Thinking about buying a California salvage for a very reasonable price and wanted to first and foremost verify that all of the airbags are present. Is there a way that I could easily test & verify this? Any other suggestions? I've been reading a little on the California DMV site as to whats required to re-register it. Lots of hoops to jump through, but I see the biggest (and most expensive) hurdle as being the airbags if any of them are missing or not ready to fire. Thanks
this car is already rebuilt? meaning everything is ready to go on it? why didnt the seller get it inspected? for salvage inspection you need to have all receipts of the parts purchased, and the vin numbers for each car the (used) parts came from. You also sometimes need an insurance report for a salvage inspection. I find it odd that the seller didnt do a salvage inspection to get a rebuilt title. On the prius the airbag light would light up and stay lit when the vehicle is on if theres a problem in the supplemental restraint system, unless the seller took the bulb out on the dash, which i strongly doubt. The seatbelts have to be normal, and feel normal when pulling on it to insert into the buckle, if it feels erratic then the seller couldve tried to repair it. the seatbelts airbags, side airbags, airbag sensor, airbag computer, and for newer prius's the occupant classification system are all integral parts of the supplemental restraint system, if any of these parts are damaged or was in a collision the computer would show the SRS warning light on the dash. On my salvaged prius luckily the airbags didnt pop, only the seatbelts, i had to replace the airbag sensors, the airbag computer, and both front seatbelts. and remember salvage inspection isnt just happy go lucky, you need to have everything! receipts, VINs of used parts, sometimes insurance report, pictures of before and after sometimes. btw whats the price you got on this car?
Do your homework. You're required to have insurance in California and getting insurance for a salvaged vehicle isn't easy. Neither is getting registration. Your good deal may be too good a deal. Do you know exactly what was wrong with this vehicle to declare it a salvage and exactly what was repaired? Independently of the guy trying to sell it?
One more word of advice - even though you might think you are getting a 'good deal' by purchasing a car with a salvage title, you will have some problems unloading it when time comes to sell. And don't expect to get your money back, as vehicles with salvage titles tend to scare away 99.9% of the buying public, as well a command a much lower asking/selling price. Just my 2 cents worth.
Wasn't that auto racing guy (Akajaynian{sp} ??) put in prison for "whitewashing" salvaged titled cars? ... where you buy the car, register it in a state that has no salvaged title database, then bring it back into the other state? Are you buying from the Ebay salvage selling person in the Sacto area? That's all he does ... salvage cars ... and has excelent feedback, even after 100's & 100'S of salvage sales. That's an unusual line of business. That being the case, if you're dealing with him, he'd likely be more than glad to show you the work done. Any other shmo, you're taking a greater risk, like others have already said. Lastly, consider one more thing. YOU may be paying cash, but in the futue if/when you sell, your buyer may need to finance. Only about 2% of auto loan underwriters will do a loan for a salvaged car. Just one more thing to think about.
you cant register or drive a salvage vehicle in most states, to be honest i would only sell a vehicle with a salvage title if i coudlnt get inspection. when you get it inspected you are issued a rebuilt title
I recently bought a loaded '04 Prius with a rebuilt title, feel like I got a good value and got to know the seller. After a month I feel this has been a good decision and the only issue has been a coolant bubble that threw a CEL. It is important to understand the nature of the collision (where hit, was suspension geometry affected by the impact, etc), and the experience of the rebuilder. The rebuilder should provide photos and parts list as stated above. I think it is kind of cool that people are making a business recycling damaged Prii. I typically hold cars for the long-term and plan to own this car for many years and someday convert to a plug-in vehicle a couple hundred thousand miles down the road. So good, so far! Good luck.
