I'm looking for opinions (or facts if possible) on how dramatically a rebuild title affects the value of a C3. The car in question is a '71 coupe with origional small block but later transmission (manual). It is an older restoration but is very nice. Asking price is $15K. I don't know if the car was wreaked or what caused the title to be filed as rebuild, but I cannot find anything obvious wrong with it.

 

When you consider how many old corvettes have been totaled and then restored to like new condition, it isn't all that unusual.

The unusual part is the rebuilt title. Something must have happened recently, like in the last 10 or 15 years.

On newer cars, it would zing you 40 to 50% although most sellers only want to drop 10% tops. On a classic like that, it is a good question.

 

A rebuild title is an indication that the car encountered damage so serious at some point than it was considered a near total loss. It has a dramatic, negative effect on value. The car you described could probably be had in that price range without a rebuild title. It can be a 50 to 100 percent reduction in value. I would steer clear of it at that price.
The only time cars like this make any sense is if they are extremely cheap and you are looking for a car to drag race and the damage was fixed properly.

 

First off what state is the title from. Next, you need to the the DMV in that state the title in in and ask then what would make this car have a rebuilt title. Then you need to decide from there what you want to do. Good Luck

 

If the car was stolen, stripped and parts sold off by thieves, would that not also be a "rebuilt title" ? I'm just asking..... is there a way for you to find that answer?
Personally, if you intend to keep the car and never sell it, I wouldn't let that stop me from buying it , HOWEVER, it WOULD be reason to get a lowered price and a basis for hangeling . I would research that particular car's reason for the rebuild. DMV should be able to provide details, or at least a start point. Good luck.

 

 

From what I understand, not all states use a salvage or rebuild title type. So if the vehicle were to be registered in one of those states, the title would get "washed" clean. I know a fellow from Va who made a living doing this. Not sure if that's still the case. Maybe someone from Va could chime in.

 

I would say 50% off.

 

Thanks for all the response. The car is registered in Illinois and I am not familuar with the registration laws here. It's not what I really want so I have decided to not pursue this one any farther. Thanks again for everyone's help.

 

Where can I send my bill for the "official" opinion I submitted????

 

Never thought opinions were "official".

 

but that's just me

 

My 71 is going to have a rebuild title after I get it back on the road due to Katrina. Depending on the documentation of the rebuild I do not think it is a big deal on classic cars. I personally feel that with the detail I am putting into my rebuild there will be no doubt the car will be better than it was from the factory and should not impact my asking price if I ever sell it due to my documentation.

 

Your car may prove to be the exception to the rule, but keep in mind if you were the pre-Katrina owner, you already got paid for the difference.

 

that may be true in your case, but as a buyer, i still believe that anything but a clean, clear, standard title on a car leaves some doubt in the mind of the prospective buyer. personally unless the car were a total, fully documented by pictures, frame off restoration, i still believe the price would be affected.

 

I was the owner before the storm.

A frame off is the only option in my book and why it will probably take me another 5-10 years to put the car back together.

 

Is a rebuild title the same as a salvage title? If you were buying a late model Mercedes or BMW with a salvage title that would indicate that the car had undergone some sort of massive damage that caused the insurance company to total the car (usually 80% of the car's Blue Book value). That's why the price is hit by as much as 50%. If you find a newish Bimmer that's dirt cheap, it's probably a salvage. Now, if you don't think any further about this, then you would assume all cars that have salvage titles are half price. With an older collectable car, this may not apply. These cars have all been to the bottom of their used car values. If one of them sustained even a minor hit when it wasn't worth much, it would have been totalled by the insurer. If a wrecker is a car enthusiast or is profit oriented, he might hold the car aside and fix it up. Later he could sell it for more than he paid for it and for the parts he used to repair it. My son has a 1969 Mustang SportsRoof (fastback) that has a salvage title here in CA. That can't be changed, but the car shows no signs of any major damage. It appears to have gotten a front clip some time before my son bought it, as well as a black Mach 1 interior. He's had it for 17 years and the car is as sound as a dollar. I contend that it is worth what any other surviving 69 fastback is worth. I'm sure that, if he decided to sell it, he would be faced with buyers who would avoid the salvage title or expect a huge discount. If you buy this car, you better plan on keeping it.

 

All in all it comes down to what a person wants (money wise) and how long they are waiting to get it.

 

I've been a rebuilder for 40 years in illinois... Here's the truth on c3's of after 73 anyways....and my own experience....If you'll recall back in the mid 90's you could buy a c3 for $2500. the body shops and especially corvette specialty shops still charged to fix those c3 cars as if they were as valuable as the most expensive corvettes....so one day you're tooling along in your old vette and some knuckle head pulls out and hits you in the front bumper, light damage occurres but the car is driveable....then comes the estimates and insurance adjusters....they say.....repairs are $3000 for a new bumper and paint work....then insurance says here's a check for $2500. we're totaling the car cause we only need a 75% value ratio to do so.......thats how it happened to one I bought and I'm sure many others....I have repaired many cars that probably should have been totaled and seen others get totaled due to insurance companies financial interests......get the car looked at by some who knows what they're looking at...and you'll probably get a great car for the dough....

 

I don't think I've heard of a "rebuild" title. Maybe that is a 'politically correct' term for a Salvage title; or maybe the seller just thought that term might not convey the fact that the car had been a TOTAL LOSS on an insurance claim in a past life!

The most important thing to know is WHY that car was scrapped (before bringing it back to life). If water damage, was it in sea water and did it sustain a lot of hidden salt damage? If fire damage, was all of the wiring replaced with new stuff? If a serious wreck, is there any residual frame/birdcage damage?

If you don't know the answer to the "WHY" question (a legitimate answer...not the bill of goods the seller is plying you with), you should walk away from it--unless you have the skills to determine what damage it sustained by yourself.