If I'm shopping for a used car that is registered and titled in VA, how do I make sure that's it doesn't have a salvage or rebuilt title? Other than checking the carfax and auto check's report on it, how can I be 100% sure that the title is clean? Nothing against carfax but I'd rather see it with my own eyes than rely on a third party report. I tried looking for a photo on the VA title that is branded salvage or rebuilt but couldn't find one on the internet. Other states stamp it either Salvage of rebuilt prominently on the title itself so you know by looking at it if it doesn't have a clean title.

 

it doesn't just get registered as salvage. its a process. requires fees and inspections. not just calling the sheriff to run it anymore.

and yes the title is supposed to have it somewhere because it changes the insurance policy and laws.

 

So that's what I was wondering, where on the title do I look to make sure I'm not buying a salvaged or rebuilt car? I'm aware of the inspection to get a car titled as salvaged but I'm not interested in getting a car titled salvaged, I'd like to avoid any cars that are salvaged..Just need to know what to look for on the title? Is it printed in tiny letters in some corner of the title or is marked SALVAGED in big bold red letters watermarked on the title??

 

You have to be careful though, when a car is mangled,and deemed a total loss you don't always give the title up, and it's not stamped salvaged until after you buy the car and it was to get sent off to Richmond for months

 

I noticed NC doesn`t stamp the title at all. I`ve bought a salvaged bike from down there before an all they did was put a sticker on the frame next to the vin. By the time i put it through DMV there was no indication of it being a previously salvaged vehicle at all. Just a plain Jane Va title.

Doesn`t matter now though, it ended up in salvage by the time i was done with it. But this thread got me thinking about how many vehicle may have come from NC that were originally salvage an are now being passed off as clean title rides.

 

So, pardon my ignorance but a salvage vehicle is basically a vehicle that is inoperable - correct? Meaning, anyone in their right mind would know if the car is salvaged or not because either it's not running or the car looks like it has been through a major accident. The title brand in question is whether or not someone is buying a rebuilt vehicle that was previously salvaged and then fixed to sell. In this case, VA DMV requires a Rebuilt Vehicle Disclosure Statement telling the buyer that the vehicle has been salvaged and repaired. So the basically, the dealer can't legally try to sell a rebuilt car without the buyer knowing (that is, the buyer signing off on the rebuilt disclosure statement).

Does this sound about right?

 

Nah, not at all. And not all cars that should be salvaged/rebuilt are ever reported so. It's just good idea to get a car looked over by a reputable shop you trust if you have any apprehensions.

 

I always figured that salvage just meant that the repair costs for an insurer were higher than the vehicle`s current value...or something to that effect. Which sometimes may or may not be all that bad, but never good. But you get a butterfly effect when dealing with vehicles that have been in an accident. This parts shifts, that part shift etc etc. just because they got it back in one piece with the body lines matching up doesn`t mean squat. I personally wouldn`t fuck with any salvage anymore unless it was something i just planned on beating the piss out of anyways. But that`s just me, i`m sure others will feel differently. I damn sure wouldn`t pay anything even remotely close to book value, that`s for damn sure.

 

I agree. It would have to be a family member or close trusted friend, or I'd have to know in great detail what happened to the car and that it wasn't that bad, which usually means family member or friend anyway.