Well, that's good.  The info I got from the CarFAX and other reports showed no warranty included for any work.  Maybe if it's a safety issue, they have to cover the repair?

They will only cover the repair if no one has tampered with anything.

My wife's CRV has had two safety recalls. Both replaced under warranty. One was a seatbelt sensor that goes bad and is covered for life under some sort of Federal law. The other was the Takata air bag replacement.

My Toyota Truck has had 2 recalls. One is the wiring harness in the steering column that could short and cause a fire. The other was a floor mat that could get stuck under the brake pedal and or cause the gas pedal to become stuck. There is one more going through class action lawsuit about the frame rusting.

They will only cover the repair if no one has tampered with anything.

My wife's CRV has had two safety recalls. Both replaced under warranty. One was a seatbelt sensor that goes bad and is covered for life under some sort of Federal law. The other was the Takata air bag replacement.

My Toyota Truck has had 2 recalls. One is the wiring harness in the steering column that could short and cause a fire. The other was a floor mat that could get stuck under the brake pedal and or cause the gas pedal to become stuck. There is one more going through class action lawsuit about the frame rusting.

I took my 2002 Tundra in for a frame inspection because of the rusted frame recall. I think part of that was replacing some nuts & bolts, and maybe adding a couple of reinforcing pieces.  Took about an hour.

Well, that's good.  The info I got from the CarFAX and other reports showed no warranty included for any work.  Maybe if it's a safety issue, they have to cover the repair?

...
I suppose the recalls I had were safety issues so they had to take it.
The car was over 10 years old when I took it in.

dont do it unless it's really cheap.

dont do it unless it's really cheap.

That's what we decided.  Found a 2016 Kia Soul with 11,900 miles for less than blue book.  5 star safety rating.  Very minor cosmetic scrapes and dings.

It was a repossessed and sold at a bank auction.  Title is clean, and the basic warranty is still in effect.  and if there is ever an insurance claim, we won't have to worry about it being denied for being totaled before. 

I just ran the CarFAX report on it, and everything looks great.  I'll be making an offer in the morning.

Thanks again for the inputs. 

There's no legal way NOT to keep the salvage title.  It's stays that way forever unless you can trick another state's DMV into issuing a new title without salvage.  Even then, the salvage title issuances follow the VIN no matter what.

Reselling is always an issue for any car with a record of major damage.  At least for this car, that fact is up front and not  hidden by the seller.

She texted that she made an appointment to have it inspected tomorrow.  I'm waiting patiently for the results.  I'm also researching if using that cash as a down payment on a new car will make the payments affordable for the daughter & boyfriend. 

Does the BF living with my daughter make him my son-out-law?  Just curious.

I understand what a salvage title is, I think I worded my reply wrong.  I'm glad you decided not to buy it.

It still shocked me how many Rebuilt Title vehicles are up for sell on the various Oahu websites.  And the prices don't have the deep discounts you would expect.

Even if you get a 2016 vehicle with a Rebuilt Title for a good price, there's no warranty -- not the basic warranty, not the Drive Train warranty, and no roadside assistance.  Those things are worth something if you need them, so the little extra you pay for a regular title vehicle to me makes more sense.

The guy I was talking to today runs a car rental company.  He used to buy all Rebuilt/Salvage vehicles for his business.  Then the laws changed.  He can't use salvage vehicles as rentals anymore, so he buys from a "clean title" auction.

There's a lot for sale because people don't want them and they don't sell.   Problem with cars nowadays is that it doesn't take that much to salvage a car.   Insurance would rather junk the car than fork over money for the repair,  then discover there's ongoing issues that cost even more money.   So there are "good" salvage titles out there.

If you knew for certain that the damage was limited to bumpers and body panels,  I'd say go for it if there's a heavy discount,  and your plan is to run the car into the ground,  and not try to resell it in the future.   But chances are,  you'll be rolling the dice that the salvage car doesn't have other,  unseen issues like torqued frames, messed up electrical,, etc.   If you get in an accident,  will you trust that the air bags will deploy?   That the frame wasn't poorly cut and welded,  weakening the structure of the car?    Etc

Bought the Kia Soul today for a couple hundred bucks less than he was asking.

Hard to pass up a 2016 vehicle under KBB value, with 3 1/2 years of warranty remaining, a 5-star safety rating (2016 safety pick), and with a clean title.

I asked my daughter how she felt about me buying another man's soul.  She said he probably didn't need it if he was willing to sell it.   

Okay, my daughter's boyfriend may have the highest mileage car ever registered on the island.  I'm not saying it is, but it has to be a contender.


2004 Nissan Sentra with 344,530 miles.


He asked if I thought he should try selling it.  I said it probably should be donated to charity.  Anyone here think they'd buy a 2004 Sentra with almost 350K miles? 

Oh, it needs new brake pads ...