Buying a salvaged Prius?

Salvage titles are a real crap shoot with Prius, because subtle electrical problems can be a bear and expensive to track down and repair. If you are not an EE who plans to DIY any electric problems I counsel caution.

I would buy a 100k mile used Prius from a good family any day over a 40k mile salvage for the same price. If you are set on salvage titles, check out autobeyours.com in IN. The guy who repairs the cars is a Prius genius, and he has a sterling reputation.

 

Do keep in mind that salvage cars will have no warranty.

Since you're not in a CARB state, this is basically what you'd lose out on Toyota Prius Warranty and Coverage. I'd agree w/SageBrush. Unless you're willing to DIY on repairs and can somehow get parts at a reasonable price (some will be tougher), I would steer clear.

There have been some folks here on Priuschat who have bought wrecked Priuses and spent weeks (months?) repairing them, some w/good results in the end. But, something like that would be totally out of the question for me.

 

i purchased this salvaged title '06 Prius w/ 25K miles in 2007 for $20K. it's got every option except leather.
it included a California HOV sticker that allowed me to travel in the car-pool lane thru July 2011. i felt it was an excellent deal at the time.

i have had no mechanical problems (knock on wood!).

regarding warranty...at 35K miles i took into dealer for a $20 oil change. the service manager told me that the air conditioner didn't sound right. that he was going to change out the compressor under warranty (a $1200 fix). he did it without batting an eye and i haven't looked back :rockon:

here's one of the photos that the seller provided me with of the "before" damage"...

 

I would look at www.autobeyours.com. They have been in business for a long time. They do warranty their work. Of course depending on where you are it might be more trouble than it was worth. While I have not purchased a car from them. I would not hesitate to do so.

 

You're very lucky as there should be no warranty. The first hit when Googling for site:toyota.com salvage warranty used to bring up the clause mentioning that, but the current page doesn't any more. It is definitely spelled out in the warranty booklet though and is standard practice for the auto industry.

 

IMHO...the "no warranty for a salvaged title" is a scam.

my vehicle was drivable when it was damaged and it only had 3,000 mileson the clock.
my hunch is that the original owner cried like a baby to the insurance claims adjuster and insisted that they get a new car. didnt want their damaged vehicle.

so in this instance, the insurance company relented to the owner, and is responsible for the vehicle being listed as salvage even though there was no mechanical damage.

and, if there was no mechanical damage, why is it considered "un-warrantable"?

the vehicle could have been fixed w/out being totaled out. obviously, the adjuster had some flexibility and made the owner happy.

BTW...i own two other salvaged title vehicles. it's a great way to own and drive a new car.

 

let see....i have a salvage 2001 f-350 quad cab 4x4 powerstroke that runs a 15.2 in the 1/4 mile...paid 8000 for it 4 years ago? i have a 2003 nissan altima with a salvage title, it ran a 14.8 in the 1/4 STOCK...pretty impressive for a 4dr grocery getter. anyways, paid 2000 for it. and i have a 2005 prius with smart key...but no rear camera or nav...paid 5300 for it, it was "low miles" and light damage... i have 6500 into it now on the road with new fender, strut, axle, control arm, tie rod, tires, seat belts, wheel, windshield, etc... honestly i overpaid for it and if i had been more patient i could have gotten a better deal, i regret the purchase.

i've had many many other salvage vehicles...they've all been good to me, though the first few months of repairing and sorting out bugs does sometimes get old.

 

i was kind of thinking a class action lawsuit was in order in regards to this. all that a salvage vehicle is, is a vehicle that the insurance company paid off because they deemed it to costly to repair. which is humorous because i've repaired many salvage vehicles for under $300...

anyways back to the point, if it's a theft, or for instance my prius, which was hit on the front right...required the parts mentioned above, it in no way effected the hybrid system, battery's, drivetrain, etc... yet my warranty is VOID? it's a complete crock. it's just a simple way for the manufacturers to get out of honoring their product

 

You are so correct!
how is it that the insurance company is "in-charge" of deciding that a vehicle is now officially out of manufacturer's warranty?

didn't intend to hijack this thread.

bottom-line, i support the idea of at least considering a salvage title vehicle.

 

Don't most warranties state that in the event of a salvage, the warranty is void?

 

1. It is standard practice for an auto manufacturer not to honor its warranty on a car with a salvage title.

a) the manufacturer has no control over the parts and methods used to repair a salvage vehicle. Some repairers install used parts to keep costs down while effecting accident repairs. For example, I understand that used airbags are often installed on cars with front-end collision damage. That practice is contrary to manufacturer repair philosophy which requires installation of only new airbags.

b) Is it reasonable to expect the manufacturer to have a discussion with the owner of a salvaged vehicle to determine exactly what parts were damaged in the accident, and which were not - and then keep track of this in some warranty database?

c) A car that has been totaled presumably suffered significant damage. Although it may be possible to find individual examples contrary to this general rule, insurance companies have no financial reason to needlessly "total" a car.

2. Presumably the purchaser of a salvage vehicle paid a relatively low price, compared to the price for a vehicle in similar condition with a clean title. That low price reflects the following:

a) the title is not clean, but instead is marked salvage
b) manufacturer warranties are no longer in effect, and
c) the resale market for such a vehicle is very small.

Hence, I do not see why the owner of a salvage vehicle would have reasonable cause to complain that the mfr warranty is not honored.

 

i'm not complaining, rather pointing out that the insurance company holds all the cards in the decision making process.

that's a weird thing to say. that is, the manufacturer has no control over the parts and methods used to repair a "clean title vehicle". the insurance company will allow one to choose from a variety of shops for the scheduled repair.

in my experience with insurance companies...the claims adjuster has an enormous amount of latitude in the decision making process.
their flexibility is based on how long the customer's been paying premiums without a claim & how much business (# of cars, boats, homes) is being written on a monthly basis by that claimant.

the decision isn't just based on numbers on a chart.

again, some dealers do warranty work on salvaged vehicles, some don't.
i still think it's a scam and a way for dealers to get out of repairing (the coolant pump, for example).

 

IMHO, I think the above dealers are the ones pulling the scam. They have to file a warranty claim w/the manufacturer.

I don't know if Toyota or other automakers are diligent about tracking and checking for VINs that have been marked salvage/totaled but it seems shady for a dealer to knowingly file warranty claims for vehicles that should have no warranty.

 

i've received every recall notice. the HID recall, the water pump recall...they're inviting me (a salvaged title) to visit a dealership to obtain recall/warranty work.

 

I do wonder about recall work. NHTSA may require them to perform recall work for free even on salvage title vehicles. Anyone know?

While trying to dig for the answer, I came across some non-Prius examples:
recall: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/docservlet/Artemis/Public/Recalls/2010/V/RCMN-10V202-3588.pdf "Affected title branded and salvage vehicles are eligible for this recall."
LSC: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/docservlet/Artemis/Public/Recalls/2009/V/RCONL-09V444-0125.pdf "This offer does not apply to scrapped, salvaged, dismantled, flood-damaged, rebuilt or other branded/salvage title vehicles (excluding lemon law branded vehicles). "

 

I bought a salvaged 2008 package 6 loaded, 2 years ago have not any problems. bought it off a dealer in California paid 400.00 to have it shipped to Arizona, paid no taxes on the deal!!! then I took my prius with my California salvage title to Arizona DMV and motor vehicle forgot to put salvaged on my title! GREAT car still smells new 2 years later my wife and I love it, getting 48.9 miles average

 

I have been checking on damaged salvage Prii lately and have found them generally going for a lot more than I would pay for them, especially when the > $600 buyers fees are added in. We have a Copart auction lot not too far from where I live. Here's an example:

2009 Prius - front end damage