Colorado Salvage Title

[ramack]

Hey,
This isn't about my K5s but about my former daily driver, now my daughter's daily driver...until she was in an accident and the insurance company has totaled it. It's a 2006 Ford Focus ZXW (wagon), a great car, very dependable. The body on the driver's side took a big hit and mechanically the rear suspension needs work, but I can fix it and get it aligned.

It looks like DMV rules have changed in Colorado since the last time I bought my totaled vehicle back from the insurance company. I didn't have to get a salvage title for that car. This was in the mid to late 90s.

One option that I have now is to let the insurance company total the Focus and I buy the car back, plus some cash which will pay for the repair. The Focus will have to have a "salvage" title. So my question is, is it a hassle to go the salvage title route and keep the totaled car in Colorado? I'll be keeping the Focus, not selling it.

 

[beags86]

Hey,
This isn't about my K5s but about my former daily driver, now my daughter's daily driver...until she was in an accident and the insurance company has totaled it. It's a 2006 Ford Focus ZXW (wagon), a great car, very dependable. The body on the driver's side took a big hit and mechanically the rear suspension needs work, but I can fix it and get it aligned.

It looks like DMV rules have changed in Colorado since the last time I bought my totaled vehicle back from the insurance company. I didn't have to get a salvage title for that car. This was in the mid to late 90s.

One option that I have now is to let the insurance company total the Focus and I buy the car back, plus some cash which will pay for the repair. The Focus will have to have a "salvage" title. So my question is, is it a hassle to go the salvage title route and keep the totaled car in Colorado? I'll be keeping the Focus, not selling it.

Side skirt it. If the title is already in your name and the car has tags. How would the DMV know that the title status changed?
Just keep on renewing your sticker as regularly scheduled...

 

[HankScorpio]

I don't think that works beags, the title stuff is all part of the buy back process. Insurance companies also don't really like salvage titles, not everyone will cover it. Most should. If you are going to keep it forever then title status doesn't matter. If you need to sell it later then you will be dealing with the whole salvage thing. If you need to buy it back and add cash to repair it is it really worth it? The insurance company totaled it for a reason. If it was a modified 4x4 or something then sure, buy it back since you usually have way more money in parts than they will pay out. On a 12 year old car it might just not be worth the hassle.

 

[ramack]

That is what I had been looking at (side skirting). Remove the Focus from the insurance claim (actually another thread I started about this), pay out of pocket for the repair. Life goes on, no paperwork showing the vehicle was totaled, the title stays unscathed.

Prior to yesterday, I was expecting to only get a few hundred bucks from the insurance company, if it's totaled and they keep the vehicle, or I keep the vehicle. But yesterday I received claim info from my insurance company, I'll be getting nearly $2k if I keep it on the claim and retain the vehicle or sell it to the insurance company, either way dollar-wise, I would be ahead. But I wasn't sure if the whole salvage title issue would be worth it, or if it would come back to bite me at a later day.

I'm beginning to think that I'm going to be better off, letting the insurance company total, I retain the Focus and repair it with the salvage title. I had seen in some states the frame next to the VIN has to also be stamped or engraved with the words SALVAGE. But from what I can tell, in Colorado once the vehicle is classified as "salvage", I'll just need to fix it, take it to a DVM inspection site (wherever that is) have it inspected and passed, then I'm good to go.

 

[ramack]

I "think" what Beags is talking about is the route I had planned on going, until yesterday. IF I remove the Focus from the claim, I pay out of pocket for the mechanical repair and the title remains "untouched". No record of a total loss and I keep the car. It will be obvious to a future buyer that there was some level of damage done to the Focus since I have no plans to repair the body damage, just the mechanical damage to the suspension. I actually have parts on order (some are in possession as I type) to fix the mech. damage. It's only about $300 for parts, so out of pocket expense is doable.

 

[TreeFarm]

Branded titles aren't really a big deal. Everywhere I have lived they are treated exactly the same as a regular title in the DMVs eyes. The only people who have issues with it are the ones who would buy the vehicle from you. They think its some big bargaining chip that will instantly cut their offer to you in half even when you are only asking $500 for the car haha. If you are going to keep it and drive it into the ground who cares what the title says.

With that being said, unless its super easy fix or you really want that car just let it go. Buy another beater and move on.

 

[ramack]

If you are going to keep it and drive it into the ground who cares what the title says.

My thoughts exactly

With that being said, unless its super easy fix or you really want that car just let it go. Buy another beater and move on.

It's really coming down to a $ decision. I'm going to be better off letting it have a "salvage" title, keep the vehicle and fix it. I guess my big pucker factor was having it labeled as salvage and that coming back to bite me at a later day. I don't think that it would, but murphy's law has been applying to my life recently, things are turning brown not gold, ha.

I can use left over repair funds to purchase a replacement vehicle for the family truckster that my wife totaled a couple weeks before my daughter's accident. Thank God I have my '79 K5 as a backup daily driver now. That's fodder for another thread....

 

[beags86]

Back when I was in college.....
I bought a little gas saver and totaled it one morning.
I had the wrecker dump it at my place and the adjuster came to the house. Totaled it and I bought it back.
Bought another car of the same color and vintage with a blown engine and swapped parts. Had it back on the road in few months or so.

Now here where my case gets more interesting.
Since the car was totaled as in: it would cost more to fix then it was worth. But not as if the car was unfixable. They never did anything to the title.
So I just keep the DMV from knowing anything went on- ie:Reinspection

Could be something to check Into??

 

[ramack]

Your situation is similar to what happened with my Escort in the 90s. It was totaled, I bought it back from the insurance company (different than who I have now), I found a 90 Escort that someone was parting out and I bought the hood and front bumper assy. Slapped everything back on and it was good for another 10yrs or more.

I think something has changed in Colorado however. From what I've read, Colorado DMV only required a salvage title be issued when a vehicle was deemed a total loss by an insurance company IF it was 6 years old OR newer. From what I understand NOW is that ANY vehicle that is totaled except for hail damage must have a salvage title.

 

[dyeager535]

Not in Colorado, but had similar experience I suppose. 2004 car I bought brand new for $9000. Put 140K on it, never cost me a dime in repair other than an exhaust pipe flex section that wore out.

Anyway, driving to work one day in 2015, lady ran a yield sign and plowed into the side. No LEO involvement, no injuries, just insurance to insurance. Insurance company at first thought it was fixable, but the adjuster decided it was going to cost too much, so they cut me a check for $2500. Now mind you, the car never left my possession, and I didn't stop driving it. The adjuster just came and looked at it. In talking with the insurance company, we discussed totaling and salvage. My point was that it didn't make sense to say it was totaled, since it wasn't. They just decided it wasn't worth repairing. They agreed, and said it wouldn't be "marked" as a total, however they do that with the State...there is communication between the insurance company and the state that I/we don't see.

Fast forward a couple of months of me driving it, I got another car, and decided to sell the one that was hit. I did, for $600. Did the title transfer paperwork for the state (basically a receipt showing I transferred the car to someone else). Couple weeks later, the buyer contacts me. The state has the car marked a total, which requires a State Patrol inspection (money) and a salvage title (more money), plus apparently not correct of me to sell/transfer a salvage car without FIRST getting a salvage title. Called the insurance company, they were no help. No idea what ever happened, I tried to work with the buyer to make sure they didn't get screwed, but they just seemed to lose interest. Interestingly, in the online database we can see of our registered cars, it still shows up in my vehicles, marked that it "appears ownership changed", even though I did the paperwork transferring it.

Salvage can get wonky. If there is no intent to ever sell the thing, I don't see a reason to bother with it, just know that when it's time to get rid of it, the only ones likely to be willing to deal with it with a title question are wrecking yard/auto scrappers who deal with title issues all the time, and probably will pay nothing or next to nothing for it. The salvage title is designed to protect a future buyer of that vehicle, you aren't doing anything untoward if you aren't selling it.