What is Salvage title?

Is a Salvage Car Right for You?

By Mike Richards Updated: 05/22/2019 Posted: 09/01/2017

If you’ve seen a lot of salvage cars for sale at dealer auctions, you are probably at least a little curious about the great deals you’re seeing. It’s true that there are a lot of excellent prices to be had, but there are also a lot of cons that come with owning a salvage car – and reselling one can be even more tricky. So before you start diving into the world of salvage cars, consider what type of person would be the best owner for a salvage car first.

Are You Handy with Car Repairs?

When shopping for the salvage cars for sale, you aren’t likely to see any that don’t’ require some repairs. The term salvage car means that the vehicle had some damage, and the insurance company deemed that it could be fixed, but they’d rather not. So they reimbursed the owner and sold the vehicle as is. But the damage could have been anything from simply being stolen to being set on fire and then rolled down a hill. In any case, you’ll at least need to be able to recognize that something is wrong with the car so that you know to get it into a mechanic.

Do You Tend to Drive Older Vehicles?

For the most part, you won’t see brand new cars, or even relatively new cars, listed as salvage cars for sale. Insurance companies are more likely to go ahead and fix a newer car, because it will retain its value better. Older cars are generally the ones that aren’t worth fixing up. If you aren’t concerned with having an older model vehicle, then this won’t be a problem for you.

Are You Planning to Keep this Car for a While?

Unless you luck out and find a real gem listed with the other salvage cars for sale, chances are you won’t find a huge profit margin in reselling salvage cars. The salvage title never goes away, even if you fix what was wrong with the vehicle – and that salvage title makes the car difficult to insure. That makes them harder to resell. If you are the type of car owner who frequently drives a car into the ground, then this won’t affect you – you’ll be getting great savings on your daily driver for the next several years.

Did You Answer Yes?

Salvage cars for sale aren’t for everyone, but if you answered yes to the three questions above, you’ll likely be just the right person to enjoy the unique benefits of a salvage car. If you keep your eye open for a great deal, and know the laws in your area for insuring salvage cars, you’ll be able to save a ton of money and enjoy getting the best deals that can be had at the dealer auction. Salvage cars are often for sale on online dealer auctions as well.

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