rebuilt title value??

[roscoe]

So been talkin to a guy about trading my secondary car for a car with a rebuild/salvage title. Just tryin to see what your opinions on are on how much this hurts the value of a car. I'm saying in the respect that the car was not hit by a semi going 80mph. More so that the car isn't worth alot because of age and a somewhat minor accident totaled it out by insurance. Say the car would be worth around $3500 with a clear title. What would you guys say for the exact car with a rebuilt title with all work done my a reputable shop. As always reps to good input!!

[lanning]

IMO i would keep looking, but for some people it doesn't bother them

[Browning151]

Really depends on how bad the actual damage was. If it was all cosmetic damage, I wouldn't be too worried. If there was frame/uni-body damage, I would definitely pass on it. Do you know for sure how bad the damage was and what has been repaired? I try to avoid salvage/re-built cars because you can never really tell how well the work was done and what corners were cut, but if it was something that was older and maybe not worth much to an insurance company to begin with I might consider it. If you're weary about it take it to a body shop that you trust and have it inspected.

[roscoe]

I'm not so much worried about the condition of the car. I'm in school to be a technician myself so I can inspect the mechanical side of things and i have a friend that will go with me that has worked at a body shop for over 10 years. My main concern is the resale value of it. I have a swap planned for it and I plan to keep it for a few years but knowing myself the temptation to sell will come soon. I'm lookin for numbers from you guys. Same exact car, how much less would you have to pay because of the title? (with the damage having been cosmetic)

[Catnip]

I'm not so much worried about the condition of the car. I'm in school to be a technician myself so I can inspect the mechanical side of things and i have a friend that will go with me that has worked at a body shop for over 10 years. My main concern is the resale value of it. I have a swap planned for it and I plan to keep it for a few years but knowing myself the temptation to sell will come soon. I'm lookin for numbers from you guys. Same exact car, how much less would you have to pay because of the title? (with the damage having been cosmetic)

Varies by car, mods, miles, etc.

[-EnVus-]

Cars that have Flood damage have Rebuilt titles also so just remember that.

[Browning151]

Most of the time if the damage is around 70% or more of ACV (actual cash value) then it's considered a total loss, but ACV isn't necessarily based on KBB values and the percent can be lower or higher, depending on the insurance company. If the ACV of the car is $3500 and it was totaled, you're possibly looking at $2500 worth of damage, but that's dependant on what the insurance says the ACV of the car is. Something that you would pay $3500 for may be worth much less to an insurance company. If they only valued it at $2000 then it could have been totaled for as little as $1400, there are a lot of variables to consider, what you pay for it isn't always what the insurance values it at. When you start talking about re-sale value there are a lot of variables to consider as well. Like Catnip said, it varies by car, miles, mods etc. Based on the limited information given and your estimate of $3500 value, $2500 or less is all that I would pay. But then again that's highly dependant on other factors, give us some more details on the car and we can give a little better answer.

[roscoe]

Cool thanks. The guy is emailing me pictures of the damage so I'll post the

[Echonova]

I personally would buy a car with a rebuilt title if I was worried about resale value. Especially if the car isn't worth much to begin with. With the economy the way it is good cars can be found for cheap...