Why is buying a salvage title car bad?

Answer 1

It's not necessarily bad. I have purchased salvage cars twice with fine results. It all boils down to why it was declared a total loss by the insurance company. Older cars are easily totaled, even a minor fender bender can turn an older car into a salvage vehicle since older cars are worth less and if the damage costs more than 75% of the car's value the insurance companies total it. Now a newer car with a salvage title spells trouble since that could mean the car sustained over $15K in damages and that's major. You just need to know why the car was totaled, have it inspected by a mechanic, don't pay too much (it's worth roughly 60% of a comparable car with a clean title) and run it til it dies since they are harder to sell than clean titled cars. Still, I've purchased a Toyota and a Volvo with salvage titles and they are the best running cars I've ever owned. People always say run from salvage cars,which is a blanket statement that is often untrue and unfair. Consider this: $4000 in rear end damage on a new car = no salvage title. Same damage on an 8 year old car = salvage title. Same damage, different titles. Lesson: A clean title does not mean a clean car. At least with a salvage title the truth is up front.