Salvage / Rebuilt title

[3MAX]

Question on a Blazer with a Salvage title in its history. The truck has been through a complete frame-off build, with a “new” frame being used. No rust and it’s in good shape. It’s got about 45k miles on it since the rebuild. Looking at the title history, it was Salvaged in 1997, but somehow now has a “clean” title, not a rebuilt title. How much does the salvage effect the value, if any? This probably a $25-$30k truck otherwise.

 

[imiceman44]

Question on a Blazer with a Salvage title in its history. The truck has been through a complete frame-off build, with a “new” frame being used. No rust and it’s in good shape. It’s got about 45k miles on it since the rebuild. Looking at the title history, it was Salvaged in 1997, but somehow now has a “clean” title, not a rebuilt title. How much does the salvage effect the value, if any? This probably a $25-$30k truck otherwise.

In some states once it's salvage it can't be cleared like here in CA
It affects newer cars more than older ones because the old ones have their value higher in spite of age and condition

 

[HankScorpio]

A salvage brand on a title affects insurance. Some companies wont even cover one. If you have one that miraculously now is a clean title then some real shenanigans have occurred. Don't buy it, that's some real scammer stuff there.

There is a guy in UT right now up on 15 felony charges for trying to get duplicate titles on a bunch of salvage hail damage cars he bought out of WY through copart. He was trying to clean up the titles, there was a bogus notary and some forgery involved too. You don't just end up with clean titles, salvage brands are irrevocable.

 

[nvrenuf]

I’m not saying it’s right but sometimes retitling a vehicle in a different state used to be a way of clearing a salvage title, most states have closed this loophole now.

@tarussell and I worked at a Toyota dealer parts dept a looooong time ago and we had a customer that rebuilt destroyed auction trucks and 4Runners in Mississippi then retitled them to sell through a dealer in Alabama which cleared the title (almost all of these trucks were sold to someone in So America).

 

[3MAX]

The title history shows it was salvaged in 1997, but somehow since then it was issued a clean title. The truck was completely rebuilt much more recently and it’s a well done build. It’s currently insured with a “clean” title. I’m just trying to get an idea of how much the salvage issue really affects the value of there’s nothing physically wrong with the truck.

 

[imiceman44]

The title history shows it was salvaged in 1997, but somehow since then it was issued a clean title. The truck was completely rebuilt much more recently and it’s a well done build. It’s currently insured with a “clean” title. I’m just trying to get an idea of how much the salvage issue really affects the value of there’s nothing physically wrong with the truck.

Well I have 2 ways to look at it:
If I want it to keep it, I buy it and don't worry.
If I intend to resell it then no, I wouldn't buy it

 

[3MAX]

Well I have 2 ways to look at it:
If I want it to keep it, I buy it and don't worry.
If I intend to resell it then no, I wouldn't buy it

I tend to agree with you, but if deciding to buy it, how much does the salvage history effect the selling price, given that it’s been restored and has a current clean title?

 

[HankScorpio]

He is going to want restored no issues truck price. You are going to want wrecked, rebuilt, has issues price. Its either meet in the middle or go find another truck to buy. To me the salvage title knocks off a third of the value. Maybe a future buyer won't know about the title issues, but you do.

$25k is a lot of money for trucks that are 40 years old. There are plenty of real nice ones out there at that price if you are patient and willing to drive one home.

 

[nvrenuf]

$25k is a lot of money for trucks that are 40 years old. There are plenty of real nice ones out there at that price if you are patient and willing to drive one home.

I agree, $25k is pretty average for very nice not show quality so it would seem you have plenty of shopping room unless there’s something special about this specific truck.

I doubt a bank would care about the title because they aren’t going to want to finance that much for an older truck. I’m guessing you have the money or access to it without using the truck as collateral so the bank’s opinion probably doesn’t matter.

I do think an insurance company would have a problem with the title.

With respect to you personally, I’d want to know what the damage was and details on the repair. If it was a bent frame and someone replaced it with a good used assembly then it’s probably not an issue at all. If it was a bent frame that was straightened or partially replaced then I’d be looking at it really hard.

When I got my Blazer it was just a roller with a badly bent frame at the steering box. A friend at a body shop assured me he could fix it and it’d be as good as new but I wasn’t sure I’d ever trust it with big tires so I found a good frame to swap in.

 

[3MAX]

MORE DETAILS / FULL DISCLOSURE



I’ve been somewhat vague on this scenario and holding back some details trying to remain unbiased and get unbiased feedback.



The Blazer in question belonged to me for 17 years. I bought it in 2009 with a clean title. It was just a stock, rust-free truck that had minor body damage on the front bumper and fender and had some electrical issues, so got it at a good price.



In 2012, I performed a complete frame-off build, leaving nothing untouched. When I got the frame out from under it, I could see that at some point, it had taken a good hit on the passenger front and there was still some remaining damage (bumper mounting holes and core support holes were cut oval for alignment) and there was still some warping at the front spring shackle mounts. I scrapped the frame and replaced it with one that was in perfect shape.



No surprises anywhere else with the truck. I stripped the entire body down to bare metal and there was one place on the tailgate that had a minor repair with body filler.



The rest of the build - 383 small block with Holley EFI, new 700R4, JB Conversions slip yoke eliminator kit, new drive shafts, 14 bolt semi-float rear axle, 5 inch lift.



The interior was upgraded with modern seats front & rear and the floors / bedsides done with Linex. New Autometer gauges & custom dash.



The build was completed in 2014 and I put just over 40,000 miles on the truck before selling it earlier this year.



Now the current owner has decided to sell it and his first potential buyer pulled a title search and discovered the salvage title issue. I’ve run it through Carfax and verified the same information. I never looked at the history before - certainly wasn’t as common or easy to do when I bought it in 2009. I bought it with a clean title, and sold it with a clean title.



The history shows the truck titled to an insurance company in 1997 and going through auction in 1998 with a salvage title. It bounced between TN, MS, and AL for a few years and somehow was issued a clean title along the way rather than a rebuilt title.



I wasn’t aware of the issue when I sold the truck, so I didn’t knowingly misrepresent it, but now the current owner likely won’t be able to get his money out of it. I don’t know that I’m necessarily responsible but I don’t want to shaft this guy. I’m considering coming to an agreement with him on the lost value, and settling up (it’s only been about 6 months since the sell).



So with all of that said, I’m looking for opinions / advice on what would be a “fair” way to handle the issue.