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"Salvage Title"

6K views 13 replies 12 participants last post by  DonCorleone 
#1 ·
If a car has a salvage title, will there be a lender that will lend money on that car?
 
#2 ·
Nope. Some salvaged cars are good deals, but most have major issues that can not be recognized by the average person. If an insurance company has totaled a vehicle(salvaged) there will not be a lender that will touch the car. You will have to get a credit card or personal loan to buy the vehicle. The safe bet is to not buy it unless your willing to buy a sub-standard IS.

Having said that, there are the rare occassions where you can get a very slightly blemished car that has been totaled out. A co-worker just had their 2001 Accord stolen. It was recovered without it's leather seats. The cost of the seats exceeded what the insurance company wanted to pay and they totaled it out. Someone will probably buy that car for next to nothing at auction and find some used seats to throw in it.
 
#3 ·
i dont think there will be many that will take the risk. i have never looked into it but my reasoning is this; a lender will lend if they have confidence you will pay them what you borrow. to lend on a car that is salvaged which means you have no idea what was wrong with it and how it was repaired and what gremlins might surface, you might have a person that you lent money to that has a car that now doesn't work, so in turn they will not pay because the car is not working. the default risk is really high and it makes the interest they would earn not worth it.

and most salvaged title cars are priced low in part because of this, most ppl i've heard of with salvaged title cars paid cash or financed some other way (other than auto finance)

again i have no experience with this and may be completely off the mark, so maybe the few owners who are open about having a salvaged title is300 on this site may offer more insight.
 
#5 ·
A credit union probably would not be interested either. The real reasoning is that if the loan defaults, the collateral is pretty much worthless as a salvaged title. Financial institutions really dislike having to repo a clean title as it is, so you can imagine their interest level would be low as salvaged.

ISinCP has the right idea with the suggestion that you go personal (unsecured) loan. But beware, these loans usually have a pretty high interest rate unless you are a gold/platinum credit risk.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Carparts guy is correct. There are MANY banks and credit unions that will FINANCE a vehicle with "previous salvage title history".

I've never tried to register a "current" salvage title vehicle, therefore, I won't comment in on that. The main banks I found that won't touch salvage are: Bank Of America, Citibank, E-loan and the other big boys, just to name a few.

As for salvage lenders:

Capital One Auto Fiance does finance salvage. :bigSmile:

Pentagon Federal Credit Union finances as well, however at 50% of retail book (max). They offer excellent interest rates!! Currently 4.5% interest for up to 60 months! (Was 3.9%)

Don't get scared away. They use MAX retail and will finance up to 50% including sales tax and fees. A 2003 IS300 max retail is still like 27K (so $13.5K~loan) You can easily finance any 2002+ IS300. I know first hand, I've done it. Just becareful what you buy!!

I recommend buying a theft or salvage that was due to interior damage. I'd avoid ANY IS hit hard in the front or side. They will NEVER be the same. I've had a few and swear I'll never venture that road again.

Good luck in your search ;)
 
#7 ·
You dont want a car with a salvage title. As much as you may want the cheapest IS around you will kick yourself in the future (and hard may I add) for going that route
 
#8 ·
There is nothing wrong with buying Salvage cars. I myself will not buy a car at full price. Just make sure everything is disclosed correctly before you step into it. I have had my "theft" IS300 for 1.5 years and had 0 problems.
 
#10 ·
i bought a 2001 is300 with a salvage title that was a theft. i checked it out extremelly well and had a mechanic look it over also. i got the car for $8,000 less than the bluebook and have had it for around six months with no problems. if u do descide to buy a salvage definately get a carfax and have the vehicle looked over thoroughly. a theft salvage is a whole different ball game than a car that was totalled and can sometimes be a very good deal.
 
#11 ·
My brother bought his G35C under a salvage title, the only reason why it was salvaged was because it had some previous front end damage... nothing was mechanically wrong with the car except for the airbag light on the dash that the dealer took care of, but sometimes you may have to watch out for salvaged cars... just make sure you check up on the vehicle. As stated above there is nothing wrong with buying salvaged cars, if anything its usually a good deal because the title just scares people away for no reason, so the car ends up going for cheap. My brother has had 0 problems the last couple years with his G35c.
 
#12 ·
^Yes but once a car has been in an accident, especially one that warrants a salvage title it just never "feels" the same. When my first car was rear ended it was fixed by one of the best body shops and I still felt a difference... hard to describe but it just didnt as tight.

I cannot see spending a chunk of money on a salvaged car especially when for a similar amount you can get a brand new car or a different, very well taken care of pre owned vehicle.
 
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