Salvage Title Turbo S

[jbthompson]

Hey everyone! I am looking for a new beetle and found a turbo s at a great price. I have some concerns. The car has a salvage title from a minor rear end collision. The seller says there is no frame or suspension damage, and that the wheels are perfectly aligned and everything is just like new. There's a new bumper and all the parts have been replaced with OEM parts Any thoughts? This is a great deal on the car, but I don't want to get into trouble on this one. I've seen pictures of the damage and it looks like a fairly signifigant rear end hit. Why would this be a salvage title? What would you all recommend? Thanks!

[DriverFound]

Originally Posted by jbthompson

Hey everyone! I am looking for a new beetle and found a turbo s at a great price. I have some concerns. The car has a salvage title from a minor rear end collision. The seller says there is no frame or suspension damage, and that the wheels are perfectly aligned and everything is just like new. There's a new bumper and all the parts have been replaced with OEM parts Any thoughts? This is a great deal on the car, but I don't want to get into trouble on this one. I've seen pictures of the damage and it looks like a fairly signifigant rear end hit. Why would this be a salvage title? What would you all recommend? Thanks!

My understanding of a salvage title is that the car was totaled and salvaged from that. Minor collisions don't total cars...something else is going on here. I'd be VERY careful here to look for evidence of flooding from the hurricanes last year...mud/silt under the spare tire and/or under the carpet, for example. Google flood car inspection...it's not the mud that's bad, it's the mud and moisture in the wiring. And for your own good run a Carfax search on the title. Get an independent mechanic to look at the car. Spend a little money now and you might save a BUNCH of money later.

Remember, TANSTAAFL...There ain't no such thing as a free lunch - if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

[larryziegler]

Originally Posted by jbthompson

Hey everyone! I am looking for a new beetle and found a turbo s at a great price. I have some concerns. The car has a salvage title from a minor rear end collision. The seller says there is no frame or suspension damage, and that the wheels are perfectly aligned and everything is just like new. There's a new bumper and all the parts have been replaced with OEM parts Any thoughts? This is a great deal on the car, but I don't want to get into trouble on this one. I've seen pictures of the damage and it looks like a fairly signifigant rear end hit. Why would this be a salvage title? What would you all recommend? Thanks!

This has a salvage title because some insurance company considered it to be a total loss and paid it off as such. A 5 digit number no less. The owner then bought the salvage back for a couple hundred dollars and repaired it. Minor accidents don't cause titles to be re-labeled as salvage. It could be from an accident, or been damaged as the result of water damage, such as flood. No lender will loan money on such a beast, nor will your insurance company want to provide Comp/Collision coverage on it. Caveat Emptor is the operative phrase here. Your wallet might be saying C'est La Vie to your greenbacks. If its looks like too good of a deal, it's probably no deal at all.

[Porkchop]

And I will provide the opposing viewpoint: if the price is rock bottom, buy it.

It sounds like the owner is trying to "justify" the salvage title as a way to justify his asking price. "It was only a minor accident"... so he'll only come off of NADA or KBB by so much. Make a ridiculously low offer and get yourself a good deal.

I've been driving a salvage titled Jeep for the past 3 years with far fewer problems than our New Beetle.

Oh.. and get it really cheap and don't carry comp/collision on it. Buy cars for cheap, self insure, laugh all the way to the bank. Repeat.

[Bugman]

could of been a theft recovery also and the collison was done during the theft ,,like someone earlier said , take it to a dealer or a good mechanic and pay to have it checked out

[CyberGypsy]

First it will be hard to EVER resale a salvage car,second,if you do buy it,take it to get a complete check out a friend bought a BMW at a great price,the acccident previous,rubbed the wiring the erong way, hence it burst in flames at a red light,and the insurance company only a couple dollars BECAUSE it was asalvage title