I would buy a salvaged titled vehicle IF 3 things took place. First, I would have it inspected by a good mechanic. Second, if the price was really low. And last but not least, I planned on keeping the vehicle until the day the tow truck driver took it to the salvage yard... No trade in value....

Diminished value discussion is a additional value video! Thanks Ray!

The diminished value concept was very informative and interesting. Thank you.

I would say that the trick to buying a car, SUV, or truck with a salvage title of any kind is to know exactly why that title was issued, really want that particular make and model, and plan on keeping it for a long, long time.

There are many reasons a car may have a salvage title. Some are of greater concern than others. I purchased a 2004 Toyota Corolla in 2007 with 9700 miles on it. It had a salvaged title because it was a recovered stolen vehicle. It was never wrecked or damaged. It had to be sold with a salvage title because the insurance company paid out the loss to the original owner. I saved $6000 over the price of a non-salvage title. Of course I will have to sell it lower when I get rid of it, but the longer you keep a salvage title car, the less difference in the resale price. I still own the Corolla and have a 110k typical Toyota trouble free miles on it. It turned out to be a good deal for me.

THANK YOU. I just found a used highlander at a dealers shop across town. They posted the VIN online and I found its a salvage title. Had I not watched this video I wouldn't have thought to look that up. You guys saved me 4K and a 2 hour bus ride across town with my toddler.

Hey Guys back in 2010 I bought a salvage title Ford Focus. It was only 2 years old and had only 25k miles on it. The seller did tell me b/f seeing the car that it was salvage. He showed me before photos and I was a bit surprised it was salvaged. A truck backed into it damaging the front and rear drivers side doors. There was a very small and I mean small dent in the B pillar. The car drove straight as could be. I didn't care about resale value as I knew I'd drive this thing 300000 miles over the next 10 years. And the car was insanely reliable. I replaced the battery 3 times. It was a timing chain motor tho. It did need work when I sold it, mainly motor mounts and a transmission mount. But damn for 1/2 the cost of a 2 year old Focus I drove this thing forever. You explanation of how insurance works regarding damaged cars helped me understand why they salvaged it. It was the BEST commuter I've ever owned!

Invaluable insights from this awesome (and sometimes salty) father/son team. Including Diminished Value!

Great older video!! Really made me think about purchasing a salvage title vehicle 🚗

This reminds me of two guys who used to talk cars on weekends on radio. Excellent information. Thank you

Great video today, Thank you! and yes, i would like to see Ray value the Volvo!

You guys are funny and informative. Love this channel.

You guys should go over a manufacturer buyback. A couple years ago, my wife and I were shopping and came across a preowned Lincoln MKC. We test drove it, went in to talk to the salesman and I saw on the paperwork "manufacturer buyback" and asked him to explain it. He did, and I responded, "so it's a lemon...." I think there may be as number of people who may be unaware of this sneaky term and they might benefit from you discussing it.

I purchased a 2007 Mazda 3 with a salvage title from a buddy of mine who is a used car guy for my kids back in 2013. The car has been a dependable little buggy, as both girls drove it to high school for a year, to college for 4, and my youngest is still driving it today. Great little car, and gave me very little trouble.

These videos are so interesting. Thanks!

Came here for info on branded title and commenting on the Rogue comment. I have a 2015 Rogue with 150k miles and still running strong. Yeah sure CVT but I have had ZERO issues with it. I change the oil every 7-10k miles. But now looking for a mini van for the kids. Might go with a branded title bc I do not care to spend these crazy prices of today.

Love your new sound system!

Very timely video. In my search for a car, I keep seeing cars with branded titles and I’m very cautious about buying one of these cars. Thanks for the great work.

been in auto insurance industry for over 24 years. to total a vehicle industry standard is 80% of ACV- actual cash value. Diminution of value is something to go after the other drivers insurance. your own coverage is called 1st party coverage and is contractual. Diminution would be something to go after the at fault driver. if you want more info let me know and we can discuss

Great info, thanks. I am wondering if a manufacturer's lemon law buyback vehicle would also be decreased in value or should the purchase of those be avoided too?

I bought a car with a salvage title and drove it for eight years without any notable repairs done while I owned it. It had a salvage title because it was stolen and not recovered for almost two years--found in a ditch. About year 6 I had a "top level" Earl Scheib paint job done on it only because the nose piece had issues with paint peeling (Miata) and the hood needed repair, and then easily sold it two years later. I've had my eye on another salvage titled vehicle (I've seen the damage) but it's just too pricey. Instead of a bargain, it's in-line with the (consumer) market. My research indicates that hybrids (Prius) are frequently given salvage titles because insurance carriers lack confidence with potential unanticipated or undetected issues plus they are expensive to repair even with relatively minor damage. I owned a Prius years ago which was "totaled" and I thought that was far from necessary at the time (hmm). My point is the reason for salvage titles can be very nuanced. As opposed to writing off this category altogether guys, I would rather know what my expectation should be as a consumer (not wholesaler) in terms of the price of a salvage titled vehicle. THAT would be helpful.

Great video! Wow, Ray I wish I knew about diminished value awhile back. Thank you. I learned a valuable lesson today.

i bought a salvage toyota, many years ago, drove it for 10 years. never had a problem . went to trade it in and found out it was worth nothing. bummer. found a friend who wanted it so , i lucked out. didn't know any thing about salvage titles. but, i did get a great price on it.

I bought a reconditioned wreck 25 yrs ago. It was 1.5 yrs ago and I talked to the original owner about the wreck at the time. It had been totaled due to a wreck. Damaged the A-pillar at driver's door. Bought/repaired by a local company. Nice otherwise. Would I do it again? No -- over the years, we had trouble with that door hinge; they didn't repair it quite right. But we had almost no trouble otherwise through the years. Very serviceable vehicle. Lower miles. My son drives it now. Very functional. Just in the past couple of years, we've done a few repairs so he could keep driving it. Stem seals due to a minor oil usage; transmission flushed. Refurbished carpet and headliner inside. Normal for its age. We finally got a bodyshop to repair that door. Needs a paint job and one other door repaired now. The reason I would not do it again is because we keep our cars a long time. (Obviously.) Plus I did not get enough of a discount for it as a refurbished wreck at the time; I could have and probably should have paid for new as I could afford it. If we had bought new at the time, as we keep our cars, we would have a much better vehicle longer term. Moving forward to current times... Better yet, I now know how to buy a car at a better price (by email), so I could get an even better price new.

It all depends! My 16 GT was totaled at a year old after being hit by a box truck. It was the whole drivers side and front. Sticker was $42k, value was about $33k, with damages of $23k. I bought it for $8,350 and through judicious shopping and a great small body shop, got it repaired 100% for about $12k. So I got my same car back for $20,350 that would have cost $33k to buy a comparable used car. Title is NOT salvage since I kept it and the damage was less than our state's 75% criteria. It does show the Total Loss paid on the Carfax, but I'm not ever planning to sell it. A rebuilt car can be ok, but you need to be educated! BTW I have pics and videos on my channel if anyone wants to see it.

What should I look for in a salvage title if I plan on buying a car so I can drive it until it dies? Safety is my main concern, salvaged because of cosmetic is not a big deal for me. Thanks for the diminished value tip, that is a nice nugget.

I would really like to see an appraisal video!

great video guys!!!

Useful info! Thanks!

Thanks for another great video. I had a new 2019 Honda and it got hit on the 9.5th month, got it repaired and sold it. I didn't pursue diminished value but I heard of it. There isn't much you can get from what I heard on some cars. Is that right?

Love the banter between father and son. I vote for a video explaining how an appraiser values a car trade in.

Last year I bought a 2018 Volkswagen Golf R that had a buyback title. Apparently the original owner kept taking it back to Volkswagen because of a water pump issue and the manufacturer ultimately bought it back from him. I didn’t have any problems with the car while I owned it but I remember it was a little tricky to get financing because of the title situation.

Great information! Thank you. What about the manufacturer buy back vehicle pros and con could you make a video about that?

Thanks for the valuable tidbit.

Hi guys, what about buy backs or lemon law cars. Are they really that bad? Thanks for the great information. Been watching for the last 2 months. Great content.

Great video! What is the branded title is truly just for a repossession or stolen vehicle and there are ZERO damages-no accidents. Why would these still be lower value?

Ironic as half the car dealers popping up these days are PURELY in the business of "flipping" branded title vehicles (for prices that are NOT much lower than you can negotiate on a non-branded). Another issue is insurance; not a salesman or pro but I ask a lot of questions...the insurance companies KNOW its branded even if you dont and you will pay full price (if they insure you at all) but you will be lucky to get 50% of the book value if you total it AGAIN. I use USAA insurance and when I asked the question, first they recommended against the purchase (duh) and recommended that if I did buy, DONT carry collision cause you aint gonna get much from them! (Paraphrasing!).

Yes do the appraisal video

Video on appraisal: yes please!

Great job fella's, Thanks Much😎

Absolutely, we would like to see an appraisal video. Where were you guys 4 years ago when we hit or should I say, a deer hit us in our 2016 Honda Odyssey van. I would like to know what the dimmish value that back then. Just short of 10k damage.

you guys are awesome---! Thinking of purchasing a high end used car (2014 Audi R8) - How do you find someone to do a PPI that is fairly comprehensive ?

honestly, in this current post COVID time when the prices are crazy inflated for used vehicles, its ironic that salvaged titles are the cost of what the original market value for the typical used car is now. What's a price conscious auto consumer to do, lol!

I would have liked you to add your impression of Lemon law buyback cars. I have a Mercedes G550 that was declared a lemon buyback only because the two rear door side windows jumped off the tracks. Mecedes fixed them and I have never had a problem with them in over 5 years of ownership. Now I want to trade the G550 and I am wondering how bad the value would be hurt because it is branded? I have a letter from Mercedes outlining the reason for the lemon branding and confirmation that the problem was fixed at an authorized dealer. Does lemon law branding become less of an issue on its value as the vehicle ages. Thanks for a response.

Another thing to look out for is scammers who register the vehicle in a different state to remove the branded title status and make it look like a clean title. This unfortunately happens with flood vehicles in storm areas, they ship the car far away, usually to a state on the opposite coast, then register it in the new state that doesn't know the history and give it a "clean" title. Another thing I have seen is sometimes the air bags are never replaced and some sellers put electrical tape over the air bag light in attempt to mask the air bag issue which turns the vehicle into a death trap.

I’ve never seen any resources that show the value of damage repairs, where can you find that

I love our 2010 mdx Acura, bought on copart and got it fixed, and haven’t had a issue except for random fide I found was bad, I think problem is people trying to buy newer cars and selling them but who is gonna pay 15-20k for a salvAge car

I buy cars from a towing facility that are branded salvage due to abandonment. It’s the only way towing company’s can get titles for folks who don’t pick up there cars for years. It’s very hard to explain to people it has a r-title and has never been in an accident. Luckily I can clarify this to the customer thru carfax reports!

😂😂 love watching you guys 💯

I enjoy your videos......keep it up.

It was soooooo funny listening to you guys talk about the bad transmission in the Nissan Rouge. Please understand that Scotty Kimble says that all the time and he has almost 4 million followers. I love watching his videos but I also see hundreds of Nissan Rouges on the road everyday. LoL

Always great nuggets of info... thanks. What are your views on entities like Carvana and Vroom?

Definitely interested in an appraisal video

I heard about this too. THEN I heard after that , it is actually the V I N number ( better than carfax) that gives true info if the vehicle has been in a flood . We had a flood just last year in NE. First time hearing the word "Branded".. I am currently looking for a mini Van. between $5,000- $6,000 Have to admit..I'm scared.. of getting a lemon...someone just hit my car yesterday while parked in a parking lot. Hit and Run..I see so many cars on Facebook Marketplace for sale that are Salvage title ..my current car looks like hell but drives very nice,,its a 1995 Geo Prism with 133,000 miles on it, have owned it for 15 years...

Another interesting fact about “Branded” title vehicles: Most major insurance companies are reluctant to insure these types of vehicles because they do not want to assume the potential liability of an incorrectly repaired vehicle.

If you have AAA insurance, they will not insure a lemon law buyback. Just FYI always check your insurance first & understand that you'll always pay more for a better vehicle.

Very good info...

I need to know what I can do if a seller sold me a clean titled vehicle when in fact it had a branded title the last 3 owners previous to myself. Right now I have about $4,000 in my vehicle. Should I pursue legal actions on the person that sold me the vehicle or should I just scrap it and take the loss??

Wpuld you advise against buying a rebuilt cargo van?

May you review the Jeep Trailhawk? 2018 - 2020

For all people that say that insurance will not cover a rebuilt title that is a lie. Here is my story about that. In the past I was going to buy a Honda Accord with a rebuilt title and I called my insurance and they offered me a full coverage at the same cost as my other car. The only thing that they asked was pictures from all four sides of the car and a rebuilt title and that was it. So YES insurance will cover. I think that a rebuilt title is a good option if you do all of the following: 1. Look up the Vin number on google to find pictures of the auction before it was rebuilt. 2. The damage is acceptable and does not contain a lot of frame damage 3. Do a pre-inspection purchase 4. Carmax or other website to verify all other information, 5. Do not buy flooded cars or cars with a lot of front damage. 6. Call your insurance or any other insurance that will offer insurance before buying the car. 7. Of the value of the car is low consider liability insurance coverage only to save money. 8. Save at least $40-$50 a month to do any unexpected repair. 9. Plan to drive the car until it dies to get your best ROI.10. Have a honest and good mechanic and buy aftermarket parts from Rockauto, Amazon and OEM from online car dealers to save money. In addition to this follow the manufacturer preventive maintenance schedule.

Just watched the video and I have to comment that it can be worth it to buy a salvage title vehicle if the discount is big enough and the buyer plans on keeping the vehicle for its remaining life. I'm currently in the process of buying a 2006 Toyota Sequoia with 147k miles and a rebuilt title. I am spending roughly 1/2 to 1/3rd as much as comparable clean title vehicles cost in the current market. For me this is a no-brainer. The Sequoia is replacing a pickup truck I've owned for 23 years and am sending off to the scrapyard because the cost to repair it exceeds its current value. The lack of trade in or resale value because of the salvage title is unimportant to me. I plan to keep the Sequoia for as long as it will run, and given how many have 200 or 300 thousand miles on them I hope it will be for quite a while. It was rebuilt in 2010 so I'm also not worried about the quality of the repairs. If they lasted 12 years then surely they can last several more. Anyway, maybe for the typical car owner it is best to avoid salvage titles, but there are definitely cases where it makes a lot of sense.

Please do the video on the appraisal.

How about the lemon car that got bought back by the manufacturer and fixed the issue?

Price is the reason to buy a salvage title vehicle. Anybody that care's enough about price to get a great deal on a salvage title vehicle. Is never ever going to get completely screwed by a dealer and trade for trade in value regardless of a branded title or not. Salvage title vehicles sell and hold there value at 50-70% of retail value. You don't lose any more equity than on any other vehicle. Just make sure it's a well known rebuild shop and the price is 50-70%. I won't buy anything but salvage title vehicles. I have my whole life. People that buy salvage title vehicles are completely different than people who buy trade or would ever step foot in a new car dealership. They prefer to save money and not get ripped off by new car delers. Plus nobody but you know it has a branded title anyway.

I'm currently driving a restored truck I bought at the auction and restored myself. It has been a fun project and I was able to make it the way I like it. I would never buy a salvage title vehicle from someone else. I don't trust other's workmanship.

Enjoy the video - question , if a Dealerships sells a vehicle with a salvaged title wouldn't they make sure the car is fixed to at least a minimum standard before selling it ? rather then risk their reputation and potential customer complaints ? or do dealerships treat salvaged titles as buy at your own risk?

When you mentioned Diminished Value of a vehicle after an accident I thought you were going in a different direction so now I have a question. Assuming you were hit and the other party's insurance company is different than your own and you have full coverage on your car. What you're saying is in addition to having the cost of repairs paid for by the other guy's insurance company you want them to also compensate you for the diminished value of your car. What I was thinking was going to your insurance company and say now that my car's value is less, shouldn't my premium now be less as well? Because you know if your car ever got in a wreck and was totaled the insurance company would only compensate you what the diminished value is.

FTS great t-shirt idea.

what about accidents that are showing on Carfax? I find a few that are not totaled or salvage but show incidents. Mostly they are about 10-15% below comparable cars. Is a PPI the only way to tell if the accident is serious enough to worry about it?

It's another tool to decide to walk away, or use it as a negotiation tool for great price.

So if God forbid I'm in an accident is fighting for diminished value something I can do on my own or would I need assistance from someone like you? BTW, love the Vids and keep up the great work!

@Your Auto Advocate - If a car served as a "demo" vehicle for a dealer early in its history, does that have any effect on the value of the car's resale value down the road?

Alot of autobody owners buy a late model luxury salvage vehicle and then they bid at auction for it! They get it at 20% of trade-in value! They drive it for 3-5 years and sell it to one of their people in the trade like employees, their big clients, etc...

I recently got screwed with a branded title and didn’t know until I tried to trade it in for an upgrade. Such a crooked business. The dealer I purchased it from stated that it was bought back by the manufacturer because of a lemon law program. I specifically asked if it had a clean title and was told it did. Of coarse they didn’t have the title in hand but they did provide an auto check and it didn’t include anything about it. Such a crooked ass industry. You practically have to have a lawyer with you when buying a car these days.

There are large nationwide auto sales companies that have and sell entire fleets of branded title vehicles. For example, AutoSavvy. If you search through their inventory you'll see almost all of their used vehicles have branded titles. That being said, if a prospective buyer should "walk away" from that type of vehicle, how are these large chains successfully selling these vehicles?

What if it’s branded title because it’s a stolen vehicle? Worth the buy or no?

Can you guys do a video on why car dealers lie so often?

Thanks for the info and entertainment. I've asked State Farm about diminished value 9 years ago and my agent said SF would spend $$$$$$ to not pay this as it would open a flood gate of claims and increase premiums. He also mentioned rental car agencies had tried to collect loss of potential income from accidents in which SF's clients were involved while renting a car and using the SF insurance on the rental car. Seems the rental companies were trying to be compensated for the loss of daily rental income while the vehicle was out of service and in the repair shop. SF fought that hard too. Agent said no rental company had ever been paid.

Appraisal video!

What if It was flooded or damaged when on the dealers lot (new untitled car)? How would you know then?

While I agree that salvage titled cars are a risk, if the person purchasing the car is aware of the damage and the seller is honest about the car, they can be a great value to the purchaser. Some people can't afford to go to the "So Called" legitimate dealers for new or used cars but just need A to B transportation. People restore old cars all the time for sale, they my never have been titled as salvage or branded. But they make good cars for people. To throw a wet blanket over all people making a living selling COPARTS or IAA cars is like saying all new car dealers are crooks.

I saw a challenger scat pack for 27k and upon looking closer it was a salvage title.

Hi. What happens to leased vehicles that were in an accident? Assuming fully repaired, will the lessee be penalized for diminished value? Will the lessor offer a lower than the stated residual value to the lessee for buyout upon the termination of the lease? Does that ever happen?

Great video and thanks for detailed information. Should manufacturer buyback cars that are branded as "lemon" and are sold by franchise dealerships be avoided as the other branded title cars? For example, 2018 Mercedes-AMG E63S with 10k miles, the reason it's branded as a "lemon" and service history are available.

My Question is why are dealerships with Branded Titles even out selling these cars? There’s one dealership I know that’s Named Autosaavy

I agree. I wouldn't even buy a car with these type titles. You don't know what they've been through but it was probably something terrible.

Interested suggestions thanks

Looking up the Viin

I have a Salvaged car with over 200k miles, it runs without an issue!

Tom and Ray from Boston. Yousse guys... Jersey?

Good one guys whole wheat for me

Lets see on video zach getting a marine recruit haircut!

Would love diminished value video. Five days ago I was driving our new Honda Pilot Elite, which we had for five days and 342 miles, when a young driver ran a stop sign at full speed and crashed into me. His insurance assumed full liability and are covering my medical expenses. However, even with the Honda dealers body shop saying it would take a couple of days to complete assessment of damage because “damage is extensive and we cannot move the vehicle so we will need to disassemble front end to get full picture, insurance company talking repairs and we feel we are getting screwed.

thanks

States make Branded and Salvage cars carry liability insurance. Get the least liability coverage that the Insurance Company will allow.

I think the automatic discount that people give to non-clean title cars is ridiculous. In my family, all we have driven is salvage title cars. There were never reliability or safety issues because of the previous accident because everything was repaired correctly, and we weren’t super spendy with the repairs. A replaced and reprogrammed airbag still deploys like the original. A corrected frame still holds the car and protects the passengers in a new accident. A new door from another parts car still works the same as the original door. Then clean tilted are treated so highly even though you could have an abused dirty and clapped clean title be evaluated at double the price of the same car that’s clean and well maintained but with a salvage title. The overly-inflated skepticism of salvage title cars is a dealership scam to continue to inflate the need to continually get new cars and new loans. No need to repair those old cars, we got new ones to sell to you!

Dang it! Wish I had this video 8 months ago for diminished value.

Question. Could your uncle Kenny disputed them changing his title to salvaged.

If a car with a salvage title is gone over by a reputable shop and eveything is OK, the price is thousands less than you would find on a lot does it make sense to buy it, can you get an extended warenty and can you get insurance?? I have seen plenty of top shelf MBZ's, Audi's and BMW's offered with salvage titles at prices that appear too good to be true. What are your thoughts Papa??