I don't know what its like to own a rare sports car, I drive a 96 Civic DX and plan on building it for road racing. That being said, I have a few questions...

What does it feel like to own a true sports car? Do you ever just start grinning while driving, or think of an apex when you see a nice looking turn?

My other. I see post every week of an ITR being stolen or wrecked. With the limitied number that were made, at this rate, it won't be long (10-15 years I'm guessing) before there aren't a whole lot left.

I am getting ready to open an online parts store/now and then car building shop. I would like to keep a car project going all the time. Being that built cars never sell for what is put into them (even after discounts), I had another idea.

The plan is to buy a theft recovery ITR that wasn't wrecked, restore it using OEM parts (no aftermarket at all) then sell it to someone who is interested in owning a dying breed.

Right now, some of you might be thinking, "who would pay the going rate for a salvaged title R?" Yes, salvaged title repels people like fresh dog ****, but in 10-20 years when there are not many R's left, will you care if a perfectly restored salvaged title R pops up for sale?

 

Good idea but doesn't look like a winner to me... I'd stick to the plan of starting up your online store and hope for the best...Good luck!

 

Thats fine if you want to build one up like that, however in 15-20 years or whatever, people who would be into paying $ for one as a "collectible" will still shy away from one with a salvage title. You hear car investors now looking for matching numbers and etc, Im sure it will be the same with an ITR in the future.

Now, building one up to *RACE* from a salvage title, both now AND in the future, sounds like a great idea to me.

 

99.9999% of the time cars are not a good investment.

do you think rebuilding a salvaged vehicle fits in the 0.00001%?

 

If you've never restored a car before, you have no idea of how much it's going to cost. And if you've never tried selling a car with a salvage title, you have no idea of how much you're going to be able to get for it.

I think you will learn a lot by trying this out. And I think one of the things you will learn is that if you knew now what you will know after trying it, you would never never never even consider it. However, if you do not believe me, I encourage you to try it and find out if I am right.

 

well, i didnt read much of the thread. but anyways. some states, like here in north carolina, a theft recovery car has a clear title, a good example would be the yellow ITR on ebay that is selling for $13K. my blue integra i have, theft recovery, did a carfax, came up clean. so i am lucky, but the car is a road race car, so who cares.

it just depends on where you are.

 

also, sometimes it might be a good idea to rebuild the car. lots of theft recovery Rs are going for less than $2K on auctoin sites i see, and some even have the 5 lug still and decent body, nothing some buffing, maybe small paint job can do.

so just factor in a motor and good interior. both could be found pretty inexpensive if you know where to look. so it all depends if you are feeling lucky.

 

Salvage titles, what do you think?

I think its not such wise idea if you have any plans on keeping a car with one, but if you buy a Salvage title car to use a beater then why not, saving money I'm sure.

 

i'd pass on the salvage title.== loss of $$$$

 

Salvage/Theft recovery ITRs make great track/race cars....speaking from personal experience. Paid $11.5 for mine two years ago, an spent $1,300 fixing its problems (4 used OEM wheels, 2 wheel bearings, front lip and a little body work.)

As others have said already, don't expect good long term value on a car without a clean title.

 

id buy a salvage only if it had all the parts on it and just part the car out and sell the shell to a junk yard to burn up the sheet metal.

 

Mines salvaged...twice

Its had its problems, but all were taken care of and very fixable. Its running and driving better than ever though, with the exception of some EMS tuning issues.

But Id steer clear of then in the future though, can be a pain in the *** sometimes.

 

i bought a car to build into a track car, and bought the specific one because it has a CLEAN title.. that means i've got plates and can theoretically drive it on the street..


if i were buying one as a daily driver - now, or 20 years from now - I wouldn't even look at a salvage title car..

 

worthless

 

i would do it whats wrong with it as long as it is a theft recovery?? I would do it ?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by baonest &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">well, i didnt read much of the thread. but anyways. some states, like here in north carolina, a theft recovery car has a clear title, a good example would be the yellow ITR on ebay that is selling for $13K. my blue integra i have, theft recovery, did a carfax, came up clean. so i am lucky, but the car is a road race car, so who cares.

it just depends on where you are. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Exactly, my car is twice a theft recovery and still has a clear title in North Carolina.

 

True car collectors wouldn't even consider a salvaged title vehicle -- I wouldn't do it.

 

i work at a body shop that sells cars too. we deal with mostly 97 and up cars. luxury-sport-minivans. really whatever the customer needs. just about everyone of our cars are salvage cars (wrecked and fixed).. there are some advantages, for example we sell cars for thousands cheaper, and we are a pretty damn good body shop. we have one year warantees on all of our cars too. beleive it or not, we sell a whole lot of cars,. porsches and M3s too.


so it depends on what you are going to do with your car.

 

Stripped salvage is not as bad as a wrecked car, since the structure has not suffered. The truth is that a salvaged title, is worth less when the car still has book value. Once the book value goes negative, a "mint" ITR will still probably fetch good money 20 years from now even if it has been rebuilt.

 

I don't think it would be that wise of an investment

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kendall &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Exactly, my car is twice a theft recovery and still has a clear title in North Carolina.</TD></TR></TABLE>

But the increasing use of CarFax would make the earlier theft recoveries potentially visible so the clear title might not mean as much as it once did.

Also, many finance companies will not finance a car with a salvage title (which makes them even harder to sell than cars with a clean title because you may have to find a cash buyer).

And as for someone paying blue book rate for a salvage title car (no matter how far into the future), you are going to have to wait a long time for a very clueless buyer.

 

i just checked over my carfax for my blue integra that was a theft recovery. since its NC, it doesnt say anything on the car fax, even about vandalism or anything. that is a good thing for NCers.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by baonest &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">that is a good thing for NCers.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's not a good thing for people buying cars that were in NC...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">That's not a good thing for people buying cars that were in NC...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Exactly what I was thinking.

 

there is a way to find out. when you buy a car, on some sheet it says "vandalized".. that is anywhere from broken windown, to stolen airbag. but i beleive you are supposed to know what happen if anything happened.