Sigtau8

can anyone tell me how insurance companies charged on salvaged cars? Is the monthly coverage more or less then normal and if car is totaled do you lose all money or value of the car with a salvaged title?

NotAPreppie

I would imagine it would be less since the total value of the car will be less than a non-salvaged vehicle.

alcimedes

Hmm, I know you need to be careful with them. Some insurance companies won't insure salvage title vehicles IIRC.

This includes if it had a salvage title in one state, was cleaned then sold as "new" or used in another state w/o a salvage title anymore.

Salvage can be considered the same as a junk title depending on the state, so do your research before buying.

expo1

Depending on the state you live in and what happened to the car you might be able to get the salvaged title “cleaned”. It would involve getting a special inspection and providing details about what happened with the car and how it was fixed. DMV would be the ones to ask.

Winfree

I would talk to a couple of insurance representatives - Try Allstate, they are reliable and actually pay off yourself or your accident - Then try a independent insurance rep- they represent a whole series of different companies that might be willing to cover you. Lots of companies are very cautious about flood, or other damage. You might want to work with your Mazda mechanic to help you get your clearances.

JinbaIttai

My understanding is that you can not legally drive a car with a salvage title. The reason salvage titles are so cheap (besides the fact that the car is typically significantly damaged) is so parts dealers can buy it and strip it to resell the parts individually. This way, when insurance companies sell totalled cars, they can recoup at least a small amount, and parts dealers can make a small amount of cash. Both stripping a salvaged car to sell for parts or restoring a salvaged car to roadgoing standards are not very cost effective in terms of time or money.

As people have previously mentioned, laws vary by state and it is possible but tedious to restore a salvage title to a clean title. Also, in some states it is only legal to purchase a salvage titled vehicle if you are a licensed parts dealer. I don't think it would be cost effective in the long run to fix a salvaged car unless the car has intangible sentimental value or you intend to track the car (thus not needing insurance).

I would think that most insurance companies would only insure cars with clean titles, in which case a salvaged car restored to original condition would cost the same to insure as a similar vehicle that never had a salvaged title.