Stein

Can anyone provide pro's or con's to a C6 Z06 with a "salvage title" that has been rebuilt to GM specifications. From what I know no frame damage, however the front clip was replaced, the air bags went off after driver t-boned another vehicle. 3rd owner purchased the car and rebuilt it. Thanks for any information.

RJRSW

You might want to a search in this forum area for "Salvage title" and do a lot of reading.

I would, from personal experience, suggest you run away from salvage title cars as fast as you can!!! No matter how nice the car seems and how well it was repaired the one thing that cannot be repaired is the title and it will kill the resale on that vehicle forever.

According to the experts opinions posted many areas on the web a salvage title usually causes a 40-50% drop in value from a similar clean title car. On top of that it is really hard to find buyers even at that kind of discount. I have been there and done that and never ever and no possible way would I ever touch one again. I had a really nice clean vette convert that was a stolen undamaged recovery and took about a 50% hit when I sold it and was really hard to find someone to accept the title problem.

not08crmanymore

+ What he said.Furthermore you will not be able to warranty the car with a salvage title and you will never,ever,ver recoupe anything close to what you might buy it for.Why bother.VETTES are cheap out there nowadays.

AORoads

what he/they said. there is a however, however....

there are at least a few people on here who have rebuilt their cars, themselves, or with limited outside help. if you can do that, if you really know that much, then this may be a good deal for you. at way north of $50/hr. labor charge (more like $100), plus say at least $100 just to use various diagnostics, if you can't do this type of mechanical/technician work, you may be looking at far more expenses than you will supposedly save by buying this vehicle.

you be the judge.

Wayne O

Just on principle I'm leery of anything with a less than clear and unencumbered title. I've never considered resale value when buying a car but in the case of a salvage title you'd have to consider the resale market might be especially thin. Obviously, the car was damaged to the point it was considered a total loss. Price and potential resale value notwithstanding how confident are you in the quality of the rebuild? No matter what there will forever be a cloud on the title. I wouldn't buy it.

CENT Z06

with the others. I've heard that sometimes there's an issue if you are getting loan on a salvage car. It looks like you are from Wisconsin, this says that the title should say Rebuilt Salvage. http://www.dmv.org/wi-wisconsin/salvaged-vehicles.php

Vette5.5

As mentioned, a salvage title with follow the car for it's life. If the car was officially totaled with the air bags deploying, surely there was frame damage. Maybe not a bad thing, if all was put back to factory spec, but repairs will be detectible during an inspection. I have the GM ZO6 aluminum frame repair manual showing details on sectioning things back together. If wanting a cool car for below it's buy/sell value, or building a track car, should be fine.

handyman4

Its my understanding that most if not all car dealerships will not accept a salvage title car as a trade. There's just too much of a liabililty risk for them.

Racer

STAY AWAY..plus anybody who advertises or says "rebuilt to GM specs", is a schiester.

R&L's C6

It was totaled for a reason, extensive damage.

Run Forest, run..................

redzone

Pros: Makes an excellent track car


Cons:everything else

davidtcpa

40-50% drop could even be conservative. Stay away!!!!!!!!!

sjohnson2615

Why would you have to say "rebuilt to GM specs"
Who's specs would you expect them to be built to.

Now if the ad said "rebuilt to Ford Mustang specs" Racer would be all over this one.

ben dover

Not necessarily so.

A lot would depend on what you pay for it.

yeller z06

How do you (OP) know that there was no frame damage? Unless you saw the car after it had been wrecked and before it was repaired, you'll never really know. Stay away from this one.

sar10

Also, check to see if you can insure the car. If an insurance company totalled it, they probably will not insure it again.

Random84

We all know that salvage titles generally can't be financed (meaning if you sell, it's to a cash buyer only); the insurance coverage will be almost nothing for the car itself, and of course in today's market you'll be selling at a significant discount (50%+) to comparable vehicles - and that's even IF you can find a buyer.

So if you're looking for a project car, track car, etc then it may still make sense. But here's the problem: how much trust are you willing to put in that 3rd owner's skillset in repairing the car?

You think there aren't going to be gremlins that pop up - maybe alignment problems, electrical, etc... if you don't have a pretty sound mechanical background and are willing to take on the RISK of basically trusting this guy's repairs with your life, then a salvaged vehicle is not for you. If you don't know what to look for when inspecting the car to VERIFY that there was no frame damage, and that the car tracks properly, then I think the salvaged vette is not for you. This guy is not going to be buying brand new GM parts to put in his salvage - he's going to be pulling junkyard parts from other wrecks at pennies on the dollar to keep his costs down. Who knows how attentive to detail this guy is, or how many shortcuts he might have took putting it back together. Well-fitting body panels and new paint can cover significant problems and half-*** fixes.

Do you think that no one has ever tried to pawn their money pits off on someone else in the used car market before? I would be very, very skeptical of not only what this guy is promising, but of the quality of work relative to the cash at hand. If this is a significant option for you, I would suggest multiple test-drives.

Worst comes to worse, say no, wait a few months. The car will still be there - then negotiate down.

Landru

Flood damaged cars of any kind, Coevettes & the scads of electronics notwithstanding, present real PITA potential issue(s). Cars that've been totalled & then repaired is another animal, altogether.

As others have said resale values for ST'd cars are 50% of book to start, regardless. So as a DD they're really not a 'deal', per se.

Best application for salvaged titled Corvettes is for anyone building a race ready Corvette, providing no frame damage. In fact, a ST'd car's perfect.

RLSebring

You'll find most on the forum are the "RUN FOREST RUN" types, Not that there is anything wrong with that. The one thing that burns my azz about these threads is there are many owners that mod the hell out of their cars, track and drag strip them or generally run them hard as hell then de-mod and pass the car off as a garage queen.

I have rebuilt several C5 and C6's. When finished I realized about a 15% to 20% reduction in price what I actually got for the car compared to a like kind. I never had any problem attracting buyers hence why I have and will keep rebuilding them.

Just be aware of what you are buying and if the price meets what you are willing to spend. The rebuilder should be willing to answer all questions, show all pics, receipts, who did the work and then look the car itself. Does everything line up and look right. Run it down to the dealer or competant mechanic and have them look it over and plug a tech 2 into the car and see if it has a history of codes.

One thing I will agree with is if you buy a rebuilt car plan to drive it rather than resell it right away. You can get some age and mileage on it and that will provide a history to back up the car when the time comes to resale.

And of course always Buyer Beware.

EyeMaster

Only get it if you're trying to make a rally car, a race car, car parts or an off roader.

Say, if I could find a 2008 Z06 for 19 000$, salvaged but fixed and running, and I already owned a trailer / pickup combo, I would get it to make a race car out of it.