MarkV Posted February 5, 2018 Share Posted February 5, 2018 Any experience with these? What should I look for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Peterson Posted February 5, 2018 Share Posted February 5, 2018 Depends on the car. Is it a flood car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted February 5, 2018 Share Posted February 5, 2018 Is it a Cord 810 Flood car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkV Posted February 5, 2018 Author Share Posted February 5, 2018 No flood car rear end damage not past the bumper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted February 5, 2018 Share Posted February 5, 2018 Mildew smell. Major rust. Bent frame. Bondo. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C Carl Posted February 5, 2018 Share Posted February 5, 2018 "Classic" ? - Carl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oily rag Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 Know as much as possible about the type of car. Look for damage everywhere,. Take the low value for a driving car (#3), take a stab at the repair cost and subtract another 20%. Salt water damage is one of the worst to deal with, more so, if the car has been sitting for months. If it is a car like a Mustang or 57 Chev you will be bidding against the car flippers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Novak Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 Might want to check out what's involved with re-titling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizz Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 No experience in the salvage auction. but I’d say look for all the same red flags as you would a normal car. In Tennessee i think it’s not to hard to title a car that’s 30+ years and less than $3,000. As long as is not stolen! Also be careful what you buy just because it’s “old” doesn’t mean it’s worth anything. Otherwise you’ll end up like me with a bunch of junk that’s cool to you but not to anyone else! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John348 Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 I have a good friend of mine who plays with salvage cars, I recall him saying to look real close at the terms, many of the auctions require immediate removal or there is a huge daily storage fee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cahartley Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 4 hours ago, Grizz said: No experience in the salvage auction. but I’d say look for all the same red flags as you would a normal car. In Tennessee i think it’s not to hard to title a car that’s 30+ years and less than $3,000. As long as is not stolen! Also be careful what you buy just because it’s “old” doesn’t mean it’s worth anything. Otherwise you’ll end up like me with a bunch of junk that’s cool to you but not to anyone else! There is nothing better than owning things YOU love. That has always been my benchmark....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkV Posted February 6, 2018 Author Share Posted February 6, 2018 Well I'm looking for a first generation seville and they seem to be plentiful in good shape with minor damage and all were driving when hit and were registered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
36 D2 Coupe Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 Over the years I have owned a number of "branded" cars that were repaired buy a local dealer. They came at a substantial discount compared to the same make and model that had not been wrecked. Now sometimes these cars had hidden issues that cost a few dollars to fix but overall, I got a lot of miles out of them for a reasonable outlay. Having said that, there is no kind of guarantee that will protect you from undetected hidden damage. The seller may in all honesty think the car is OK and not be trying to unload a dog. In my case, I viewed it as an acceptable risk. Everyone has to determine their own level of risk tolerance and act accordingly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 (edited) I would be more concerned about the title. A salvage title will make the car extremely difficult to sell and will likely slash its value by 50% or more on the open market, no matter how nicely you restore it. This 'Cuda had a salvage title simply because it was disassembled at the time of a divorce, the wife won it and called the insurance company, and they totaled it. Boom, instant salvage title. Not flooded, not wrecked, not crushed, just in pieces when the insurance company looked at it. The car was absolutely beautiful and had the straightest sheetmetal I've ever seen on one of these cars. Sweet-running small block, new interior, lots of upgrades. After three or four years on the market, we were able to give it away for $20,000, which was entirely due to the salvage title. With a standard title, I bet I could have gotten $35-40,000 for it in a matter of months. Nobody would touch it. There are pitfalls to buying a salvage vehicle, but this is one most folks don't think about and which probably has the biggest financial impact on the transaction. Think carefully before you're tempted by a cheap buy-in. There are surely other cars out there that don't have an anchor tied to them that you could buy. Just a thought... Edited February 6, 2018 by Matt Harwood (see edit history) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 Acquaintance of mine was going to make his fortune buying ex police cars and taxis and refurbishing them. Boy was he disappointed when he realized taxi and police car titles are branded in PA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zimm63 Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 Leaving aside the title issue, how did he plan too make money off police and taxis? Those things get run to death, cheaply repaired and run to death again. Take a lot of time and $ to get one in decent shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brass is Best Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 Most taxis are old police cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brass is Best Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 2 hours ago, Matt Harwood said: I would be more concerned about the title. A salvage title will make the car extremely difficult to sell and will likely slash its value by 50% or more on the open market, no matter how nicely you restore it. This 'Cuda had a salvage title simply because it was disassembled at the time of a divorce, the wife won it and called the insurance company, and they totaled it. Boom, instant salvage title. Not flooded, not wrecked, not crushed, just in pieces when the insurance company looked at it. The car was absolutely beautiful and had the straightest sheetmetal I've ever seen on one of these cars. Sweet-running small block, new interior, lots of upgrades. After three or four years on the market, we were able to give it away for $20,000, which was entirely due to the salvage title. With a standard title, I bet I could have gotten $35-40,000 for it in a matter of months. Nobody would touch it. There are pitfalls to buying a salvage vehicle, but this is one most folks don't think about and which probably has the biggest financial impact on the transaction. Think carefully before you're tempted by a cheap buy-in. There are surely other cars out there that don't have an anchor tied to them that you could buy. Just a thought... Even if nothing wrong can be found every prospective buyer is going to cry foul and use the salvage title as leverage for a lower price. If the car is sent to auction they will have to announce the salvage title before the sale. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
13CADDY Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 something no one has mentioned, since I was a salvage dealer, most of those type cars end up going out of the country--makes it hard far us to compete--Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
36 D2 Coupe Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 Good point Tom. The dealer I got my branded cars from did ship a lot of them out to export buyers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Walling Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 A salvage title on an older car would not bother me at all if it was a project car. If a car was totaled in 1960, it probably had $1500 damage, a drop in a bucket compaired to restoration costs. It would be repaired to factory specs during the restoration anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 Problem is the Salvage brand stays with the car basically forever. It may not matter to you but it might matter a lot when you eventually try to sell the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 29 minutes ago, Restorer32 said: Problem is the Salvage brand stays with the car basically forever. It may not matter to you but it might matter a lot when you eventually try to sell the car. Correctamundo! Every single guy calling on that 'Cuda up there said he didn't mind the salvage title and understood that the car wasn't ruined, but he was deathly afraid of what would happen when it came time for him to sell it. That was the rub. Nobody was afraid of it, but everyone was afraid of someone else being afraid. At that point, it's the same thing. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 Coming back from Lower Virginia to Pa several weeks ago I passed several open car haulers carrying cars clearly labeled FLOOD CAR. I wonder where they were going and what made them valuable enough to be transported at least several hundred miles rather than have them scrapped locally. Nearest recent flooding was in Texas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe in Canada Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 20 hours ago, Matt Harwood said: I would be more concerned about the title. A salvage title will make the car extremely difficult to sell and will likely slash its value by 50% or more on the open market, no matter how nicely you restore it. This 'Cuda had a salvage title simply because it was disassembled at the time of a divorce, the wife won it and called the insurance company, and they totaled it. Boom, instant salvage title. Not flooded, not wrecked, not crushed, just in pieces when the insurance company looked at it. The car was absolutely beautiful and had the straightest sheetmetal I've ever seen on one of these cars. Sweet-running small block, new interior, lots of upgrades. After three or four years on the market, we were able to give it away for $20,000, which was entirely due to the salvage title. With a standard title, I bet I could have gotten $35-40,000 for it in a matter of months. Nobody would touch it. There are pitfalls to buying a salvage vehicle, but this is one most folks don't think about and which probably has the biggest financial impact on the transaction. Think carefully before you're tempted by a cheap buy-in. There are surely other cars out there that don't have an anchor tied to them that you could buy. Just a thought... I wonder if the fellow that bought it also bought a highly collectable historical document that seemingly matched this car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 1 hour ago, Restorer32 said: several open car haulers carrying cars clearly labeled FLOOD CAR. I wonder where they were going and what made them valuable Highly recommended and well organized. http://www.luckylineparts.com/ Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheezestaak2000 Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 i worked at a dealer that sold most of their cars with branded titles and saw a lot. some of the cars marked flood, had less damage than if you'd left the windows down on a rainey day. the best cars for the consumer were the ones that were recovered thefts. they usually had no damage at all. and often if we sold a car with a reconstruct (that's how they are marked in delaware) title into another state, they would get a normal title in that state.also, many times we would have a car with a salvage title that had a clean carfax report. best advice is to have the car looked over by a pro and go from there. you can also talk to the seller to see why it's at a salvage auction, you'd be surprised how many honest people there still are in this world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarFreak Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 Not classic but was pickup truck shopping last summer. First truck I looked at had mud smears on the headliner and mud filling all the nooks & crannies in the frame. Also a new bed. Small time local dealer swore the car had a clean Carfax but when I texted a pic of the VIN/door sticker to my son he asked why we were looking to buy a Canadian truck? Title didn't indicate Salvage but it was very obvious this truck had been submerged for some time. Didn't even bother to see if everything worked or what the interior smelled like. Interesting if someone was able to wash the title of the Salvage condemnation when bringing it into the US? Funny, the next truck I looked at was also imported from Canada. WTH?! Granted our dollar is stronger than theirs but is the paperwork that simple to import a newer vehicle these days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 11 hours ago, CarFreak said: First truck I looked at had mud smears on the headliner Boy, does that bring back some High School memories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 We were worried more about foot prints on the headliner than mud. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 My Dad just kind of laughed, but my Mother had to ask about them. Made my Dad laugh again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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