well okay, heres the deal...

i might buy a 1996 honda civic hatchback DX that has a salvaged title.
its not for sure yet, but im gonna take a look at the car tommorow and ask some questions about the cars history.

my questions are regarding getting the car registered and getting insurance for the car. i hear things here and there but im not exactly sure which is true or false.
what is the process of getting all these legal issues out of the way so i can drive the car on the streets.

i live in california btw (LA area)
information is needed.
hope i provided enough information to get an answer
thanks in advance

 

some Insurance companies wont cover a salvaged vehicle with FULL coverage.
I know AAA does though

About registration, what have u heard? Its the same thing as any other car.

 

thank you for the reply,

for registration: i heard that you have to get the car inspected if you are going to register a car with a salvaged title.

for insurance: i was planning on getting liability insurance, but i heard that insurance will charge a little more money per month just because it is a salvaged.

like i said all this information is just what i heard, i would like this whole thing to be clarified before i purchase this car (im getting it cheap) so i wont do this whole transaction, not knowing what i get into.

thanks again

 

1) Ive owned a salvaged car be4 and I never had to do that.
2) It all depends on the Insurance companies u go to. Some dont care and some do. Like I said be4 , AAA wont charge u extra because its salvaged nor they will decline u from getting full coverage.

 

eg_nezay
thank you for your help. i guess its pretty much clarified for me
hopefully the car looks okay, and is what im looking for.

thanks again

 

ROFL sorry that was my cousins username.
now im on mine lol

 

welcome and good luck

 

if the car is salvaged as a theft recovery... you need all recipts for parts and take it to the CHP.

 

i bought my car with a salvaged title because i got a good deal on it, i knew the extent of the damage and i also know and trust the body man with anything that i give him. but anyhow, my car has full coverage and i had no problems getting it registered. but the only thing about a salvaged title is if you ever try to sell it you can't get as much for it most of the time. but you have to take what you can get.

 

I would inspect any salvage title car very, very carefully. Here is two good examples why:

My cousin totalled his 95 Civic. Head-on collision, luckily he wasn't hurt too bad but the car was totally destroyed. Afterwards, when he went to DMV to get his personalized plates switched over, there was some confusion because someone had already re-registered the vehicle!
I saw this car, the whole right side of the front end was damaged. I can't imagine what they had to do to get that car back together. Not something I would ever want to drive.

Another example, and this is why I'll never buy a salvage title. A neighbor that lives across the street from my parents does nothing but rebuild salvage title Toyotas, only Toyotas though. Every month or two a flatbed truck pulls up with a totalled Toyota car or truck. They roll it thru the side of the house to the backyard. A month later a newly painted Toyota pops up for sale.
I've seen roll over Toyota 4x4's go in there, totally damaged. A month or so later out pops a new looking truck.
If you were to see like I have, what the cars look like before they go in there, you would stay away from salvage title cars too.

I know some salvage titles are theft recoveries, flood damage, etc. and I'm sure there are some good salvage title vehicles out there, but you never know what you are getting because at one point in the cars life an Insurance company decided that car was not worth it to repair. Think about it, those blood sucking Insurance companies don't like to lose money. They usually salvage title them for a very good reason.




[Modified by emr88, 8:34 AM 3/4/2003]

 

if you ever get to the point of selling it, it's also a lot harder to sell a car with or had a salvaged title

 

Correct on both accounts, as I've owned salvaged title cars before. The main thing to look for is if it was salvaged because of an accident (then you don't want the car) or from theft, which would mean the car is usually in good shape with a straight body. As for insurance companies covering a salvage car, it all depends on the company. I had AAA insuring full coverage on my CRX, and they paid full price when it came to fixing a fender or what not, but when my car got hit and totalled out, they gave me like 65% of the blue book/fair market value of the car since it did have a salvage title. Again, it depends on what policy your insurance company has but when it comes time to total the car out (again), then the insurance company will not give you full market value of the car unless it had a clean title. Just an FYI there.