Rebuildable Cars - Salvage Cars - Repairable Wrecked Cars

Wrecked cars are often rebuildable and can be great bargains for buyers willing to make the necessary repairs. Properly rebuilt cars can be just as reliable and safe as any other car. Salvage cars can be a great opportunity.

Where do salvage cars come from?
Insurance companies often declare accident-damaged vehicles as total losses rather than pay for repairs. The typical rule is that if the cost of repairs will exceed 75% of the pre-damaged value, then the vehicle will be totaled.

This can vary by state. In many cases these "distressed" vehicles are not rebuildable at all. However, in other cases, distressed vehicles have damages that can be easily repaired and are perfectly rebuildable to full operational status.

In cases such as those in which a large number of vehicles are damaged at the same time, as in a flood or hurricane, an insurance company may survey only a few vehicles and then, to save time and expense, declare large groups of similar vehicles as total losses.

Oftentimes there are vehicles among the group that actually have only minor damage, or no damage at all. In some states these vehicles end up with salvage or flood titles. Rebuilding such vehicles may only require some minor body work and paint.

Salvage vehicles can also be recovered theft vehicles, fire-damaged vehicles, flooded vehicles, and vandalized vehicles — all written off by insurance companies. Recovered theft vehicles may have no damage at all and be in near-perfect condition.

What happens to wrecked vehicles?
Insurance companies sell wrecked, recovered, and damaged vehicles at salvage auctions where they can be purchased by individuals, used car dealers, and rebuilders. In many states, the vehicle title is marked "salvage" or "rebuilt salvage." In other states, the title is destroyed and such vehicles can only be sold for parts.

Salvage auctions are conducted on regular schedules by professional auction companies in cities in every state. Most are open to the public. Such auctions are good place to pick up wrecked and rebuildable cars but remember that there will other people attending and looking for good deals too.

Some auction attendees are professional (or not-so-professional) rebuilders who make a business out of repairing and reselling salvage vehicles.

Some dealers such as Elite Rebuildable Cars in New York specialize in selling salvage vehicles. Here's what they say:

"Elite Rebuildable Cars is the premier source for repairables with over 18,000 rebuildables sold to date. We provide late model foreign and domestic auto salvage cars, trucks, s.u.v.'s and motorcycles with various damage conditions. These damaged vehicles include fresh water floods, recovered thefts, collision damage, fire, vandalisms and many repossessed vehicles. Our experienced auto salvage buyers purchase these repairables from insurance companies nationwide, to provide our customers with quality salvage vehicles at the lowest prices available."

When an insurance company pays a claim for a vehicle that has been stolen, the owner assigns the title to the insurance company. The insurance company becomes the owner of the vehicle. If the vehicle is recovered, the insurance company must apply for a salvage title if one or more major component parts are missing, destroyed, or damaged and not salvageable. This applies even if the estimated cost of repair is less than 75% of the vehicle's pre-damaged value.

Buying rebuildable vehicles
Buying rebuildable cars can be risky if you don't know what you're doing. It's difficult in many cases to be able to determine the full extent of the damage or estimate the cost of repairs. Vehicles that may seem driveable may actually have hidden damages that could be costly to fix. What initially seemed like a great deal might turn out to be just the opposite.

There can also be safety problems. Airbags may be missing or disabled. Anti-lock brake systems may not work. Seat belts may have become unsafe. Warning indicators may not work. Steering system and wheel alignment may be damaged.

Summary
If you think you might want to save money by buying and rebuilding a damaged car, make sure you know what you're getting and what it will cost you to do the repairs. Make sure all safety equipment is fully restorable. Also make sure you can get a title in your state and that your state has an inspection process that will allow your vehicle to be driven after it has been repaired.

For more, see the following related articles: Damaged Cars - Salvage Cars, and Salvage Car Auctions.

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