salvaged title ? worth it ?

No. I absolutely wouldn't unless you're inclined to fixing everything yourself and/or budgeting a lot for repairs. Salvage title cars have essentially no warranty (you can confirm it yourself in the warranty book).

I hope you realize that Priuses liftbacks, plug-ins and v wagons bought, registered and operated in CA have 10 year/150K mile warranties on the HV battery and 15 year/150K mile emissions warranties which IIRC, also covers some hybrid components.

See my post for what a new '12 Prius Two goes for up here at http://priuschat.com/forums/dealers-pricing/109826-2010-prius-1-19995-good-deal.html#post1566495.

If the size will work for you, how about a new Prius c instead?

 

Hi i also thought about the same issue. I even email to auto repair place that someone in this forumn recommended(they are located in sf and specialized in repairing and maintaining prius) and this is what she said

"I have seen a number of good salvage Prius. With the high cost of body
work, even a small amount of body damage can "total" a car and make it a
salvage title. The most important thing is to get the car inspected.
If it looks good on the inside and well taken care of, then it is
probably worth a pre-purchase inspection. If it is trashed inside, the
previous owner might not have taken good care of the vehicle and it
might not be worth it."

15k is really cheap.. one person selling a salvage prius 2010 VI, fully loaded for 18k. and only will go down to 17.5 K..and that car has like 40k milleage...

 

Hi maximu$,

I have seen too many people fall into that trap IE: buying a salvage title car. Unless you take the care to a body and frame shop and have them look the car over with a fine tooth comb I can't recommend you do it. I live near the famous Manheim Auto Auction and many of the cars end up in arbitration because they have been 'clipped". That is to say 2 cars put together to make one good one. Common sense would tell you you don't want to find a dodgey weld job on something like that. Clever clippers can really disguise what was done so it's not apparent to the lay person.

I saw a Bentley that had a 1" difference in the wheelbase from one side of the car to the other! The seller said " Well it's not THAT bad!" Lmao! It went down the road sideways like a crab, scuttling along the beach.

Carfax doesn't tell all the details and some dealers are using an alternative called AutoCheck.

It's your money but if it was mine I'd be looking elsewhere.

I just bought a 2011 with 8k on the clock and love it, but there was no prior damage to the car either.

Good luck with whatever you do.

 

Depending on which level 2010 it is sounds like a good deal to me IF you have an inspection done by a body shop as well as the one already done by the dealer.

I got my 2010 IV, solar sunroof, nav, leather, etc. for $18K including tax, registration, etc. I've been very happy with it, but it was rebuilt by a friend who has done several of the 2010 Priis already.

FYI - I've also bought several corollas over the past 15 years at copart and rebuilt them myself. I still have a 2006 Corolla that my son drives. I've had very good luck with salvaged vehicles. But, I knew what I was getting into.
I almost forgot- Ask for photos before the repairs were made to show the body shop!

 

I kinda have to agree with everyone.
In my opinion? If you don't NEED or want a salvaged vehicle? Then I'd avoid it. The only way I'd take the gamble, is if I either wanted the challenge or the potential project of restoring or keeping it running. Knowing and accepting upfront that "anything" might become necessary and that I have no warranty backing me up.

If you are the type that have a lot of automotive repair skills, and the time and place to potentially do a lot of work? Then perhaps the upfront savings is worth it?

But I think even with a good inspection, and what sounds like a good deal, with a salvaged title you have to be willing to expect the worst.

The worst is anything may pop up, and then YOU have to be willing to either fix it yourself or pay to have it fixed.

The worst also is your purchase price is low vs. "The Vehicle it Is" BUT you also have severely diminished resale value for yourself.

If you are willing to work on the vehicle yourself, or want to..and plan to keep it for a long, long time? Then and only then I'd say "maybe". Otherwise? It's a $15,000 heartache gamble.

 

there are some horror stories here from people who bought salvage and everything was great for a few weeks and then the triangle of doom came on...

 

I am the complete opposite of course. I have several salvage titled vehicles. However, I put them back together myself so I have great confidence in them. Steve at AutoBeYours has made a business of rebuilding salvage titled Prii and you never see people here griping about those cars. It is really more the random car rebuilder that just happens to take a stab at redoing a Prii without knowing all the potential trouble spots that creates the horror story later.

The main test for a Prius is the full-works drive through car wash. If it passes that, then you can be assured that all connectors are water tight and you are very unlikely to have a problem. All of the major electronic components are on the driver's side. Just make sure that the hybrid battery has 4 bars and that you turn off the A/C before entry, because it will complain if left in neutral and the hybrid battery runs low.

One trick that salvage rebuilders use is to unplug warning lights. However, just a scan with Techstream would uncover that malfeasance. I assume that Toyota did that for you.

If the seller is or can be made to offer a warranty, and it passes the car wash test, then it looks like a good deal from here.

 

spot on from an expert. ^

 

I'd only buy it for a situation that I'm currently in looking for a spare pickup truck for use for less than 1000 miles a year.

But yeah I'm with everyone else, not worth the risk, for next to nothing yeah the risk is worth it, if you were asking to pay $2000 for this I'd say hell yeah if you got the disposal money but not for this kind of cash

 

Any vehicle with a "salvage" title is just that....SALVAGE...i.e...JUNK !!!

 

Irrespective of how good a body shop mechanic is - I would NEVER EVER buy a salvaged car. It is a ticket to the unknown disaster.

1. No warranty - zero,zilch,nada. No warranty . I repeat. you are on your own. If this is not a deal breaker , then I guess nothing is.

2. $15k is not small change. You can get a Corolla/Civic/yaris/Fit/Sentra/Versa with very few miles and lower than $15k and $2k-3k buys a lot of gas to make up the premium of the Prius.

Moral of the story : Salvage = Junk = Avoid like the plague.

 

Yep. About the only good candidates are those from reputable repair shops or for people like seilerts or jelloslug (http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-main-forum/51021-i-just-acquired-new-project-vehicle.html) who have the time, expertise and budget to fix it themselves. Again, there's no warranty.

2. As much as I hate to admit it, I'd agree that one's better off spending that $ on a non-hybrid that has a warranty and no salvage title. Unfortunately, none of those cars listed compare to a Prius though and most of those listed are compacts vs. the midsized Prius (per EPA classifications at Compare Cars Side-by-Side).

It irks me to drive non-hybrid cars in city traffic now. The thought of the engine uselessly idling while stopped and all energy being lost as useless heat and brake dust both bother me.

 

^^^
BTW, if you go to Toyota Online Owners Manuals and Technical Manuals and in the upper right, select Prius, 2010 and you should be able to download the warranty booklet. You'll see what you're missing out on if you buy a salvage vehicle.

Sometimes Toyota is willing to cover repairs completely or partly out of goodwill, if not too far out of warranty. We've seen that here many times. Good luck w/that on a salvage vehicle.

Here are a couple expensive items that come to mind:
- engine
- transaxle (aka power split device)
- brake actuator (http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...-w-65k-miles-need-replace-brake-actuator.html)

The first two would be covered by the 5 year/60K mile powertrain warranty, on a non-salvage car. The last should be under the 3 year/36K. None of these are known to commonly (or even rarely) fail on a Gen 3... but what if it does on that salvage car?

I still would walk away from a salvage unless you're inclined to fix things yourself (like some of the folks I mentioned). I haven't looked at it and for all I know, it could've been a flood damaged vehicle. Also, think of the resale value (when you try to sell) on a salvage vehicle. How many others will not touch it?

 

You will lose almost all your "savings" when you sell a Salvage title car...

 

That's actually a very good point, you need to plan on keeping this car for a long time and put a lot of miles on it. You'll take a bath on depreciation if you sell it within 2-3 years. But, there will always be a floor value to the car because it is worth a lot of money just for the parts, several thousand.

For those of you that whine about warranty, a good place will give you 12 months. Some will even go 2 years. There are still people out there that take pride in their work and are willing to stand behind it.

 

Arent you going to have problems insuring salvage/rebuilt title cars?

 

Yeah, but that's kinda the key.

I was trying to outline a situation or aspects inwhich I think I WOULD buy a salvaged title vehicle.

Being able or willing to do a lot of work on the vehicle if problems are discovered or arise was one of my criteria.

Along with planning on keeping them a long time as your resale value is so diminished.

If you rebuild them yourself? Or I suppose have supreme, supreme confidence in the person that has rebuilt the vehicle? That changes the equation.

But as far as general philisophical approach, I think for the average person, they have to look at a salvaged vehicle projecting the "worst" that might happen.

The "worst" is, you're buying a vehicle with a salvaged title, which has all the warranty disadvantages attached to that definition. Your "buy in" might be comparitively low, but instantly so is your resale value.

And I think you have to be willing and able to face almost any problems that may arise.

So yeah, that's key. If I was competent enough to rebuild them myself? To my standards? That might be one of the few scenarios inwhich I would recommend obtaining one.

If your NOT one of those people? IMO the risk vs. reward is simply NOT worth it.

 

$15K for a Salvage Title 2010? If it was top of the line, I wouldn't go over $10K for it even if my mechanic gave it his blessing.

I know Insurance Co.s will Total a vehicle with minimal damage just because the 'cosmetic' repairs cost too much to fix. But there's always that outside chance that some overlooked problem will come back and bite you for $$$.

As others have said, unless you're a DIY kinda guy with lots of time, skill, and equipment to fix most Prius problems, I'd avoid it like the plague.