Is it worth it to buy a rebuilt title car? There is a lot of debate on whether a rebuilt salvage is worth buying. But if you know the seller and if they have gone through the process of verifying the restoration process of the vehicle as well as getting it insured, there is no reason not to save some cash and buy a rebuilt salvage as your daily driver.

Salvage cars can’t legally be driven on the road, even if they are in a roadworthy condition. But people often buy them because they are sold for pennies on the dollar. And if they are sure they can fix what is wrong with the car, there is certainly some profit to be made. If you are looking for a new set of wheels and see a rebuilt salvage on offer, here are a few things to look out for.

Salvage Cars

As you know, a salvage title is given to a car that has been written off by the insurance company that deemed it too expensive to fix. There are plenty of reasons why cars get written off, but mostly it is due to sustaining some sort of damage. Bear in mind, however, that this damage can be more or less severe, and you may find some salvage cars that were only mildly damaged.

There are mechanics who go to public auctions in search of salvage cars to fix in their spare time in order to sell them on later. But there are also other people who love getting their hands dirty and know their way around cars, and so working on a salvage vehicle is a sort of a spare-time project for them.

These cars can usually be found at public auctions, where they are sold for very low prices. This has become even easier nowadays because of the internet. Many car auctions take place online these days, and platforms like Auto Auction Mall give buyers access to auctions throughout the country and to hundreds of thousands of vehicles, including salvage cars.

The end result of the repair process is a rebuilt salvage car, that is, a car that was written off and was then repaired back to working condition. Many people will then either use their rebuilt vehicle as their personal car or else they resell it.

Is it Worth it to Buy a Rebuilt Title Car?

If you are considering buying a rebuilt car, make sure the seller has completed the restoration of the car by the book. In order to get the car registered, the process of restoring a salvage car has to be well documented, with loads of before and after photos taken.

Receipts of all the spare parts used in the repair process have to be kept and presented to the DMV inspector who will check the car once the repairs are done and once you decide to take out a rebuilt salvage title. If the seller provides you with the information that the process has been done by the book and that the car has been cleared by the DMV, there should be no reason not to buy it.

Getting Insurance

There is one more thing, though, you need to take into account. Rebuilt salvage cars are usually harder to insure. Insurance companies are reluctant simply because the car has already been written off once. Unless you can negotiate with them to inspect the vehicle themselves you will have a hard time insuring it.

But if the seller has already gone through the process of insuring the car, then it should not be an issue any more, although the premium will still be higher than for the equivalent car with a clear title.

The major benefit of buying a rebuilt salvage is that, comparing the price of the car you are willing to buy to its equivalent with a clear title, it can be thousands of dollars cheaper. So you can either save some cash or get more for the budget you have allocated for the car purchase.