Beat the Odds on Buying a Salvaged Used Car
There’s at least a 1 in 18 shot the used car you’re considering has a salvage title. At least that’s the sobering news put forth by CarFax.com recently. It says more than 2.5 million used cars are being sold after being stamped as salvaged because of a severe accident. (Annually, about 45 million used cars are sold.)
Should this make you panic about buying a used car? It depends on where you buy it. There are a lot of protections out there. Obviously, there is CarFax.com itself, which provides vehicle histories for a fee (and succeeds partly by scaring used car shoppers). Plus, there is my used car inspection checklist and a good mechanic is going to spot any damage from a severe accident.
Buying a used car from a private seller or independent used car dealer not affiliated with manufacturer certified pre-owned programs should give you pause. Eliminate the approximately 4.5 million certified pre-owneds sold annually (because they come with a vehicle history report) and the chances increase of buying a used car with a salvage title to about 1 in 16.
Then there are another 7 million or so used cars sold by new car dealers. These, too, typically have vehicle history reports. That ups the likelihood of a salvage title to 1 in 13.
Decrease your odds of buying a vehicle with a salvage title by doing your homework. Take a moment to peruse and print out my used car inspection list. Then, get the vehicle’s history and, finally, take it to a certified mechanic for a final pre-purchase inspection. The combination of all three will protect you against unintentionally buying a vehicle with a salvage title.
Buying a salvage car is the same as buying ANY used car. Have a prepurchase inspection and do a Carfax (though Carfax is far from complete as not all state records are available). Salvage is not always bad, especially with older cars. Example: $4000 in rear end damage on a new car means the title stays clean; on an 8 yr old car $4000 in damage=totaled. Same damage, different title.
Skip – you’re right. I was advising people against unintentionally buying a car with a salvage title. A savvy buyer could do quite well with a salvage title. Thanks for taking the time to comment.