The Definitive Guide to Buying a Salvage Car: Part 1 of 2
Many people are skeptical about buying a salvage car, as they think they might end up spending more money in repairs than the actual worth of the car. The truth, however, is that if you have the eye to pick the right salvage car, you can get a premium vehicle at a throwaway price. To help you with making the right pick, we have put together this two-part series on ‘Tips for Buying a Car with a Salvage Title’. Let’s begin.
Decide between ‘as is’ and ‘restored’ Both ‘as is’ and ‘restored’ cars have their own advantages and disadvantages. A restored car saves you the hassles of taking a wrecked car to a repair shop, and then waiting for days for it to be fixed. On the other hand, going for an ‘as is’ car allows you to save more and also let you monitor the repairs or get them done your way.
Find Out the Exact Issue(s) A car may be labeled salvage because of one of the following reasons – accident, flood-damage, fire-damage, or any other damage due to any other natural or manmade disasters. Though it is safe to invest in an accidental car, buying a flood damaged car or fire damaged vehicle is tricky, as even though a vehicle may seem fine on the surface, the under-the-hood story may be completely different. Therefore, it is important to find out the exact issues with the car.
Factor Post Purchase Expenses Post purchase, you may have to spend a considerable amount of money in getting the car restored. In some cases, the cost of repairs may be even more than the price at which you buy the car. This, however, should not deter you from buying the car, as long as the total amount of money spent on buying and getting the car restored is substantially less than what you would have had to pay for a car of similar make and model.
Hire a Professional for Inspection To ensure that you don’t end up making a wrong choice, it is important to get a pre-purchase inspection done by a professional. This will give you clear overview of the extent of the repairs required and their estimated cost. If possible, it is advisable to get the inspection done by a service professional from the repair shop that you plan to take the car for repairs post purchase.
Last Few Words The tips to a successful salvage car buying experience is not just limited to the four important tips that we have discussed in this brief post. If you found the above tips useful and would want to learn more about how to buy a salvage car, do read the second part of our series on “Tips for Buying a Car with a Salvage Title”. In the meanwhile, if you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with one of our salvage car experts at Salvage Bid. You can reach us at +1 (360) 347-1300, Monday to Friday, 6 a.m to 3 p.m (PDT).