Salvage / rebuilt title vehicles - Lets all buy Bentleys! Anyone do it?

[Samuel Ksiazkieicz]

Alright, the last part of the title was just a joke to get people to click on this post. The real reason for the post is to see if there are any of ya'll out there who buy or have bought salvage title vics.

Buying a salvage title car has intrigued me for years but I've never done more than pursue some auctions etc. Here is my thinking;

There is definitely risk. Sounds like the industry, and the used car industry as a whole has some really shady characters, e.g. people who "replace" the damaged vehicles deployed airbags with bags of packing materials or paper. And in the salvage world there can be stuff like cars with frame damage that is covered up or repaired poorly which could have obvious negative results if you get in an accident. Hence dont buy online and dont go without taking a solid mechanic with you. As a salvage/rebuilt (what it becomes after you repair the vehicle and get inspected by your state) title, it will be harder to resell due to the unknown damage your buyer will be buying.

At the same time there are possible rewards. From most everything Im reading online, you should expect to pay at most 70% of Kelly Blue Book for a salvage vic, even if it was perfect, up to 50% or more. My bank/insurer USAA also happens to be the bomb so they will both finance and insure salvage title vehicles. Everyoneeeee on the internet freaks out about the "impossibility to sell". Maybe Im way off, but that doesnt really concern me. 1. if its a good vehicle Im going to drive it for more than a few years. 2. Just like everything, you make your money when you buy, not when you sell, so if you make a good purchase, get a good repair job, I dont really see how it would be impossible to resell. 3. depreciation is one of the biggest costs of normal vehicles n I dont really see that being as big a factor with these as theyve already taken such a hit.

Any thoughts?

...but seriously, lets buy some $45,000 Phantoms and roll up to the BP Summit in style.