. Unibody damage most likely occurred. Possible the wiring harness is spliced back together. Lots of future gremlins are possible. Will the airbags work in another collision. To many variables for me. For my daughter when she drives I want to know the car will perform like it’s suppose to if she’s in a collision with it. Your counting on someone you don’t know fixing it properly. And even if fixed properly does the car still have the structural integrity to perform in a collision? Just my 2 cents but I’d pass.


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[Rockrolex]

I just got a 2014 Lexus IS250C from the Lexus dealer. The car had less than 14K miles on it and had gone through a multipoint inspection from Lexus. I wanted a convertible but Lexus stopped making them a couple of years ago so I had to get a pre-owned one. My 2002 Lexus SC430 was totaled by the insurance co. or I would have had it fixed and kept it forever (it had less than 89K miles on it when I crashed it).

[Chewbacca]

Front end is a no no. Your insurance company can decline medical and money if the front bags don't deploy or whether they were replaced at all. Too much happens in the front these days and it's a tough car to resell. Branded cars are repaired to look good for auction, not last or remain as-new.

I'd only take a chance on light flood, hail or theft recovery. And it has to be a really good deal or rare car.

[Bstewart]

Yeah. Especially for your daughter, don’t risk it.

[FTX I]

Originally Posted by Bstewart

Yeah. Especially for your daughter, don’t risk it.

Exactly. I'd pass for sure.

[MonBK]

Almost always.

[DLRIDES]

Run, run fast, don’t look back !

Front-end damage on a front wheel drive car is a recipe for disaster.

[Old Geezer]

i would be very concerned about the safety of the vehicle if heaven forbid, it was involved in another accident. Cosmetically it may look good but you can never be sure about the structural integrity. Newer cars are designed to be sacrificial and crush to absorb impact upon collision to protect the occupants. Pulling the crushed metal might restore it cosmetically but it’s likely weakened. Full replacement is seldom undertaken because the cars are bought cheap, fixed cheap to turn a quick profit.

[Blansky]

Approximately half a million cars were declared totaled after the flooding in Houston. Those cars were then sold by the insurance companies to companies that will refurbish things like carpets etc, but the main reason they were totaled is because cars today are all computerized and electronic.

And those parts are pervasive in the car and control all operations. AND its doubtful that all that electronics is stripped out and replaced.

So for the next few years a lot of cars that look perfectly fine with no body damage are going to hit the market.

[MonBK]

Originally Posted by Blansky

Approximately half a million cars were declared totaled after the flooding in Houston. Those cars were then sold by the insurance companies to companies that will refurbish things like carpets etc, but the main reason they were totaled is because cars today are all computerized and electronic.

And those parts are pervasive in the car and control all operations. AND its doubtful that all that electronics is stripped out and replaced.

So for the next few years a lot of cars that look perfectly fine with no body damage are going to hit the market.

Since they will forever have salvage titles it's easy to stay away from them.

[RW16610]

Yeah, run and don't look back is my honest advice. Some very good reasons given by the posters above so not much can be added I think.

[BBL]

If my daughter =safe car!

[The Libertine]

Wouldn’t even consider it.

[Rock]

The way I see it, you can get a lemon brand new - with built-in problems that the Maker is trying to keep secret. Why invite disaster by buying something you know at the outset has 'history'.
(although I guess you could say that is a bit like marrying a divorcee)