Would you ever buy a car with an "R" Title?

[chappy]

..................or a salvage title.

I know it kills the resale value if you ever wanted to sell.

But there are some for sale where one could save a lot of money.

Not thinking of buying one, just curious if anyone else has, or would be willing to.

That's all, I'm bored today.:)

[zelatore]

Under the right circumstances, sure.

Years ago, a friend and I used to pick up rebuildable cars at the local salvage yard. The deal usually included access to parts cars and room (just open lot) to work on it long enough to get it running as we had no truck/trailer to move them with. Since we were both students at the time we didn't have much money but we had a lot of energy, so it was a way to get into a 'nice' car.

Would I want to get one as my primary driver or only car? Maybe not. But as a secondary 'fun' car or just as a beater to pile up miles commuting? Why not? That sort of car usually gets run until it's dead anyway, so resale isn't a big deal, and you can get into a newer/nicer car for less money. Maybe even as Jr.'s first car if I felt confident that it was safe ('cause you know he's going to wreck that first one anyway...)

The only thing I've had any real trouble with is alignments. Sometimes it seemed like I could never get the car straight. Even if the alignment shop would say it was on the numbers, I'd still eat tires. Not sure what that was about (that was a late 80's RX7).

[Kirbyvv]

A good friend of mine owns a salvage yard too. I've bought two "wrecks" from him. One ended up with a clear title, but the other is "branded" (R title). The R titled car is the wife's "fun" car, a '97 mazda miata. We got the car in 2001 and it only had 21,000 miles. We had it repaired it using another parts car my friend had for well below book value. When I first saw it I said no way could it be repaired, but my buddy called it a "light hit". It had been T boned at the passenger side door. My wife only puts about 3-4,000 miles a year on it. Except for a rattle I can't track down we have had no trouble. In New York State a totaled vehicle has go to through a complete inspection that takes about a week before they will issue a valid title. So, we had good luck buying a wreck, but you never know......

[Just Say N20]

Sure. 3 years ago I bought a very nice Pontiac Grand Am GT for my daughter. It has an "R" title. I got it for 50¢ on the dollar because of the salvage title. I figured by the time we were going to get rid of it, it would have such little value that it wouldn't matter.

It has been a great car for her.

[Conquistador_del_mar]

The 2001 Toyota Tundra that I presently drive had a salvage title from Oklahoma where it was in one of the big tornados in OKC. It had many new skin parts, but there was not any damage to the chassis or drivetrain. I saved about $5000 when I bought it, and I was shocked to get a regular title when I registered it in Texas. It has always driven perfectly. I don't know if I would buy a car or truck that was in a severe wreck, though. Depending on the frame shop, you might or might not have a good restored vehicle. My two cents, Bill

[handfulz28]

You gotta know what caused the damage and to a certain extent the quality of the shop putting it back together. Assuming it wasn't a flood car, like Zelatore experienced the alignment and nowadays the SRS system are the two biggest concerns.

I mean, how do know a new set of airbags are going to deploy properly the next time around?

[justleft]

Ya gotta know why. Purchased a few for parts.

After Katrina......

[VetteLT193]

If you can get the history... MAYBE.

My father in law owned a body shop in Miami... There are a few cars still in the family that are Rebuilt, both with a branded and non branded title.

The first thing that comes to mind of any family member that has dealt with one of these special vehicles is "flaming pieces of s#$%."

I sold ours, with the clear title, but was honest. After that, unless the car was freaking perfect, I wouldn't buy a rebuilt car again. I might do it on some specialty vehicle that I really wanted, like a Viper or Grand Sport Corvette just to be able to own the car... but daily driver I'd have to see some serious perfect work done.

Another great story... my brother bought a rebuilt Jaguar XJ8 L. Half the time you had to open the passenger door, shut it, then start the car. if you didn't follow these steps the car would just be dead.

[Ghost]

Another great story... my brother bought a rebuilt Jaguar XJ8 L. Half the time you had to open the passenger door, shut it, then start the car. if you didn't follow these steps the car would just be dead.

Security feature.

[Planetwarmer]

Security feature.
Sounds like Lucas wiring to me.

[Ghost]

Sounds like Lucas wiring to me.

The Lucas wiring is why is doesn't work half the time. ;)

[VetteLT193]

Security feature.

probably explains why the car was never stolen even though he left the keys in the ignition and never locked it. :bonk:

[Craig S]

The Lucas wiring is why is doesn't work half the time. ;)

Lucas...Prince of Darkness.